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Your daughter appears to work very hard, but it is obvious she is going to have alot of problems as she ages.

The coaches should try teaching her the basics before teaching her to throw herself around, for example- they should teach her to do a handstand in a decent shape, before teaching her to push up a bent armed, scruffy legged, bendy backed straddle press to handstand.

She is using incorrect technique and performing things in a way which will damage her joints and hinder her future career in gymnastics

For example - she has her arms far too wide in her floor and bar skills, this builds up muscle in the wrong place and encourages incorrect technique and will lead to increased risk of injury. She is also tumbling with her hands turned out - the male way of doing it - which leads to hyper extension and puts extreme pressure on the elbow joints

She is throwing backflips with her knees rolling in and on a hard surface - this is extremely hard on the growing joints of a fove year old girl and could cause many problems

Your daughter must focus on perfecting the basics if she wants to go anywhere in gymnastics, without basics, advanced skills wont work with the correct technique.

P.S im not trying to sound harsh or anything! Im simply telling you what will more than likely happen if these problem areas aren't adressed

All the best.
 
She's adorable!

And is she really just 5? Her skills and her technique are extremely impressive, especially considering her age.

Lasswade, I think you are grossly exaggerating her lapses in technique. She has, for the most part, beautiful form and technique. Her handstands are indeed a bit archy, but that's a common problem and I expect it will be fixed in time, and I think it's a safe assumption that the coaches are and will continue to strive to correct her technique. Judging from this video, they've done a pretty good job of it so far.
 
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I think she looks great also. She is only 5 and is doing amazing. I do not think this video was meant for people to critique her technique, that is what her parents are paying her coaches to do.
 
As a coach and gymnast I agree with Geoffrey and Lasswadecoach. Although technique is learned over time it is important to stress proper technique from the very beginning. Lasswadecoach is correct when it comes to the technique that your daughter is using. I don't mean to sound harsh, I just don't want to see her get hurt and I want her to be as successful as possible!

I tell my girls that I'd rather see them do it correctly and fall or not complete the skill than do it improperly, slopply, etc and make it. As long as they try to use the proper technique. When I started working with the group of level 4s that I work with now, they had been moved up too quickly and they were not ready for competitive level 4. They could not do handstands without arching, or straight arm handstand forward rolls; they didn't even walk down the beam with straight legs.

It is VITAL to perfect the basics before moving on to harder skills. The harder the gymnast works at perfect technique on the basics the eaiser the harder skills will come.

Personally, and I don't mean to sound harsh, but I think that if your daughter wants to compete soon, do well, and go far in gymnastics, that the coaches, and everyone involved in her gymnastics need to focus on correcting the improper technique and form. In order for more difficult skills to be done correctly and without injury the basics must first be perfected--even if the gymnast is 5.

With my girls I stress that they are not too young to be good gymnasts, all they have to do is learn how to focus and think about what they are doing.

It seems that your daughter is working hard and that she has a lot of potential! I suggest working on form and technique at home and maybe mentioning something to coach...as to why your daugther may still have bent arms and legs on her backhandsprings when she's been doing them for a while (something to that extent).
 
I think both of you are exxagerating the extent of her lapses in technique. If my gym was full of kids who looked like this when they were 5, I'd be thrilled.

The only potentially major issues I see here are wide arms in her backhandsprings and an arch in her handstands. Both of these are typical with younger kids, and kids who haven't been doing the sport for very long. Both are things that any decent coach will do their best to correct, and I'd be willing to bet her coaches are already doing their best to do so.

I wouldn't be particularly worried about it. I, for one, am very impressed that somebody her age could reach the level she seems to be at.
 
I would be very happy too, but its the fact that this young girl is throwing a backhandspring, when she cannot do a handstand!!!!

It annoys me that the coaches have taken her onto harder skills rather than perfecting the basic, most important moves.

I do not think i am exagerating the problem areas, if they are not fixed at a young age, the growth plates will set and the gymnast will not be able to change her problems, they will develop and worsen.
 
geeez, lol, i did not read all of the comments yet:D , but breezed through a little, I actually agree with a few of the statements. The arch bothered me at first as well but she has really learned the proper muscles to use and has corrected it with time... these video clips I pulled from 5 months ago and she had only been with her current coaches from about 3 weeks to 6 weeks, a great deal has changed since then...

and as far as the back handsprings she would have done them at home if she did not have a gym to go to, trust me she is much safer being in the gym... the montage I really did just make for family and friends... I knew some would be harsh, but decided to share with all, not for criticism, just to share....
 
How do her skills look now? I'm sure they have improved quite a bit since then...that's the nice thing about be younger--they try things a little more than older girls do. If her skills were not looking any better, then i would be worried, but it sounds like they are!

Geoffrey--at both my home gym and the gym i currently coach at we do not just push gymnasts through the system--if they are training to be on the team (which is the thinking that we train everyone with) then we expect things to be done correctly before moving on. We also have a lot of 5 year olds that can do skills correctly. I think all students can do the skills correctly if they are encouraged to. Why encourage/accept gymnasts to have incorrect form when you can encourage them to be the best they can be.

Just some food for thought that I was told once by a sports person: It takes roughly 400 correct turns to reverse one incorrect turn.
 
hammy said:
Geoffrey--at both my home gym and the gym i currently coach at we do not just push gymnasts through the system--if they are training to be on the team (which is the thinking that we train everyone with) then we expect things to be done correctly before moving on. We also have a lot of 5 year olds that can do skills correctly. I think all students can do the skills correctly if they are encouraged to. Why encourage/accept gymnasts to have incorrect form when you can encourage them to be the best they can be.
Click to expand...

Don't misunderstand me: I don't mean to say that it is a good idea to "push kids through the system;" I'm merely saying that you two make it sound like this is a girl who is absolutely going to have to fix these problems right now or she'll destroy her joints and she will probably never be any good, when in fact these are completely typical problems, and this is a kid who seems to be doing far better than most at her age.
 
:) thanks GT she really enjoys gymnastics and I appreciate your kind words:) ... and thanks to medic as well you were correct... I was not really looking for coaching advice, it was just to share my little one - I am very proud of her as most mommies are of their little gymnasts right? , next time I will be sure to pick through and only post perfection if I share again - lol

to comment to others - you have to realize that the majority of her skills she had already learned in rec gym, only going an hour a week - she was still bumping her head all over the house doing bh "head" s's when we decided to train on a pre-team ... our coaches now really do stress the basics as well (and I agree that this is the key to success) and she has come such a long way - still not perfect mind you - and she is also still learning to turn her hands in for her bhs's... they are careful to not over correct her too much - which takes longer... some things really do just take time and it is not her fault that she picked up bad habits taking rec gym. She has now been training on pre-team for almost 6 months and has improved so much.

a bhs is not really a complicated skill (even though from opinions I have heard here it can have the worst impact on the body) and is usually taught in rec programs & cheerleading programs when most kids are probably not ready as well, probably to keep kids interested in the sport or whatever - they survive... and a good coach CAN correct a gymnast that has formed bad habits.... these other skills are not complicated and I hardly believe they will break her as a gymnast... perfecting takes time - and we simply could not imagine spending 40 hours a week in the gym to make things happen "faster"... taking time is just fine with us - my dd can not compete for another year and a half so we will just continue to focus on basics in the mean time... I am sorry but it is impossible to do something completely perfect the first time around... then why would we need to practice?

her straddle press she had just started and it was also SELF taught, I would love to have you say it was a "bent armed, scruffy legged, bendy backed straddle press to handstand" to that little sweet smiling 5 year old that worked on it day and night... you would have thought she just got to move to disney world forever when she finally got up there she was so happy... I included it in my montage not because it was perfect but because it was the 1st ones that she did that I videotaped, they have a special place....

on that note.... I really hope that no one else will be nervous about sharing their videos for fear of comments or criticism... :D
 
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GT--I didn't mean to sound that it was horrible. I agree that they are common mistakes and that it takes time to be perfect--"practice makes perfect." I was just voicing my opinion that even in the rec program, the skills should have been taught properly (sadly, it is not that way most of the time).

littlegymchampsmom: I didn't mean to come off rude and start "putting down" your daughter. I did not take all of the things into perspective and I was in the wrong. I did not realize that she just began this program and that those skills were learned in a rec program. I'm glad to hear that the coach is stressing the basics, and that your daugther is doing much better. She does have a lot of potential--I would be proud of her if she was my daughter. I did not mean to criticize, I was just trying to help you out--i'm sure you noticed those things yourself. Sometimes I get carried away when I see a gymnast do something when i know they can do it better.

I think we all got a little carried away, and we should not have done that. I definitely thing your daugther has the potential to be an amazing gymnast--especially seeing as she likes teaching herself things.
 
Hammy - I am absolutely certain that you meant only good - none of your comments were bad, they were just your opinion.... I did read another comment that I thought was completely rude, and uneccessary, but that is a different story.

I think that you sound like an excellent coach - your students are very lucky to have you. I did the montage for friends and fam and also for my dd to create a memory... I just wanted something for her to look back on and always have no matter where she goes in life - I did not want it to appear perfect, hence the comment "you are always perfect to us" ....when I made the decision to share here I opened up a can of worms I suppose - lol - next time I will be sure to share the entire story first:)
 
Littlegym-

I remember when my dd taught herself a backbend. She spent 8 hours a day for two days until she had it perfect. They love doing things that way. I am glad you shared the video. Everyone should be proud of their kids.
 
littlegymchampsmom--
Your dd is adorable and VERY talented. Thanks for sharing your video. You didn't ask anyone to critique her technique, but, personally, I think her form is better than that of most 5-year olds.
 
LGC, if you had sought advice or bragged, then a critique was in order. But you're just sharing pictures of your child. Without knowing the child and what's being taught and for how long, anything but "what a lovely child" seems presumptuous.

When you choose a gym, you choose their program and their way of teaching. If you're happy, then best wishes. If you ever become dissatisfied with the results they're getting or their standards or methods, then you can make other choices.

The one caution I've consistently heard from coaches everywhere is to avoid doing things like back handsprings at home, especially when just learning them. Not only is no one reinforcing appropriate technique and safety considerations, but a crash can set a child back weeks or months. Skills are (or should be) taught with a certain progression, and that can be messed up by doing the wrong thing at the wrong time. We've been warned about that from the first day in the gym.

BTW, LCG, what a lovely daughter you have there. <g> Best wishes to her.
 
medic3188 said:
Littlegym-

I remember when my dd taught herself a backbend. She spent 8 hours a day for two days until she had it perfect. They love doing things that way. I am glad you shared the video. Everyone should be proud of their kids.
Click to expand...

LOL, exactly medic, they can be maniacal about these things... sometimes it is hard to keep up with them :D ... that is one thing that I get from all of the parents here, they are all so proud of thier children and would be in or out of the gym... I look up and count my blessings everyday for my 3 beautiful children...
 
thanks mac - you are so correct. I was not fishing, simply sharing... if I wanted a critique I would have submitted to the coaches forum with a specific skill and asked for advice.

as for the bhs's I do not let her do them at home. When she was going to rec gym an hour a week I could not get her to stop, which like I stated, was one of the reasons we opted for more structured time in the gym....
 
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