How can I get that 9.0?!

[Mack_the_Ripper]

I've been working my butt off for 12 hrs a week in the gym and I'm not seeing any results (L5). My routines have been getting more consistent, but from meet to meet I don't see any increase in scores. I'm stuck at 8.6 - 8.8 on every event except bars, where I'm "stuck" at 9.1 - 9.3. Today I performed an awesome beam routine: only two smallish wobbles and no falls, confident and poised. 8.6. It was my best routine of the season! My teammate had several obvious wobbles and was shaky throughout and got an 8.8. I feel like I'm stagnating. Same deal on floor.

I know you guys can't see my routines, but I was wondering if you had any advice yet. I did do well in all-around awards (1st) but my age group is not competetive and I'm not doing well compared to several of my younger teammates. I really need to push for those 9.0s! I feel like I'm not getting any feedback on floor and beam in practice. The coach tends to focus on those with big errors, and I have no idea how my teammates get 9.1s and 9.4s. I don't see any big differences!

Should I try to increase my hours? Take private lessons? SWITCH GYMS?!

 

[NotAMom]

OK, none of us can really tell you until you can show us footage. However, based on what you said, my guess is it would have to be your form. Your bent knees, separate feet, arches, pikes, etc.

 

[Mack_the_Ripper]

I have always had good form and it is my strong point. It is my focus when I go into a meet and I rarely recieve corrections on "the little things." I was just wondering if anyone had any ideas about how I should go about taking another look at my routines. My dad IS going to talk to my favorite coach about it soon, though. He's going to ask her what I can do to perform at the level of a couple of my teammates, ask about private lessons, etc, and make sure she knows it's me who wants the help, not my dad who wants higher scores.

 

[cathiann]

I have always had good form and it is my strong point. It is my focus when I go into a meet and I rarely recieve corrections on "the little things." I was just wondering if anyone had any ideas about how I should go about taking another look at my routines. My dad IS going to talk to my favorite coach about it soon, though. He's going to ask her what I can do to perform at the level of a couple of my teammates, ask about private lessons, etc, and make sure she knows it's me who wants the help, not my dad who wants higher scores.

Just curious--why aren't you talking to the coach yourself? You're obviously old enough to do so (since you're posting here ;-) ) so go ahead and ask! Coaches like when you look for ways to improve. And as someone else said--we really can't offer advice on what you might need to improve on without seeing video of your routines.

 

[bookworm]

I think that even though you don't think it's a form issue , it probably is...are your moves sharp and crisp; toes always pointed, landings without a step or a wobble...even a "little wobble" can cost you .1 ; bigger wobble .3 so they all add up. The biggest factor between scores is usually how clean the routine is ...those with the cleanest routines, especially in compulsory levels, usually score the best.

I don't think privates is the answer because the coaches should be able to correct you whiole you're there for 12 hours. Is there a particular coach that is the "detail guy"? If so, that would be the person to speak with.

 

[gymmomntc2e6]

I would agree that it is likely form and being 'crisp'. My DD struggles with this. As I say she gets 'tenthed to death'

 

[marie83]

Again, without seeing your performances it's hard to say, but from my experience it is all the little things...

I would guess that a 9 + gymnast would:

a. Look confident
b. Present themselves well, crisp performance, straight legs, toes pointed, nice body tension, pretty hands, head movements etc
c. Make difficult skills look easy
d. Stick landings cold

Specifically:
vault - there are big deductions for lack of height and length, so really work on this. Big deductions for piking at the hip as well. But really focus on those landings because it is the last thing the judge sees and most vault judges work backwards - if the landing was good it stands to reason that the rest of the vault was good. If the landing was poor, then the rest of the vault will have been poor too!

Bars - Make sure your arms are straight throughout the routine. Point your toes - 0.1 each time they aren't pointed!!! Straight legs in swings, and make sure each swing has good amplitude. And again, stick that landing

Beam - Hold anything that needs holding for an extra second if possible. Work on really sticking all your skills without a wobble (all the things I mentioned above really)

Floor- Listen to the music, work on hitting splits in the straddle jump and split leap, really sell the routine to the judges. Show what you can do well off.

Other than those things there isn't really a lot else I can say.
My advice would be to ask your coach exactly where deductions come from and see if you can find any problem areas which need cleaning up.

Those scoring above 9 are normally those who are excelling at this level and therefore find it easy/make it look easy.
This video is of a girl who is scoring 9+ on each event, you can see that she is very flexible so really uses that to her advantage in her floor routine

YouTube - Level 5 Gymnastics (2007 Nevada State Championships)

Good Luck!

 

[Mack_the_Ripper]

Thank you to all that have posted. About little wobbles: this is why I am frustrurated. I had a very clean beam routine and scored much lower than a teammate who had a very wobbly routine. I am at a loss because I AM a natural performer - I go well with the music and I'm graceful ("crisp movements" and such). However, I am NOT very flexible naturally. I have my split, but...do you think it will be a barrier from those 9.0's if I'm not insanely flexible? Because I can work and work on my flexibility but I'll never be the same as some of those girls.

I think I have clean routines - obviously, I don't have a video. I am always focused on straight, together legs and pointed toes, so I feel very upset that all of my hard work is going nowhere. I feel like I tried my hardest on my beam and floor routines and yet the scores were sub-par.

I'm pretty frusturated with the coaching right now. We often have 11 girls and one coach, which doesn't sound like a whole lot, but it means that on beam and floor I very rarely recieve corrections because the coach has 7 other girls whose routines are uglier than mine. Bars and vault are better because only 1 -2 people can go at one time. That's why I was thinking about privates - I have no idea what's wrong and I'm not getting corrections.

 

[gymmomntc2e6]

Best thing would be to have someone tape your next meet. Have them tape the girls whonyou say score high and you so you can watch them all and maybe that will help.

 

[Kayleigh]

I know what you mean... I was very much the same way. Unfortunately (at least in PA), flexibility is a big one. At level 5, the degree of leap required is a bit less than 180 degrees... but think about it. If a judge sees a girl leap at the requirement of 150 or so, and another leap at 180, who's going to score better? It's always better to have that full split, requirement or not. Other than that... it's hard to say without video. Go out there and make the judges look. Presence is huge.

 

[gympanda]

Hey...just remember that your score really isn't everything. There are lots of factors that go into how that score is derived, and I guarantee you don't have the same judges every time, and we all see things a little differently. It sounds like you are a compulsary gymnast, and often times there are crazy little deductions in those routines. I would focus more on your skills and having fun with your routines. Your 9s will come with time and the more fun you have doing gymnastics the more fun your routines will be to watch!
Good luck!!

 

[Flippers Mom]

USAG produced a DVD of all compulsary routines on which routines are presented skill by skill - with information such as how high a cast must be to receive full credit. I believe it's purpose was to train coaches when the routines first came out. We borrowed the gyms DVD and Flipper noticed a couple skills that she wasn't performing as required. There are so many little things that can cause deductions. It made a difference for her - might be worth a try.

 

[NotAMom]

The desire to improve is great, but I'm a bit confused about why you're not working through your concerns with your coaches?

With that being said, one thing that will help you immensely in terms of identifying your own shortfalls is to watch yourself on video. Some gyms do that as a part of their regular lesson plan. Believe me when I tell you this...it will be an eye opener to you, especially hearing how you describe yourself. How you look and how you think you look will surely be two different things.

 

[Mack_the_Ripper]

Oh my goodness! Thank you all! I was kind of posting as a sort of vent because I was really upset and confused...now I've had gym practice and although we didn't do routines (3 weeks until State - we're doing a little fun week) I've kind of "let go" of my bad feelings. Also, I was approached at school by a L9 gymnast who told me that I did a great job and my beam score should have been higher. This has confirmed what I thought, what my teammates thought, and what the guy sitting next to my dad thought (my dad is clueless about gymnastics). The L9 said that my coach had actually petitioned the judge to change the score, but they didn't want to deal with it.

So now I'm trying not to think about scores, but to focus on my skills and getting those leaps/jumps higher, everything more consistent, and absolutely flawless form every time. I'm setting up a private lesson with my coach to get some 1-on-1 about my routines to really make them sparkle for State. I guess gymnastics is always about trying to achieve that next level of impossible perfection!

Side note: I got over my fear and did a standing back tuck into the pit with no spot!

 

[gracefulone]

I used to read over the routine diagrams and descriptions just to make sure I was doing everything correctly. You can lose tenths for the smallest things!