Parents Pirouettes , blind , front giants

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Gymmom2020

Proud Parent
My daughter is a level 7 . She moved up from one season of 4 to a 7. She has perfected her bar routine for level 7 and she was working on pirouettes along with other upgrades like stalders and then a few months ago they took her off of working pirouettes and started doing front giants. She asked the coaches why and they said they were hesitant and may never teach her. So she is really confused at why they will not let her do them when she was at least doing pirouettes before . She’s been told she’s excelling in bars but knows in L8 you have to pirouette. Has anyone else had this happen? Do they typically teach front giants before pirouettes? Why would they be hesitant to teach her?
 
That doesn't make much sense? There is a pirouette in the level 8 bar routine.. i also feel like a pirouette is a good start to learning blinds. You have to get turned around on the bar to do front giants as well.. And if she does a pak in 9 she will need to pirouette out of it.
 
There's a piece of communication missing here. Is is possible to catch or text the coach? Just say, "Hey, Susie said she had stopped training pirouettes, but I was wondering why?"

Kids are often NOT the most reliable conveyers of what is said by coaches or teachers.
 
That doesn't make much sense? There is a pirouette in the level 8 bar routine.. i also feel like a pirouette is a good start to learning blinds. You have to get turned around on the bar to do front giants as well.. And if she does a pak in 9 she will need to pirouette out of it.
I’m completely confused as well and so is she. The issue goes beyond this because her coach told me that she is amazing on bars and will score very well at level 7 bars. She’s doing stalders , toe hands, and front giants, but no pirouettes. They told her she may never learn a blind. Naturally she’s freaking out because she knows everything she needs to get to the level she wants and she’s like my options are really limited if they don’t teach me blinds and in order to get into a front giant without blinds is really hard and not seen very often. And they have other girls at her level practicing pirouettes , but no front giants.
 
There's a piece of communication missing here. Is is possible to catch or text the coach? Just say, "Hey, Susie said she had stopped training pirouettes, but I was wondering why?"

Kids are often NOT the most reliable conveyers of what is said by coaches or teachers.
That sounds like a good way to ask. I agree kids can confuse things or they don’t hear words correctly or can misinterpret. There is definitely missing communication. I did talk to coach a few days ago and asked how she was doing on bars and she said she’s amazing and she’s a hard worker and extremely well behaved and she’s going to score really high on bars. But, I did not ask her directly and the reason being is because originally when she was put in the L8 assignment and one other girl was from L7, they were practicing pirouettes and my daughter got a tear in her eye and her friend had a melt down and my daughter got put back down to the L7 routine and was told she had a bad attitude for getting a tear in her eye. The other girl did not. Then 2 months later they put her back up on it and her and the other girl missed one day of practice and they put my daughter back down to level 7 training and the other girl didn’t have to and they told her it was because she missed a day of practice. So then she asked what do I need to do to move back up and do pirouettes and blinds and they told her they were hesitant to teach her and may not at all and told her they want her to get her front giants in high bar and stalders which one level 8 is doing, but no one else. I was planning on talking to the coach because she started thinking maybe her bars were bad and they didn’t thinks she had a long term place in gymnastics because the other girl got to stay at the level 8 training even with a bad attitude. And she’s constantly being told attitude matters more than talent. I talked to the coach about that particular day when she got the tear and the coach new why she had a tear and it wasn’t gymnastics related. So I know this is kind of complicated, but I haven’t confronted the coach with all this other stuff because my daughter doesn’t want them to take her off of an assignment if they get annoyed with me. But it’s still confusing and I thought I could figure it out and give her some confidence without bringing in all the drama of it .
 
That sounds like a good way to ask. I agree kids can confuse things or they don’t hear words correctly or can misinterpret. There is definitely missing communication. I did talk to coach a few days ago and asked how she was doing on bars and she said she’s amazing and she’s a hard worker and extremely well behaved and she’s going to score really high on bars. But, I did not ask her directly and the reason being is because originally when she was put in the L8 assignment and one other girl was from L7, they were practicing pirouettes and my daughter got a tear in her eye and her friend had a melt down and my daughter got put back down to the L7 routine and was told she had a bad attitude for getting a tear in her eye. The other girl did not. Then 2 months later they put her back up on it and her and the other girl missed one day of practice and they put my daughter back down to level 7 training and the other girl didn’t have to and they told her it was because she missed a day of practice. So then she asked what do I need to do to move back up and do pirouettes and blinds and they told her they were hesitant to teach her and may not at all and told her they want her to get her front giants in high bar and stalders which one level 8 is doing, but no one else. I was planning on talking to the coach because she started thinking maybe her bars were bad and they didn’t thinks she had a long term place in gymnastics because the other girl got to stay at the level 8 training even with a bad attitude. And she’s constantly being told attitude matters more than talent. I talked to the coach about that particular day when she got the tear and the coach new why she had a tear and it wasn’t gymnastics related. So I know this is kind of complicated, but I haven’t confronted the coach with all this other stuff because my daughter doesn’t want them to take her off of an assignment if they get annoyed with me. But it’s still confusing and I thought I could figure it out and give her some confidence without bringing in all the drama of it .
So she is expected to do front giants on the high bar? How does she get into them? or on the pit bar? straps?
 
So she is expected to do front giants on the high bar? How does she get into them? or on the pit bar? straps?
She is on a high bar over the pit and her hands in front giant position then gets into a handstand and front giants around and then swings or she hangs starting with her hands in a front giant position and does a few tap Swings til she makes it over.
 
She is on a high bar over the pit and her hands in front giant position then gets into a handstand and front giants around and then swings or she hangs starting with her hands in a front giant position and does a few tap Swings til she makes it over.
Gotcha! I am sure you guys will get it worked out! Good Luck! And the poster above is right.. kids at time seem to give interpretations of events LOL!
 
She is on a high bar over the pit and her hands in front giant position then gets into a handstand and front giants around and then swings or she hangs starting with her hands in a front giant position and does a few tap Swings til she makes it over.
When she started on front giants they told her to the low bar , start with her hands in front giant position and try to get to a handstand and swing around until she feels the floor under her. Then when she mastered that on her own they told her to put it in pit bar. She hasn’t had any spotting or anything. She’s picked the skill up in her own just by doing that and it’s only been a few weeks.
 
Gotcha! I am sure you guys will get it worked out! Good Luck! And the poster above is right.. kids at time seem to give interpretations of events LOL!
Yes thank you. The confusion beyond the drama that is going on is , why put her doing front giants when she doesn’t even need this skill right away, but does pirouettes. I would think the important skill to practice would be pirouettes and then blinds . She’s just feeling like she’s being held back or like she’s not talented enough. It doesn’t seem like the natural direction. So I thought maybe if others had the same experience that maybe it was common to do it this way, but her other friend is doing pirouettes and not front giants. So I guess all I can do is ask and hope for a reasonable answer.
 
Yes thank you. The confusion beyond the drama that is going on is , why put her doing front giants when she doesn’t even need this skill right away, but does pirouettes. I would think the important skill to practice would be pirouettes and then blinds . She’s just feeling like she’s being held back or like she’s not talented enough. It doesn’t seem like the natural direction. So I thought maybe if others had the same experience that maybe it was common to do it this way, but her other friend is doing pirouettes and not front giants. So I guess all I can do is ask and hope for a reasonable answer.
Understandable! The best thing you can do is chat with the coaches. Maybe just say.. Hey I may have this mixed up, but would there be a reason why my daughter isn't working pirouettes? they may have a good reason or there are wires crossed somewhere! Please keep us posted of the outcome!
 
Hopefully this does not sound snarky, but this situation makes no sense to me. Both of my girls did pirouettes well before front giants. And they have no plans to have your daughter learn pirouettes because she became tearful one time? And they just put her on the pit bar and she began doing front giants?? And has yet to compete in a level 7 meet? I am just trying to understand. I think I am missing something.
 
I hope I'm wrong but this reads like a bit of manipulation on the coach's part. Unless she was crying to the point of being unsafe or had missed a lot of practice leading up to this one incident, I can't imagine either of these things being a real reason for her being put back in a lower group or losing the chance to work a new skill that she really does need in order to progress. It feels like they're using blinds as a way of punishing her when she doesn't behave as they want. Tear up during practice? Fine, but now you don't get to work pirouettes anymore. It's teaching her that any tiny thing will lead to her having chances taken away, which is how you wind up with a gymnast trained to obey coaches over all else. And then when mom asks how things are going it's "everything's fine nothing to see here." I'd be having a very frank conversation with them about the skill and why, exactly, they aren't working it with her any longer.
 
Because she is going 7 doesn’t need a pirouette yet. and the front giant takes longer to learn . The pirouette / blind will be taught Later.
Yes but they are training everyone else on pirouettes and blinds at her level, but not front giants.
 
Hopefully this does not sound snarky, but this situation makes no sense to me. Both of my girls did pirouettes well before front giants. And they have no plans to have your daughter learn pirouettes because she became tearful one time? And they just put her on the pit bar and she began doing front giants?? And has yet to compete in a level 7 meet? I am just trying to understand. I think I am missing something.
I agree. I feel like I’m missing something. I have been coming and watching bars regularly to see if I notice anything with my kids attitude that can be contributing or and I have seen her working on pirouettes before they took her off and made those comments. And then I see her working front giants and stalders while the other girls work on pirouettes and some on blinds. What it comes down to is I just need to ask again. I did ask the coach about her behavior and she told me she’s been nothing but an angel and is respectful and works really hard. She has had her level seven bar routine down for a while. So this is all good info that everyone is sharing because it gives me a little more clarity in the fact the the situation doesn’t seem right.
 
Hopefully this does not sound snarky, but this situation makes no sense to me. Both of my girls did pirouettes well before front giants. And they have no plans to have your daughter learn pirouettes because she became tearful one time? And they just put her on the pit bar and she began doing front giants?? And has yet to compete in a level 7 meet? I am just trying to understand. I think I am missing something.
She learned to do the front giant on low bar first. By getting into a handstand with her hands in the same position for front giants. They basically get on low bar, turn their hands then pop up into and stand and swing in the direction of the front giant. When she nailed that they moved her to it bar.
 
I hope I'm wrong but this reads like a bit of manipulation on the coach's part. Unless she was crying to the point of being unsafe or had missed a lot of practice leading up to this one incident, I can't imagine either of these things being a real reason for her being put back in a lower group or losing the chance to work a new skill that she really does need in order to progress. It feels like they're using blinds as a way of punishing her when she doesn't behave as they want. Tear up during practice? Fine, but now you don't get to work pirouettes anymore. It's teaching her that any tiny thing will lead to her having chances taken away, which is how you wind up with a gymnast trained to obey coaches over all else. And then when mom asks how things are going it's "everything's fine nothing to see here." I'd be having a very frank conversation with them about the skill and why, exactly, they aren't working it with her any longer.
You could be right. I don’t know. My daughter does think she’s being told something different then me. She rarely ever cries and hasn’t since this happened, but I see other girls throw tantrums that are at her same level as her and I e talked to these girls moms and they said that doesn’t happen to there kids. But, I’m not really concerned about favoritism or fairness, I just want to know what is happening with my child and why she isn’t getting to do the skills. The coach told me her bars are outstanding and she will score really high, so I don’t see why they are holding her back.
 
She learned to do the front giant on low bar first. By getting into a handstand with her hands in the same position for front giants. They basically get on low bar, turn their hands then pop up into and stand and swing in the direction of the front giant. When she nailed that they moved her to it bar.
Ok, I freely admit that I'm not a coach and am speaking based only off of our experiences, but to do a front giant with the correct technique and form is not as easy as you're describing. For most people, it takes a little while to get that skill. I've never heard of anyone learning a front giant like this, and again, I do not mean to sound snarky because I do realize everyone is different. My youngest daughter who is also going to compete level 7 and has had her routine down for a while routinely works pirouettes and occasionally blinds (with a spot) because it was my understanding that they really need a pirouette for level 8. She does work on stalders and toehands usually on the strap bar occasionally, and her coach sometimes spots her (!) on front giants on the low bar, but the stuff you are describing is more like "occasional upgrade work." The pirouette is a most of the time thing because she needs it next season. How old is your daughter? Rather than you asking the questions, if she is old enough, could she respectfully ask her coach what their plan is?
 
Ok, I freely admit that I'm not a coach and am speaking based only off of our experiences, but to do a front giant with the correct technique and form is not as easy as you're describing. For most people, it takes a little while to get that skill. I've never heard of anyone learning a front giant like this, and again, I do not mean to sound snarky because I do realize everyone is different. My youngest daughter who is also going to compete level 7 and has had her routine down for a while routinely works pirouettes and occasionally blinds (with a spot) because it was my understanding that they really need a pirouette for level 8. She does work on stalders and toehands usually on the strap bar occasionally, and her coach sometimes spots her (!) on front giants on the low bar, but the stuff you are describing is more like "occasional upgrade work." The pirouette is a most of the time thing because she needs it next season. How old is your daughter? Rather than you asking the questions, if she is old enough, could she respectfully ask her coach what their plan is?
I looked it up on you tube and there are many gyms that train front giants that way. There is consensus though that it’s not the best way to do it because flying up into the handstand that way is not the best for their body or form apparently. But, I’m also Not a coach so I don’t know. She has worked pirouettes , it’s just they said when she had that tear in her eye she was being taken off for bad behavior. She’s 11 and not the youngest on her team so it’s not an age thing. They ended up switching her back to the L8 training a few months after the tear incident , but no pirouettes or blinds they just started training on front giants and that is all she had been working on besides her routine, and stalders. But, it makes no sense to give her front giants to practice and not do pirouettes when she’s back on level 8 training. I’m not a coach but I think she should be working on what she needs now and not what is a few years down the road.
 

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