WAG Skipping lvl 6?

[Maitland]

My child is in not on artistic team, but this question relates to a dear friend's daughter. Her entire lvl 5 team (I'd guess about 9 kids) repeated lvl 5 this past season (although some were clearly ready for 6, maybe even 7). The coach and owner said they wanted to do this so they could test out of lvl 6 and go right to 7 (although some clearly look like they could use more time at either 5 or 6.) I wonder if it is because it is easier to coach them all at the same level or if it is easier to deal with the "gym moms" (the team mom being one of them) if they move up as a group.

I guess my question is if this is a good thing and also how unusual is it to keep an entire group together like this?

 

[sportsmommy]

My daughter is a L5 now. Her coach's plan is for her to skip L6 as well. The other 5s too. Her reasoning is she wants the girls to move on to optionals. Right now its just a plan so i dont know what wilk happen.

 

[MaryA]

It's not uncommon for a gym to do two years at level 5 and then score out of level 6 and go directly to 7. I'm not crazy about the idea myself. It seems like a lot of coaches do it because level 6 scoring is hard so their gymnasts will "do better" if they compete level 5 while training level 6/7. Well, of course they'll score better if they're repeating the level in spite of having the skills for the next level up, but where's the challenge in that? I think it's fine to score out of 6 if you have the skills, but I'm suspect of programs where the progression FOR EVERYONE is 4, 5, 5, 7. But that's just my personal opinion. If DD was in a gym that did that, it's not like I would pull her out or anything. But she is doing level 6 and loves it.

 

[lhmom]

At DD's gym, they usually have a level 6 team but are trying something different this season. Last yr.'s 5's competed some 5 meets again this season until the state meet a few weeks ago. Now from Jan to March, they will compete at prep-op (Platinum) then test out of 6 and go on to 7. This is just a trial season-it might be that DD's head coach goes back to having a level 6 squad after this season. From what I was told, there are a lot of gyms in our state that do not do level 6 and our HC wanted to try it.

 

[gymgal]

I am not sure I understand the reason behind repeating level 5 instead of just competing level 6. There's no challenge in that. I tend to hear more about just going from 5 to 7 for the girls who can or doing a yr at prep-op where they can better prepare for optionals - their own routines, challenging skills, etc.

As for advancing all the girls at once, if they are all ready for it, then its fine but if some of the girls are not ready, then its a disservice to them because they will struggle too much.

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[2gymmies]

Until recently our gym only did the score out of 6 and go to 7 path with one or two years of Level 5 depending on the girl. Last year was our first year to have any full season Level 6's and now this year we have a full team of level 6's. My older dd only did 1 meet of 6 and then on to 7 and it was fine for us (she also only did one year of Level 5, if that matters). I don't think all kids can fit into 1 template. I think Level 7 is definitely more training to be successful but is also fun for the girls to do optionals and our gym travels more for optional meets, which is also fun. Best of luck with whatever path is taken!

 

[ann1245]

Maybe they didn't have enough girls to make a 6 team at the time, so they kept everyone on 5 and up trained to have a solid 7 team. I've heard of that.

 

[thefellowsmom]

This seems to be very common. I don't think there has been anyone do a full season of level 6 in years at our gym. This doesn't seem to have anything to do with keeping a group together where we are, kids are moved around all the time with little regard to the group. It is all based on the individual needs of the gymnast. The girls that are testing out of level six work out with our level 7s and optionals not the level 5s. We do have a girl this year training level 7 with the goal of scoring out of level 5 and six this year. She was an older late starter with a lot of talent. Don't know how many meets of either she will do.

 

[my4buffaloes]

We switched gyms because we wanted our dd to go through the natural progression in gymnastics of levels 5, 6, 7, etc. Her old gym went from level 4 to prep op back to level 8. I think (just my opinion here) that the levels are there for a reason. It seems to my (unknowledgeable) self that the skills build upon themselves and you need to master all the skills at each level to progress and continue to do well. "master" being different for everyone. Level 6 is hard - skill wise and scoring alike. I don't think just scoring out is the smartest thing to do, although many gyms do it. Dd will compete a full year of level 6 and then move on to level 7 next year. Clearly it works for many, many people to score out of 6, but I am glad we haven't done that.

 

[gymnastralo]

I skipped level 6 and wish I had not. I missed the whole learn your fly away properly idea... I was rushed into skills that I didnt have the basics on becasue I skipped level 6. I reccomend waiting...

 

[Pineapple_Lump]

Out of interest which top gyms that consistently produce good elite/level 10 gymnasts routinely skip all gymnasts through level six?

 

[gymgal]

Out of interest which top gyms that consistently produce good elite/level 10 gymnasts routinely skip all gymnasts through level six?

Good question... Hopefully someone has the answer...

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[gymdog]

Out of interest which top gyms that consistently produce good elite/level 10 gymnasts routinely skip all gymnasts through level six?

Colorado Aerials, I think (someone else can confirm, this is just what I've gathered...they don't compete level 4 either).

 

[LMV]

Both the gym our daughter started at and the gym she is at now expect their girls to do a full year of L5 followed by a full year of L6. Neither gym competes prior to L5 either. The gym she started at did have a fast track plan where they had their top girls score out of L7 and then go right on to compete L8 [when they would be at least 9/10]. From what I understand their performance in L8 was the major determinant towards whether they were invited to train in the pre-elite track for L9/L10. Her current gym is very individualized on how they handle their optionals and their progression. They don't have specific tracks [or an elite program to feed into for that matter].

 

[gym law mom]

Colorado Aerials, I think (someone else can confirm, this is just what I've gathered...they don't compete level 4 either).

They do compete L6--just took 2nd at states as a team. Don't know if I would rank them as a "top gym" anymore---certainly not in the same league as WOGA, TD etc.

 

[gymdog]

They do compete L6--just took 2nd at states as a team. Don't know if I would rank them as a "top gym" anymore---certainly not in the same league as WOGA, TD etc.

CO Aerials is one of the strongest programs in the country, to me. Not WOGA for sure, I suppose, but that's kind of a unique situation going on with WOGA at all since they have multiple sets of coaches operating under one brand and sharing facilities. I just got the sense they skipped level 6 because one of their coaches has lots of videos of "level 5s doing BHS on beam" and such on Youtube.

Level 5/6's working 7/8 beam skills - YouTube

" This summer they moved up to 6 and all of them will be competing 7 this upcoming Spring!!" - Personally I would consider going from level 5-7 in a season, but we don't have a fall season of compulsories here, so my understanding of what's normal there is kind of skewed. All levels compete Nov through May here (roughly) so doing level 5 states one May, and level 7 meets the next May, is skipping a full season of level 6. But I suppose if the season ends in the winter, it's different. I don't know if that is just what everyone does with the fall seasons.

 

[gymkat]

I don't think Wright's has competed L6 recently.

 

[ann1245]

I can not imagine a TOP gym grouping girls together because it's easier to coach. Every gymnast deserves what is best for them selves and not a group. Scary!!

 

[gym law mom]

Gymdog, it is pretty common for girls to do a L6/7 season in this region since the compulsory season ends in early Dec and optionals start in Jan. Sometimes the girls will miss the 1st L7 meet since it is a rather compressed time ending one level and starting to compete another. CO Aerials is not the only gym around that does this and not every L6 girl at that gym does do the L6/7 season---some will stop competition after states in December and just uptrain until the following Jan.

 

[gymdog]

Gymdog, it is pretty common for girls to do a L6/7 season in this region since the compulsory season ends in early Dec and optionals start in Jan. Sometimes the girls will miss the 1st L7 meet since it is a rather compressed time ending one level and starting to compete another. CO Aerials is not the only gym around that does this and not every L6 girl at that gym does do the L6/7 season---some will stop competition after states in December and just uptrain until the following Jan.

At some point what level they are competing is kind of irrelevant though. When I see kids doing, for example, BHS BHS timer off high beam with near perfect form and technique, they aren't at a level 6 skill level (to me). Clearly they're training the kids as optionals after level 5...I know they do preteam until they're ready for 5. Then I assume they must train longer hours than is common in my (not as competitive) state.

That's not to take anything away from them. I think they have awesome gymnasts. Very strong program. But not the skill level you would expect from kids taking a typical level 5/level 6 path. I understand technically they are competing level 6, but for many of the kids in the videos on that channel, they are beyond a level 6 skill level - even beyond what you'd expect from a relatively advanced level 6 (I would expect an advanced 6 to have cast handstands, maybe single BHS on beam at best, and back layout on floor).