skipping compulsaries for optionals

[teamgirl]

My daughter is almost 6 years old and has been training for Level 4. Her coach would like her not to compete Level 4 at all. To keep training another whole year for level 5 and then level 6 to only compete at a meet once each level to test out of Compulsaries then start Optionals at Level 7 hopefully by 7 1/2 years old. What do you think of this plan?

 

[gymfan4ever95]

I would just make sure she doesn't feel to rushed into optionals. Optionals puts a lot more pressure on the gymnast than level 4 does, so just make sure it is what she wants and that she really loves it

 

[gymgurl]

Well in the end its up to you but if she can get to level 7 in a year and a half you have a talented gymmie on your hands! i seriously wish i was that talented!

maybe make that the plan but never push her to hard i have seen some very crazy gym parents. i think you also need to take into consideration that 7 and a half is young and they are still little kids so as long as she loves it i think sure nurture that talent but make sure she is doing it for her.

as she is obviously incredibly talented she will get bored if she is doing skills over and over again when she is ready to advance so thats another reason encourage her to advance as much as she wants to.

on the flip side 7 and a half is very young for a level 7. by the sound of it she will be ready physically but will she be ready emotionally and mentally. say she is training 18 to 20hrs a week thats almost every afternoon plus saturday thats exhausting for a little kid but as long as she is loving it i don't see an issue

Just emphasise did you have fun? as opposed to did you improve or win?

at that age everything is a game make sure its fun!!!

FUN FUN FUN

 

[Billy]

My daughter moved from L2 to L7 in two years. She is 8 years old and will compete in her first L7 meet next month. The goal was to get her through compulsories as quickly as possible so she could focus on optional skills. If repeating a level becomes necessary, her coaches felt it would be better to repeat L7 rather than L5 or L6. So far she's doing very well, but she is definitely doing very basic L7 routines. At this point, she'll be able to uptrain and add skills and modify her routines, regardless of what level she actually competes. Had she repeated a compulsory level, she would have had to focus on the same skills and same routines come competition season.

It's been a whirlwind, for sure. She competed L2 in spring 2008, then moved L3. Within a month, she was moved again up to L4. She trained L4 for six months, never competed it, and was moved to L5. She only trained L5 for three months before she began competing in January 2009. She competed three L5 meets last spring and in June was moved to L6. She competed in four L6 meets last fall and began training L7 in November. Frankly, I'll be glad when this season is over and she'll have a year to train before competing again. Don't get me wrong. I'm totally thrilled with her progress and she is absolutely loving optionals but it's been an exhausting ride, for Mom anyway. ;-)

If you're interested, I've been keeping a blog of her gymnastics adventures and there's video on You Tube, too. Good luck to your daughter with whatever you decide.

 

[Optionals United]

we have gymnasts like yours in are fast track program they all competed one meet lvl 5 and then moved on to training lvl6 but they all have some crazy sklls in them.i tihnk your coaach wants to get her in to optinals as quikly as oyu can and not get stuck in compsaries which in my view is kinda point.for 7 1/2 yr olds you have to make sure shes up to it. all the girls in are fast track program are 6-9 right now and they all can do double backs on floor with a spot because they are so little and lite they can be lifted and caught esaly.also your coach is probably trying to get her into optinals as fast as they can before she starts becoming afraid of doing skills.like the girls in fast track can do bhs bhs on low beam because they have no fear oh doing it.i hope this helps

 

[gym law mom]

JMO, but this whole lets race through compulsories is not in the child's best interest. Since she can't even compete as a L5 until she's 7, then its fine to spend the time working on those skills. L4 isn't required and most of those skills don't really lead into the L5 routines anyway. Don't know where she is skill wise, but L5 can be a challenge with no previous competitive experience. L6 is downright tough, but I think having my gymmie do a season as a L6 made her a better gymnast moving to optionals.

So, you're looking at her learning skills for 2 levels plus all the routines and going to meets to get her 31AA to move from L5 to L6 and L6 to L7. Many of these little ones really struggle on bars and vault since their bodies just haven't grown enough to handle the skills well.

Has the coach told you how many hours of practice your dd would be expected to put in? Have you discussed doing a full season at one of the levels(maybe L6) if she hits a roadblock with some skills? Our gym does a 6/7 season(girls have to try out for it) and I can tell you the stress level is off the charts. They literally have no break and are exhausted at the end of the L7 season. Many end up doing L7 again because they just never got some skills down solidly and don't feel like pushing to another level(L8) over the summer.

Too much too soon is a recipe for injury and burnout. My advice is take it 1 level at a time and see how she likes it and how the skills look. The mobility score(31AA) to move up a level is not really a competitive score, so you really have to sit down and examine her strengths/weaknesses on each event.

GL to you and your gymmie.

 

[gymdog]

I think they should have more competitive experience before doing optional levels. Skipping levels isn't necessarily uncommon, certainly not unheard of, but training for almost two years without competing doesn't make that much sense to me. Even if they don't want to detract from training skills, why not just make the focus skills rather than perfecting the compulsory routines? I can definitely understand that. But just not competing at all seems unusual. Some kids really need that motivation. Others don't necessarily, but it's nice to have the experience. 7.5 is SO young, and L7 is not an easy level. I really feel they should have some introductory competitive experience beforehand, when it's still fun and a bunch of a little ones.

 

[Aussie_coach]

It sounds like your gym feels that your daughter is very talented, and they have chosen her to work up the levels at a younger age because they feel she has the chance to become an elite gymnasts. This is a very special gift, she must be a very special kid.

A lot of gyms will not bother with level 4 because the skills are not as developmentally useful. However, the level 5 skills are much more developmentally useful. So spending a season competing level 4 can be a waste of time if they are aiming for very high level gymnasts. While she would be competing she would have to spend a lot of time going over routines and perfecting skills that she will never do again and your gym feels that time can be better used preparing the more useful skills. So yes it does make sense to not bother with 4 just work to make sure she is ready for 5.

A lot of gyms skip level 6 as well, just testing out of it and going straight to level 7. This is because with very talented gymnasts aiming for elite more time should be spent on the optional skills and there may not be a need to spend two whole seasons on compulsory skills (level 5/6). I wouldn't stress too much about this because it is so far away. If your daughter competes her season as a level 5 and then they find that she is not yet ready to skip 6 and go straight to level 7. They will surely allow her to compete level 6 for a season to allow her more time. This is just a tentative plan. There is no way you can know at 6 years old if a kid is ready to do that in 2 years time.

 

[gymgurl]

Definitely agree with aussie coach forget wat i said before just take it as it comes see what she is ready for at the time

 

[Geoffrey Taucer]

Whether or not it's beneficial depends entirely on the kid. It's impossible to say without knowing the kid in question.

Just keep in mind that the top priority is for her to be having fun. As long as she's having fun and as long as she genuinely is ready for optionals, I see no problem with it.

 

[bookworm]

My daughter did a similar type of progression...she was Level 8 by the time she was 8 years old and she did well. I think as other posters said it depends on the gymnast. My daiughter was a very weak compulsory but got better as she moved into optionals. She has never had any fears with any of the skills she was doing and they paced her well.

 

[ellabella]

I don't really have any advice for you. I'm confused myself about what is best for my DD. She just turned 5 and her whole group moved to Level 4. She can't compete, but they wanted her to move up and just train. Then move on to Level 5 and again just train. Finally in the Fall of 2012 compete 5/6 and then on to Level 7 in January. For the time being I left her where she is. It's hard because her friends moved up, but I don't see how the above scenario sounded good. It's too much planning and what ifs for me. I'm more comfortable just letting things go and seeing what happens. Did you ask the coach what the rush is?

 

[Shelovesthebars]

This totally depends on your kid. Will she be bored and lose interest if she goes slowly? Some really talented kids get bored really fast. However if you have a go with the flow type of kid, then I guess it makes the decision more difficult. What our gym does is offers a low key training team at level 3 (not tryout required), level 4 required for all gymnasts on team, Level 5 required for all gymnasts on team, talented gymmies skip level 6 and go to level 7, then skip level 8 and go to 9. Some go from level 9 to elite. Some do level 10 and elite mix. I know my kid and she would lose her mind going at a regular pace. She is 4 training level 4 and now some level 5 skills too. The coaches are trying to pace her but she looks at other kids in the gym and copies them. She almost got her muscle up kip tonight with no springboard. She is so close. I know that doesn't really count but the fact that she even wants to get it is funny. She weights 32 pounds and is 40 inches tall. Follow your gut because you know your kid best. Coaches don't really recommend something like this for everyone so from that standpoint, they realize your kid has the potential to do it. If you decide to do it, talk to them and come up with some ground rules before you do it too so you know that you and the coaches are working together for what is the best for your gymmie.

 

[gym mom]

First off your dd sounds very talented! I would be worried about the rush to Opt.she is so young .If it was my dd I would have her compete a full season of L5,compulsory is so much less stressful and alot of fun for the little ones.They can still uptrain her .and after the season go from there.Good luck and keep us posted.