Anon A culture of repeated levels?

[Anonymous (263c)]

What is your opinion of a gym that has the majority (over half) of the girls on their teams repeating levels every year, even at the lower levels? How common is it to have girls spend 2+ seasons in Xcel Silver? I understand there are times when it is necessary to have girls repeat a level, especially once they reach upper optionals. It just seems very strange to me that a coaching team can't seem to move girls along through these lower levels, but maybe it's more common than I think? What are your thoughts?

 

[Anonymous (3d1d)]

What is your opinion of a gym that has the majority (over half) of the girls on their teams repeating levels every year, even at the lower levels? How common is it to have girls spend 2+ seasons in Xcel Silver? I understand there are times when it is necessary to have girls repeat a level, especially once they reach upper optionals. It just seems very strange to me that a coaching team can't seem to move girls along through these lower levels, but maybe it's more common than I think? What are your thoughts?

I think when a girl (or boy) is ready to move up, they should move up. Scoring 38+ consistently is a pretty good indication that the gymnast is ready to move on to new things. I know of some gyms who hold gymnasts back with the intention to "sweep the podium," and they have no problem saying so. Having 13-14 year olds on Bronze and Silver, and having them repeat the level for 2-3 years just to win everything and have bragging rights is not in the interest of the gymnast, in my opinion. Even keeping 6-8 year olds on a level that they are consistently scoring 37-39 AA every meet is not in their interest, but rather it seems the intent is to get more business for the gym. They can use that "we are so good, look at our scores" to get more enrollment and more business.

It is not uncommon for gyms to require 2 years per level, but if the gymnasts are consistently scoring college-level scores in the lowest levels, they should be working towards and moving on to the next level. It is also not in the spirit of competition or sportsmanship to hold gymnasts back with the intention of making sure the gym always wins IMO. People start to take notice, and no longer want to be at meets where that gym is competing, and will actively avoid those meets.

 

[Anonymous (16c4)]

Do they uptrain throughout the competition season? Some gyms prefer the girls to do well or win at meets, so they train for a higher level while competing at a lower level and only move up when it is clear they will top the podium at a new level.

 

[Anonymous (263c)]

Do they uptrain throughout the competition season? Some gyms prefer the girls to do well or win at meets, so they train for a higher level while competing at a lower level and only move up when it is clear they will top the podium at a new level.

No. Once competition season starts, there is no uptraining. In fact, uptraining drops significantly up to two months before season begins. A few girls are getting great scores (37+). Most are scoring 35.00-36.00 AAs, and it seems that the 2nd year at the same level doesn't yield much better scores than the first year. That wouldn't be so perplexing to me if the girls were competing upgraded skills in their routines the 2nd (or 3rd) year, but that is rarely the case, either. They will put upgraded skills in the routines, then start pulling them and downgrading as meet season begins.

 

[Anonymous (fa54)]

If the girls are scoring 35-36, then repeating isn’t crazy. It may be that the coaching isn’t very effective or it could be that they have a xcel team that recruits and supports the kind of gymnasts who will need multiple years at each level.

 

[Anonymous (f836)]

It’s normal for girls to repeat levels. And if a gym takes girls to Xcel when they need a lot of work to progress then most may need to repeat levels. Our gym used to take a lot of girls for bronze and then worked hard to get them where they needed be to move levels. That can take years vs a gym that is more picky on who they will start on team. It seems the girls who moved through quickly were the ones scoring 37 consistently. If they move before they master the details at one level they probably won’t have the basics down or feel successful at the next level. I don’t think most of the higher level gyms do a lot of uptraining during, or the couple months prior to, competition season. They may learn a few things but typically our gym didn’t add those to their routines until the following season. Gymnastics can seem very slow!

 

[gymgal]

depends on how your gym is structured. If they are working with very low hours (possible in the xcel program) then yes it may take a couple of years to gain the skills for the next level. In general though, I would be hesitant about a gym that needed to have more than half their girls repeat at the lowest levels. I personally see nothing wrong with allowing them to move up with 35-36s as long as they have the skills. And this is especially true if that second year yields no better scoring.