Parents Could TOPS training be hurting my gymnast?

[GymLife]

This is our second season of tops training. At 10 she is in the gym 20 hours a week and TOPS 3 days a week for an extra hour those days after practice. She is a level 6.

That being said, she would fail miserably at testing. I really feel our TOPS program hasn't been able to get our girls to even qualify. None of them can do 5, let alone 10 presshandstands. None can even cast to handstand without the straddle....and that is a more miss than hit... and so on. So basically 1 hour of extra exercise during this time.

My DD is very strong, but I'm finding that what she is doing hasn't really helped her at all during the season. I feel like it might actually be making her body more tired. She practices Mon-fri 11-3 with a coach ratio of 1/3. So they get tons of practice.
So do I pull her out? Almost all of her team do TOPS so I don't want her falling behind, but I also feel like she would be better off at home doing stretching and maybe running.

I could also be saving $85 a month [emoji54]

 

[GymDad9.9]

My daughter is in a similar situation. Her regular training conditioning is harder than her TOPS training. We'll find out soon whether she will test this summer. Your daughter is 10 so if she is not going to test you have a perfectly good excuse to leave the program. I look forward to the day that $95 a month is put to a better use.

 

[txgymfan]

Mimi, I would pull her and let her rest! Let her play, watch videos, or be creative. My girls would faint if they heard me advocate more iPad time but at least give her more time to chill.

 

[Gymmommy71]

She could be burned out as well. Does she like doing the tops training?

 

[GymLife]

She would do crossfit if she could! Her idol is Katrina Davidsdoutter. She likes it. Well she likes the results. Aka 6 pack and arms.
But she hit a massive 3" growth spurt and like 8lbs . She's now 5'1 " and just turned 10. So skills are having to be reworked. All this pounding on her body worries me.
She gets home at 4:30 so she has plenty of time to run around the neighborhood.
We get a 2 week break after regionals so was hoping to figure out what would be best for her before June and summer training start.

 

[Committed]

I doubt it's hurting her, but if she doesn't want to do it & you don't think she'll pass State testing, pull her. Unless you think the skills practice is helpful.
The 10yo National testing skills seem to be about L7/8ish.

 

[FlippinLilysMom]

My DD did TOPS training for 2 years, and while she never qualified to make it to the ranch it did make her a better all around gymnast and I'm convinced it was the extra TOPS training that allowed her to skip a level mid-season. She is now training HOPES and has comes leaps and bounds (however she still can't do a press handstand to save her life, but neither could Simone Biles!!!).

 

[Aussie_coach]

23 hour a week is on the high end for a level 6, but quite normal by level, 7 or 8. But 5 hours straight is quite a long practice for a 10 year old (let alone at any age).

If your daughter is going through such a massive growth spurt (she is taller than I am, and she is only 10 wow!). Her body is working very hard at the moment on growing and developing. You may find that she is getting fatigued far more easily now, and she will be more prone to injury while she is in the growth acceleration phase.

Considering the fact that she is at the top of the age range to TOP's, but is only in level 6 and it does not look like she will have the strength to test and she is already doing a good 20 hours a week, coupled with her growth phase I would say it would not hurt to cut out the TOP's training.

I would also take her to a physio (one who works with gymnasts and understands the sport) for a general body evaluation. If she has had any weaknesses in the past that she has been compensating for in any way, they often come back to bite them at this age. The physio may be able to reccomend some injury prevention exersices to help her her through this phase.

 

[Jenny]

This is our second season of tops training. At 10 she is in the gym 20 hours a week and TOPS 3 days a week for an extra hour those days after practice. She is a level 6.

That being said, she would fail miserably at testing. I really feel our TOPS program hasn't been able to get our girls to even qualify. None of them can do 5, let alone 10 presshandstands. None can even cast to handstand without the straddle....and that is a more miss than hit... and so on. So basically 1 hour of extra exercise during this time.

[emoji54]

23 hours and can't cast to handstand without straddling or do 5 press handstands at 10. It's not just your TOPS program that is failing it is your gym program. Most level 6 kids aged 9/10 doing those hours should be able to learn multiple presses and cast handstand. I have certainly had 8 years learn that on 10 hours a week. Those are basic gymnastics skills, you shouldn't need TOPS to be doing those , what on earth are they doing for 23 hours a week. Look for a new gym!!!!

 

[bookworm]

23 hours and can't cast to handstand without straddling or do 5 press handstands at 10. It's not just your TOPS program that is failing it is your gym program. Most level 6 kids aged 9/10 doing those hours should be able to learn multiple presses and cast handstand. I have certainly had 8 years learn that on 10 hours a week. Those are basic gymnastics skills, you shouldn't need TOPS to be doing those , what on earth are they doing for 23 hours a week. Look for a new gym!!!!

I was thinking this as well....kids going this many hours , with extra training, and none will make testing? Testing for a 10 yo is more on the level 9/10 levels...or at least it was when we tested , so a level 6, without the minimum of skills will have a rough go of it.

 

[l.c.o]

A little while back, my DD grew ~2in in about a month, during meet season. It completely threw her off and she had some regression in the gym. It took time to build up strength for her new size, get used to her new frame, and get over new fears that developed while repeatedly falling (as she'd tried repeatedly to work those skills she'd "had" before the growth spurt). I'd say it probably took her a good 6-9 months to get back to where she was before the rapid growth, which may be on the long end, though she was only training some 15 hours per week, iirc. It was frustrating for her and she nearly quit at one point.

On the flip side, her doc was very pleased with the growth. Anyway- the point is that growth can really throw a kid off, and the body needs time to adjust.

As a parent I get that it's hard to say no to to extra hours or practices that may give our kids an edge, especially if teammates are doing them. We don't want them to "fall behind". And TOPS can definitely be beneficial as a foundation in this sport, regardless if they 'qualify'. BUT it is certainly not required for success in this sport, especially if it's wearing your DD out and doesn't seem beneficial to her as an individual.

I also do tend to agree with @Jenny - depending. How long have they been working TOPS and going this many hours? If it's only recent, then I'm maybe less concerned about the coaching and what it says about the program. If this has been more long term, then I agree that it's a red flag. If she's a 10 year old level 6 who has been training 20+ hours for some time (and cannot regularly do press handstands or cast to handstand), and she and her teammates are all in that similar place, then I just might consider my options. As a whole I'd expect more progress.

 

[GymLife]

23 hours and can't cast to handstand without straddling or do 5 press handstands at 10. It's not just your TOPS program that is failing it is your gym program. Most level 6 kids aged 9/10 doing those hours should be able to learn multiple presses and cast handstand. I have certainly had 8 years learn that on 10 hours a week. Those are basic gymnastics skills, you shouldn't need TOPS to be doing those , what on earth are they doing for 23 hours a week. Look for a new gym!!!!

We are, and honestly we saw no girls in our 4 gyms in our area casting to handstand on low bar at state. All the girls that won level 6 State didn't even bother casting on low bar. They did kip. Squat on. Long hang kip. Cast handstand. Clear hip fly away.

DD was casting to handstand prior to this growth spurt. She can do 4 presshandstands in a row but not consistently.

But yes, I feel like with the ratio of gymnast to coach we should be way farther or more powerful than we are. Which is why I think tops might be hurting more than helping. She already trains very hard and no one wants to say it, but I feel like they are over trained and I'm underwhelmed.

I always chalked it up to DD being way bigger (very tall very thin and broad) and also very scared, but we really should not be this far behind.

 

[cadybearsmommy]

I wouldn't see any harm in dropping the TOPS for now, especially since she probably wouldn't be doing it for much longer anyway if she is 10. And with her having a recent growth spurt, now is probably a good time to let her body take a little less pounding/stress. As soon as she bumps up to L7/L8 her hours will likely increase back, so this would be a good time to let her get some downtime before things get even more demanding.

Press handstands....they are cool to watch and definitely are a good fundamental to learn, but I don't think it's the best indicator of whether a gym has a successful team. No, they might not have a successful TOPS program, but then again many gyms don't offer TOPS at all. And I've seen many gymnasts be quite successful in optionals that were never able to do one press handstand, let alone multiple. That is something I truly wouldn't stress over. Yes they should be working on cast to handstand and for TOPS/elite testing they want to see straight body, but many kids are just better at straddle casts and in optionals it really doesn't matter whether you straddle or use straight body, just as long as you get up there lol.

If your dd's goal is to do well in optionals, she can do that without TOPS. If she has bigger goals like elite, sure TOPS is helpful, but it's definitely not the only way.

 

[cadybearsmommy]

This is her 2nd straight season of TOPS. No one in our area has had a girl make the tops team. So the 3 gyms in our area all say tops training but no results. Also the 1 girl on our team that has tested is DD's age but literally the size of a 6 yr old and she failed everything but rope climb, beam and floor.

I guess I just worry her being the biggest, that she will fall behind if she isn't training the extra hours. View attachment 6696

DD next to her teammate the same age.

I would maybe black out the face of her teammate unless you have her mom's permission to post her picture here. Just to be safe. But the pic is super cute! DD has teammates her age that are tiny like that, and one is even older and DD towers over her lol! Anywhere else she is average height for her age (maybe even a tiny bit below average), but at gymnastics she is one of the taller ones.

 

[Mish]

I would maybe black out the face of her teammate unless you have her mom's permission to post her picture here. Just to be safe. But the pic is super cute! DD has teammates her age that are tiny like that, and one is even older and DD towers over her lol! Anywhere else she is average height for her age (maybe even a tiny bit below average), but at gymnastics she is one of the taller ones.

Yes, OP, I was going to say the same thing. You can also see your DDs name on her card.
@cadybearsmommy , same here. My DD is one of the shortest in her class, but one of the tallest on her team; and she is the youngest!

 

[raenndrops]

Since it is too late for OP to fix the picture, could a moderator maybe switch it out for this one?

 

[GymLife]

Thank you, I tried deleting after I posted!!

 

[raenndrops]

Thank you, I tried deleting after I posted!!

Maybe if you "report" it yourself, the mods will delete the pic for you.

 

[bogwoppit]

Thank you, I tried deleting after I posted!!

In order to remove the photo I had to remove the post. The way it was embedded was difficult to edit.

 

[SHELOVESGYM]

She would do crossfit if she could! Her idol is Katrina Davidsdoutter. She likes it. Well she likes the results. Aka 6 pack and arms.
But she hit a massive 3" growth spurt and like 8lbs . She's now 5'1 " and just turned 10. So skills are having to be reworked. All this pounding on her body worries me.
She gets home at 4:30 so she has plenty of time to run around the neighborhood.
We get a 2 week break after regionals so was hoping to figure out what would be best for her before June and summer training start.

I assume she is home schooled? When does this fit into her schedule? I'm not judging, just curious as she spends nearly the whole day at gym and then runs around the neighborhood in the afternoons.