WAG My DD hates grips....any suggestions?

[gymmiemom]

Long story short. DD's coach is insisting on her wearing grips. Basically her thinking is that someday she will need them. Right now she is training new L4 and uptraining skills for higher levels. Lots of bar work in other words. DD just turned 7 and has TINY hands. She has "hot shots"; a pair with dowels and a pair of beginner ones without the dowel. She hates both pairs.The part that bugs her is the the edges rubbing her pointer finger and pinkie, if that makes sense. She has sensory issues so any "new" feeling takes her longer to adjust to than normal.

I bought the hot shots because that was what her coach recommended for tiny hands. Does anyone have any suggestions on different ones that might work better? Or something we can do to make them more comfortable for her?

 

[Deleted member D3987]

get some fine sand paper and lightly sand the outside edges. it will soften them.

 

[gymmiemom]

Thank you, we'll try that!

 

[stargazer]

I have the same grips, tiny hands (for a 20 year old that is) and the same issue with the grips rubbing my fingers, so I feel her pain! I wish I'd thought to use sand paper when I first got mine, but the outside of the grips softened up pretty quickly anyways. Once they'd conformed to my hands they rubbed less, and I built up small calluses anyways. Good luck to your dd and her grips, I couldn't stand mine at first either

 

[MaryA]

DD used pixie grips when she was younger, but I have no reason to believe they are any better or worse than hot shots. If your daughter takes a while to get used to how things feel (I have one of those too... not my gymmie but my dancer... had to keep her hair cut super short for years because she HATED how it felt having it up!) it's probably just as well that the coach is "making" her wear them now, even though not all gyms require them at that level.

 

[wallflower]

My DD really struggled to use grips as well. She was also around 7 the first time she tried to use them and training level 6. The coach ended up giving up on them with her. She couldn't do any skills, not even a kip after 6 weeks of using them, but could kip cast to handstand, free hip to handstand without them. She also wouldn't even use tape on her hands like if her rips were bleeding. She liked nothing between her hand and the bar. Fast forward 6 or 7 months. She moved to a new coach at her gym and had about 6 weeks to learn her level 7 skills if she wanted to compete. He insisted that she must wear grips. At first she tried the whole "I can't do ANYTHING with grips on." When she saw it was wear grips or not do level 7 she could magically do everything in one day. Now she loves them and can't imagine bars without them. So she will adjust if she wants to. DD had the same problem with the friction on her fingers. It gets better.

 

[gymmiemom]

Thanks everyone! It's good to know that some other gymnasts had a hard time adjusting to them. It seems like everyone else in the gym has taken to them pretty easily, except DD. I knew it was going to be a struggle because of her sensory issues (like the kid would rather freeze her hands off in negative dregree weather then wear gloves that feel "funny", and she takes like 10 minutes to put socks on because they have to feel just right), but hopefully she gets over it soon. It's frustrating because like Wallflower's daughter, she does the skills grip free, but as soon as her coach makes her put them on they are gone. All she can think about is how the grips feel. She'll get there though! Dad is currently working on sanding grip edges as we speak

 

[wallflower]

Crazy my dd does the same thing with socks! I never considered her to have a sensory issue, but makes sense now. She's very weird about clothes, very picky about leotards and refuses to wear pants at all. She doesn't like they way they feel. She only wants to wear dresses or bottoms she decides are comfortable enough.

 

[gymboymom]

Sounds very much like a sensory issue. For people with sensory defensiveness it can totally take focus away from doing the skill and make it impossible to concentrate. As a former pediatric OT I can say you can try and help her desensitize by hands by rubbing them with textures she likes and con tolerate. Bath scrubbies are something I have used. Deep pressure and massage to the hands can help. There is a protocol that therapists use but it needs to be taught by a therapist. And btw the socks are the classic example of a kid with sensory defensiveness. And seams and tags are others.