Parents When does it become a problem to miss long periods of training?

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Akl597

Proud Parent
A friend of mine just started her daughter on pre-team this spring. They've changed the levels since my daughters were in it, but I'm guessing the group she's in is pre level 1 or maybe level 1, so very early on (our gym doesn't compete until Level 3 so this is a non competitive training team). She told me they were surprised (who wouldn't be!) because she's sending her to China for 8 weeks so she'll miss practice that entire time. 8 weeks might not be exactly right but it's long - it's somewhere between 6-10 weeks. I told her at this age/stage it probably wouldn't be a huge issue. But then I started to wonder - when would it be an issue? Just curious what you all think!
 
The short answer for me is it becomes an issue if it interferes with your goals and where you are in your training.
 
I think different gyms have different policies on this. But 8 weeks is long enough to come back a little rusty. Of course, that depends on the kid and how quickly she bounces back. The stakes aren't that high if she's not yet competing, and even once she is, I would hope the gym would work with her to make sure she can get back on track and have a life. But some gyms are pretty strict about missing that much time.
 
My view is experiences always trump gym. But that could be because I’m taking my 8 yr. old dd overseas for 7 weeks this summer. Coaches said she probably would have skipped level 3 and done level 4 but now she’ll stay at level 3. But that’s ok because I guarantee when she’s older, she will have no regrets. It’s impacting her now but it will be a blip a few years from now.
 
Well Simone took time off and. She has done ok for herself.

It depends on the athlete and it depends on expectations.

It is unlikely that at a higher level gymnastics a gymnast would take that amount of time completely off. They would at the minimum, condition and likely want to get some gym time in even on their travels.

We are on vacation for a week. My L8 with no high level aspirations checked out the hotel gym shortly after checking in yesterday. She knows at this level if she doesn’t condition the first few days back are going to be hard. She is 13 and gets that total time off is not good for maintaining her level of fitness which impacts her gymnastics.
 
At that age and level, I can't imagine it would have any significant impact whatsoever. She might lose some flexibility and strength if she does no physical activity while she's gone (or no stretching) but I can't imagine that it would take much time to get back into it. It's not like their skills in level 1 are difficult or very advanced at all and it doesn't sound like they have a competition season to make sure they're ready for. I would say this experience trumps anything she would be doing in Level 1 and even if it sets her behind compared to her teammates, she has a long time to catch up before she starts worrying about competition seasons.
 
I should have mentioned she plans to do this every summer. I know it's not an issue right now but I was wondering when/if it would become an issue.
 
It doesn't really matter. She's going to China for 8 weeks and I guess that's not going to change even if missing gym was a problem.

When I was a younger coach I used to worry about stuff like girls missing gym time due to vacations overseas... But I have had so many girls do trips like that (many have family/friends abroad) and come back just fine that I don't worry anymore. Doesn't matter in the big picture. Yes it might give them sore muscles for a week but their minds and bodies are well rested and they are desperate to get back in the gym. They work harder for a few weeks and catch up.

One of my girls went to school trip overseas right before Nationals for almost a week. I didn't even think of denying her that opportunity, it was a once in a lifetime opportunity and every other kid from her class was going... She rested her body and mind and did OK in the competition. As long as my gymnasts are not training for Worlds or Olympics I'm letting them take time off for family vacations. Memories from trips like that last forever.
 
I don’t think it matters as much as people think. It also depends on the athlete.

Back in the 80’s when I did gym there were no permanent set ups. Most were in schools, and generally when the school closed for the long summer holiday gymnastics did too. I actually always felt better getting back after a decent break, physically and psychologically. We had some national level gymnasts too.

Even now, i’ve known elite kids have long term absences. Injury or illness. One kid just took a month of to heal a back injury and came back better. Another had a skin infection and wasn’t allowed in the gym, needing a month off. Yet another took 6 months off completely, with another 6 months slowly coming back after a routine surgery went wrong. All are now junior elite and no further back than their peers.

Tbh I think I’ve seen more blocks and loss of skills in kids who are pushed hard and never take time off. And of course injuries that never heal because they aren’t given chance.

My dd is having 6 weeks off this summer as there is a problem at her facility. It is worrying as she’s at a stage where she needs several big upgrades for next season as she moves into senior. If she doesn’t get them it will be the season after.
 
Kids go through injuries and are out for 2-3 months and come back. So, I don't think the occasional long break is a big deal and definitely not in the lower levels. However, I think in J.O. if you are out for 2 months every summer it could be difficult depending on how the gym does move ups. In our gym the kids need skills for the next level by August. So, if you have a summer where you are trying to get skills so that you can move up, you could not be out 2 months and still move up unless you were doing a lot of up-training during the regular season.
 
I know gyms that would make you pay for that time even though you aren’t in the gym because you are holding that spot...
 
I think most gyms would do that? We don’t get a tuition break for vacation, extended or not. Our last gym did stop charging us for the extra morning practices when my daughter’s foot was broken, which was nice.
 
As many people have said, there is no definitive answer. So much depends on the gym, the level, the coaches but most of all the gymnasts. Each gymnast brings a different set of skills to the thable, we have kids who could take two months off and come back like nothing happened, and other kids who would need months and months to relearn what they lost in that time.

However, it is an important question to ask your gym. If she intends to travel to China for two months every year, many gyms simply would not put her on their team. It depends how crucial tjose two months are to their training cycle.
 
Lol, we have a girl on our team that competed at ONE meet in November (had been having back issues, and it was actually because the broken back she had the season before that kept her out that entire year never fully healed ... but she was "cleared" to compete that meet) after not practicing much because of her back. She (barely) qualified for Y Nationals. The following week, she was put in a hard brace for 16 hours a day. She wasn't cleared to even practice anything until right after our final meet in mid-March. Her mom knew she had time before Nationals and her sister had also qualified, so she was registered to compete.
Leading up to Nationals, she had a little bit of practice here and there - mostly bars. The HC was expecting her to end up scratching the meet. She had 2 full practices at the beginning of the week of Nationals. She went and competed ... and even medaled on beam and had a higher AA score than the November meet and higher than the last season she competed Level 8 (2016-17). She also had her best ever L8 floor score.
 
It really depends on the kid. Sadly my daughter is one that really does poorly after time off. She seems to lose muscle fast, she comes back weak. For her if she missed 8 weeks she would be repeating for sure. Last time she got hurt and missed 2.5 months it took her all season to come back and even then she was the same as the year before (She repeated). Other girls seem to leave with injuries and miss 6 months and come back strong.

I sometimes wonder if a gymnasts build has anything to do with it. Mine is very thin and lanky.
 

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