Is anyone else's daughter starting her gymnastics season this weekend? UPDATE p.2

[dis4me]

Well, the meet was sheer agony.

First, we got there a bit before 5 pm and left at around 11 pm. Over 6 hours on bleachers. Ouch!

Second, DD got the second lowest all around score from our gym. Our gym itself did great - we placed first among all large teams. But in the last year and a half or so, DD has gone from being one of the best to one of the worst. There is SUCH a difference in the attention and affection from the coaches between the best girls and the worst girls. I guess they'll keep taking our money as long as we'll keep paying it, but I really need to get an honest answer as to whether the coaches think DD has reached a plateau and won't get better.

Although it was agony for ME to watch, DD was not upset. She won floor, got 5th in bars and 4th all around, in her age group. So compared to the other girls at the other gyms of her age, she's decent. But compared to the girls in our gym, she's not so great anymore.

Hey MIssypie just curious of what the scores were like for the first level 6 meet.
Our girls competed yesterday and I thought the overall scores were low but no where near as low as last year's team that went out.
1st place on bars was a 8.9 in one age group and 8.825 in another In one age group a 7.0 placed on bars.
I am just interested in how scores are in your area. We are thinking of doing a meet in Tx this year.

 

[missypie]

Hey MIssypie just curious of what the scores were like for the first level 6 meet.
Our girls competed yesterday and I thought the overall scores were low but no where near as low as last year's team that went out.
1st place on bars was a 8.9 in one age group and 8.825 in another In one age group a 7.0 placed on bars.
I am just interested in how scores are in your area. We are thinking of doing a meet in Tx this year.

It pretty much depends on your age group. The most competitive (with the highest scores) seem to be the younger girls - the Junior As and Bs. My daughter tends to be a Junior C. The first weekend, my daughter placed 4th on bars with a 7.8(!!!) This past Saturday, she got a 7.950 on bars and didn't place (they went out to 6th place). Our top girl in Junior B got a 9.5 on bars the first weekend; the second place score was an 8.5! The first weekend, my daughter had a 32.85 and placed 4th in the all around; on Saturday, she had a 33.3 and didn't place. On Saturday, DD got an 8.6 on vault and placed 6th. One of our girls got a 9.6 on vault and two others got 9.5 (they won with those scores.)

I keep telling myself that as long as DD's scores are going up, she's doing well. But it is STILL hard to watch!

 

[dis4me]

I keep telling myself that as long as DD's scores are going up, she's doing well. But it is STILL hard to watch![/QUOTE]

UGH I agree. It is definitely hard to watch. The backwalker doesn't unnerve me much since my dd does better on that then the cartwheel. I think the flyaway dismount is a little disturbing and my dd has a not so good vault. ALthough she did get a 8.6 this weekend.
This meet they went out 6 places as well but there were only 12 competitors in each age group. Jr A and B and Sr A and B.My dd happens to be a Senior in the oldest group. SHe did well Her AA was a 35.25 some girls on her team got 36s but she was the third highest.
Good luck on the season. We can comfort each other.
DO you go to the WOGA classic? OUr coach is talking about going this year.

 

[missypie]

I keep telling myself that as long as DD's scores are going up, she's doing well. But it is STILL hard to watch!

UGH I agree. It is definitely hard to watch. The backwalker doesn't unnerve me much since my dd does better on that then the cartwheel. I think the flyaway dismount is a little disturbing and my dd has a not so good vault. ALthough she did get a 8.6 this weekend.
This meet they went out 6 places as well but there were only 12 competitors in each age group. Jr A and B and Sr A and B.My dd happens to be a Senior in the oldest group. SHe did well Her AA was a 35.25 some girls on her team got 36s but she was the third highest.
Good luck on the season. We can comfort each other.
DO you go to the WOGA classic? OUr coach is talking about going this year.[/QUOTE]

If I recall, our optionals girls went to the WOGA Classic last year, but not the compulsories. I think they have it when the compulsories girls are training for the next level.

 

[PrincessTiff]

I am NOT a pushy gymnastics mother by any means, but if you think your daughter will continue in gymnastics, get her on a "pre-team" and get her as far a long as you can as fast as you can. When they are little, they are fearless. As they get older, they realize that they are doing all of this stuff ON FOUR INCHES OF WOOD. A couple of our girls are just head cases - they are just flat out afraid to do skills that they could do a year ago. Their fears, of course, are rational! But get her as far as possible while she's still fearless!

I couldn't agree with you more! I didn't get started in it until I was around age 11 and it was next to impossible to overcome these fears. Eventually I did and went on to compete both recreationally and on my High School Gymnastics team. Unfortunately the college I attend doesn't have a team but I still have a lot of for the sport. Tell your daughter I wish her the best of luck and I would love to watch the competition since im in North Texas as well! Any info? Did I already miss it?

 

[missypie]

Well, the horror that was the Level 6 season is over. Yesterday was Level 6 State and she literally placed dead last. As a mom, I still feel severely traumatized. DD, however, TOTALLY held it together, thank the Lord...had she started to cry, I would have wept like a baby.

Big hats off to WOGA, who hosted the meet. Carly Patterson was there handing out medals and signing autographs afterward. Thanks to Carly (and to DD getting a 9.35 on vault), she came out all smiles and giggles.

Next week the coaches are having conferences with parents. DD has not even CONSIDERED quitting, so I'm hoping the coach isn't going to suggest it. My idea is to add Saturday mornings and two private lessons a month; if she improves next season, she can stick with it if she wants to. If she doesn't, she'll be old enough to try out for cheerleader or dance team.

I'm very very proud of DD...even if her beam skills aren't so great, she's a fantastic little girl!

 

[AC7179]

I hope your coach wouldn't suggest quitting!

Last I heard, and granted I haven't coached for four or so years now, but you had to beat other kids out to even qualify to state. Is it still that way? If so, being the worst of the best isn't the worst thing that could happen.

Also, instead of quitting, if she had such a rough time maybe she could repeat level 6. The jump to seven can be hard anyway.

Congratulations to your daughter and I hope it all works out!

 

[princesspumpkin]

I totally understand what you are saying. As a former gymnast, I tried long and hard to keep DD from following in my footsteps. When she taught herself a back walkover in our family room, I finally signed her up. She loves it, and her gym has advanced her very quickly in the year that she has been there, but I honestly hope that she doesn't get invited to be on a team. I like her doing dance class (not competition) much better. DD is a drama queen, and I'm not sure how much competition she could handle.

 

[missypie]

I hope your coach wouldn't suggest quitting!

Last I heard, and granted I haven't coached for four or so years now, but you had to beat other kids out to even qualify to state. Is it still that way? If so, being the worst of the best isn't the worst thing that could happen.

Also, instead of quitting, if she had such a rough time maybe she could repeat level 6. The jump to seven can be hard anyway.

Congratulations to your daughter and I hope it all works out!

I don't think it would be a good idea for her to repeat Level 6. The top few of our level 6s are going to start competing Level 7 in January. DD and the rest will train for the entire year, then compete Level 7 in Jan. '08.

Also, she is capable of decent scores. Her high scores for the season were 9.35 in vault, 8.9 on beam, 9.15 on floor and 8.5 on bars....she just never seemed to get all the high scores at one meet.

What killed State for her was a beam routine with two falls - since she had to re-do her dismount, she went overtime, so what would have been a 9.0 became a 7.9. The only other time she's ever fallen twice was at North State last year - at the same gym!!! If she ever competes at WOGA again, we are going to have to sprinkle holy water on the beam or something!

 

[mom2rb]

Missypie, I was at State. The only session I didn't have girls in was JR. C. My girls did pretty well. I had 10 girls, 4 gold and 6 silver. We had 2 first on floor and 1 first on bars in silver. One second place on bars in gold and a lot of second and third places in silver. I had two girls tie on vault with a 9.55 and not place. It was tough this weekend. I am glad to be done with level 6 for the year. Now just State for the fives and then off to Disney.

 

[mom2rb]

I don't think it would be a good idea for her to repeat Level 6. The top few of our level 6s are going to start competing Level 7 in January. DD and the rest will train for the entire year, then compete Level 7 in Jan. '08.

This is what we do too. The only time we repeat Level 6 is when we get kids from other gyms that don't have good form. We spend a year trying to fix the skills they have and then start teaching them new skills.

 

[missypie]

The scores were incredible. The high at our session was a 9.925 on beam. The winning scores on the other events were in the 9.875 range.

The thing is, as the girls progress, the weaker ones drop out, leaving only super strong competition.

 

[mom2rb]

The next day all the coaches were talking about that beam routine. They said it was great. I wish I would have seen it.

 

[missypie]

The next day all the coaches were talking about that beam routine. They said it was great. I wish I would have seen it.

I watched the whole routine, as did lots of other people. It happened to be one of the last routines in the last rotation, so most teams were done competing by then.

I guess if you didn't compete or watch competitions, you'd think no big deal, because the girl just got up there and did a totally (TOTALLY!) clean routine...no fanfare, no drumrolls, just nailed every single element, solid as a rock.

 

[carone0318]

Hey MIssypie just curious of what the scores were like for the first level 6 meet.
Our girls competed yesterday and I thought the overall scores were low but no where near as low as last year's team that went out.
1st place on bars was a 8.9 in one age group and 8.825 in another In one age group a 7.0 placed on bars.
I am just interested in how scores are in your area. We are thinking of doing a meet in Tx this year.

Wow a conversation that I can totally relate to.

My dd is a Level 6 in NJ and we have states in January. It is my understanding that Level 6 is very tough in scoring, especially bars! My dd is doing really well as a Level 6. I thought that the back walk over would get me, but she has that down pat (it's the stinking full turn that can kill her). She is now doing back handsprings, which give me the creeps and my stomach turns when she is on the strap bar doing giants - I want to go in there and push her around!

Gymnastics is a sport that the early you get in the better. As we all know it takes a HUGE family commitment. Going to the meets are the rewards, but the many hours they put in at the gym is crazy.

Dis4me - I see you are in NJ also, will your dd be going to states in Jan? Maybe we will see you there. What gym is your dd at? My dd is at Will-Moor.

 

[missypie]

Wow a conversation that I can totally relate to.

My dd is a Level 6 in NJ and we have states in January. It is my understanding that Level 6 is very tough in scoring, especially bars! My dd is doing really well as a Level 6. I thought that the back walk over would get me, but she has that down pat (it's the stinking full turn that can kill her). She is now doing back handsprings, which give me the creeps and my stomach turns when she is on the strap bar doing giants - I want to go in there and push her around!

DD says she has her back handspring on the beam...I'd believe it when I see it. As it so happens, she is going to a Giant clinic in a couple of hours to get started on those.

A couple of our best girls who were training Level 7 and competing Level 6 got in trouble on the bars...they'd use too much power and do a giant when they weren't supposed to. (A good problem to have, I guess.)

DD still looks like such a weakling on the bars...reminds me of the level 4 days before she had her kip.

I do wish I could have a play by play of all the deductions. Before Districts she had a private on bars. After that, she started LOOKING TERRIBLE (to me) but her scores went up by about .4. One of her friends at the gym placed 2nd on bars at State - with a 9.7+. When you watch her, it actually LOOKS like a bars routine.

 

[carone0318]

DD says she has her back handspring on the beam...I'd believe it when I see it. As it so happens, she is going to a Giant clinic in a couple of hours to get started on those.

A couple of our best girls who were training Level 7 and competing Level 6 got in trouble on the bars...they'd use too much power and do a giant when they weren't supposed to. (A good problem to have, I guess.)

DD still looks like such a weakling on the bars...reminds me of the level 4 days before she had her kip.

I do wish I could have a play by play of all the deductions. Before Districts she had a private on bars. After that, she started LOOKING TERRIBLE (to me) but her scores went up by about .4. One of her friends at the gym placed 2nd on bars at State - with a 9.7+. When you watch her, it actually LOOKS like a bars routine.

Text errors - they are getting the best of me right now. Dd is trying to fix her text errors on floor. It seems to be working. Dd just have a private this past weekend on bars and the coach started working them on Level 7 skills and with the giant she got it on the strap bar (made it around 4 times and 6 times she told me) The coach said with the giant it is finesse (sp?) not power. You can't power a giant. I just shook my head and said ok. Dd is weakest in bars, but she is coming along. At her last sectional she came in 6th, but she did improve her text errors on floor because she came in 1st.

I can't wait until she is a level 7 and be done with all of this Level 6 junk, but I will say I'm glad they didn't score out of 6 because it is doing a world of good with her form. The fact that she also has all the skills for 7 except the giant, the transition will be pretty easy for her. Here in NJ Level 6 and 7 compete at the same time so she basically has 8 months to get the giant and since she has it on the strap bar I am pretty confident that she will have it in that time frame.

I do know that you have to cast to at least verticle on bars if not I believe that it is .5 deduction and when you consider that there are 3 casts in the routine, if they do not at least hit verticle they might as well fall (not really, but you get what I mean.)

Go luck! What I don't think any gymnast realizes is how hard this sport is on their parents. I know I am a ball of knots when I sit there and watch her compete!

 

[mom2rb]

I am looking at the book right now ( I didn't want to give you the wrong deductions ). Cast must be 30 degrees above horizontal. The deduction for being between horizontal and 30 degrees is from .05 - .25. If you are at horizontal it is .30 and if you are below horizontal it is from .35 - .40. I have had judges tell me they took off becouse my kid didn't go above 45 degrees and I just want to scream.

 

[missypie]

Y'all know so much about the specifics (deductions, text errors, etc.) and I just send my child to gymnastics and go watch the meets.

I must admit that I do think that DD is not getting a lot of coaches' attention. After the 3rd meet, when she hadn't received over an 8.9 on floor (and she won floor many times as a level 5), I emailed the head coach and asked if she could please go over the deductions with DD, because she thought she was doing everything right, and it sure looked good to me, so there must be things DD isn't aware she is/isn't doing. Coach never replied to the email and never went over the deductions.

 

[carone0318]

Y'all know so much about the specifics (deductions, text errors, etc.) and I just send my child to gymnastics and go watch the meets.

I must admit that I do think that DD is not getting a lot of coaches' attention. After the 3rd meet, when she hadn't received over an 8.9 on floor (and she won floor many times as a level 5), I emailed the head coach and asked if she could please go over the deductions with DD, because she thought she was doing everything right, and it sure looked good to me, so there must be things DD isn't aware she is/isn't doing. Coach never replied to the email and never went over the deductions.

A parent with an older child told me about the casting deductions because no one could understand why such the low scores, it's like they are on the bar for 30 seconds (how many things can they possibly do wrong, but I guess there is a lot.) Dd told me about text errors. For every 3 text errors that are made, it is a .1 deduction on floor.

Hearing your dd's score on floor makes me chuckle because here in NJ an 8.9 will win for you on floor or at least place you in top 4, depending on the meet. The scores that I have read above for some of the meets that people have gone to in this post are insane. I guess that the NJ judges are far more harsh on the girls. Maybe we should move to those other states. AA scores in the 35's or 36's are winning AA and if scores are hitting the 9's, we assume they are scoring easy, especially on floor and rarely on bars.

It's funny reading about how you contact your coach. My dd's coach, I don't even know an email address and when practice is over they tend to run away, they don't want to come out to where the parents are, it's sort of funny. Last yr's coach wasn't the greatest and there were tons of questions, but this yr's coach is awesome, so really she shouldn't be afraid to come out to us. We won't bite her!

There can definitely be a lack of communication at our gym though, which can be frustrating. I have come to terms with it and realize that the tumbling mat is not any bluer on the other side, so we deal with. It's tough for us because this is the gym you want to be at when you hit optional levels, so we are almost there and will hopefully be able to say good-bye to compulsory come January. I know dd is dying to get her own floor routine....