Parents Repeat Level 4 or Struggle through Level 6

[gymmomtotwo]

8 year old DD had a good first season of competing this year, winning state on vault and having a high all around score of just under 36. She is struggling to get all of her Level 6 skills,especially on bars. She is a decent tumbler and an outstanding vaulter. She very much wants to remain with her group who range in age from 8-12, with her being the only 8 year old. She will be 9 before the Fall. Compulsory season starts in the Fall, Optionals in January, so she has more time yet to get her skills for Level 6. Coaches are leaning toward doing level 4. again to help raise her confidence level. She would probably place very well in her meets, and I would imagine continue her success on vault.But, she would move down a group, for the most part stop most of the uptraining she has done all winter since state, and delay her progress a year. She has most of her skills, and I would think would probably have them by January with the rate of progress she is showing.

Ultimately, of course the coaches will make the decision, and I do trust them to make what they think is the best thing for her. Success at level 4 might build confidence, but I am more worried about the confidence she would lose being left behind by her group that she has been with for two years. She would definitely not be a high placer in level 6, though I would anticipate her doing very well on vault no matter what level she does. As of today, she does not have all the bars skills and doesn't have a beam dismount for 6. (They haven't worked on it yet). Level 4 starts in September, 6 in January, so the decision need to be made soon. I'm having difficulty picturing her not being bored all summer going back to Level 4 skills and routines.

Thoughts?

 

[needcoffee]

How does she feel about it? I went through a similar thing with dd earlier this year, she was struggling big time with bars, so they have her the option of 3 or 5. She said she would rather come dead last in 5 than go backwards and do win everything in 3. She's still happy with her decision, even though as a mum it's hard to watch. I will be encouraging her to repeat 5 next year however.

 

[raenndrops]

So, Optionals aren't until January...
And she has all the skills already for L4 and knows the routines.
Would they allow her to do a few meets at L4 and score out of L5 to compete L6 in January... Like if Compulsories start in September, she competes L4 through early November and scores out of L5 in mid-November ... then spends December working routines for L6 in January?

 

[gymmomtotwo]

She wants to do 6 and stay with her group. She knows she won't place high and doesn't care (cause she has vault in her back pocket I think). She doesn't want to go back to training for level 4 again, and it is not an option for her to uptrain with her current group. The incoming 4 are getting kips and trying to put full bar routines together and working on 2nd back handsprings on floor. She has her 6 tumbling skills. It will be a tough pill to swallow, but she doesn't have her free hip yet on bars, and her baby giant is iffy, though she can do the dismount. It is going to be a tough pill to swallow for her

 

[gymmomtotwo]

So, Optionals aren't until January...
And she has all the skills already for L4 and knows the routines.
Would they allow her to do a few meets at L4 and score out of L5 to compete L6 in January... Like if Compulsories start in September, she competes L4 through early November and scores out of L5 in mid-November ... then spends December working routines for L6 in January?

We are having a meeting soon to discuss the best option. I will bring that up. I'm so worried she is going to lose everything she has gained and worked for since January

 

[Deleted member 18037]

She is 8. And maybe the coaches know best.

Of course she wants to stay with the kids she knows. And that is not always the best reason to do or not do something.

If I listened to my daughter about not changing gyms when she was 7 because she didn't want to leave her comfort level.
She would not nearly be as good as she is now.

I make a lot of decisions. I try to do what is in her best interests. Keeping her in her comfort zone while a consideration is not primary

 

[needcoffee]

I guess it depends what everyone wants out of it though. "Being good" at gymnastics is pretty low down on my list of considerations. It's really awful to watch your kid be miserable, and while it's also hard to watch your kid struggle, there's got to be a lesser of two evils somewhere amongst them. I wouldn't discount her feelings at all.

 

[Deleted member 18037]

it is not an option for her to uptrain with her current group.

That to me is the biggest consideration. Up training is key.

Our gym the level you compete at doesn't mean no new skills. My girls group is new Level 4, and they are working on that and Level 5,6 and 7 skills too. Not one or the other.

 

[gymmomtotwo]

She is 8. And maybe the coaches know best.

Of course she wants to stay with the kids she knows. And that is not always the best reason to do or not do something.

If I listened to my daughter about not changing gyms when she was 7 because she didn't want to leave her comfort level.
She would not nearly be as good as she is now.

I make a lot of decisions. I try to do what is in her best interests. Keeping her in her comfort zone while a consideration is not primary

I totally agree. The coaches do want what is best. I think they are on the fence with her and are genuinely interested in what she wants when they make a final decision for her. As her Mom, I have some influence over her, and can at least soften blows or at least help her express what it is she wants to the coach. I have been very positive with her about repeating 4, pointing out good gymnasts in the gym that did just that. I really just want a happy kid, and cutting off the uptraining and moving her backwards concerns me. I'm in the its better to place middle of the road in a higher level camp than the let's win as many medals as we can camp. But if it helps her down the road not to enter optionals too soon, that is okay with me. I'm just curious what other think or have experienced in this situation. I love her coaches., and what they decide won't change that

 

[gymmomtotwo]

That to me is the biggest consideration. Up training is key.

Our gym the level you compete at doesn't mean no new skills. My girls group is new Level 4, and they are working on that and Level 5,6 and 7 skills too. Not one or the other.

The group she would join is light years behind (basically a year)the group she is in. They are finishing getting skills and will be working routines all summer. They might work some on backwalkovers on beam, but uptraining that time of year very low.

 

[raenndrops]

The group she would join is light years behind (basically a year)the group she is in. They are finishing getting skills and will be working routines all summer. They might work some on backwalkovers on beam, but uptraining that time of year very low.

Do the groups have any overlapping practice time? Maybe she could stay with her group most of the time, but run routines with the other group sometimes, especially the week leading up to a meet?

 

[gymmomtoo]

Honestly if she's going to be the best by far of the new group, then I'd push for moving up--especially since she's okay with it. She did great at level four already so it's better to repeat level six if she has to

 

[z2akids]

I totally agree. The coaches do want what is best. I think they are on the fence with her and are genuinely interested in what she wants when they make a final decision for her. As her Mom, I have some influence over her, and can at least soften blows or at least help her express what it is she wants to the coach. I have been very positive with her about repeating 4, pointing out good gymnasts in the gym that did just that. I really just want a happy kid, and cutting off the uptraining and moving her backwards concerns me. I'm in the its better to place middle of the road in a higher level camp than the let's win as many medals as we can camp. But if it helps her down the road not to enter optionals too soon, that is okay with me. I'm just curious what other think or have experienced in this situation. I love her coaches., and what they decide won't change that

First of all, you can't really predict right now whether she would be a good level 6, a middle if the road our really struggle. There will be girls repeating 6 and sine who have also spent a year in 5.

Starting on 4 isn't going backwards.you said there are other girls who have gone that route. How are they doing? We're they better at 6 having had extra time to master the basics?

Anyway, I also recommend trusting the coaches. Your DD has a lot of potential years ahead of her. Let the coaches guide you whichever way the ultimately decide.

 

[2G1B]

Let me make sure that I understand...
She competed level 4, scored in the 35s and was vault state champ. Right? So now, most of her group is going to score out of 5 and compete 6. Right?

I agree with the pp, it is too early to tell if she will have the level 6 routine in January. So much can happen. My dd was the last of her group last summer to get her kip. She was by FAR the worst on bars last summer, going in to competing level 4. She seriously got her HB kip 2 weeks before the first meet, her low bar kip 1 week before the first meet, and her squat on two DAYS before the first meet. We had been expecting her to scratch bars at least at that meet. By the end of the season she was one of the top girls on the team for bars - out of 20 girls!

In your situation, I'd want to go most of the summer with her planning for level 6 and working towards the level 5 score out. See what happens. She can always fall back on L4 if she doesn't get the skills.

 

[Deleted member 18037]

Color me silly but why 4 or 6. What happened to 5. Why can't she compete level 5

 

[duyetanh]

Many gyms do not "do" level 5, it is merely a stepping stone/score out, to get to the next level. This is why it is all or nothing.

 

[GlobalNomad]

With the information you've given, I would lean towards having her do level 6. She may be doing very well at level 6 by the end the season, which is almost a year away. If not, then next year I'd have the discussion about repeating 6. I would not repeat a high scoring, state champion level 4 because maybe they might not get skills 6 months to a year in the future. It seems silly to me to not let her try if she wants to work for it.

 

[suebee]

The problem is not that she doesn't have her level 4 skills good enough but that she doesn't have her level 6 skills, right? Can she continue training where she is and then make the decision about the level to compete later? She's already done 4, so she shouldn't need to spend the summer working on routines for 4? If needed, couldn't she just compete 4 in the fall, even if she trains with her current group this summer?

But also even if she stays with her group and isn't ready to compete 6 next winter, does that mean she has to compete 4 in the fall? If she really isn't ready at all, couldn't she switch to the group that just competed 4 and would be training for 6? She would miss a year of comeeting, but she would be working on in training what she needs, right?

Do her coaches feel that competing 4 again would allow her to focus on some basics that they don't feel she has mastered, and would allow her to do better later? Or do they feel she has mastered 4? I guess that would be my main factor in deciding because the gym doesn't up train.

 

[profmom]

Is there anything at stake now? Are they planning on reconfiguring workout groups for the summer? If not, don't worry about it and encourage her just to work hard. If she starts winding herself up, prepare her for either contingency and let her know there are up and down sides to both. If you're at a good gym, your job is to provide feedback on how she will react to different scenarios, but the coaches should be able to make the right decision for her. Personally I think 6 sounds right, but that's without any of us knowing what the issues are with bars, and the coaches are the best judge of that. You're now getting into that phase of gymnastics where moving up is much more based on what you are missing for the new level than what you accomplished at the current level. Good luck to her for a great summer of training!

 

[gymmomtotwo]

Thanks for all your replies. I think whether she competes Level 4 decision needs to be made sooner rather than later for meet entries. The season starts mid September and the the meets fill up early. I think they are already sending in entries sometime in May or June. I do know that some kids who join the team or switch gyms can sometimes be too late be be able to get in all the meets during the season.
Were there things she could improve in 4? Definitely yes. She would draw a very high vault score compared to the other gymnasts, which helped with her all around score. She also did a huge amount of improving on the other 3 events during the year. Leaps could be stronger etc. There are certainly things to improve upon. She was scoring and placing very well in her age group by the end of the season, but by no means was everything perfect.
I will ask if training with her current group some is an option if Level 4 is the decision. They do train at the same time most of the time. It is difficult because she is so in between. She doesn't really fit in completely with either group. Some in her group are advancing extremely rapidly. If pushed several could go to 7. It seems like when you hit about 10 you seems to get a lot stronger. They are totally different gymnasts from a year ago So is DD, but I privately think to myself that she is always about 6 months behind. They let her slide through to 4 last year on bars (she barely had it at the end of May), and it turned out to be the right decision. Giving her more time might work again. But, it is kind of an emotional roller coaster for her struggling to get the skills. I wonder at times whether it might be better for her to not struggle for awhile and get a year stronger. Accepting that will be tough, she might even give up gymnastics over it. She doesn't think she is very good at it since she isn't keeping up with the group. I think my best option is making sure she gets at least some uptraining if she has to repeat.Thanks for the input.