Parents Will they kick her off team?

[rmankini]

My daughter is training level 3. They are about to bump hours. Coach came up to me last night and said my daughter needs to focus a bit more and take the coaches direction a little more or she is afraid she may fall behind. I was a bit surprised since all the girls have good nights and bad nights. But was curious, would they actually ask her to leave team if she doesn't? She has her skills, but I would say her form isn't the best which I know is huge!! It's not horrible, she has definitely made improvements, that's why I was a bit surprised since her focus hasn't been a problem say for weeks or something. But curious if it customery that once they start training for competition, do they actually make cuts and push girls out?

 

[kayjaybe]

Not at our gym, but every gym is different.

I think there are very few reasons you would either be kicked off of team or not allowed to return for a future season in our gym. They would be:

• Non-payment of fees
• Poor attitude of gymnast that did not resolve after trying to address it - things like talking back, being disrespectful, being disruptive during training, etc.
• Poor attitude of parent that did not resolve after trying to address it
• Continued disregard for gym safety procedures

Low scores, poor form, slow progression or really anything related to how good (or not) of a gymnast a girl might be is not a reason for our gym to end the relationship, from what I've seen. This is one of the things I love about our team. It truly is accessible to anyone that loves gymnastics. That means no matter if you are a 10-year-old superstar OR a girl that graduates as a L7, you have a home at our gym.

 

[rmankini]

My daughter is training level 3. They are about to bump hours. Coach came up to me last night and said my daughter needs to focus a bit more and take the coaches direction a little more or she is afraid she may fall behind. I was a bit surprised since all the girls have good nights and bad nights. But was curious, would they actually ask her to leave team if she doesn't? She has her skills, but I would say her form isn't the best which I know is huge!! It's not horrible, she has definitely made improvements, that's why I was a bit surprised since her focus hasn't been a problem say for weeks or something. But curious if it customery that once they start training for competition, do they actually make cuts and push girls out?

And by the way, she turned 7 last week.

 

[MuggleMom]

I would interpret fall behind to mean she may not progress with her peers. I have seen some girls be asked to move to excel which provides a different path for them but I haven't heard of anyone being asked to go back to Rec. I am sure though, that not ever girl will get to continue to move up to the next level. I would also say too, that if a girl continues to get "left behind" while previous teammates go on to another level they may be less inclined to stay in the sport and choose to leave (or go to an Excel or Rec program).

 

[Gymmommy71]

In all my years I've never seen a gymnast be asked to leave a team for failure to progress. Usually what happens in those cases is that the necessity to repeat a level multiple times will cause the family to decide to leave on their own or chose to switch to something like Xcel.

Highly competitive gyms that like all girls of a each level to be under a specific age often will move girls to Xcel if they don't progress to the point that they exceed that age for their skill level.

 

[MILgymFAM]

In all my years I've never seen a gymnast be asked to leave a team for failure to progress.

It doesn't sound like the case here, but I assure it it does happen.

 

[cadybearsmommy]

I've never seen a gymnast get kicked off of team personally unless it was for severe behavior issues. However, if a gymnast is "falling behind" that might mean that they are going to have to repeat a level, or perhaps scratch the first few competitions until they are ready. In some cases if the gym is strict and selective on their JO program, a gymnast that is considered to be "falling behind" might be directed to Xcel (which is actually a great program for kids who take a little longer to progress, my dd was in Xcel for 3 years and is now in optionals.)

Try not to worry, she's still quite young and sometimes form just takes time!

 

[Sasha]

First, it is a very good thing that the coach is communicating a piece of his/her perception of your daughter to you now, rather than let it go without saying anything. Even if you feel the coach is 'wrong' about your daughter's focus and coachability, you are now clued into one piece of how your daughter is being perceived, and you can monitor the situation.

While it is unlikely she will be 'kicked off' a Level 3 team, if she is perceived as not focusing or not as coachable (and that impression can stick), coaches could start to take a little less interest in her, or have a little less faith in her long term progress. They might not do that overtly or consciously, but it can creep into the way coaches work with athletes.

Since you have been gifted this information, it would be good to ask Coach if it would be ok to check in with him/her to see if her focus is improving, or worsening, in time. Perhaps set up a time window - such as a month, to check back in. Politely ask if there is any advice they can offer to you as a parent for things to say to reinforce good practice habits, and any strategies the coaches intend to use for helping her improve her focus in class.

Hopefully, they will be agreeable to check-ins, continue to believe in your daughter, and her focus does improve to their satisfaction in time (as many do with some more maturity). If she does continue to struggle (in their eyes), it is most likely she would be asked to repeat Level 3, or move to Xcel (assuming you have Xcel). If you are in an uber-serious elite-focused gym, I suppose 'not making team' subsequent seasons could be possible (equivalent of being kicked out), but most seem to have Xcel or similar options to route girls into who aren't keeping up with the prescribed program expectations the gym has in place for JO athletes.

At age 7, though, focus issues are pretty common, so give her a couple more years to really assess if she is capable of the commitment and focus necessary to progress in JO. By 9, I'd say most kids are either there (focus-wise) and stay for a bit, or they have figured out it's mentally not for them.

 

[rmankini]

Ah, thank you all so much. I am VERY new to team obviously. So, if I am understanding what "scratch" a couple competitions means, could mean she would be asked to "sit them out" as to not bring the team scores down? Is that right? I agree, about the coach. I really love her actually too. I'm so glad she is communicating. I was just surprised at the timing and it sounds like she is being very proactive which is great. We both had a discussion with my daughter so she knows what's expected of her. This gym is in southern California and very competitive here with form. They are super strict on form first, then skills. Thank you all!

 

[amiandjim]

Scratching could mean one or two events or the entire competition, depending on her skills/form. For example, let's say she doesn't have a pretty round off back handspring by the time meet season starts, they may have her scratch floor for a meet or two.

I agree with the others, it's good they are communicating with you now....I feel like it means they believe in your daughter and just want her to focus more. I also agree 7 is young...my DD just turned 8 in Feb and her focus and drive has increased exponentially this past year!!

 

[l.c.o]

@rmankini - yes, to scratch is to not compete... and a kid could either scratch a whole meet or just an event (or two, or three...). It isn't so much to keep from "bringing the team scores down," though. At meets, it's a number of a gym's highest "X" number of scores that count. So, scratching is often due to a gymnast truly not being ready, or due to illness or injury.

I would interpret your original post as an FYI... that it's possible your DD won't keep up with her peers at the moment (as others have suggested), and perhaps to inspire a conversation with your DD (like it sounds like it did). Not to reprimand her, but maybe to give a gentle reminder as to expectations. It's a good sign they're reaching out - I'd take it to mean they are at least somewhat invested in her.

I rarely hear of a gymnast being tossed away due to lack of progress. Usually once they're on team, they generally stay there. That said they may repeat levels, be placed in a lower hours group, move to Xcel, etc. Though I do imagine that it's possible that a gym with a large pool of talent and not much space on team might opt to remove a kid rather than keep them. In that case, there are other gyms and programs.

We had a similar convo with coaches about my DS. It seems to have inspired a bit more focus in him (for now, ha!), though I highly suspect he'll still repeat his current level. Granted, boys programs are generally much different than girls. Good luck!

 

[strawberries]

She will not bring the team score down regardless, as it is calculated using the team's 3 highest scores on each event (low scores are ignored). I would guess she is not quite up to their competition standards yet, and that they had predicted she would be, given her usual progress Perhaps a slight, uncharacteristic shift in her focus has slowed things down? Or, perhaps their prediction of her progress was off, and they are trying to push her harder than normal to compensate?

The healthier gyms I've seen tend to do their homework up front concerning whether a gymnast deserves a place on their team (based on the gym's very individual criteria), and then work to help their gymnasts succeed, which could include repeating a level or scratching a meet or an event, but not usually being cut.

While I have seen it done, I do not care for gym models that switch a gymnast's status (to Xcel, fewer hours, or kicked off the team) based on a relatively small period of "underperformance." It can create a pretty toxic environment of fear, jealousy and competitiveness on a team.

Long term habitual and deliberate problems, like those @kayjaybe listed are different.

 

[Deleted member 18037]

You can't really bring team scores down unless you have a really small team. Usually the top 3-5 scores per team count toward team award. So as long as the team is more then that a lower scoring kid doesn't bring it down. They are just not counted.

 

[mommyof1]

So, if I am understanding what "scratch" a couple competitions means, could mean she would be asked to "sit them out" as to not bring the team scores down? Is that right?

As others have pointed out, she can "scratch" individual events. At my daughter's gym, the policy is that if a gymnast is competition-ready on three events, she competes and scratches the fourth. If she is ready on two events, it is the parents' choice whether to have her compete those two events and scratch the other two or to skip the whole meet. If a gymnast is only prepared to compete one event, she does not compete.

Every gym will have its own definition of "competition-ready." My daughter's gym does not spot in meets and will allow a gymnast to compete an event with one missing skill but not two. If a gymnast is not performing a skill safely in practice or in warm-ups at the competition, she will not be allowed to compete that skill. The decision is also individualized based on each kid's personality, with the stated goal of having competition be a positive experience for each child. I do think my daughter's coaches sometimes err on the side of letting them compete when they really shouldn't, but at some gyms it's the opposite.

 

[GymDad9.9]

Sounds to me the coach gave you a courtesy heads up that your daughter needs to focus more and take corrections better going forward. Even though it is Level 3, the increase in hours and skills demand greater focus and attention than what is expected in Level 2. I do not see any indication here that being cut is an option. Simply motivation for your daughter and information to you as a parent.

 

[rosettasmom]

Typical of a 7 year old. I had many of those conversations from 7-8.5 and then my DD learned to be better at it on her own.

 

[CTMOM]

Are there any other 6/7 year olds on the team? Lack of focus is pretty common at that age.

 

[blueberrygym]

Early during last year's season, one of the coaches pulled me aside to tell me that she was concerned about my daughter's inability to focus and take direction. My daughter has a very playful (and sometimes stubborn) personality, and the coach said that none of the other girls were behaving like that. She was only 6 at the time so I chalked it up to lack of maturity. I talked to her, and slowly she improved her focus. Now that she's 8, she's completely different (it's like night and day). I never felt concerned that they would kick her off of team, but I was concerned about her hurting herself (and so was her coach).

Hopefully your daughter will turn things around soon. And if you feel comfortable, you can talk to the coach about strategies to help her focus.