Parents Private Lessons?

[KimmeeA13]

My gymnast is 8 years old and in her first year of team gymnastics. She is competing Xcel Bronze and has done pretty well in the 3 meets she's had so far, finishing in the middle of the pack most of the time as well as placing 2nd in a few events. She is in a practice group of 7 similarly aged girls and they practice twice a week for a total of 5 1/2 hours. Her coaches are great and DD is having loads of fun. Recently two of her teammates have gotten their ROBHS. One of them was even allowed to use it in our most recent competition (she took 1st in Floor and totally deserved it). The coaches have worked on this skill with our group very minimally, maybe because it's not required for their level (this is a new sport for me so I don't know, but ask me about softball and I could teach you a few things). Our gym does offer private lessons and I had already told DD that if she wanted private lessons I would get her some this summer to work on the ROBHS if she didn't have it already. Well, tonight the second teammate got to demonstrate her ROBHS and DD is absolutely chomping at the bit to get it herself. She is asking for some private sessions to work on it. First off, should we wait it out and see if the coaches get around to working on it before this team year is over in May, or let her have some privates now? Secondly, how would I go about requesting a private lesson (or two, or three)? How many would it take?

 

[srsjbs]

In my very limited experience (my DD is in her 1st year of competition as well) and not knowing much about the Excel program, since our gym doesn't do it, I would not be paying for private lessons yet. If the skill isn't required for this years routines, I wouldn't worry about it. There is lots of time before worrying about next year yet. Of course your DD wants to get her ROBHS too! And she will. I would really just worry that you are setting a precedent that says everytime she isn't the first to get a skill, you will pay for privates to "catch her up", when really she isn't behind. If it was something the coaches thought they needed to have now, they would be practicing them much more then "minimally." There's no telling how many private lessons it would take either. I think summer is a good compromise at this point.

Again, just my 2 cents from my limited experience as a parent to a competitive gymnast. .

 

[2G1B]

Also check to see if your gym does "back handspring clinics". Our last gym would do them about once per month.

Other than that, I think that doing privates or not is just a personal choice. We started them with our son when he first started on team because he didn't start on team until November and competitions started in January. He had skills and routines to learn. So, we did some half hour privates to help out.

Our kids do them now because all of them get stuck at the gym on different days while waiting for a sibling to do their classes. so, I let them each take a private sometimes to kill some of that time. (it is way more time than it takes for them to do homework and they are all avid readers, so I don't feel the need to push them to read during this time.)

I don't know that I would do a private just so that they could learn a skill that they don't need yet; but then I can't say that I *wouldn't* either. But I also realize that I'm more OK with/open to privates than a lot of people.

 

[kwnative]

I have paid for private lessons for my DD on and off if she's struggling to get a skill. The biggest one so far was the ROBHS. I was seriously starting to wonder if she would ever get it. She just had to get over the fear of it. I really know almost nothing about XCel, but at our gym, the developmental and L3 girls have their team practice twice a week, then they also take a tumbling class as well. Once they get to L4, they have team practice a lot more hours, so they incorporate tumbling into it. I have always just decided which coach could best help her with whatever she is struggling with, or which one she responds the best to, then I approach them and ask them, and if it is someone we haven't worked with before, I always ask how much they charge, because they don't all charge the same. A couple of weeks ago, her bars coach could see that she was very close to getting a skill, so he approached me about doing a private with her. We did, and then she got the skill totally the next week. I do like them because they can get so much more accomplished when working one on one. However, as we all know, we're already paying out the wazoo for all this, so privates are not something we do on a regular basis!

 

[2G1B]

Oh yeah, and for how to go about it... I'd start with asking her main coach. That coach should be able to either point you in the right direction or do the lesson him/herself.

 

[txgymfan]

If you want a more extensive discussion search "private lessons" in this forum and you will read spirited opinions on both sides.

 

[nameless]

my older daughters were in cheer and we have a sports conditioning place that offers tumbling classes by an ex olympic coach and his staff.. we went there for my older 2 girls, and well lil gymmi ended up getting it while we were there.. i had told her coach she'd been going, and she was fine with it, as the coach at tumbling was a previous coach of hers and he def taught good gymnastics technique..