Parents 3 month break from meets . . loosing momentum

[JessMom]

I see all the girls loosing momentum because we have a 3 month break between meets.

We are going a full 3 months between meets, in which we will close completly 2 weeks for spring break . . next meet is beginning of May with States two weeks later! What can I do to avoid the lack of urgency / vacation mode that seems contagious at the gym? I want to keep her motivated.

Thinking of looking into privates at a different gym, maybe they'll keep her fire lit.

Any other suggestions? Thoughts?

I have to say when I first posted here I was so concerned that my gym or someone at the gym would see them . . . now I hope they do. I think I'm going to have to talk to them, let them know how I'm feeling. They need to do something - toss in a in-house practice meet . . something.

sorry for the rant, I'm over tired after hosting a tween twilight sleepover last night! LOL

 

[gymjoy]

The three months off before states seems odd. I'd be worried too (actually I'd be looking for a new gym...). Can't say I have any tips for keeping up the motivation except to keep reminding her about states. Hopefully she will do some practice on her own at home (without tumbling - too dangerous IMO). Keep up the stretching and conditioning at home as well.
The privates at another gym always seems odd too me - like cheating. We had a girl kicked out of our gym for doing that - really ticked off the coaches.

I have to say when I first posted here I was so concerned that my gym or someone at the gym would see them

That made me laugh because I don't really want anyone from our gym to identify me on boards. I enjoy reading and sharing here. It so reminds me of when dd started gym and all the anxiety and worries that went with it. And how innocent it all was back then. DD is on the road to big things now, and it is really scary to me sometimes. I like to look back and remember how it all started. CB helps me keep it in perspective.

 

[v1hebrews11]

Wow, I wouldn't be happy with three months off, either. Have you talked to the coaches about some sort of practice meet? I would think they should have one at least once a month. I agree with gymjoy - private lessons at another gym doesn't seem like the way to go. If you need to go somewhere else, you should just cut the ties and join another gym.

 

[JessMom]

well, there are 2 things you can tell from my posts . .. 1) I'm new to this and 2) I'm not happy with my gym.

I didn't see anything wrong with going to another gym for privates or the spring break.

Spring Break she's going someplace - she worked so hard to compete up a level on beam and floor . . . 2 weeks off will just undo everything, then states and nationals. If my gym decided to open I would be there and would have had to pay extra anyway.

Then since I am thinking of leaving, I thought privates someplace else might be a good opportunity for DD to get to know another coach.

They all worked so hard up till now. they're all feeling the loss of their HC, who is out on injury. A team of over 20 and 10 show up for practice . . . there is a lot of sitting around between turns . . . the girls are loosing the desire. 2 decided not to go to nationals 1 is not going to states, another just quit . . . the energy is so low.

DD works so hard and loves it - I just don't want to see her catch the attitude of the older girls.

 

[v1hebrews11]

Well, it is also that time of year, too though. I don't see anything wrong with a well-place week of spring break. I actually think it would be beneficial. But any more than that before state is ludicrous, imo. If you have an injured coach though, that paints a whole new picture. Perhaps it is a staffing problem? You're going to find burn-out wherever you go right now. It's a problem every team has to deal with. The bigger your team, the more people you can expect to lose. I still agree with previous posts, but think you will find SOME of the same problems you're facing anywhere you go.

 

[JessMom]

is it comon to loose momentum right before states?

They only pratice 7.5 hours a week - which seems low compared to other gyms

I'm told that if school is out the gym is out - in winter and summer they do 2 week mini-session when you can pay to come twice a week. But other then that . . they always took off.

I also learned they don't take advantage of pratice sessions at nationals.

I know they're having staffing problems - the staff is just as unhappy as the kids.

Thanks for all your feedback everyone. It's really helpful. Non-gym parents just don't want to hear it LOL and they don't understand it.

 

[snowbound]

not all gyms will get mad about doing privates elsewhere, in fact when my DD only had two weeks to learn the L5 routine before her meet, I really don't think they cared where she went, they simply didn't have time to do it themselves. We had one girl doing privates with another gym, the other gym found out she was on our team and kicked her out, ironically the coach she was working with ended up coming to work for our gym.

It might be a good time to look for another gym though, if you are thinking of it anyway. or have a meeting with the coach to tell her your concerns, and find out what they are doing to resolve the staffing issues.

JMHO
Snowbound

 

[v1hebrews11]

is it comon to loose momentum right before states?

They only pratice 7.5 hours a week - which seems low compared to other gyms

I'm told that if school is out the gym is out - in winter and summer they do 2 week mini-session when you can pay to come twice a week. But other then that . . they always took off.

I also learned they don't take advantage of pratice sessions at nationals.

I know they're having staffing problems - the staff is just as unhappy as the kids.

Thanks for all your feedback everyone. It's really helpful. Non-gym parents just don't want to hear it LOL and they don't understand it.

If someone is on the road to burn-out anyway, then just as the pressure is building is when they will lose momentum even faster. 7.5 hours/week is really low. That's great if one is not interested in tough competition. Why pay for the hours if this is recreational, right? If your daughter dreams of being on the podium, I think she needs more hours.

I don't know at which level your daughter competes, but at our gym the level 4's practice for 12 hours a week. I am not an expert and don't know how standard that is, but it works well for our team. Each level after that, the hours just keep going up. Over the summer, the hours usually increase, although most families take a week or so in there somewhere for vacation. It takes a lot of work to get ready for the next level!

Anyway, I suppose I got off on a rabbit trail, but what it really boils down to, is what do you, and especially your daughter want out of this? If she likes going to see her friends, have a little fun and get some exercise then perhaps it is best for her to "bloom where she's planted".
If your daughter has a competetive personality, wants to aim for a college scholarship, or has any dreams about the olympics, that gym does not sound like it will open those doors for her.

Just make sure that you are thinking of HER goals and then as a parent, it's your responsibity to help her reach them.

 

[JessMom]

She's level Bronze with USAIGC . . . I think it's similar to a level 4/5 USAG . . .

Her goals . . thats tricky. At the moment her goal is to compete silver (probably level 6/7 USAG) She likes learning new skills and competing . . . Loves working out. She loves being in the gym. Taking on more hours or days would make her the happiest kid in the world. She's the first one in and last one out every night.

Being the youngest on team by about 5 years she loves her team mates, but doesn't see any of them outside the gym. Last year, before she made team, she had 2 close friends. She was the only one to make team, 1 left to another gym to be on a level 4 USAG team, the other is working hard to make team for next year.

never thought this would be so stressful. I'm excited to see what she thinks of the gym she's visiting Friday. Just the idea of visiting another gym has her very excited. Although she does not know WHY she's visiting. I told her we were checking it out for summer camp, which is true . . .

;-)

talk about getting off the rabbit trail (LOL) I can't seem to stay on!

BTW, Melanie, I took a peek at your youtube links. Your DD & DS are amazing!

 

[gym law mom]

I can understand your frustration at all the down time and the kids basically losing interest. As for going to another gym for privates, that can be tricky. Some gyms don't like it at all(even if you ask in advance). I would think you would want to find another gym that does USAIGC so she would get coaches who understand what she needs work on. I would let her current gym know after the break that she worked out elsewhere----they may here it through the grapevine and better to be upfront. You can always say the oppurtunity was there and the gym was closed, so nobody to check with.

Keeping them going through April----I think others had a good idea with a in house meet or 2.

 

[JessMom]

update . . .

There were 10 girls Thursday . . .

only 7 tonight.

I mentioned my cooncern, loosing momentum etc. . .

the coach agreed . . .

Said with so few girls they'd try to work new skills . . . we'll see

 

[Aussie_coach]

A good coach will keep the kids motivated without meets, there are all sorts of other tthings they can do to keep the fire alive. In house meets is one thing,, or even control tests every few weeks in the gym where they try and beat their scores. A littlle training time each session on the higher level skills is motivating too.

I don't know too much about it. But while 7.5 hours a week is very low for USAG, I am under the impression that it is quite high for bronze level USAIG. I am also under the impression that USAIG is based around allowing girls to be able to compete without having to do so many hours, so many meets and so on. In which case the holidays off is part of the tone of the gym. Gyms often do this to claim that they can give the girls a normal life while still allowing them to compete in gymnastics.

But if your kid is one of those wgho doesnt want a normal life (like most gymnasts are), who wants all the gymnastics she can get. Then maybe you should consider a USAG gym.

 

[mariposa]

I can totally feel ya on not knowing what to do. I also see how USAIGC is great because they have more freedom to do their own thing, uptrain more, etc. I wish we had something besides USAG here.

I had no idea gymnastics would have to much drama, etc. I just dealt with a kid in tears at the gym today. When I went to watch the last hour of Abby's practice, she came to me and burst into tears. She said her best friend had been moved to level 5 and she wasn't and she was sobbing. I tried to calm her down and get her to go back, but she was embarrassed that the other girls would see her crying and wanted to go home. I told her coach that we were taking her home and she asked why. I told her she was just upset and I was going to take her home. She asked Abby what was wrong and she wouldn't answer so I told her. She explained to Abby that they hadn't moved up girls, she was just making the groups even. ( I actually think they were testing out the girls with the level 5s to see). She calmed her down and I asked her if she still wanted to go home and she said no. Then the coach told her she could go with the L5s, but she had to work hard and not play around or she would go with the other group.

Then she talked to me explained the same reasonings, but added she didn't put Abby there because she didn't want her to struggle, feel left behind. It did give me a chance to talk to her about Abby and how much she pushes herself to be like her best friend and that she does better with a challenge, told her about how she was afraid of beam, but STILL tried and got her BWO on beam a few months ago because her friend had done it and she pushed through her beam issues and also kept trying after a coach dropped her on her head while she was doing a BWO on beam.

I sometimes wish I had known so much stuff before I ever let her step into a gym, but then I look at the little girl she becomes when she is in the gym, does gymnastics, how much she loves it, how she tries soooo hard in gym, harder than anything else she does and I guess we just take all this drama stuff with the good stuff.

And, now that I hijacked your thread...

I think you should really consider looking at other gyms for her. She is really talented and she obviously wants MORE and USAG or a gym that does both might be better for her.

 

[JessMom]

Thanks guys.

Last night was . . . beyond words.

7 girls out of 23 came to practice and when the director left (30 min into practie) it was pure chaos. They didn't do much of anything. I walked in to find DD trying to do front ariels . . . no spot . . . no correction . . . no help . . . I stopped her and tried to get her to take advantage of what had turned into an "open gym" and she wasn't interested. Said everyone else was playing, she wanted to play too. Now tell me, how do you argue that with a 7 yr old?

I almost grabbed her and pulled her out a few times. I am beyond words and will need to keep hubby out of the gym tonight - he has a few choice words for director!

I find myslef not wanting to return at all.

Only thing that will have me there tonight is 1) see if the director has anything to say 2) confront the coach 3) The coach I trust will be there

Sigh . . . gonna put this in another thread titled "switching gyms mid-season"!