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Billy

We just found out that DD will compete in the December 20th meet! She's only been training level 5 for five weeks!!! Yes, 5 WEEKS! :eek: The meet is in-house but it is also USAG sanctioned so it is a "score out" opportunity. I can't believe she is going to compete so soon! Now I'm all kinds of nervous. She's just fine and hoping to winning more medals. :rolleyes:
 
Way to go Boo! How exciting for her. It seems her new gym is a good fit for her. Hope she has a lot of fun and does well.
 
She'll do great, she's a confident little girl and there is no way the coaches would put her in if they thought it was going to be a bad experience for her.

Tell her good luck from us, and HAVE FUN!!!!
 
WOW !!!

How exciting. I am sure they would not put her in if they thought she could not do it. They probably also don't want her to feel left out if all the other girls are competing in it.

Take some video - you know we want to watch !!!
 
Oh wow. That's very exciting! Just being invited to the competition is certainly a compliment after such a short time! I'm certain she'll do great. Video! Video!


Now I'm all kinds of nervous. She's just fine and hoping to winning more medals. :rolleyes:

DD and I went to one L5 meet. She wanted to see what it was like, and loves to watch the advanced girls compete. I could always spot the parents of the gymmie. They are the ones that EXHALE after thier DD finishes a routine.

So... You have fun too...and don't forget to breath!
 
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Thanks, guys. I knew you all would understand. One of the coaches spoke to me yesterday (she's not DD's coach but was helping out while the head coach is at the training camp in TX; her DD is also in my DD's training group) and said DD is looking good on bars and beam. And she knows the floor routine but hasn't really put it together with the music yet. I hope she's ready soon! Of course I want her to do well but I'm afraid she won't do as well as she's used to, especially so early in the season and after such a short time training. I can't help but worry.
 
Wow! That's great! Kids as young as yours are like little sponges when it comes to certain things--they just soak up as much information as you throw at them!! Some kids can get overwhelmed by too much being presented to them but others, like your dd, seem to flourish in that kind of environment--especially when they are so young. I'm sure the coaches are totally confident in their decision to let her compete after only 5 weeks. Every kid progresses at different speeds and every kid will eventually plateau at certain levels as well--it all depends on their ability to process and master the skills that are being taught to them. I wouldn't worry too much about her competing too soon or her only being in Level 5 for 5 weeks--if she is ready, then she is ready. Congrats and good luck to you guys for the meet!!!
 
wow that is awesome:) She will do awesome;)
She isn't trying to score out of level 5 already though right??
You plan on having her compete level 5 all year right??
Our gym doesn't let kids score out unless it is 6 to 7. The other levels... the girls compete all year.
 
She isn't trying to score out of level 5 already though right??
You plan on having her compete level 5 all year right??
Our gym doesn't let kids score out unless it is 6 to 7. The other levels... the girls compete all year.

Sorry if I am not up on my gymnastics rules and scoring, but what is "scoring out of a level" mean? Don't coaches just let the kids compete all year at the level that they are currently on and then move them up the next year/season? I mean I can understand if there is olympic or elite potential for the older girls and they want to "fast track" them to an elite level, but what is the benefit or motivation for young kids to score out and skip the lower levels? I would think that the experience at each level is what helps builds the confidence and character of successful gymnasts as they get older. Idk--maybe I am just missing something here???:confused:
 
DD will compete in four meets as a level 5, this one in December, two in February and one in March. She is trying to "score out" of level 5 so she doesn't have to do it again in the fall. However, only the first meet is USAG. She will compete as AAU in the other three so it would be best if she could get the score right away. The HC has said it's no big deal either way. If she doesn't get the score this time, she will still uptrain and just do another L5 meet in the fall (not another full season). They also plan to score her out of level 6 in the fall so that by this time next year, she is training for level 7. Apparently she is training with a "fast track" group.
 
DD will compete in four meets as a level 5, this one in December, two in February and one in March. She is trying to "score out" of level 5 so she doesn't have to do it again in the fall. However, only the first meet is USAG. She will compete as AAU in the other three so it would be best if she could get the score right away. The HC has said it's no big deal either way. If she doesn't get the score this time, she will still uptrain and just do another L5 meet in the fall (not another full season). They also plan to score her out of level 6 in the fall so that by this time next year, she is training for level 7. Apparently she is training with a "fast track" group.

That's amazing Shawn. My head is spinning a bit reading your last post. I wish you the best of luck with your gymmie, but please be careful with how quickly the coaches want to "fast track" her. I read in your blog on your little Boo that on her second day of practice at the new gym she sustained a head injury from attempting a skill by herself :eek:. I am glad that she is ok but OMG!:eek: She just turned 7 years old right??? And you are saying that "the coaches" want her to be training Level 7 by next year??? Why the rush??? I would be very wary of coaches that put her on such a tight timeline as you have described. I could be totally wrong and I am sorry if I am sounding brass or rude. I know that it is very exciting to see the little ones excel so quickly and master skills so fast, but you also have to remember that it is a journey and not a sprint.
 
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That's amazing Shawn. My head is spinning a bit reading your last post. I wish you the best of luck with your gymmie, but please be careful with how quickly the coaches want to "fast track" her. I read in your blog on your little Boo that on her second day of practice at the new gym she sustained a head injury from attempting a skill by herself :eek:. I am glad that she is ok but OMG!:eek: She just turned 7 years old right??? And you are saying that "the coaches" want her to be training Level 7 by next year??? Why the rush??? I would be very wary of coaches that put her on such a tight timeline as you have described. I could be totally wrong and I am sorry if I am sounding brass or rude. I know that it is very exciting to see the little ones excel so quickly and master skills so fast, but you also have to remember that it is a journey and not a sprint.

I completely understand where you're coming from. DD and I had a talk after the head injury incident about letting her coaches know when she doesn't know how to do a skill. The problem then was that she was new to the gym so the coach didn't know if she had her back tuck or not. DD was too timid to tell her she couldn't do it and just thought she'd figure it out. :rolleyes: Anyway, we discussed that and she hasn't had a problem since then. Of course at this point, the coaches know what skills she does and doesn't have, too.

As for the fast track, so long as DD is comfortable with the skills she is learning, is not being over-trained or over-stressed and continues to be happy, I have no worries. In fact, I am having to hold her back a little bit. She's just increased her training to four days per week this month and already she is talking about her friend who goes five days per week. I've told her no to going five days, at least until maybe this summer when she's done with school. I don't want her to get worn out or burned out. So far, so good. She's doing four days a week and still practicing full turns in the kitchen and forward rolls and handstands in the basement.
 
Well that's good to hear. It's good that you have open communication with her and you are "keeping her gymnastics in check" so to speak. Kids will usually tell you when they are feeling burnt out or they want a break. My dd who used to want to play and do gymnastics in the basement all the time has not even mentioned it in the past few months. Now that she is in 4th grade, the school and homework is starting to pile up and she spends more time doing that. I don't want to even think about how she will balance everything when she gets to middle school in a year and a half! I guess we will just cross that bridge when we get to it!!! And then there are the boys that are starting to talk to her now and say that they "like her":eek: UGH!!! I keep telling her that boys are icky and so far she somewhat agrees!!!
 
Well that's good to hear. It's good that you have open communication with her and you are "keeping her gymnastics in check" so to speak. Kids will usually tell you when they are feeling burnt out or they want a break. My dd who used to want to play and do gymnastics in the basement all the time has not even mentioned it in the past few months. Now that she is in 4th grade, the school and homework is starting to pile up and she spends more time doing that. I don't want to even think about how she will balance everything when she gets to middle school in a year and a half! I guess we will just cross that bridge when we get to it!!! And then there are the boys that are starting to talk to her now and say that they "like her":eek: UGH!!! I keep telling her that boys are icky and so far she somewhat agrees!!!


LOL... now when mine starts talking about boys, I'm locking her in closet! LOL Luckily, she's only 7 so I have a few years yet. :p

We home school so the work load and home work is not a problem. It also helps that DD loves to do school work and voluntarily does extra stuff on non-school days (she loves Study Island and Book Adventure on the computer).
 
DD will compete in four meets as a level 5, this one in December, two in February and one in March. She is trying to "score out" of level 5 so she doesn't have to do it again in the fall. However, only the first meet is USAG. She will compete as AAU in the other three so it would be best if she could get the score right away. The HC has said it's no big deal either way. If she doesn't get the score this time, she will still uptrain and just do another L5 meet in the fall (not another full season). They also plan to score her out of level 6 in the fall so that by this time next year, she is training for level 7. Apparently she is training with a "fast track" group.
Wow Shawn! All very exciting news! Best wishes to you & DD!:)
 
I would think that the experience at each level is what helps builds the confidence and character of successful gymnasts as they get older. Idk--maybe I am just missing something here???:confused:

That's true. And, going though the levels at methodically controlled paces also builds up the physical requirements needed for the advanced skills. Such as, are her wrists, ancles, and shoulders strong enough to take more punishment without injury? There is a lot to be said for that.

However, and this is a big however. I'm of the mindset that the girls motivation for the sport is because it's Fun and Challanging first and foremost. They care precious little about all the other technical details, strength, resilience, building foundations, etc. They are doing it because it's fun. If they were forced to 'stay the course' and spend years at lower level then they are capable, they would fast become bored & frustrated doing the same ol things over and over. What happens? They loose interest and quit. Not because they don't like the sport, but because of sheer bordom.

On the USAG website, there was an article in the archives (wish I could find it again) that showed that standard training practices while well structured, does more to hold an athlete back then it does allow them to excel. Give them a chance to excel - challenge them - and the results are usual a happier more motivated athlete.

Of course it's up to the coach to set the pace, and provide the training and conditioning needed to excel and be safe. And while Boo is certainly an exception to the norm, I think we need to accept that her coach knows what's she's doing too.

Does anyone recall a time when we were young, and our playgrounds weren't layered with 6, 7 and 8" of soft rubber protective mulch? The bars weren't padded, and we had merri-go-rounds that would fling more kids into the monkey bars then be a nice slow paced carnival ride?

That's how mine were. The playground was paved with cement or blacktop. When we fell off the swings, yea - it hurt! The result - we learned NOT too do that. Some of us quicker then others. But it certainly didn't stop us from dusting off and trying again. My point being, gymnastics is inhearently unsafe to any sane human. But with good coaching, our little athletes overcome these challenges quickly in order to maintain the level of enjoyment and still be safe. In most cases, they'll do whatever it takes. I say let them, even if it means breaking the rules and protocols of "the norm".


Now...can someone please help me off this pedistal?
 
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and we had merri-go-rounds that would fling more kids into the monkey bars then be a nice slow paced carnival ride?

LOL!! OMG Tim_Dad!!! I totally remember those!! When I was little, I actually got flung off of one of those during a school field trip to the park and ended up waking up on the bus ride home wondering what the heck happened!!! Pretty scary!!!

You also had some really good points in your post. You could look at it from the opposite end of the spectrum as well, where if they fast track a kid too fast and their "mental/emotional maturity" is not able to handle the rigours of the advanced training they may eventually develop fear or mental block issues and end up quitting as well. It really depends on the child.

All I know is that my dd would not do well in a "fast tracked" environment because she is so perfectionistic and totally needs to feel confident before she attemps any skill. She also tends to "hold onto mistakes" and beats herself up over them. She is learning how to let go of the mistakes so that she can regain control of herself in those kinds of situations.

I guess the bottom line is that it is individual and each parent/coach needs to decide what is best for that individual child.
 

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