Parents Update on self taught gymnast

[Olga]

I recently posted a thread about how my dd is a self taught gymnast. On August 25th, we went to a real gym to enroll her in classes (we aren't moving until December). And there was, the old coach, who said she was too old last year willing to take her in. She started going to classes there twice a week, and seemed to be quite fearless. She ACTUALLY did a RO Back tuck and front tuck on her first try (rod floor). But soon, she started telling me some strange things. They were doing NO conditioning, there were NO mats under the high beam at any time during practice, and the coach had a large number of students which were waaayyy less advanced so he just told her to go to bars or beam and she basically coaches herself. My concern is that he only cares about difficulty and not technique so as soon as she could do a round off back handspring back tuck he told her to do a layout without a spot. I mean, the kid JUST did a new skill and you expect her to do it without doing any drills, conditioning etc!!! I mean, she is improving but her new skills look way sloppier than the rest. This is all she learned after going five times: front tuck, RO back tuck, (these aren't too bad), RO back pike, front walkover on low beam, three mounts on high beam, handstand on high beam, handstand flat back vault (vault with mats piled on top).
My question is, should she just stay there and continue coaching herself or not? She is a perfectionist so she will clean up eventually but we are leaving in 3.5 months.

 

[txgymfan]

Leave quickly. Her safety is at stake.

 

[Olga]

She can control herself and conditions at home and can say no to the coach. Maybe she could just be there for the experience?

 

[Aussie_coach]

I would not walk, but run from that gym! It sounds like a seriousl injury waiting to happen.

 

[NutterButter]

I can't believe you are even asking the question. Your DD picking up skills quickly will not keep her safe in this situation. Leave. Now.

 

[3rd_time_around]

This all sounds very strange. Have you stayed at practice to watch? you need to watch. Those are some pretty advanced skills for a beginner, even a self-taught one. Normally they would focus on cleaning up her form and technique before moving on to even more skills and higher skills. If you or she wants her to advance at all in this sport, or if she has team in mind (even Xcel), she needs to be in a gym that is training her and not just leaving her to herself. Also, it's not safe for her to be doing things on high beam without mats, or to do skills on high beam or bars without proper supervision and spotting. She will also never learn proper form or technique for gymnastics competition. Mastering a Round off, for example, takes tons of practice, even if you think she's got it. If the search bar above is working (mine doesn't), you can search this board for a thread about round-offs from a few years ago. One of the very knowledgeable people here posted a description of a proper round-off and it was eye-opening. Your daughter sounds like she has raw talent and ability, but unless she has proper coaching she will not be able to go anywhere with it. Plus the very unsafe conditions you are describing. If team is not her goal, that's fine, but she still needs proper matting and spotting so she doesn't end up in the emergency room.

 

[IreneKa]

Are these classes she attends now recreational classes? Can you ask them if she can work out with the team\pre-team instead?
The rec classes are usually about getting some fun skills, not about conditioning or doing skills correctly. I agree with the others, what's going on now is not safe, but maybe their team practices would be more structured.

 

[duyetanh]

What a scary place! If you are moving that soon, get her the h*ll out of there.

 

[EGPtriumph]

First and foremost you should be concerned for her safety. Secondly, isn't the coaching what you're paying for? It certainly doesn't sound as if she's getting any.

 

[e'smum]

if she is learning them incorrectly, it's worse than not learning them at all. JMO. she will basically have to go into her new gym and get rid of bad habits and relearn the correct way. which i think is harder than learning correctly the first time. i'd pull her out if it's that bad.