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

[castleview]

Thanks Castleview That's what I thought it meant but then I was told something else by another know it all parent.lolI know it will take her a while to get use to doing the new part I just don't understand why her coach would do that right before states especially since she had been scoring so well with the routine the way it was.
Next weekend we have another meet so I guess we shall see if she has improved any.

Good luck!! Can't wait to hear about it.

 

[missypie]

Well, this could be a horrible weekend for us. It's supposed to by DD12's first Level 7 meet. She cannot/will not do her back handspring on the high beam. She wanted to quit over it in late December but the coach talked her out of it. She still doesn't have the skill. Last night the coach said that she would not let her scratch beam..she either does the back handspring or doesn't compete at all. Lots of other girls have been allowed to scratch single events, so I don't know if it's a bluff or not.

I fear that we'll get up at the crack of dawn on Sunday morning and go to the meet, DD won't do the back handspring in warmups, and then the coach will snap "Well then you're sitting out." That would be very much in the coach's personality to do that.

 

[TwinkieMama]

Hi ladies. I have been lurking here to see what the future may hold. I have almost 6 year old twin DDs (in kindergarten) who are in their second year in a "developmental" league. While they love gymnastics (their only complaint is they can't go more often) and watching the "big girls", I am not sure if we want to go down this road. I have love what they have learned already- teamwork, hard work, not to give up, to face challenges, to listen and follow directions and take turns. I also think if they stay with gymnastics they will have the strength and coordination to play any sport they desire when they get older. However I worry that I am pushing them and they would be just as happy in the recreational gym classes.

I have some questions for you all:

How old was your child when they were ready for level 4? did you begin to compete right away? Did your child try other sports? dance?


I heard someone use the phrase "out grow their talent"- can that happen as young as 6? I ask because we moved over the summer and I am getting a very different response from our current coach as our previous coaches (and my girls took summer lessons at a different gym in a different city while visiting grandma and those coaches concurred with their previous gym)

 

[missypie]

My younger daughter was in a preschool gymnastics class solely because it met at the same time as her older sister's rec gymnastics class. We thought the older daughter was pretty good (she's now a dancer, so she has grace and flexibility.)

One day, the younger daughter was asked to stay an extra half hour and to join "hot shots", which was the pre-competitive team. We had not even known such a thing existed, because our older daughter was certainly never asked to join.

So while we thought the older daughter was good, the teachers/coaches saw something in the younger daughter that they thought would make a competitive gymnast.

They do outgrow their talent and their drive/commitment. Also, some girls are just more talented than others. They don't work harder or practice any more hours. They are just better.

When I look at the picture of DD's little hot shots class, one never made it to competitions (quit before she was a Level 4), a couple quit after Level 5, DD and one girls are Level 7s, 2 others are 8s and one is a 9.

As rough as the last year has been for DD in gymnastics, she is in AWESOME physical shape and I do think she is in a good position to do other sports.

 

[paigeandmorgansmom]

mine danced for 5 years...from the ages 2-7 and then started gymnastics at age 8. She did her first level 4 meet season a year later at age 9. She is 11 now and will be 12 soon and plans on doing level 7 in the fall. She moved fast through the levels. I think all the years of dance helped her with her floor, that is one of her best events.

 

[dis4me]

Well, this could be a horrible weekend for us. It's supposed to by DD12's first Level 7 meet. She cannot/will not do her back handspring on the high beam. She wanted to quit over it in late December but the coach talked her out of it. She still doesn't have the skill. Last night the coach said that she would not let her scratch beam..she either does the back handspring or doesn't compete at all. Lots of other girls have been allowed to scratch single events, so I don't know if it's a bluff or not.

I fear that we'll get up at the crack of dawn on Sunday morning and go to the meet, DD won't do the back handspring in warmups, and then the coach will snap "Well then you're sitting out." That would be very much in the coach's personality to do that.

Aww Missypie. Here's some pixie dust for your dd . my dd's best friend had the same problm and would just stand on the beam and not go for it.She eventually did get it after talking with our coach about her fears( she didn't want to miss her hands). Can't she do a front handspring instead or just take the .5 deduction and skip the skill worse case??? Maybe the coach is bluffing to get her to do it. I know my dd's coach threatens to take our her flight series if she doesn't land it in warm up but she has told me she would never do that.
Good Luck to your dd. I see you are in Texas. It isn't the WOGA meet is it. That is where I will be.

 

[dis4me]

mine danced for 5 years...from the ages 2-7 and then started gymnastics at age 8. She did her first level 4 meet season a year later at age 9. She is 11 now and will be 12 soon and plans on doing level 7 in the fall. She moved fast through the levels. I think all the years of dance helped her with her floor, that is one of her best events.

My dd did a similar thing. She did a baby gym class at 2 then joined dance.She danced for 6 years but kept begging to do gymnastics. I finally signed her up when she was 8.By 9 she was competing level 4. She just turned 13 and competed level 7 and is training 8.
She did try many sports before then but even at a young age she said gymnastics was going to be her thing.

 

[mom2kazkids]

How old was your child when they were ready for level 4? did you begin to compete right away?
QUOTE]

My DD is currently 6, will be 7 in less than 2 weeks. On Feb 15 she will compete in her last level 3 meet, then move full steam ahead to level 4. Her competative season for level 4 will start in Sept with state in Dec. Of the 13 level 3's that our gym has, all but one will move to level 4 in the fall. The one not moving just turned 5 2 weeks ago, so she is not old enough for level 4 in the fall. My daughter is at the younger spectum of those moving onto level 4. The breakdown of those moving on is 1 currently in 7th grade (13), 1 in 3rd grade (9), 2 in second grade (8), 6 in first grade (only one of them will turn 7 after my daughter does), and 2 in kindergarten (one could be in 1st as she will be 7 this summer). So of the 12 Lauren only has 3 that are younger than her.

Barb

 

[mom2cinderella]

How old was your child when they were ready for level 4? did you begin to compete right away? Did your child try other sports? dance?

My dd started with the preschool classes right after she turned three. She was a fearless little monkey and dh wanted an outlet for that - someplace she could learn to safely have fun. At various times, she has also taken dance, ice skating, drama kids, soccer tots, swimming, etc. But that once a week gymnastics class was always on the schedule.

When she was six, I asked her if she wanted to try out for the pre-competitive team. Mainly because it was two nights a week for two hours - she was always asking "Do I have gymnastics tonight?" and was always disappointed when the answer was no. She started the season as a level 2 and ended the season as a level 3. They had no meets or competitions. (Well, they did have a Holiday 'meet' which was a pointless "show mommy and daddy your skills" event.) At season's end (April) they had evaluations to see where the girls belonged. The coach said there was nothing more dd could learn at level 3 and that she was ready for level 4. eta: She about 7.25 years old at that point Our gym offers a six week trial period (and I admit I expected dd to quit at that point) and dd decided in June she wanted to commit to the team. Our first meet was at the end of September.

I have no idea how long she will stick with gymnastics (this is what I wrote on my blog the other day:

E1 has been rather flip-floppy lately when it comes to gymnastics. One day she brags about how great she is; the next day she claims she wants out of preCTOPS. One days she says she's not a real gymnast because half her wardrobe isn't leos and she needs more leos!; the next day she says she isn't a gymnast, she's a Justice girl and she needs more Justice clothes! One day she cries because she can't skip practice to go to movie night at the school; the next day she's wishing she could go to an out-of-state gymnastics camp. ).

All we can do is support her whatever she decides. I do think that if she quit altogether, she would a. miss it terribly and b. blame me for letting her quit. 'Cause that's how she rolls!



missypie! Pixiedust for your dd!

Michele

 

[castleview]

Aww Missypie. Here's some pixie dust for your dd . my dd's best friend had the same problm and would just stand on the beam and not go for it.She eventually did get it after talking with our coach about her fears( she didn't want to miss her hands). Can't she do a front handspring instead or just take the .5 deduction and skip the skill worse case??? .

A front handspring on high beam is much scarier than a back handspring so I doubt that will help. I do agree on just letting her skip the skill. I know this can open up a can of worms, but I got a real problem with coaches who have parents pay meet entry fees and then only let them compete two events (or none in this case). Hopefully, he is just bluffing. It's frustrating from his side too, but my theory is that you can't force a kid who is afraid/having a mental block. She will eventually want it bad enough. Just my two cents.

 

[missypie]

A front handspring on high beam is much scarier than a back handspring so I doubt that will help. I do agree on just letting her skip the skill. I know this can open up a can of worms, but I got a real problem with coaches who have parents pay meet entry fees and then only let them compete two events (or none in this case). Hopefully, he is just bluffing. It's frustrating from his side too, but my theory is that you can't force a kid who is afraid/having a mental block. She will eventually want it bad enough. Just my two cents.

It makes no sense to make her sit out the meet. It seems like it would be more effective to let her scratch beam and then have to sit at the awards ceremony knowing she won't place in the All Around.

If she doesn't let her compete, the coach had BETTER tell her in advance. If I spend an hour curling her hair on Saturday night, then we get up at the crack of dawn, drive an hour to get to the meet, skip church for it, pay the admission, buy the program, and THEN she has to sit out.....then you got MAMA mad.

 

[dis4me]

A front handspring on high beam is much scarier than a back handspring so I doubt that will help. I do agree on just letting her skip the skill. I know this can open up a can of worms, but I got a real problem with coaches who have parents pay meet entry fees and then only let them compete two events (or none in this case). Hopefully, he is just bluffing. It's frustrating from his side too, but my theory is that you can't force a kid who is afraid/having a mental block. She will eventually want it bad enough. Just my two cents.

That's interesting that the front handspring is scarier. My dd's friend had o probelm with those but our coach was very strict that competing bhs on beam is a level 7 requirement. She doesn't even like bwo bhs she would prefer bhs bhs as their series but accepts bwo bhs.

 

[castleview]

That's interesting that the front handspring is scarier. My dd's friend had o probelm with those but our coach was very strict that competing bhs on beam is a level 7 requirement. She doesn't even like bwo bhs she would prefer bhs bhs as their series but accepts bwo bhs.

Simply put - you could see where you're going on the backhandspring. Oh, how I long for the days when my body could do and not be sore for the next week.

 

[carone0318]

Well, this could be a horrible weekend for us. It's supposed to by DD12's first Level 7 meet. She cannot/will not do her back handspring on the high beam. She wanted to quit over it in late December but the coach talked her out of it. She still doesn't have the skill. Last night the coach said that she would not let her scratch beam..she either does the back handspring or doesn't compete at all. Lots of other girls have been allowed to scratch single events, so I don't know if it's a bluff or not.

I fear that we'll get up at the crack of dawn on Sunday morning and go to the meet, DD won't do the back handspring in warmups, and then the coach will snap "Well then you're sitting out." That would be very much in the coach's personality to do that.

We has some girls on dd's team that wouldn't do the BWO-BHS series and they were told that if they didn't do the series they would be scratched from beam and any event that came after beam.

This was the same thing for 1 girl who wouldn't do the giant flyaway. At our gym the rule is no giant - no compete. For this girl, if she didn't do the giant flyaway during warm up she would be scratched and scratched on all events after bars - which could be the entire meet depending on where we started.

The coach had her reasons for the way she worked things. As a parent though if I had driven however far and paid to get in and all, the last thing I want to do is see my dd scratched, but those are the rules. At some meets, there were some unhappy parents.

 

[carone0318]

I have some questions for you all:

How old was your child when they were ready for level 4? did you begin to compete right away? Did your child try other sports? dance?


I heard someone use the phrase "out grow their talent"- can that happen as young as 6? I ask because we moved over the summer and I am getting a very different response from our current coach as our previous coaches (and my girls took summer lessons at a different gym in a different city while visiting grandma and those coaches concurred with their previous gym)

My dd competed level 4 when she was 8. She started gymnastics when she was 4 and was on the invitational/pre-team level for 2 yrs. When she first started gymnastics dd also did brownies, horseback riding, dance and soccer. Once she got to Level 4 it started to be too much and she cut back and only did gym and soccer. Dd is training level 8 (level 7 season just got over) and is in the gym 20 hrs a week, but still places competitive soccer. Dh is the coach of the team. 2 of her other teammates on the soccer team are also on her gymnastics team in her level. If it wasn't for dh, they would never be able to do both. He tailors the practice schedule to the gymnasts. It is also a very good team - it's ranked in the top 10 for the league they are in - roughly 70 teams. This is the last yr that she will do both though. It was very stressful during meet season. Next yr, dd will mainly focus on gymnastics. She will still be a member of the soccer team, but will only practice 1 night a week and may only play in tournaments. Her fellow gymnast-soccer teammates will have to make a choice. Dh will not keep spots for them all.

As for outgrow your talent, let me say this. There are many gymnasts who are compulsory gymnasts. They shine and perform compulsory beyond belief, but then don't make such great optional gymnasts. On the other hand there are many gymnasts who chug through compulsory, doing ok and such, but really grasp their niche in optional. There are also some who are great compulsory and also great optional gymnast. My dd did fine in compulsory. She finished in the top 10 for States both Level 5 & 6, but you can see she is a far better optional gymnast than compulsory.

I think as far as the outgrow your talent, I think it refers to a gymnast who is a compulsory gymnast and not necessarily cut out for optionals. I don't think that you can really ever outgrow your talent. Gymnastics to me is a learned sport and if you keep practicing you eventually will learn. The part that I think gets many girls and then they end of leaving the sport is the mental aspect of the sport. Let's face it, the stuff they do is scary and once they start to think about it, they start to get mental about it. That's why the younger they are when they start the better. The younger one don't think about what they are doing, they just do. The older ones start to realize that the stuff they are doing can hurt them. JMHO!

 

[missypie]

. I think as far as the outgrow your talent, I think it refers to a gymnast who is a compulsory gymnast and not necessarily cut out for optionals. I don't think that you can really ever outgrow your talent. Gymnastics to me is a learned sport and if you keep practicing you eventually will learn. The part that I think gets many girls and then they end of leaving the sport is the mental aspect of the sport. Let's face it, the stuff they do is scary and once they start to think about it, they start to get mental about it. That's why the younger they are when they start the better. The younger one don't think about what they are doing, they just do. The older ones start to realize that the stuff they are doing can hurt them. JMHO!

I agree that fear comes into a lot, but think that talent and natural ability plays a big part. Some girls just can't learn the skills. We had a lovely girl on the team who finally quit after 9th grade because she could NEVER get her giant. She trained on it literally for years and just never got it. I think lots of beam skills are like that. Some people just flat out have a better sense of balance than others. Once you get to skills where your feet have to leave the beam repeatedly, some girls are just not balanced enough to land on the beam. Also, some people's bodies are more flexible than others. There are girls who can stand still and lift their knee to their face without effort and others who stretch and stretch and can't get there.
There are some girls who just sail on the vault and have astounding leaps on floor-those are probably the same girls who would be great at basketball or track; they just have natural jumping ability.

You can't pretend that hard work accounts for the success of every girl who does well, because for every girl who wins the AA, there are girls who didn't place who trained as many hours with just as much intensity.

 

[TwinkieMama]

Thanks for all the replies. They are very helpful.

My girls started gymnastics at 3- they were climbing things at home and using the couch for a vault anyway. I wanted a safe place where they could play without getting hurt (or fussed at by me!). When they were invited to join the pre-team class at 4.5 , I was shocked- and had to think about it. The benefits from the classes (teamwork, listening, complex physical skills require complex mental skills) were the main reason to put that much time/money into something at such a young age and the fact that they were BOTH invited. We had a wonderful experience at that gym and the coaches said if they stayed with it they should both be L4 by the time they 8 or 9.

Last summer, (pre K for them) they took classes at another gym while visting grandma. The coaches there invited them to be on the team.

We moved over the summer, so they have been at their current gym for about 6 months. This is a gym that regularily graduates seniors with full gymnastics scholarships. However we just are not as happy- I don't know if it because the coaches don't seem to think the girls are as good, or if it is beccause here they are just another kid whereas the other coaches knew them from babyhood? Also the costs are much higher- and the girls only there 90 minutes/week as opposed to 3 hrs like last year.

So am I just a parent who was used to hearing praise and now that I don't hear it I am not happy? or should I use this time to explore other activities (dance, soccer)? or look for another gym? or just carry on and let time tell?
I do see improvement in some areas but the philosophy of coaching is so different and I just don't know if it is a good fit for my kids.

Of note, my son 2.5 just started the munchkin class. He has awesome physical skills but no listening skills yet. It is a long way for him but I like the idea of going to a gym that has a boys team and all the right equipment (ours doesn't) eventually.

Thanks for letting me think outloud-I really appreciate all of your replies, information and discussions!

 

[carone0318]

Thanks for all the replies. They are very helpful.

My girls started gymnastics at 3- they were climbing things at home and using the couch for a vault anyway. I wanted a safe place where they could play without getting hurt (or fussed at by me!). When they were invited to join the pre-team class at 4.5 , I was shocked- and had to think about it. The benefits from the classes (teamwork, listening, complex physical skills require complex mental skills) were the main reason to put that much time/money into something at such a young age and the fact that they were BOTH invited. We had a wonderful experience at that gym and the coaches said if they stayed with it they should both be L4 by the time they 8 or 9.

Last summer, (pre K for them) they took classes at another gym while visting grandma. The coaches there invited them to be on the team.

We moved over the summer, so they have been at their current gym for about 6 months. This is a gym that regularily graduates seniors with full gymnastics scholarships. However we just are not as happy- I don't know if it because the coaches don't seem to think the girls are as good, or if it is beccause here they are just another kid whereas the other coaches knew them from babyhood? Also the costs are much higher- and the girls only there 90 minutes/week as opposed to 3 hrs like last year.

So am I just a parent who was used to hearing praise and now that I don't hear it I am not happy? or should I use this time to explore other activities (dance, soccer)? or look for another gym? or just carry on and let time tell?
I do see improvement in some areas but the philosophy of coaching is so different and I just don't know if it is a good fit for my kids.

Of note, my son 2.5 just started the munchkin class. He has awesome physical skills but no listening skills yet. It is a long way for him but I like the idea of going to a gym that has a boys team and all the right equipment (ours doesn't) eventually.

Thanks for letting me think outloud-I really appreciate all of your replies, information and discussions!

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.

 

[dis4me]

Thanks for all the replies. They are very helpful.

My girls started gymnastics at 3- they were climbing things at home and using the couch for a vault anyway. I wanted a safe place where they could play without getting hurt (or fussed at by me!). When they were invited to join the pre-team class at 4.5 , I was shocked- and had to think about it. The benefits from the classes (teamwork, listening, complex physical skills require complex mental skills) were the main reason to put that much time/money into something at such a young age and the fact that they were BOTH invited. We had a wonderful experience at that gym and the coaches said if they stayed with it they should both be L4 by the time they 8 or 9.

Last summer, (pre K for them) they took classes at another gym while visting grandma. The coaches there invited them to be on the team.

We moved over the summer, so they have been at their current gym for about 6 months. This is a gym that regularily graduates seniors with full gymnastics scholarships. However we just are not as happy- I don't know if it because the coaches don't seem to think the girls are as good, or if it is beccause here they are just another kid whereas the other coaches knew them from babyhood? Also the costs are much higher- and the girls only there 90 minutes/week as opposed to 3 hrs like last year.

So am I just a parent who was used to hearing praise and now that I don't hear it I am not happy? or should I use this time to explore other activities (dance, soccer)? or look for another gym? or just carry on and let time tell?
I do see improvement in some areas but the philosophy of coaching is so different and I just don't know if it is a good fit for my kids.

Of note, my son 2.5 just started the munchkin class. He has awesome physical skills but no listening skills yet. It is a long way for him but I like the idea of going to a gym that has a boys team and all the right equipment (ours doesn't) eventually.

Thanks for letting me think outloud-I really appreciate all of your replies, information and discussions!

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,

 

[mom2cinderella]

Be careful if you are at a gym and there are other kids that are "superstars"

But don't most gyms have "superstars"?

? Michele