Parents How would you handle it?....

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Okay so I seem to have lots of questions and well, I am sure to have more! So, my DD is a 9 year old Level 7 and has been scoring on all events 9.5-9.7's, so to me it seems like she has a grasp for Level 7 and is ready to move on to Level 8 for next spring. She does need to get a few more skills, but has plenty of time for that. Here is my dilema. The owner of our small gym seems to want to hold my DD back in 7 for another year so she is the "winner" all year? I do NOT under any circumstances believe that is okay. He says oh she has time on her side.. and blah blah.. HOW would you handle this? I am against this, my daughter is already bored to death with the Level 7 skills etc... and I honestly don't see any benefit in it? Am I missing something? I hate that I am feeling like I have to take this up with the coaches and tell them my thoughts, it makes me sick to my stomach.
 
Look at it this way. Put his comment about wanting her to "win" aside and consider that the move from 7 to 8 is BIG! She is only 9 and taking a "casual" length of time to master the 8 skills will be a good thing. Consider the flipping vaults, the high to low bar change, the flips on beam, and the harder tumbling on floor - a whole year to learn those is not a bad thing. If college gym is her goal, she will need at least two solid years as a 10 in her early high school years; she has plenty of time to get there.

Good Luck.
 
Look at it this way. Put his comment about wanting her to "win" aside and consider that the move from 7 to 8 is BIG! She is only 9 and taking a "casual" length of time to master the 8 skills will be a good thing. Consider the flipping vaults, the high to low bar change, the flips on beam, and the harder tumbling on floor - a whole year to learn those is not a bad thing. If college gym is her goal, she will need at least two solid years as a 10 in her early high school years; she has plenty of time to get there.

Good Luck.
I love voices of reason... I guess what really got to me was the whole "win" thing. While I understand that a Level 8 move has big skills, I am positive she is up to it. She is bored already. I also, think that if for some reason she doesn't get the skills in time for comp season, then by all means leave her a level 7. I can understand more if it was level 8 for 2 years, but not 7 as she has clearly done well enough to move on.
 
If she were my kid and she had the skills for level 8, move her...I'm not paying to repeat a level that my kid is scoring in the 9.5-9.7 range already...that's called a ringer. We have a gym here that does that all the time....10 yr old level 5s getting 38s and beating everyone because it's their 3rd year in the level....not nice and your owner just wants it for his gym banners.

Our original gym tried to do that with my youngest when she was level 4 and had won all her meets , including big ones like IGI and Parkettes, and wanted her to "repeat level 4 for her sake" .She had her level 5 and most 6 skills so I said to them, "just so we're clear, she will not be repeating level 4 again in this gym"...she was moved up and did well.
 
Um..... no! Honestly, the skills going from 7 to 8 are not that high. The only change on bars is the pirouette, no high to low bar change. A few girls are doing double back dismounts, but they are certainly the minority. The vault is the big one.

I would 100% push for a move to L8. My DD is a young L8 this year, and I anticipate her moving to L9 next year. I can imagine that L9 will be my DDs repeat year - I think the jump from 8 to 9 is the big one.
 
I think the actual point of the issue is whether your gym can get your daughter to the next levels. I don't know why a gym would be having a "let's hold back a gymnast scoring 38s at Level 7" conversations in March. The next optional season is a year away. Why this conversation? How many Level 8, 9 & 10s does your current gym have? How are they scoring?

Moving forward, I think you should be grateful the gym had this conversation now. You have plenty of time to either figure it out with this gym or figure out an alternative.
 
If she were my kid and she had the skills for level 8, move her...I'm not paying to repeat a level that my kid is scoring in the 9.5-9.7 range already...that's called a ringer. We have a gym here that does that all the time....10 yr old level 5s getting 38s and beating everyone because it's their 3rd year in the level....not nice and your owner just wants it for his gym banners.

Our original gym tried to do that with my youngest when she was level 4 and had won all her meets , including big ones like IGI and Parkettes, and wanted her to "repeat level 4 for her sake" .She had her level 5 and most 6 skills so I said to them, "just so we're clear, she will not be repeating level 4 again in this gym"...she was moved up and did well.
agree 100%
 
If she were my kid and she had the skills for level 8, move her...I'm not paying to repeat a level that my kid is scoring in the 9.5-9.7 range already...that's called a ringer. We have a gym here that does that all the time....10 yr old level 5s getting 38s and beating everyone because it's their 3rd year in the level....not nice and your owner just wants it for his gym banners.

Our original gym tried to do that with my youngest when she was level 4 and had won all her meets , including big ones like IGI and Parkettes, and wanted her to "repeat level 4 for her sake" .She had her level 5 and most 6 skills so I said to them, "just so we're clear, she will not be repeating level 4 again in this gym"...she was moved up and did well.
I think you are right! I DO NOT want to pay for a repeat of the same level competition season!
 
I think the actual point of the issue is whether your gym can get your daughter to the next levels. I don't know why a gym would be having a "let's hold back a gymnast scoring 38s at Level 7" conversations in March. The next optional season is a year away. Why this conversation? How many Level 8, 9 & 10s does your current gym have? How are they scoring?

Moving forward, I think you should be grateful the gym had this conversation now. You have plenty of time to either figure it out with this gym or figure out an alternative.
They certainly can, but they are so wishy washy in that they change stuff all the time. It is not a huge gym, she only has 5 girls including her competing Level 7. The coaches told them they had to get a certain score to even be considered to move up. And she has done that at plus some! It is a small gym, so the owner does talk to the parents here and there. I guess I am conflicted because i just don't know how to bring it up without sounding like I am telling them what is going to happen or else!
 
Do you have other gym options nearby? That would give you some leverage in speaking with the owners/coaches.
 
She hasn't already won with scores in the 9.5 - 9.7 range? She'd be a winner in my state. I'd be looking for a new gym that will give the opportunity to compete 8 if she has the skills. I agree with the PP that said the change from 7 to 8 isn't that big. Double back dismounts and high to low bar change are rarely seen in my state in L8.
 
They certainly can, but they are so wishy washy in that they change stuff all the time. It is not a huge gym, she only has 5 girls including her competing Level 7. The coaches told them they had to get a certain score to even be considered to move up. And she has done that at plus some! It is a small gym, so the owner does talk to the parents here and there. I guess I am conflicted because i just don't know how to bring it up without sounding like I am telling them what is going to happen or else!

Do you know if any of the other L7's are moving up? I wonder if they need to repeat and the gym is trying to keep your dd back as well so that she is not alone. Could be b/c they are worried about how your dd will do at competitions with no teammates or either they don't want the added cost and work of having to attends L8 sessions with one gymnast. Not saying it is right or fair by any means but that might be why.

I don't think it's fair to your dd to have to repeat with the scores she had had unless she was having some real trouble getting the skills or having mental blocks/ fears. As a matter of fact since she's young it's on her best interest to learn as much as possible before the fears do set in (usually around puberty). There is a chance her progress could slow down around that time and she may need to legitimately repeat a level. So why waste a year now when things are going so well?

I would sit down and tell them how you feel about her repeating. I wouldn't threaten or make demands but I would make it clear that you think she deserves the chance to move up. Voice your concerns while trying to stay as unemotional and reasonable as possible. If they shut you down then it might be time to look at other options and if you do I would keep it as quiet as possible until you make a decision.
 
She hasn't already won with scores in the 9.5 - 9.7 range? She'd be a winner in my state. I'd be looking for a new gym that will give the opportunity to compete 8 if she has the skills. I agree with the PP that said the change from 7 to 8 isn't that big. Double back dismounts and high to low bar change are rarely seen in my state in L8.
Yes, she has won gold for several events. I think he is referring to yes at meets and mostly for State and Regionals... ( which we haven't even competed in this year!) I told him she's hoping to up her scores for state and regionals and his reply was well then next year she will be in the 39's all year? WTF it just irritates me!
 
Do you know if any of the other L7's are moving up? I wonder if they need to repeat and the gym is trying to keep your dd back as well so that she is not alone. Could be b/c they are worried about how your dd will do at competitions with no teammates or either they don't want the added cost and work of having to attends L8 sessions with one gymnast. Not saying it is right or fair by any means but that might be why.

I don't think it's fair to your dd to have to repeat with the scores she had had unless she was having some real trouble getting the skills or having mental blocks/ fears. As a matter of fact since she's young it's on her best interest to learn as much as possible before the fears do set in (usually around puberty). There is a chance her progress could slow down around that time and she may need to legitimately repeat a level. So why waste a year now when things are going so well?

I would sit down and tell them how you feel about her repeating. I wouldn't threaten or make demands but I would make it clear that you think she deserves the chance to move up. Voice your concerns while trying to stay as unemotional and reasonable as possible. If they shut you down then it might be time to look at other options and if you do I would keep it as quiet as possible until you make a decision.
It sounds like he will move the older level 7's and then keep the "younger" ones for another year! It makes no sense to me. I agree very much about moving on to the harder skills before major mental block and puberty steps in for sure!
 
It definitely sounds like a conversation with the coach is due. I can't imagine demanding that my child move up because I don't want to pay for repeat levels, but I also can't imagine our coaches holding a kid back with scores like you described. I wonder if it has to do with how they interpret your daughter's motivation? For instance, if she is the type of kid who puts a lot of value on medals and placing at meets, then maybe the goal is for her to repeat level 7 and aggressively uptrain level 8 so she has a better chance of continuing to medal and get high scores. I know when my DD's coaches started talking about having her score out of level 4 and compete level 5 we had a pretty frank conversation with her about what is more important - climbing levels and learning new skills or making it the podium. Not that she doesn't have a chance to medal at level 5 but it's obviously less likely than if she slowed her progression and competed at level 4. Do you feel like your daughter is highly motivated by placing well at meets? Or is she more motivated by being challenged with new skills in practice? I would say that if your daughter feels ready to move to level 8, even if there's a chance she won't score as well, and she really is close to her skills for that level, it would be worth respectfully requesting that she move up. Maybe schedule a meeting with the coach or send a candid e-mail that explains that winning meets is not your ultimate goal, nor is it hers, and that you are worried she will lose interest in gymnastics if she isn't challenged by progressing through skills and levels. Good luck!
 
I think it depends on the gym. We are also in the same situation, though DD has had a couple of meets where she wasn't consistent . But with the exception of those two meets, 37's and 38's. My concern is the yurchenko vault. Minimal to no training to date even with the timer, but DD is at a gym that really favors winning, so most of the season was spent tweaking the fhs vault. I think prepping for that yurchenko takes time, and I just don't want to push her to compete that vault before she's really comfortable. And we aren't at a gym that would permit taking the low start value fhs vault for level 8 until she's comfortable competing the yurchenko. So for that reason, I wouldn't be crushed if she repeated level 7. But if your kid has all the up skills for 8, then yes, that seems absurd to repeat 7 just to "win."
 
It definitely sounds like a conversation with the coach is due. I can't imagine demanding that my child move up because I don't want to pay for repeat levels, but I also can't imagine our coaches holding a kid back with scores like you described. I wonder if it has to do with how they interpret your daughter's motivation? For instance, if she is the type of kid who puts a lot of value on medals and placing at meets, then maybe the goal is for her to repeat level 7 and aggressively uptrain level 8 so she has a better chance of continuing to medal and get high scores. I know when my DD's coaches started talking about having her score out of level 4 and compete level 5 we had a pretty frank conversation with her about what is more important - climbing levels and learning new skills or making it the podium. Not that she doesn't have a chance to medal at level 5 but it's obviously less likely than if she slowed her progression and competed at level 4. Do you feel like your daughter is highly motivated by placing well at meets? Or is she more motivated by being challenged with new skills in practice? I would say that if your daughter feels ready to move to level 8, even if there's a chance she won't score as well, and she really is close to her skills for that level, it would be worth respectfully requesting that she move up. Maybe schedule a meeting with the coach or send a candid e-mail that explains that winning meets is not your ultimate goal, nor is it hers, and that you are worried she will lose interest in gymnastics if she isn't challenged by progressing through skills and levels. Good luck!
Never has my daughter competed for only getting medals, is it a nice perk.. sure. It has always just been to do her personal best and if able up it for the next meet. She is skill driven and loves the sport.
 

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