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    Anon Coaches reaction after a bad routine/meet

    As a child I was a figure skater fairly competitively. I switched from a very poor coaching environment (borderline emotionally abusive) to a very good one. My old coach was what you described she’d yell and make a fuss if you messed up. I remember one time shortly after switching by coaches I...
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    Parents Transitioning to cheer for college

    First off, I am glad she is only 12yrs old, sometimes there is a common misconception that gymnasts can just switch to cheer but they really are two different sports and while gymnasts know how to tumble which can make the transition easier there is still a lot to learn. A few things to think...
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    Coaches Tips for keeping 5-7 yr olds under control as a CIT?

    I was always taught the following acronym when disciplining or working with young children "SMELS". It's easy to remember and works well. Stop - stop what you are doing Move - move over towards the child Eyes - look them in the eyes and get them to look at you Low - get your body low on...
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    WAG eating disorders

    I totally agree with this when you think of risk factors both internally and externally gymnastics can be a recipe for this. For instance: Internal factors 1) Female (statistically more likely than males to have eating disorders) 2) Obsessive, exact and perfectionistic personality (most...
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    Parents Too many hours (gymnastics) / switch sports

    Great discussion everyone. I had some thoughts while reading: 1) I would talk to your child's teacher regarding what the homework expectations are. Where I live they are no more than 10 minutes a night per grade level from Gr 1- 8 (ie. original poster with a child in grade 5/6 would be 50-60...
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    Parents Switching Gyms

    I had a few thoughts: 1) If you and your daughter want to switch gyms; I don't really think it is anyone's business. You're a customer and if you want to switch yearly that is up to you. 2) From a mental health perspective (I'm a children's therapist) I would caution you regarding gymnastics...
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    Parents Would you move your gymnast to Canada?

    Moving to Toronto is a little like saying you are moving to New York. There are lots of places you can move to and lots of gymnastics gyms as well. Certainly, if you are choosing your location you could make it nearby to a gym especially if you aren't concerned about school options. In Toronto...
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    Parents Cutting down hours

    Wow... a little late to the party but what an interesting read. OP- I'm glad it seems like your daughter and coaches have a plan in place for next year. Also, found your thoughts about wishing to have made a slower plan so she didn't get to level 10 and get bored so fast interesting. This...
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    Parents Training hours during school time.

    I believe the initial poster is from Canada. Here in Ontario schools lose funding if they have to take someone "off role" this occurs when a student has been absent for 15 consecutive days without a medical exemption. So yes, technically that means you only have to attend school once every three...
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    Parents Vacation

    Take the vacation as a vacation. There seems to be a narrative that taking time off from gymnastics is a bad thing. When I was young I did competitive figure skating which I feel has lots of parallels to gymnastics. Every year we got six weeks off (the entire month of April, last week of summer...
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    Parents Is it time to let her move on? Daughter , level 7 has a new mental block each week.

    When my child's mental or physical health is at risk I make the rules. They can't eat chocolate or play videogames all day. They have to go to school. In this instance gymnastics is the cause of the mental stress. She is going for mental support for a 10yr old's recreational activity. In this...
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    Parents Is it time to let her move on? Daughter , level 7 has a new mental block each week.

    Allow her to quit. Whether your family wants her to finish the season or not is up to you but personally I'd base it on how much time is left. Also, as much as we say it is competitive gymnastics at 10yrs old the purpose is largely recreational (and life-skill building although these can be...
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    Parents Best to stay put, right?

    For what it's worth I'd say stay. Also if your gym is as lovely as you describe book a time to have a conversation with the coach/head coach about your questions regarding safety and what level coaches at the gym are able to coach until. My hunch is if your gym is as great as it sounds - they...
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    Parents Ugh, the struggles continue. Need help/advice

    A few things popped into my head while reading your situation: A) "we should ride it out if she still liked going to the gym" I agree with this...if your daughter is happy, getting some physical activity and enjoying her time at gym, that's great. If her days are horribly frustrating and she is...
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    MAG Men- Cheerleading???

    He should explore it especially if he is a bigger guy and not super tiny. Generally for average or bigger guys the most difficult part of cheer is learning the tumbling. If he is a strong guy with a few lessons and an experienced flyer he should be able to learn to stunt pretty quickly.

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