Parents Privates

[gymnastca25]

Privates are highly discouraged at dd's gym. You need a very good reason to ask for one. DD is an 8 year old level 5. She is the only level 5 in her practice group. The rest of the girls are older and level 6's and 7's. She seems to really be struggling with the dance elements of her floor routine. Do you think this is a good reason to ask for a private? It is hard for her not being with the other level 5's to work on floor routines. It is not an option for her to be with the other 5's. They are in a 4/5 practice group.

 

[lovemygymnast]

I believe any time a gymnast is struggling at any skill, it's a good time for a private. All they can do is say no.

 

[profmom]

Unless her coach strongly recommends it, I wouldn't do a private for compulsory routine dance. But then, I have only paid for about 10 private lessons in the eight years I've had kids competing on teams.

 

[gymmomtoo]

I'm not big on privates either, but if she's really struggling with just dance elements, a private could help with that--you can ask and the worst they could do is say no, right?

 

[blueredzone]

Thats odd that they don't let her practice with the other level 5's. Maybe if she could see it done by the other level 5's she might get a better understanding of it.

Just my two cents though

 

[COz]

See if you can speak to her coach and phrase it the much same way you did just now:

She seems to really be struggling with the dance elements of her floor routine. Do you think this is a good reason to ask for a private?

Just change it to "She seems to be struggling with the dance elements of her floor routine. Do you think watching videos of the routine on YouTube would be a good idea? Or would a private help? Or do you think it's just going to come with time?"

Then you're not pushing the private idea, just letting it be known that you're not against the idea if it is necessary and it gives them the opportunity to decide what to do and chat with you about it, or just tell you not to worry

 

[LizzieLac]

I wouldn't pay for a private for compulsory dance. There is so little to gain from that in the big picture of gymnastics. I believe privates should be for skills - struggling, fears, complexity, etc.

She will be out of compulsories so soon, anyway.

 

[Firefly]

I think Youtube videos might be just as helpful for compulsory dance elements. But if you've tried that and she's still struggling, why not ask about the private? Just ask the coach if he/she thinks it would help. Maybe a half hour of just working on dance will solve the problem. Really hard that she's the only 5 in the group. I know my daughter learns a lot from listening to the feedback given to her teammates.

 

[SurpriseGymMom]

How come it's not an option for her to practice with the other 5's (you said it's a 4/5 group)? We have the same set up at our gym, it's a 4/5 group but they are always split up into those levels to work on their appropriate things. We do have a few girls who are fast tracked and working more on optional skills but will compete at whatever skill the coaches decide is most appropriate when season rolls around. Those girls still work quite a bit on their routines and dance moves during their practice, even if they are doing compulsory routines in a group full of older girls. Every now and then (especially during season) they will work out with the other 4/5's to "cement" it.

 

[gymdog]

If you watch YouTube, take note that several parts of the routine are optional and will probably differ from what her coaches taught.

 

[Midwestmommy]

I wish our gym would develop a fair and consistent policy about privates which is fair and available (or not available) to all gymnasts. An example might be one per month per kid or you can schedule one only if you are struggling with a particular new skill or you have to miss a practice etc. It is the source of unnecessary tension between the parents because there seems to be no rhyme or reason to it. Also, some of the parents whose kids have privates are secretive and competitive about it (even resorting to the occasional lie to other parents), and that just creates unnecessary drama in my opinion. Two kids have regular weekly privates on 2 events. Initially I think it was to catch up, but now they are caught up and still doing them. One has lots of privates with different coaches on different events. The biggest factor there seems to be that she has the pushiest mom--she is hanging out asking for a conversation about scheduling privates after almost every practice. Another kid who wants help on a specific event got a flat out no without an explanation. The rest of us are trying to stay out of it and not care, but it does bug me sometimes. They just need a fair policy.

 

[aerials]

Midwestmommy your gym sounds a lot like my gym. The coaches are pretty fair and do a first come first serve policy. But the pushiest moms are usually there first. I would'nt have an issue with it except that most of the weekly privates are going to girls that are at the top of their level not to the ones that need it.

 

[blueredzone]

I don't know if Privates are really even offered. I'm sure they are, but with so many kids and so many programs. I feel if someone does a private, they are taking instruction away from the kids in the classes. But I am not quite sure because We are not allowed to chill at practice. Its a drop off/pick up procedure. Which I like because I have no idea what they are doing. Although I do watch my son in his rec class. That is only an hour though and he is 3. So not to comfortable leaving him there.

 

[IreneKa]

I don't know if Privates are really even offered. I'm sure they are, but with so many kids and so many programs. I feel if someone does a private, they are taking instruction away from the kids in the classes. But I am not quite sure because We are not allowed to chill at practice. Its a drop off/pick up procedure. Which I like because I have no idea what they are doing. Although I do watch my son in his rec class. That is only an hour though and he is 3. So not to comfortable leaving him there.

I'm pretty sure no coach would schedule a private at the same time they have a class\practice.
We are allowed to do privates, but it's very hard to find the time, because most coaches are busy with classes\practices from 3:30 until 8:30 pm. If we want to do a half hour private, we need to schedule it for 3:00, and it's not really possible because DD doesn't get out of school until 2:45. One time we really had to do a private because of the block\fear issue, I had to pick up DD earlier from school. It was only one time, and DD is still in elementary school, so I was ok with this.

 

[iagymmom]

At dd gym privates are done but its usually suggested by a coach if there is skill that needs more work. My dd would gladly go to privates but I tell her unless a coach suggests to me she won't be doing any. She doesn't understand its actually a good thing not to be going for privates, that it means she's progressing fine.

 

[balancedmom]

My DD is now doing privates because she was injured for 4.5 months so she is using to catch up.

 

[Ali'sMom]

My DD is now doing privates because she was injured for 4.5 months so she is using to catch up.

My daughter has done a few privates for skills (kips) since coming back from a month out with mono. She gained strength back slowly after being back, but needed some extra bar time to really get the skill back.

 

[GymnastMom321]

My DD has done a few privates to help get over a skill that she's struggling with. Our gym doesn't discourage it but they don't come out and say "hey she needs one on one attention". They are a bit discriminant but if you ask, they'll typically say yes.

 

[cbifoja]

As the mother of a gymmie who struggles with dance, I'd say a dance class would be more beneficial than private lessons. I have spent a small fortune in weekly privates to get her floor routine polished. And I mean, 4 to 5 counts of 8 per lesson, that's how bad her dance is. That money could have been spent more wisely in a dance class but my DD just hates dance so it was a battle I didn't fight (BIG regret).

So my advice is that if your daughter is cooperative, forgo the privates and use the money for dance instead. Of course the privates did help my DD but just for each particular level and then next year, back to the same problem. :-( Horrible cycle.

 

[proud-gym-mom]

We use privates to work on things she is really struggling with or having fear issues about. DD's coach is great and she will do them every week with her if I ask (before a big meet or recently it's been extra time to work through skills she needs for this season). My DD is one that needs time to do something over and over again. It takes her awhile to get a skill and be confident. The flip side is once she has it she's pretty consistent at meets with it etc. My DD does Irish Dance as well as gymnastics and it's really helped her with her dance elements, especially counting the music and it gives her another "outlet" to focus on. If she's really struggling I would ask for a private and see how much she gets out of it.