I know boys high bar is different (in multiple ways), but they don't ever do a mill circle and somehow survive to get to optionals
You're right - it's a totally different event. I'm not really sure where to go with this comparison, but I have also coached boys level 4. Bar work very questionable for several reasons, one being physical...I'm not going to elaborate on that but you get the picture.
Boys level 4 just doing back hip circles is usually way more dodgy than the average girls level 3 group.
My problem with the mill circle is the vast time spent mastering it (months on end) when that time could have been spent on kip conditioning/drills.
That's a coaching problem, I'm not sure coaches who don't know how to make a plan and coach the average child to the next level after a season can be fixed by just changing the routines. Do we put kip drills in the routine? What? The goal of the compulsory committee on bars in this level is to have a routine with multiple skills that requires no spotting, is safe for a child as young as 6 and novice level gymnasts (so going to the high bar is basically out) and flow/breadth of movement. So yeah, we could have the kids cast and do like five back hip circles in a row, but what is that teaching? And if you do that then some coaches will just be teaching back hip circles anyway.
Many years ago we had the kip in old level 4 and if you did it in most states, you had a 10 SV while if you did the pullover you had a 9.5 or 9.0 SV. So for all of you that hated level 3, think about if your kid did a kip or not, and if not, think about how much you'd like it if she started at a 9 every meet...Aaaand that's exactly why we don't have that anymore with this generation especially. Some coaches still couldn't teach the kip in that timeframe and it was decided that when a skill isn't required for a level compulsory level, kids shouldn't be penalized for not doing it. And even with a HUGE incentive to do it, most kids couldn't/didn't. Granted compulsories was less competitive then. But since we've already gone down that road we pretty much know what it will be like if we require the kip for level 3...it will keep a lot of kids off team or they'll all just score low and we'd be back to square one anyway, why not just not require it.
What do other countries outside the US do for the early compulsory levels on bars? Are they mill-circling or something else....?
With all due respect, most other countries don't offer remotely the same gymnastics program or options as the US. The goal of USA Gymnastics is to provide a platform where every child can participate in gymnastics at he right level for them. That might be Jen Bricker as a tramp/tumbling champion (she has no legs), a child with special needs participating in a class, or the dozens of kids for whom nailing a mill circle will be one of the high points of their career. The position of USA gymnastics is that if a kid is so advanced that a mill circle is beneath her and her coaches want to accelerate the training, there are options to do so (start in level 4, TOPS training, Xcel, etc). for everyone else? The process and physical training involved in learning a mill circle is the same process as anything else in gymnastics. They get stronger using different muscles that they don't use in the back hip circle. They learn to work through frustration. They build synapses in their brains (teaches timing and body awareness). They stay on the bar longer and get better. Those things are "the point."
Contrary to what this post might make you believe, I don't really care if the mill circle stays or goes. But the truth is its no more pointless than a back hip circle. Can you do any advanced circling skill using a back hip circle technique? No. Either way, when they get more advanced, they have to adjust their technique and use more advanced techniques. If in 2022 we start doing a routine without mill circles in level 3, I'll welcome it. And I'll still teach mill circles. Because it's fun, and there's not a lot else they can do in the novice stage.
