~*~ Stick It! A thread for Gymnastics Parents ~*~

[dis4me]

But don't most gyms have "superstars"?

? Michele

I guess they do. It's just sad when 2 people are paying the same amount and 1 child gets better instruction. I think at the level they are at. Most children should be treated equally. I am not talking about the difference in an elite and a level 4. I am talking about 2 preteam children.

 

[missypie]

I guess they do. It's just sad when 2 people are paying the same amount and 1 child gets better instruction. I think at the level they are at. Most children should be treated equally. I am not talking about the difference in an elite and a level 4. I am talking about 2 preteam children.

But coaches are human. I'm sure they are constantly on the lookout for the girl that will get the college scholarship, rise to the elite level, etc. They need the rec girls, pre-team girls and the non-stars to pay the bills, but it's the superstars that really excite them.

 

[TwinkieMama]

If you are not happy, I would explore other gyms in the area. Being that your girls are so young, I do suggest letting them try other things too. It is not impossible to do gymnastics at this young age and also try other things. As they get older and have to commit to gymnastics, because of the hours involved if they stick with it, they may regret never trying anything else.

My main concern about this scenario is that you are not happy. Happiness is key, you have to be happy because it is a family commitment and it also is a very costly commitment - especially for twins (if they both stick with it.)

Good luck.

Thanks. Until recently they have only wanted to do gymnastics- I think we will put them in something like soccer this spring. I do want them to try other things. It is quite the balancing act between the other kids activities as well.

I don't think it is just because you are not hearing praise that you are not happy. Be careful if you are at a gym and there are other kids that are "superstars", you don't want the girls getting lost in the shuffle. DO they have most of the skills to do level 4. I would look into other gyms and see which best fits your philosophy and the girls. Are the girls disppointed to be doing less hours? You say you are paying more but do you fell they are getting more out of it? DId you move to an area where the cost is generally higher?
I agree with Carone0318 though, this is the time to let them try other activities before gymnastics gets too demanding and they miss the opportunity,

Excellent points from both of you. They certainly are not ready for L4 now- however we went from "you can certainly do this as soon as you are old enough and get a few more skills" to a coach whose only feedback is "they are doing fine however we have our moments''
Yes they are disappointed to be doing less hours. Yes, we are in a bigger city with higher costs across the board- however the increase in the price of gymnastics has been astronomical! (The other gym was giving me a discount- but I am paying almost twice as much for half as much instructional time.)
This gym has over 35 girls in the 3 pre team age 4-6 classes. The philosophy difference is if they balk, or don't work hard, or just plain act goofy as 6 year old girls often do then the coach is kind of "too bad for you, next girl" where as the old coach was very encouraging and fun but also was really good at keeping them on task (excited little 5yo gymnasts can be very silly- lots of fake falling off the beam, etc)


I know what you mean about the scary stuff-I couldn't do half of what they already do. It was so funny when they were younger. They would cheerfully drop off the high bar into the foam pit but were terrified of McDonald's playland.

 

[SkylarsMom]

I am so glad I found this thread! I've been searching for other "gym moms" to chat with.

My DD is 6 and currently competing AAU level 2. She's only had two meets so far but has done really well. At her very first meet, she got 1st on bars and on beam, 2nd on floor and 3rd on vault. She was also 1st all-around with a score of 36.325. She didn't do quite as well at Hilton Head last weekend but she still came away with 5th on beam, 3rd on bars, 2nd on vault and floor and 3rd all-around. We're very excited!

She truly loves the sport and says she wants to go to the Olympics and be a GymDog (UGA). Right now we're dealing with the decision about whether to change gyms. If we stay put, she'll spend all of next year at AAU level 3, which I think will be a waste for her (she can already do all of the level 3 skills). I think she should be competing USAG and at a recent evaluation, a well-respected coach said she needs to be competing level 4 this fall and then moving immediately up to level 5. I'm not sure what we're going to do. Any suggestions?

 

[missypie]

Move her along as fast as you can while she's still young and fearless!!!

 

[mom2cinderella]

Welcome SkylarsMom!

I'd have her try level 4 - otherwise I think she will be totally bored next year.


Michele

 

[carone0318]

Welcome and same advise as the PPs have given!

Good luck to your dd.

 

[dis4me]

I am so glad I found this thread! I've been searching for other "gym moms" to chat with.

My DD is 6 and currently competing AAU level 2. She's only had two meets so far but has done really well. At her very first meet, she got 1st on bars and on beam, 2nd on floor and 3rd on vault. She was also 1st all-around with a score of 36.325. She didn't do quite as well at Hilton Head last weekend but she still came away with 5th on beam, 3rd on bars, 2nd on vault and floor and 3rd all-around. We're very excited!

She truly loves the sport and says she wants to go to the Olympics and be a GymDog (UGA). Right now we're dealing with the decision about whether to change gyms. If we stay put, she'll spend all of next year at AAU level 3, which I think will be a waste for her (she can already do all of the level 3 skills). I think she should be competing USAG and at a recent evaluation, a well-respected coach said she needs to be competing level 4 this fall and then moving immediately up to level 5. I'm not sure what we're going to do. Any suggestions?

HI Skylar's Mom Welcome to the board. Just wanted to agree with everyone else. IF she is capable of doing level 4 then she will be bored with level 3 all next year. I like the idea of her learning the new skillls before the fear factor sets in.

 

[disneydance]

If only you were here when I was in gymnastics I was in gymnastics for 9 years I made it to level 8 but quit as i currently train dance 24 hours a weeks but I am a large spectator and am looking foward to the first large senior elite competition of the year the Tyson American Cup would like to wish your girls the best training season and good luck at all there comps. throughout the year

 

[dis4me]

Hey Everyone we leave tommorow a.m for Texas after my dd's floor routine being changed 5 more times. Keep your fingers crossed that she remembers it please.
Good luck to anyone else competing this weekend.

 

[carone0318]

Hey Everyone we leave tommorow a.m for Texas after my dd's floor routine being changed 5 more times. Keep your fingers crossed that she remembers it please.
Good luck to anyone else competing this weekend.

Good luck to your dd - fingers crossed that she has an awesome meet. (A little pixie dust can't hurt either....)

 

[dis4me]

Good luck to your dd - fingers crossed that she has an awesome meet. (A little pixie dust can't hurt either....)

Thank you!!

 

[missypie]

Remember my issue about how DD can't do her back handspring on the beam and the coach said she couldn't scratch? Here is how it is supposed to work out this weekend: She is competing all events, but not doing the backhandspring. When it's time to do the BHS, the coach told her to do something else to get into the right position.

Don't know why it took so much heartache to come to this solution. I've been telling DD for a while that if she freezes on the beam and just can't do the BHS, do a little wobble and slip off and mount again in the right position for the next skill. Bad beam score, yes, but a 5 is better than a 0. I'm just going to tell the other team moms in advance so they aren't horrified for her.

 

[carone0318]

Remember my issue about how DD can't do her back handspring on the beam and the coach said she couldn't scratch? Here is how it is supposed to work out this weekend: She is competing all events, but not doing the backhandspring. When it's time to do the BHS, the coach told her to do something else to get into the right position.

Don't know why it took so much heartache to come to this solution. I've been telling DD for a while that if she freezes on the beam and just can't do the BHS, do a little wobble and slip off and mount again in the right position for the next skill. Bad beam score, yes, but a 5 is better than a 0. I'm just going to tell the other team moms in advance so they aren't horrified for her.

Maybe the coach wanted to push her in hopes that she would overcome her fear and do it. Now that he/she realizes it is not going to happen, they have come up with plan B.

Good luck - hope all goes well (pixie dust for you too )

 

[missypie]

Maybe the coach wanted to push her in hopes that she would overcome her fear and do it. Now that he/she realizes it is not going to happen, they have come up with plan B.

Good luck - hope all goes well (pixie dust for you too )

Yeah, it's totally psychological. Up until last March, DD was going the backhandspring. Then she had a terrible fall. It was a miracle she didn't break anything. I have never seen bruises like that in my life. What no one bothered to tell me until a couple of months ago was that that fall was the turning point and she stopped doing her BHS after that.

 

[carone0318]

Yeah, it's totally psychological. Up until last March, DD was going the backhandspring. Then she had a terrible fall. It was a miracle she didn't break anything. I have never seen bruises like that in my life. What no one bothered to tell me until a couple of months ago was that that fall was the turning point and she stopped doing her BHS after that.

We have a girl at our gym who took a really bad fall on bars (at her old gym doing the giant flyaway) and she ended up doing level 7 for 3 yrs because she wouldn't do it. Well, she has finally overcome and is doing it now. This was one of the main reasons our coaches went with the process that I described before. Either do it in warm-up or you would be scratched and you will be scratched from every event after bars. This was a tough approach, but with this child, she needed it. She would have been perfectly happy skipping that element every competition, so the coaches would not allow this.

Hopefully your dd will overcome her fears on her own and realize that she can actually do the BHS. I always say to dd, that if she had half as much faith in herself as I did, then she would overcome anything. I truly believe in my dd and know that she is capable of many things that she doesn't think she is....

 

[mom2kazkids]

Do any of you have a balance beam and mat at home for your daughters? DD is fearful on the beam, she doesn't T in and out of her attempt at a handstand on the beam, and her jumps are something to be desired. Her b-day is a week from tommorrow and I was thinking of getting her a mat and beam for the basement (finished rec room). I am looking at this one on E*Bay, please give me some feedback.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=110178921805&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=001

I truely think that beam will be the thing that holds her back.

Thanks,

Barb

 

[mom2kazkids]

Here are some pictures of her at her last meet on the beam.

As you can see her handstand is pretty much non existant.

Her coach seems to think that she will get over her fear, but I am not so sure.

Barb

 

[AC7179]

I think I've asked you this before, but do your coaches know it is your daugther's last season? If so, why the heck won't they let her change the bhs to a roundoff or cartwheel with flight? I can understand wanting a kid they were going to take Level 8 or 9 next year to do the bhs. but wouldn't they want a kid who is going to quit anyway to finish up strongly The roundoff or cartwheel with flight, assuming she can do one or the other, would not cause her start value to be lower than the bhs would.

 

[sharlon]

Do any of you have a balance beam and mat at home for your daughters? DD is fearful on the beam, she doesn't T in and out of her attempt at a handstand on the beam, and her jumps are something to be desired. Her b-day is a week from tommorrow and I was thinking of getting her a mat and beam for the basement (finished rec room). I am looking at this one on E*Bay, please give me some feedback.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=110178921805&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=001

I truely think that beam will be the thing that holds her back.

Thanks,

Barb

We have both a beam and mat. Our beam was made by a team dad. It is full length, but covered in padding and carpet. The mat is a quad fold like they have at the gym that I bought used from another gym mom. To be honest, the beam gets little use. The mat, however, was a great purchase. My DD was the same way on the beam for a while. It's amazing, though, one day it was if someone flipped a switch and all of a sudden she was more comfortable. She LOVES the beam now and does so much better on it.

Look at some gym company websites. You might come out better purchasing from one of them than ebay. Your gym owner might be able to order for you as well.