Parents Help !!

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Alright coaches and parents ,I'm a dad with no clue, my daughter is 8 . She's in competition gymnastics with a great gym they practice 2 times a week. She just went to her first competition and didn't do as well as she wanted. She is very driven ,strong and wants to be good. I have a son in baseball so I know just team practices aren't enough and I train him every day but I don't know what I'm doing with gymnastics. We practiced her floor, bar and beam routine every night to memorize it but her floor routine score was trash and I don't know why. I over heard other parents talking about "lines" and staying tight. Where do I go or what can I do to help her get better. I'm doing my best but it's not enough.
 
You likely can’t help improve her floor score at home once she’s memorized it, unless you have the code of points and want to drill every text deduction for hands in the wrong place, or know how to get the correct -shapes- for everything. You can know how to do a handstand, and then there’s knowing how to do a handstand that scores well in gymnastics - those aren’t the same two things.

You’re better off letting her play around at open gym rather trying to train her at home. Gymnastics is a critism based sport and it’s all about what you’re doing wrong, your kid will hear enough of it at the gym (even when positive, the point of practice is fixing things most of the time or making them better). When you try to do that at home, it just sounds very critical and negative. I know all my kids deductions, she knows I could tell her, but she doesn’t want me to sound like I’m pointing out all her flaws so I just bite my tongue :)
 
You likely can’t help improve her floor score at home once she’s memorized it, unless you have the code of points and want to drill every text deduction for hands in the wrong place, or know how to get the correct -shapes- for everything. You can know how to do a handstand, and then there’s knowing how to do a handstand that scores well in gymnastics - those aren’t the same two things.

You’re better off letting her play around at open gym rather trying to train her at home. Gymnastics is a critism based sport and it’s all about what you’re doing wrong, your kid will hear enough of it at the gym (even when positive, the point of practice is fixing things most of the time or making them better). When you try to do that at home, it just sounds very critical and negative. I know all my kids deductions, she knows I could tell her, but she doesn’t want me to sound like I’m pointing out all her flaws so I just bite my tongue :)
Thank you , I don't know how to help her and it makes me feel helpless
 
Coach here. If you want to know why her score seemed low to you, please ask, or even have her ask. I truly don't mind getting a respectful email from a genuinely curious parent who wants to understand what's going on. Some kids truly don't know what kinds of deductions they're getting until it's pointed out. I had a 9 year old ask me why her score was low once and I said "Remember how I tell you your legs are bent and your feet are flexed every time you do your leap? You are losing almost a half point on your leap pass alone. That's the difference between an 8 and a 9 for you"

An email could be something like

Hi Coach,

My daughter loves gymnastics and enjoys being on the team. This sport is new to our family and I am hoping you can help me understand the scoring at meets. I am proud of her and I know she is working hard, so I am wondering what kinds of things the judges are seeing and look for. When you get a chance, I'd love to learn more so I can know what to expect. I am especially curious about her floor score this weekend and would appreciate any insight you might have. If there is anything she could do at home, it would be great to know that, as I know she is eager for more.

Thanks again for helping encourage her love and interest,
Dad
 
It's not your job to train her at home. I think the best things we can do as parents to help our kids be successful are to be supportive and positive, to make sure they get to practice on time and have everything they need (clean leo, water bottle, a snack, tape, whatever else the level requires- grips, Tiger paws, etc) that they are well rested, fed and hydrated. It sounds like your daughter is just starting out so I wouldn't worry too much about her scores at the start. Check out Mymeetscores and take a look at level 10 States from your state for last year- you'd be surprised at how many level 10s scored in the low 30s, even 29s while competing all four events at their very first level 3 or 4 meets. Don't assume a low score at the start means she won't succeed in the sport. Just stay positive and supportive of her love for gymnastics and enjoy the journey.
 
Alright coaches and parents ,I'm a dad with no clue, my daughter is 8 . She's in competition gymnastics with a great gym they practice 2 times a week. ...Where do I go or what can I do to help her get better. I'm doing my best but it's not enough.
If the gym is great, what makes you think there's anything you can do that is going to improve upon their system?

In the interest of being helpful -- if you have to do something get her to stretch for 15 minutes every day and buy her a pull up bar. Besides that, anything you try to do runs the risk of ruining her form.
 
Alright coaches and parents ,I'm a dad with no clue, my daughter is 8 . She's in competition gymnastics with a great gym they practice 2 times a week. She just went to her first competition and didn't do as well as she wanted. She is very driven ,strong and wants to be good. I have a son in baseball so I know just team practices aren't enough and I train him every day but I don't know what I'm doing with gymnastics. We practiced her floor, bar and beam routine every night to memorize it but her floor routine score was trash and I don't know why. I over heard other parents talking about "lines" and staying tight. Where do I go or what can I do to help her get better. I'm doing my best but it's not enough.
Definitely gone through this before! There isn't too much you can do since you are not in the gym. Judging is extremely subjective, and it depends on the judge, meet, session, and level. And what she's going to be doing is constantly going to be changing. The code of points is a great way to get a good look at all the deductions she could be getting, but it's 50-75 dollars, and doesn't make a lot of sense to a parent a lot of times. You're doing the best you can, and in gymnastics sometimes we can't do too much! Bad scores are gonna happen. Try to talk to your coaches to see what you guys can work on at home to improve the scores.
 
First competition is rarely amazing. It’s scary, nerve wracking and they don’t know what to expect. Things will improve.

I find kids end up better in the long term if they don’t do too well at their first comp. if they win their first comp then every time they don’t win after they it’s a let down.
 
As a former clueless parent, trying to drill her routines at home will not help her because you don’t know what to look for or how to make corrections. You may even run the risk of stressing her out and early burnout. I know many a parent who ruined it for their kid—extremely talented kids with a bright gymnastics future. The kids also resented their parents or were so scared to disappoint them that they couldn’t perform with parents around, or they quit outright.

What do you mean by “her floor score was trash”? Give us an idea what you’re talking about. And you could put a link to her routine for feedback either by the private message or a Facebook group. I’m not sure if posting it right on here is okay or not.
 
First competition is rarely amazing. It’s scary, nerve wracking and they don’t know what to expect. Things will improve.

I find kids end up better in the long term if they don’t do too well at their first comp. if they win their first comp then every time they don’t win after they it’s a let down.
Agree with this 100%! My daughter placed 1st in every event at her first meet. She is beginning her 3rd season, and she is extremely disappointed when she doesn't place well.
 
Personally, I would stop any routine practice at home....that is where bad habits can get worse. Leave the coaching and the practice to the gym. If you feel more focus is needed, a targeted private might help...but don't over do them. Your daughter is only eight, this was her first meet. Those scores mean NOTHING after the meet. I would be very careful of a mindset where you think her scores "are trash". That sounds kind of toxic. Scores really aren't the important thing at this age. They will be working on understanding form, building skills, and building a love of the sport.
 
Where do I go or what can I do to help her get better.

Welcome to the site!

This sport is pretty tough to help out at home... it is possible... just be warned... that's not the recommended route.

Overall... I would ask how strong your daughter is? Strength is something that can definitely be worked at home. Can she do 10 pull-ups in a row with good rhythm and form?
 
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Welcome to the site!

This sport is pretty tough to help out at home... it is possible... just be warned... that's not the recommended route.

Overall... I would ask how strong your daughter is? Strength is something that can definitely be worked at home... strength. Can she do 10 pull-ups in a row with good rhythm and form?

I would agree with this. Strength, stretching, do yoga with her! All of this is beneficial, and can help her in the long term. Gymnastics is such a different sport from others. It is a judged sport, and can feel like they are always looking for what is wrong (because they usually are!).
Sports like baseball are slightly more objective...hits/runs/walks, etc (although I do get there is some subjectivity). It will take some getting used to.
Good luck! COming here to ask is the first step. Please take the advice as just that. Not criticism, but advice from parents who have been where you are! (Just for reference, I currently have a son doing D1 gym!)
 
Welcome to the site!

This sport is pretty tough to help out at home... it is possible... just be warned... that's not the recommended route.

Overall... I would ask how strong your daughter is? Strength is something that can definitely be worked at home. Can she do 10 pull-ups in a row with good rhythm and form?
Agree with it. I do not support my DD pratice route at home, just support her to practice basic gymnastics foundation as like line jump, pull-ups, handstand on the wall (better can hold 30 sec) whatever, It will be help her gymnastics to improve.
 
Hi to the OP and welcome to the site. I completely understand your confusion and frustration as you mention your context is your DS's baseball. I have one daughter in competitive gym and another in competitive softball. The philosophy is exactly the opposite of each other. We actually found ourselves in the opposite situation as you. Our context was gymnastics, that everything she was meant to learn was supposed to be learned in the gym - in fact practicing at home could be detrimental to her development as she may learn things the wrong way and fixing form issues could take twice as long as learning the skill to begin with. We applied that to my other daughter's softball and learned pretty quickly that we were supposed to be working with her outside of practice, parent participation and "coaching" was expected and needed if she wanted to get to the higher level.

I would recommend for your gymnast that you perhaps talk to the coach about his/her thoughts on how she is doing and perhaps if they are amenable think about a private or two to help with routines.

Again, I completely empathize with your perspective as it's so confusing to have two kids in two different sports with absolutely the opposite philosophies on parent involvement.
 

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