Sasha
Proud Parent
Hi Parents (or coaches or gymnasts..),
I keep hearing references to "weeding out" skills - meaning (I assume) skills that are particularly hard to acquire as a gymmie progresses in levels, such that it contributes to kids eventually either dropping out or not moving on the track they were planning.... (I realize other factors also contribute to drop out/change in plan, such as puberty, number of hours/other activities, injuries, etc.)
I keep hearing that "the dreaded kip" is one such skill. I just recently even learned what that was ;-) .
Any others skills that parents or coaches have encountered (for boys or girls - I have both!) that fall in this category? Or is the "weeding out skills" a myth, and different gymnasts just struggle with different things across the board, and there's no predictive quality to a gymmie getting one skill faster or slower than others?
Just curious how others have heard or used this term. And I don't mean it in a derogatory way, as in to intentionally try to weed out / separate less talented kids who don't get something right away. But I suppose it's possible that coaches might think "Susie is struggling more than a little with X, even though she has shown great potential up to this point, so although I'll keep working with her, it's likely she's going to continue to struggle past this point since that's what often happens to girls who struggle with X." I don't know if coaches think this, so that's why I'm fishing for any thoughts or experience
Thoughts?
I keep hearing references to "weeding out" skills - meaning (I assume) skills that are particularly hard to acquire as a gymmie progresses in levels, such that it contributes to kids eventually either dropping out or not moving on the track they were planning.... (I realize other factors also contribute to drop out/change in plan, such as puberty, number of hours/other activities, injuries, etc.)
I keep hearing that "the dreaded kip" is one such skill. I just recently even learned what that was ;-) .
Any others skills that parents or coaches have encountered (for boys or girls - I have both!) that fall in this category? Or is the "weeding out skills" a myth, and different gymnasts just struggle with different things across the board, and there's no predictive quality to a gymmie getting one skill faster or slower than others?
Just curious how others have heard or used this term. And I don't mean it in a derogatory way, as in to intentionally try to weed out / separate less talented kids who don't get something right away. But I suppose it's possible that coaches might think "Susie is struggling more than a little with X, even though she has shown great potential up to this point, so although I'll keep working with her, it's likely she's going to continue to struggle past this point since that's what often happens to girls who struggle with X." I don't know if coaches think this, so that's why I'm fishing for any thoughts or experience
Thoughts?