Parents Next year's plans, already??

[Gymmomwv]

Has anybody's gym starting talking about next year already, either to the girls, or parents? My dd L5 is a second year gymnast and I've already received a few suggestions from her coaches about where she might be next year in regard to the new levels. Is this too early to get that sort of conversation started? She's made the minimum mobility score this season. I'm not sure if either her or I am ready for that conversation. A lot can happen between now and end of summer, when her gym usually places kids for the season. That said, it's nice to get a heads up too...

 

[2G1B]

I think our gym is already trying to figure it out. For the girls, they will start competing in August, so they need to be working on skills and as soon as they are known, the routines.

 

[Gymmomwv]

Do you, as parent have any say in that?

 

[2G1B]

Do you, as parent have any say in that?

We have been reminded, "this is a parent run gym" a few times with the implication being that we DO have a say. this will be my first year with my kids at this gym at the time to move up. We have been told that if say... we want to move our girls from JO to Excel that we do have a say in that. I think that if I felt strongly that one of my kids should repeat a level and the coaches were suggesting that they move up (which I know for this year would actually mean staying the same level #) that the coaches would listen to my reasons and work to make a decision that we could all be happy with. But mostly I expect to go with what the coaches recommend.

At our old gym, things were a little different. We left right at the time when the kids would have been being evaluated to move up or repeat. I think I pretty much would have had to go with what they recommended; but what they had been suggesting is the same as what the new gym placed 2 of my 3 kids at (the 3rd kid wasn't even pre-team at the old gym; but started as pre-team at the new gym).

 

[iwannacoach]

What's the background of...... "My dd L5 is a second year gymnast." There's a big difference in potential and "level up" survival between an L5 who walked into the gym two years ago with nothing but daydreams for experience, and a child who spent a year+ in the rec program to get through L3 before being placed on an L4 team, at which point she began her two years as a gymnast.

I'm ok with kids being called gymnasts anytime and anywhere, but it'd be easier to offer a humble opinion if I knew what the two year reference really means.

 

[kwnative]

Just today, we got the first official communication about the changes that are coming. There has been a lot of talk among the parents, but nothing from the gym until now. He just sent an email saying things would be changing, including the routines, and that two of our coaches will be going to a clinic in May to learn all about it. However, as far as where the girls are placed, it seems to be business as usual. They moved all the girls up, or kept them the same, in January, as they usually do. They do another set of team movements in May. I don't really see that changing.

 

[leotardmakermum]

Yes, the coaches are already talking about plans for next year, and given that in Australia our year runs January to December, we're talking next January. I am already laying work plans in place for next year (travel bookings etc), so for me to know already the likely number of hours my daughter will be doing is extremely helpful.

We are pleasantly surprised by the gym's plans for our daughter for next year. She is progressing very well, and staying well in line with her own personal goals.

 

[Gymmomwv]

What's the background of...... "My dd L5 is a second year gymnast." There's a big difference in potential and "level up" survival between an L5 who walked into the gym two years ago with nothing but daydreams for experience, and a child who spent a year+ in the rec program to get through L3 before being placed on an L4 team, at which point she began her two years as a gymnast.

I'm ok with kids being called gymnasts anytime and anywhere, but it'd be easier to offer a humble opinion if I knew what the two year reference really means.

She did one year of rec then L4, now L5. I meant this is her second yr competing. Third total.

 

[kayjaybe]

They've started talking to the girls about the new levels, but no official communication to the parents yet. Our gym is always evaluating move-ups and they will move girls mid-season. (One girl is going to compete a single level 9 meet this season and then go on to states at level 9. She started the season last year as a prep op! But she is the exception.)

For the most part, they do moves at some point during the summer. I think this is so we can be in the right "group" for paying our quotas for the team. Right now I have no idea if my dd will move back to the new 5 (she's currently a 6) or compete new 6. She easily has the mobility score for new 6, but not sure she'll have the skills to compete. (She's working on her BHS on beam but doesn't have her giant on bars....but our first meet is Nov/Dec, so she's got a ton of time to get there.)

 

[iwannacoach]

The coach side of me says move up to the new L5 if she feel things are going smoothly so far. If she overreaches with this move, it won't be by much and she can repeat after next season. The pace she's moved up is fairly normal, or slightly faster, and I'm guessing she'll continue to learn with relative ease.

The parent side says trust the coach, and temper that trust with your own gut reaction. Most coaches want to put kids where they'll have a good chance of success and be challenged, because they'll feel some sense of responsibility if things go badly. There are exceptions to everything, but this is only a three party equation and you probably have a pretty good sense for where you and your daughter are with this, so the largest variable is the coach. So trust the coach if you feel you can.

 

[Quadqueen]

The coach side of me says move up to the new L5 if she feel things are going smoothly so far. If she overreaches with this move, it won't be by much and she can repeat after next season. The pace she's moved up is fairly normal, or slightly faster, and I'm guessing she'll continue to learn with relative ease.

The parent side says trust the coach, and temper that trust with your own gut reaction. Most coaches want to put kids where they'll have a good chance of success and be challenged, because they'll feel some sense of responsibility if things go badly. There are exceptions to everything, but this is only a three party equation and you probably have a pretty good sense for where you and your daughter are with this, so the largest variable is the coach. So trust the coach if you feel you can.

The OP has posted in another thread that her DD has been scoring around 29-31 AA in L5 this year, and her coaches are talking about moving her up.

 

[GymBee97]

Our coaches don't start talking about next year until at least this year is over with which means another month at least. Also with the new levels a "move up" for anyone L8 and under I believe will be the same Number rank so If they were a L5 this year a move up would be to L5 (old L6). I also don't think the "offical requirements" for the new levels are out until April or May so I think until then its going to be hard for coaches to say who moves up without knowing exactly what the official skill set is for each of the new levels.

I think this season if you have any Drama Mammas in the gyms they are going to be very active ;-) with all the new levels.

 

[lhmom]

There's been no official word at DD's gym yet but I think that the HC just wants to get the optionals past State next month before figuring out who is going to go where. DD's group is the ones who are sort of "in limbo"-they completed the level 5 season and have been uptraining ever since their state meet in December. For the past 2 seasons, they have been having girls do a partial 2nd yr at 5, then prep-op until the spring State meet. Last year's group tested out of 6 and are now 7's. This year's group did prep-op Gold and there is talk that they will test out of old level 6 as well. I have been told that DD's HC has not quite decided what to do with DD's group yet with the level changes. I hope that she just decides to have them do the new level 5 (all had scores well above the minimum test out score), but we will have to wait and see.

 

[cbifoja]

Our coach moves the girls into "training group" for the summer. They are usually a mix of two or so levels that were competed the previous season but all the girls are working very similar skills. These groups are numbered from 1 through 6 or 7 (can't remember). There is fluidity between the groups so if you are working really hard and getting new skills, you can move to a different training group.

If HC suspects a girl will need to repeat a level, she warns the gymnast and the parent but also lets them know that a final decision will be made after the summer training months. When my DD was being considered to skip L4, HC sat down with her and I and said that she felt DD would be ready to do this but this is what she needed to see (for us it was more maturity than skill).

I love how she gives the gymnasts a chance to work hard over the summer rather than locking them into a level that they won't even compete for 6 months. I was STUNNED how much better my daughter got during the 2.5 months of training. She went from having a fairly solid BHS to have a very strong ROBHSBHS and an okay ROBHSBT. Flexibility improved dramatically! She went from being 50/50 on kips to having a 100% straight arm kip. From a dive roll vault to the "big table". I noticed it most on beam. She was starting her cartwheels and then got it consistent enough (not saying she doesn't drop that darn thing in meets though!) to go on to BWOs and BHS on medium beam.

I think the "training groups" are a great way to sort of shuffle the deck and get everyone's minds off of levels for a couple of months.