Coaches Asking HC to re-evaluate DD's placement

[Amber]

Hi all,
I have 2 DD's on team. My older DD, started last year as a 10 year old on Excel Bronze. She had done 2 years of rec gym previous. She had a great season, scoring in the top 3 for every meet, except one, where she scored 4th. She got 2nd AA for her state meet, and was bars and floor state champion. The entire year, she did the old level 4 routines, handspring on floor, mill circle on bars, handstand wendy dismount on beam, and handstand flatback onto high mat for vault.
About 3 weeks ago, she went to Flipfest camp. I was surprised to learn that she was placed on "4" group, with our gym's old level 5 from last year's girls. I talked to John McCready at the end of camp and I mentioned that she was placed much higher at camp than at our home gym. He says they are careful with placements and she was placed correctly. Her camp coach noted that she has cartwheel on high beam, along with two BWO's on high beam. On floor, she is doing 2 back springs then back tuck (back tuck is spotted). Bars, she was working on kip, and clear hips. Her kip came at camp, and is in the on again off again phase. She worked on Half ons (?) at camp on vault.
My question is this: she is slated to compete Excel Silver this year. Her teammates on Silver are just getting handsprings, and did level 3 skills last year. Should my DD be evaluated for Excel Gold? Can they just go on Gold, or do they have to score out of Silver? We are in SC. I am not sure if it is nationalized now or what...
Our HC is very touchy. I don't want to bring this up unless it seems like a realistic and fair question. Excel in our gym is generally looked down on as a place for the too tall, too old, too heavy, or endless bent legs. My DD was in the "too old for JO" category. She loves Excel, and so do I, I love that they can have their own routines. Do you coaches think her skills are up to par with Gold skills? Should I bring it up to HC? HC doesn't watch or interact with Excel kids at all except for the initial placement. HC is the end all be all of placements. Please give me your thoughts. Our season does not start until October, so if I am going to ask for her to be re-evaluated, I need to do so before August 1st, when team placements are locked down for the year. Thanks.

 

[Mustanggal99]

Here is USAGs chart for the different levels http://usagym.org/PDFs/Women/xcel/2013RuleCharts.pdf
Also, here is the chart for vaults
http://usagym.org/PDFs/Women/xcel/2013VaultValues.pdf

That being said, there may be another reason that the coach is keeping her in silver... But I guess in my mind, I'm always open to any parent that has questions so they explain the sport better, as long as it is not interfering with my coaching. Could you email HC instead of talking with?

And they do not have to score out of silver to go gold.

 

[Amber]

Mustang,
Thanks for the chart...now I have to find another chart listing what the A skills, B skills, etc are I am planning on emailing HC, but wanted to put it out here first, since I'm not sure whether her skills are at Excel Gold level. Our HC doesn't really see the progression of the excel girls..sole focus is JO. DD's turns and leaps/jumps are good, and has full split down with one leg. Not sure why she should stay on Silver, but my main concern is progression. I cannot bear watching another full year of mill circles! I'm definitely not going to push this, but there is now a huge difference in quality and level of skills between my DD and her Silver teammates. It just makes one question....

 

[gymdog]

I would just ask if there's any opportunity. I would guess bars is holding her back if she just got a kip at camp.

 

[Natasha]

We are in Region 8 also. Although the levels will be changing some this year, I can tell you that there is a big gap from Silver to Gold. Prior to this year, girls had to score out of (old) L5 in order to compete Gold. The new rules look like some of the minimum gold requirements may be less, but there is room for advanced skills. So, for example, you may see BHS on beam at gold level, Tucks or even layouts on floor, kips on bars.
There is also a lot of room for variety in the silver level, so you may see some girls just getting BHS, however, keep in mind that a BHS-BT is allowed on floor as well as the Backwalkover series on beam and a kip can be done at silver level as well.
So, I guess your dd could easily do Silver and do well, or she could be on the low-end of skills at gold.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

Hi all,
I have 2 DD's on team. My older DD, started last year as a 10 year old on Excel Bronze. She had done 2 years of rec gym previous. She had a great season, scoring in the top 3 for every meet, except one, where she scored 4th. She got 2nd AA for her state meet, and was bars and floor state champion. The entire year, she did the old level 4 routines, handspring on floor, mill circle on bars, handstand wendy dismount on beam, and handstand flatback onto high mat for vault.
About 3 weeks ago, she went to Flipfest camp. I was surprised to learn that she was placed on "4" group, with our gym's old level 5 from last year's girls. I talked to John McCready at the end of camp and I mentioned that she was placed much higher at camp than at our home gym. He says they are careful with placements and she was placed correctly. Her camp coach noted that she has cartwheel on high beam, along with two BWO's on high beam. On floor, she is doing 2 back springs then back tuck (back tuck is spotted). Bars, she was working on kip, and clear hips. Her kip came at camp, and is in the on again off again phase. She worked on Half ons (?) at camp on vault.
My question is this: she is slated to compete Excel Silver this year. Her teammates on Silver are just getting handsprings, and did level 3 skills last year. Should my DD be evaluated for Excel Gold? Can they just go on Gold, or do they have to score out of Silver? We are in SC. I am not sure if it is nationalized now or what...
Our HC is very touchy. I don't want to bring this up unless it seems like a realistic and fair question. Excel in our gym is generally looked down on as a place for the too tall, too old, too heavy, or endless bent legs. My DD was in the "too old for JO" category. She loves Excel, and so do I, I love that they can have their own routines. Do you coaches think her skills are up to par with Gold skills? Should I bring it up to HC? HC doesn't watch or interact with Excel kids at all except for the initial placement. HC is the end all be all of placements. Please give me your thoughts. Our season does not start until October, so if I am going to ask for her to be re-evaluated, I need to do so before August 1st, when team placements are locked down for the year. Thanks.

goals and objectives in a gym program are different than those at a camp.

 

[raenndrops]

I just have to say that I HATE Excel Silver... especially the vault... They have to go over the big vault, but end in flatback on the vault stack. Gold does not REQUIRE any Bs. Form what you say, she has all the skills to compete Gold. She should NOT have to score out of Silver.
Since they changed floor music length so Silver and Gold are the same, you should be able to switch even though it is after August 1

Good luck.

 

[gymdog]

I just have to say that I HATE Excel Silver... especially the vault... They have to go over the big vault, but end in flatback on the vault stack.

I don't have any feelings about the rest of the events really, but I also found this odd, and that there is no option. I suppose they can use the tramp board. Thing is, we've constantly heard about why we can't have timer vaults in other levels "because it's too hard to set up." I'm not saying this is a bad drill, but it is hard in some gyms for Excel groups to train on the table stations and if gyms have pit behinds their vault, etc, they will have to do all their training on a block/mat in front of the resi. I think doing a front handspring over the mat turned sideways is better. But of course this is impossible because "in some gyms that host meets they can't fit the mat sideways because their vault is by a wall."

Um...if your vault is a safe distance away from the wall to do a vault over the table, you can put the resi there and do a front handspring over it. Maybe it won't be perfectly centered, but it should be possible to safely do. Also, the equipment companies will start making half resis to fill the demand just like they started mass manufacturing the level 4 current mat with the lines.

 

[Quadqueen]

She doesn't have to score out of Silver, but if her kip isn't consistent, she would be placed in Silver in our gym. A friend's daughter competed 2 years of level 4 and isn't quite ready for 5, so she's moving to Silver.

 

[raenndrops]

She doesn't have to score out of Silver, but if her kip isn't consistent, she would be placed in Silver in our gym. A friend's daughter competed 2 years of level 4 and isn't quite ready for 5, so she's moving to Silver.

We have girls competing Gold this season that do not have their kips. A kip in not a REQUIREMENT until Platinum. AND the old L4 mount - glide and return, pullover actually counts as 2 of the 6 required skills at both Silver AND Gold.