WAG Too short for bars

[2gymnastand1soccerplayer]

Although my youngest dd has worked a lot of level higher level skills, she's doesn't work a lot on the high bar because of her height, I haven't measured her in a while but I do know she still has a very long jump just to reach the low bar, if she stand under the bar and puts her hand in the air she still doesn't reach it. Does anybody else's dds have the same problem, I'm really hoping she will grow soon because right now even with the bars moved in, she can't reach the high bar when she jumps.

 

[profmom]

Wait, if she stands under the LOW bar, she can't reach it if she puts her hand in the air? What the heck bar settings are the coaches using?

DD isn't very tall for her age, and has some even smaller teammates, but even when they were itty bitty L5s, I can't remember this being an issue. All of them were able to do their squat ons and jumps without a problem, even though it looked like a big jump for some of them. I can't remember heights, but I know one of the girls was in a child XXS leo for meets. It looked like a doll's leo.

 

[cbifoja]

Are your coaches putting a block under her to help her reach the low bar????? They are allowed in competitions so I see no reason to make a child struggle with something totally avoidable. Mine is training L8 over the summer and STILL gets to use a block to start her routines.

Jumping to the high bar....mine really has to launch herself too. She complains sometimes that the older girls can just "lean to high bar" where she has time that she is touching neither bar and really has to JUMP.

For most of her competitive experience, mine has been able to stand under the low bar without touching it. Up until about two months ago, she could practice giants on the low bar. The jumping is just something that will come but until she grows, she will just have to adapt with her coaches' help.

What skills is your DD working on the low bar that are typically done on the high bar?

 

[cbifoja]

Wait, if she stands under the LOW bar, she can't reach it if she puts her hand in the air? What the heck bar settings are the coaches using?

DD isn't very tall for her age, and has some even smaller teammates, but even when they were itty bitty L5s, I can't remember this being an issue. All of them were able to do their squat ons and jumps without a problem, even though it looked like a big jump for some of them. I can't remember heights, but I know one of the girls was in a child XXS leo for meets. It looked like a doll's leo.

Our coaches have an "optional" setting and they don't change them out so maybe her gym does the same thing????

 

[profmom]

Our bars coaches are big fussers. They have a different setting each for the (new) 4s, the 5s, and the optionals.

Haha, DD still can't just do the stand up and lean over thing! Fortunately, learning to straddle during giants looks to be some distance away for her.

 

[Faith]

It can sometimes be a confidence thing as much as a physical thing.

When DD first started WAG she couldn't reach the low bar, had to jump to hang for her pullover. However she's always been able to squat on, she just launched herself ) Even too short to reach the low bar, she could jump to the high bar on FIG settings (over the pit). She used to do it for fun when the coaches allowed

 

[2gymnastand1soccerplayer]

My dd is the shortest on on team, they do put a block under the bar for routines and training but if she was just going to play on bars at open gym she will try and not use a block so she can be like the big girls. Unfortunately because she's training with the level 4's we have a level 4 setting and bars don't get changed. She doesn't seem too complain to much about it, it jut seems like it will always be impossible for her to jump to the high bar.

 

[2gymnastand1soccerplayer]

As for skills she has to work on the low bar, she does the high bar part level 4 bar routine on the low bar, as well as when she is doing tops she works giants, and giant half swing on the low bar.

 

[OzZee]

Here the kids have to use the high bar from level 2 and at our gym it's encouraged to jump to the high bar so they just jump it, mine can't reach it and I was completely shocked the first time I saw the jump from the side (the bars are rarely moved in) as to how far she was jumping. But she loves it!

But I'm sure even my little one can touch/almost touch the low bar, or maybe she just always starts on a low block?

 

[bogwoppit]

Mine definitely had to jump to the high bar when they were small, and we use the high bar in all routines, even the lowest levels. There were a few splats along the way, but mostly it worked out.

 

[gracyomalley]

DD was the shortest girl in the state for both old L5 and old L6 - second shortest at L7....somewhere during L5 she got enough confidence to jump to full out bar settings - but even now her coach sets bars closer for her (not as close as in the past - and now that she's working L8+ sometimes they don't adjust). She really did struggle with bars initially due to height (you can imagine vault...) but now other than swing velocity its all fine. She definitely worked off a block initially, or climbed up the side of the bars to get to the high bar! Her little 4-9 self compared to the other 11 year olds still stands out - and she's half done with her growth spurt!!

Just let your DD know it will get better and she's not alone - and remind her how much easier her double back dismount will be later on!!

 

[SurpriseGymMom]

All our gymnasts, from the tiniest of the L3's (actually the smallest one is in 4, but you get the drift...) all the way up to the 10's all train and compete on the same bar settings. My dd is the third smallest. They all learn to do their kips and squat ons and whatever on the Olympic settings and yes, it looks daunting for the tiny ones but our coaches believe it works to their advantage to learn and work on the universal settings. They are allowed blocks or springboard to jump up to the low bar. (For reference, I just asked my dd and she says when she stands under the low bar she can just reach it with her fingertips if she stands on her toes)

 

[Deleted member 14190]

She will get it, takes a lot of practice. Height should not be a major factor, I have seen some pretty tiny kids jump to high bar, They look like flying squirrels.

 

[gymgal]

All our gymnasts, from the tiniest of the L3's (actually the smallest one is in 4, but you get the drift...) all the way up to the 10's all train and compete on the same bar settings. My dd is the third smallest. They all learn to do their kips and squat ons and whatever on the Olympic settings and yes, it looks daunting for the tiny ones but our coaches believe it works to their advantage to learn and work on the universal settings.

The FIG settings are closer and usually lower than what many gyms use. If the OP gym is using wider settings, the jump will be even more daunting.

 

[Bess]

She will get it, takes a lot of practice. Height should not be a major factor, I have seen some pretty tiny kids jump to high bar, They look like flying squirrels.

. Little bit is definitely one of the squirrels. Couple of months shy of 5.5 and she's starting 3 next month. Anyways. open gym time her and her buddies are jumping to high bar on the fig setting...they do not adjust. Scared the bejeezus out of me lol

 

[Deleted member 14190]

Flying squirrel

 

[GYM0M]

It will come...... DD can do giants on low bar, couldn't jump to high bar last summer, but now, my little one (43.5 inches) can do a toe circle jump to high bar on FIG!!!! AND can finally vault over a '2' as opposed to a -25 (slight exaggeration, but you know)!

 

[ivyagogo]

We have Speith Anderson bars that are such an enormous pain in the butt to move that I never change them. We have two sets, one that is set closer together and one farther apart. That's it.

 

[raenndrops]

Our HC used to have 3 settings on the "little bars" and 3 on the "big bars" ... we would have big and little girls on both sets of bars and some had to jump really far on the big bars, but they didn't want to use the little bars ... then we had some bigger girls that liked the bars close together and lower, so they would use the little bars. OG went to the big bars for a while after she clipped her heels one too many times... but the big bars were a huge transition for her and took some time to get her flyaway timing right. Then (of course) the little bars got an additional setting that she could use, so she went back - and her flyaway timing was off!

 

[Gymmonkeymomma]

DD could not reach the low bar when she was a tiny L4-L5 and the squat on was a nightmare for several years. Old gym used one bar setting for all. In the old L4 routine where they had to tap down, a judge once told her to skip it because she never could reach hanging by fingertips, lol. And later, she was small enough to swing giants on the low bar. Now that she's older/bigger, she's swinging on FIG. Go figure.