WAG Level 9 Training and Season

[Muddlethru]

My daughter did her first full bar routine yesterday. We have a small in house meet next Saturday. All events don't seem there yet. But she seems ok. Having missed a full month of summer's gym practice, I think gives her the reason to be more forgiving if herself. She is a 1st year level 9. But her gym practice hours are 15 hours a week. It is 15 hours for L7 to L10. I think it is on the light side but I felt it may not be bad as it may have less burnout and pounding on the body. But I wonder if this adequate for a L9 or L10?

 

[Quadqueen]

I think you will hear from several people here that will say her hours are "not enough." But I'm curious...how old is your DD? How long has she been in gym? Has she repeated any levels or skipped any levels? I just wonder, because my DD is also at a gym where they do few hours, at 12 hours a week for L6-L9.

 

[wallinbl]

Ours go 17.5 hours/week and they do well at meets. We don't have large teams, so the coach-gymnast ratio in those practices is probably a lot better than at some of the larger gyms around here.

 

[gymmom14]

My DD is also a 1st year L9 that doesn't seem quite ready. She has not done a full bar routine yet. Other events are coming along. We train 18 hours per week.

I have always felt an extremely efficient 15 hours a week will be more beneficial than a unefficient 18 hours a week.

 

[Gymmonkeymomma]

My dd, another first year 9, also has not done a full bar routine. Her other events are fine, she feels good about them. Our levels 8-10 train 20 hours. We have 15 girls split into 2 groups.

 

[MeetDirector]

My first year Lvl 9 has started doing full sets on bars (last week I think) as well as everything else. Boy is it a quick bar routine; guess it doesn't take long to get everything in. Her optional team (lvl 7 - 10, about 20 girls) practices about 20 hours per week, some go longer. The first couple of hours it is just them in the gym so they have 4 groups going each with thier own coach.

 

[Muddlethru]

I guess it is not the number of hours. Though I wish I could say practice is efficient. But with two coaches coaching all our L7 to L9, it seems there is a lot of waiting, particularly at bars. They do skill on bars for about 5 seconds, get off, chalk up and then stand in line behind sometimes 10 girls. Anyway glad to hear we are not so far behind in doing full sets.

To kateR, my daughter just turned 11, has not repeated a level but did L6 and L7 in one year. She's been at the same gym since L4. Twelve hours for L8 and L9 seems pretty low.

The coaches probably know what they are doing. I just get nervous every year in the beginning of the season. It is hard to watch any gymnast not do well at meets. And we especially want our daughters to do well.

 

[2gymmies]

My dd is competing level 9 this year and she is now doing 22 or 23 hours - she is competing as a 12 and has Elite aspirations. She is not yet doing full sets, but they are putting sequences together. Our first meet isn't until January. If they are getting their skills, then the coaches are certainly doing something right!

 

[iwannacoach]

Yep, it's a little on the light side, and even more so if the 15 hours are spread between five days, because every practice starts with friends "catching up", looking through the lost and found, digging through their gymbags to find grips, and.......so why do it times five?

I like a four day week of 16 hours with the fifth day available for make-ups and extra work with kids that are charged up about learning some new skills or just polishing up what they have.

The best you can do is make the most of every turn on the equipment, and treat every correction as a matter of urgency, and to satisfy that urgency by getting up and doing it differently the very next turn.

Trial and error, done safely and under supervision, will get results faster than trying to slightly modify what's already being done wrong.

That, and go buy the gym a new set of bars.......

Insert gratuitous wink faces here......

 

[gym monkeys mom]

My DD is 16yrs doing 1st year of Level 9 and we do about 14 hours a week over 4 days. She also coaches 2 days more a week at the club. While this maybe on the light side it is what has kept her in gymnastics all these years. She would have quit with more hours as she also has a social life. She is content with where she is at and that is what counts. She also is the only one left in gymnastics at all from her Level 4 team of 7-8 girls and she was considered the least talented.

I would say if your DD is 11yrs and level 9 on that few of hours your club must be doing somthing right. I don't think it is always about the hours or even the scores but, rather about the long term goals of the gymnast. Your club may not be the right fit for all types of gymnasts but, for some it is great. It may help to look long term at your DD's goals and decide if your club can get her there. It may be worth a chat with club onwers and coaches about your DD's goals and see if they want to help get her there or should you seek out another club which can help her fulfill her goals.

Switching is sometimes necessary but, not always just becasue a club has never taken a child to a certain level does not mean they are not capable of getting gymnasts to that level. Look at Chow's club in Iowa for instance.

Hope this helps.

 

[iwannacoach]

^^^^Coaching two days a week makes a huge difference. Your dd is learning a deeper appreciation of what makes this sport tick, and has a better sense of what goes through her coach's head.