WAG Forced to scratch

[GymMom726]

I am a fairly new gym mom. I have an 8 year old, new level 3 this year. She just started new level 3 skills this summer and has competed 2x already this season. Today she landed her backhand spring a little funny twice in warm up before floor. She was then forced to scratch and not compete floor. She successfully competed the other 3 events and she was devastated that she was forced to scratch. I was heart broken for her. No one likes to see their daughter crying on the sidelines. I was just wondering if this has happened to anyone. Also, I am not sure what I should do in this situation with the gym.

 

[GymCoachR2]

Landed funny how?

My rule is always safety first. If there was any question that she would have been hurt had she competed, I would say yes, definitely scratch.

There is absolutely no reason to risk an injury early in the season with a skill going wrong. Yes, sitting out one floor routine may be hard for your little one, but in the end her coaches are hopefully doing what's safest for her.

In that case, you tell her that hopefully she has a long career and a lot of meets ahead of her. And that a lot of gymnasts go through this, whether it be at level 3 or level 9. I have seen plenty of gymnasts have bad warm-ups and not compete (read: a lot of yurchenkos and overshoots). Coaches hopefully always put safety first.

As for her coaches. You can have a conversation with them if you would like. But really, I would respect their decision to scratch your DD.

Just my thoughts.

 

[gymdog]

Yes. Put that skill at the end of the routine in an already tense situation and the child can get injured. If there's any question about it, they should scratch. It happens. I wouldn't say or do anything about it. DON'T ask your daughter about it, and don't ask about her RO BHS in practice either, since that will put more pressure on her. Just let it be. If you observe that she has a problem, it's possible that you could approach the coach about a private.

 

[GymMom726]

I was wondering if she could have competed without the backhand spring and just took the deduction?

 

[Gym Beam]

I was wondering if she could have competed without the backhand spring and just took the deduction?

That's a good point. DD would just do a RO before she got her RO BHS. I would definitely ask the coaches about that.

 

[Natasha]

It really depends on your gym's philosophy. Some gyms scratch gymnasts in that situation (like your gym did), other gyms will physically spot the skill, and others will have them do the routine and just skip the skill, and still other gyms may do any of the above depending on the gymnast and the situation. There are pros and cons to each of the above, but in the end you need to be able to respect your gym's philosophy and choice and be comfortable in knowing that they have your dd's best interest in mind.
As far as the option of omitting a skill, it is double the point value of the skill for the deduction, so omitting a skill worth .8 would be 1.6 in deductions. Some coaches also believe that by scratching the event it is more motivation for the gymnasts to work to get the skill vs. letting them still compete and omit it. Our gym has always stated that competing is a privilege and that a gymnast can be scratched from an entire meet or event at any time up through warm ups for a variety of reasons.

 

[mariposa]

As others have said, how it will be handled will depend on your daughter's gym's philosophy. Safety should always come first and scratching events is bound to happen throughout a gymnasts career. Best advice would be to be supportive of the coach's decision without talking about the skill itself. Talk about all the good things she did at the meet (have her try to name them first) and encourage her to let it go and move on. Don't talk about working on the skill, don't criticize the decision (she needs to trust her coach) and let it go, too.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

As others have said, how it will be handled will depend on your daughter's gym's philosophy. Safety should always come first and scratching events is bound to happen throughout a gymnasts career. Best advice would be to be supportive of the coach's decision without talking about the skill itself. Talk about all the good things she did at the meet (have her try to name them first) and encourage her to let it go and move on. Don't talk about working on the skill, don't criticize the decision (she needs to trust her coach) and let it go, too.

that ^^^^^^ sometimes things happen. and they happen fast. and we see them do stuff we have never seen them do in practice before. and because of the meet format, there is no time to figure out with the athlete what's going on and attempting to correct it. and this child is 8. it's even tougher. communication skills aren't there yet and they don't know their gymnastics well enough to tell you what they feel is going on.

so, safety first. thank your coaches. they probably didn't want her to get a stigma competing the routine without everything in it. it's only level 3. there will be more meets.

 

[SurpriseGymMom]

Our gym would scratch in that same situation, and in fact *did* scratch my dd from her very first in house practice meet for that same exact reason (only she's L4 and hers was ROBHSBHS ). She had been cleared to compete it during practices but during warmup messed it up and her coach scratched her. She wasn't happy, I wasn't happy but I understand it and hope it's a good motivator for dd to listen to her coaches and do her best. Luckily that time it was a practice meet, but I'm told they will do the same in a regular meet.
I admit to being a bad gym parent and admonishing dd to listen to her coaches, work hard and do her best because I know she wants to compete and I would love o watch her compete. So fix the BHS, in a nutshell, because I know she can do it and it would be a shame if they had to scratch her again...

 

[gymdog]

I was wondering if she could have competed without the backhand spring and just took the deduction?

Many gyms will not consider this. And really, there's no point, which is the main reason why I don't do it.

 

[Jen H.]

I was wondering if she could have competed without the backhand spring and just took the deduction?

This is one of those situations where you have to make the decision to either trust the coach, trust the program, and trust the proces...or not.

This happened during my daughters first year competing and her vault resembled a superman move about 50% of the time- and like a pp commented, adding the stress of a competition into it, and it wasn't safe. Much wiser move to scratch and be safe, than add to the stress of the situation and possibly get hurt.

 

[mariposa]

This is one of those situations where you have to make the decision to either trust the coach, trust the program, and trust the proces...or not.

Definitely. And your attitude towards the situation will influence your daughter's attitude towards the situation. If you express doubt to her about her coaches, she will lose trust in them and learning new skills isn't possible if a child doesn't trust their coach.

They've obviously got her to the level she is at, so give them your trust and make sure your daughter knows you support the coach's decision. I would not approach the gym about it. Just let it go. Make sure your daughter knows you are proud of her no matter what and reassure her that this is common and that it was done for her safety. Then let it go. If you make it an issue, she could end up scratching all season. Resist the urge to talk about the back handspring after practice!

We all hate seeing our kids disappointed. Being the mom of a gymnast is tough and it doesn't really get easier. Hang in there!

 

[MaryA]

I know. It's so sad to watch them go out there and give the judges that "I'm smiling but I'm about to cry" smile as they salute when they scratch. It breaks a mama's heart. But it happens. It's not a big deal, even though it feels like it in the moment.

 

[Aussie_coach]

I do find that strange as well. I would have just had her take out the back handspring and had her just do a round off.

I disagree that there is no point in competing without a skill. Every time the child gets up in front of the judges and the audience they are getting valuable experience.

In fact she may do the best routine of her life, if told there is no shot at a medal since she will be missing a skill. Sometimes once the pressure is off completely they just become amazing.

I have had kids place after leaving out a skill too if everything else was beautiful enough.

 

[Deleted member 14190]

Pretty standard policy.

 

[cbifoja]

Would it be better for her to compete the level down or wait a year until the skill is solid before being allowed to compete because a lot of gyms take that approach instead.

 

[Deleted member 15064]

i can only speak for the lower levels @ our gym but if a skill like ROBHS is not 100% consistent, our gymnasts get a matter-of-fact spot, not a scratch. it's only happened at beginning of season with one or 2 girls, & i don't believe it was even needed (their hands didn't touch the gymnast). i have no clue what deduction that is, but it would seem that as long as safety is not an issue, the lower score due to the spot is plenty enough incentive / cause & effect.

i realize gyms differ on this philosophy. you have to accept the one you chose.

 

[saddlupasb]

Safety of the gymnast is my number one priority. I would have scratched her too. I don't spot at meets and I don't let them omit skills. Spotting and letting them omit is giving the message that it is okay not to do all of their skills by themselves.
That being said, I do spot in the gym if they are unsafe. We just work the heck out of that skill to get them where they are confident.
If she has competed twice before then she has had the skill. She'll get it back.

 

[gymdog]

I do find that strange as well. I would have just had her take out the back handspring and had her just do a round off.

I disagree that there is no point in competing without a skill. Every time the child gets up in front of the judges and the audience they are getting valuable experience.

In fact she may do the best routine of her life, if told there is no shot at a medal since she will be missing a skill. Sometimes once the pressure is off completely they just become amazing.

I have had kids place after leaving out a skill too if everything else was beautiful enough.

They won't place here without doing a back handspring at that level. Most likely they'll score in the 6s or 7s with winning routines scoring mid-9s. I imagine there are relatively few places nowadays in the US where a kid could conceivably place without doing a back handspring. Haven't seen it happen in my state and don't expect to. The highest you could get is a mid-8 IF everything else was perfect, and that won't place here in level 3.

 

[Mama2JLN]

It definitely depends on the gym. Last year in old L4, DD's ROBHS was questionable durings warm ups at a meet, and her coaches had her compete without the skill. The rest of the routine was beautiful and she scored a 9.1. Perhaps it depends on the region?
As others have said, I might ask what the coach said to her about scratching, but then that would be the end of it. Even when I question a coach's decision, I never say anything in front of DD. I just say that the coaches always have her best interests in mind. It's tough being a sports mom!