Parents Repeating lvl3 and not scoring well?

[SHELOVESGYM]

DD (8) will be repeating level 3 and has her first meet in a few weeks. From the score ranges given at her in-house meet it looks like she might not score well at all this year -despite the fact that she's repeating. The ranges given to her were 7.5-8 for 2 events and 8-8.5 for 2 events. While she has a few weeks until the first "real" meet and of course several months until the end of the season I'm wondering if I can really expect much improvement on these scores this season? If these scores actually reflect how she will start off the season and if she doesn't improve dramatically over the course of the season she won't get the minimum move-up score -I can't imagine her doing a 3rd year at level 3. Do level repeats tend to improve much over the course of the season? It seems that since they've had the skills/routines for SO long already there shouldn't be as much room for mid-season improvement.

 

[Flyaway]

What were her scores like her first season at 3? I think you should be looking not so much at the actual number, but the improvement. For reference, my dd repeated level 3 and improved her AA score exponentially (more than 5 points). For her it was absolutely the right move. Honestly, if your dd is not improving between the two seasons I would be asking the coaches what's going on. Level 3 isn't so hard that any reasonably coachable child should be able to improve over the course of two seasons.

 

[Sasha]

So many variables here. Any idea what her primary corrections are? Why specifically it is she isn't scoring up closer to the 9.0 range?

For a lot of girls it is something like overall "tightness" that just gets dinged to death and adds up. That can definitely improve with maturity (body control) and more conditioning. Or it could be something like amplitude and angle deductions in jumps and leaps, which will also improve over time with practice. Those can take a while to develop.

Between the ages of 6-7 and 8-10, there is often a world of difference on overall control like body tightness, as well as the strength for higher leaps/jumps, and more fluid swings, etc. If you are in a decent program, I would expect to see noticeable improvement over the season.

 

[3rd_time_around]

There's no qualifying score for level 3s to move to 4. No level is required until level 4. Does the gym require a certain AA? Because generally, compulsory score outs only need a 31.00 AA, an average of 7.75 on each event, and it looks like she is well past that. [emoji4]. But if your gym has a required score, and you see she might not get it, maybe some privates might be needed.

 

[mariposa]

Keep in mind, in house meets are often scored harsher, too. That said. My child repeated old level 4, her scores at beginning of season weren't much higher than they were prior year, but that changed as meets went on. Good luck to her. My kid has repeated every level except old L6 and she's happily progressing slow and steady. Hope she has a good season.

 

[l.c.o]

I am going to echo what @mariposa said - often with in-house meets the judges are particularly picky - they'll take all possible deductions at the max amount.

If it's little things like text errors contributing, or a few specific skills that your DD is struggling with, it's possible that privates may help give her scores a boost. If it's body awareness/"tightness"/general form, then in time this will probably improve as she gets older.

Perhaps if it's the latter, something like ballet could help?

What has she been working on the past year? That may influence it, too, if she's only been working on L3 and practicing routines, then maybe I'd be more on the concerned end of things. If she's been training upper level skills in the off-season and has only recently been working L3 routines again, I'd be much less concerned. She'll get into competition shape, and will improve with the season.

I hesitate some to put this out there, but if she's been just working L3 all this time, she also could possibly be bored. And if a repeat L3 year is potentionally looming again, and she still just works L3 skills, then that would be frustrating. I hope this isn't the case!

My DD has repeated, and there has been some big improvement in her scoring the following year, and throughout the season. DD's first L4 meets were 'off season' and she averaged in the 33s with no falls... 8 months later, L4 season started and she had a high of 35s. She repeated an L4 season last fall and started the season in 36s, and peaked at 38s. So, big improvement can happen.

 

[cadybearsmommy]

My dd had a rough year her first year of competing. She was originally to compete L3 and after having some trouble with some of the skills, she switched to Xcel Bronze at the last minute She still did not score well. However, she repeated bronze and improved by leaps and bounds. BUT....she repeated bronze at another gym. It wasn't until after we switched that we realized she just wasn't being taught proper form and technique at the old gym and that's why she was getting dinged to death on scoring. Some gyms focus more on form than others. It took a few months and she had to relearn even the very basics like body shapes, etc properly but by the time she had her 1st meet with the new gym, her AA score was nearly three points higher than what she was scoring at the other gym.

Are your dd's teammates getting similar scores to her? If so I would say the issue might be with the gym's training and not your dd.

I would also add that the Xcel program has been a godsend with us. Even with dd's improved form, the bigger skills like the kip, etc, have taken longer to come. If she was trying to do compulsories, she could have easily been stuck in L3 for 3 years. The Xcel program has given her the time she needed to polish things, gave her extra time to get new skills, all while still progressing and moving up so that she wasn't bored. Everything has been clicking really well for her this summer and she had a big skills explosion and was able to score out of L5 much to my surprise. She will compete gold this year (our gym doesn't compete compulsories like our old gym) and then if everything is looking nice and polished she will have the opportunity to compete L6 next year. She needed that extra time and if she had stayed in compulsories she likely would have got frustrated by the 3rd year of L3 and quit. Instead she has been able to progress at her own pace, and was able to work higher level skills on other apparatuses while waiting for the slower ones like the kip. So it might be something to consider if you guys aren't pleased with her progress in L3 this season.

With all of that being said, it could still be very possible that things click for her within the next couple of months and that she improves a lot this year and is ready for L4 next year. It's still early in the game and it wouldn't surprise me one bit if you come back and post in a couple of months that she has had major progress! Best of luck to her!

 

[QueenBee]

I am not sure if we have enough information to really understand what is happening at your daughter's gym but there have been a lot of great comments on this thread that can help you figure out what is happening and what decisions you want to make going forward.

My advice (like many others on this thread) would be to stop looking at your daughter's scores as the measure of her improvement. Look at her skills. Is her form improving? Is her strength/flexibility/overall conditioning improving? Is she hitting skills with confidence that were shaky earlier? And most importantly IMO, is she enjoying the process and finding gymnastics satisfying? Does she think she is working as hard as she can and does she love trying to improve her skills?

If your daughter isn't enjoying the process of gymnastics, that is - if she doesn't like the repetition of trying to perfect the foundational skills - then I think you might want to figure out if gymnastics [or more accurately TEAM gymnastics] is the right sport for your daughter. The gymnasts I have seen succeed (at their own pace both fast and slow) are the ones who found the perfecting of skills to be very satisfying. The ones who left the sport are the ones who might have loved the tumbling or the performing but didn't like the repetitive process this sport requires.

As a parent of a gymnast I can say that I, personally, would never have enjoyed being a gymnast. I don't have the patience or desire to tackle the same skill over and over until it is as perfect as I can make it. It seems like a frustrating activity and a physically/emotionally exhausting activity. But my daughter thrives on it. She is a perfectionist. She takes a lot of satisfaction in doing gymnastics as "correctly" as she possibly can. One of her favorite part of practice is the conditioning because she likes getting stronger and working on the fundamentals (on the rare days she wants to talk about gymnastics that's usually what she talks about).

If your daughter loves gymnastics, if she loves the process, if she is improving - then I wouldn't worry about the score. I have seen "bottom of the pack" gymnasts one season become "top of the pack" gymnasts the following season. Each gymnast moves at their own pace and will get to where they are supposed to go.

However, if she doesn't like the process, if she isn't improving, if she isn't feeling like gymnastics helps her to be better in her life (and if everyone on her team has the same low scores across the board) - then you might need to take some time to figure out what your daughter would find more satisfying or if a different gym would provide be a better place to help your daughter meet her goals.

 

[Deleted member 18037]

I don't like gyms that require a number to move beyond USAG requirements. And in a level where there is no number I like it even less.

How is her gymnastics? Is improving? Is she having fun? Is she uptraining? Much more important then the number. Unfortunately it doesn't appear your gym feels the same way.

And just because I am curious what is the move up score.

 

[SHELOVESGYM]

Thanks for all of the responses. To answer a few questions -we are definitely not in a strong program. We are there because it works much better for our family than any other option (and the next closest option turned us down). We might consider a gym move if this season goes as poorly as it looks like it might. I have no doubt that poor coaching is a big part of the problem. That said, DDs teammates have done considerably better than she has but no one has done very well. I think that the weak coaching effects the bottom of the pack the most unfortunately.

At our gym the girls need the minimum score to qualify for states in order to move up a level.

The "tightness" thing is definitely an issue for DD -she still seems to lack control a bit even on the dance moves

Her current score range is about a point higher than what she finished with last season -so yes, there is an improvement but since we are still talking super low scores I had hoped for more. Last year she didn't make it through routines without falls which I figured was the biggest issue reflected in her scores. This year that's not a concern (though she didn't make the mill circle at the in-house).

She spent the time from right after the season until the summer up training level 4 though she did not really get any of the skills. In around May they did a skill evaluation of all the girls and evaluated her for level 3 and sent home an evaluation sheet saying that she didn't have x,y,z bar skills. DD and I were both pissed at the way this was handled. Since she had been training level 4 with her group she had literally not tried a mill circle, shoot through, front hip in about 6 months and then was asked to do it for an evaluation???!! It seemed to me that her coach was to blame for her not having skills that she'd had a year before and needed to have to compete this year (as we always knew she would be repeating 3).

She spent the summer getting these skills back and now is pretty solid with them.

 

[SHELOVESGYM]

And yes DD LOVES the process and is not too concerned about her scores. I also am not too concerned about her scores except that I do think she will be devastated if she doesn't qualify for states this season and I had hoped that she would be easily qualifying in the first meet or two but now I'm concerned. My other concern is that the weak coaching that she is receiving will not be enough to move her forward -and by forward I/we have modest goals -really I would just like to see her make states this year and move to lvl 4 next year and make states there.

 

[Deleted member 18037]

Qualifying score (at least in our state, I think its everywhere but not sure) is 32 for L3. Sounds like she is pretty much there. If the skills are back solid as you say, should be plenty of time to bring them up as the season progresses.

 

[twinmomma]

Qualifying score (at least in our state, I think its everywhere but not sure) is 32 for L3. Sounds like she is pretty much there. If the skills are back solid as you say, should be plenty of time to bring them up as the season progresses.

L3 in our state need a 34.5 for state. So depending on where OP is it could be much more stringent.

 

[Deleted member 18037]

L3 in our state need a 34.5 for state. So depending on where OP is it could be much more stringent.

Oy oy oy smh

 

[Flyaway]

L3 in our state need a 34.5 for state. So depending on where OP is it could be much more stringent.

Oy oy oy smh

Yes, in our state the qualifying score for state is based on the scores the girls bring in at sectionals. They take the top 50% I think? So that score is usually around a 34.5-35.

 

[sce]

Do level repeats tend to improve much over the course of the season? It seems that since they've had the skills/routines for SO long already there shouldn't be as much room for mid-season improvement.

It's about more than just doing the skills. Do you have idea of her doing the routines recently. Happy to look at them to see where the possibilities for improvements are.

 

[twinmomma]

Yes, in our state the qualifying score for state is based on the scores the girls bring in at sectionals. They take the top 50% I think? So that score is usually around a 34.5-35.

Right. The score is based on the previous year and the distribution of the scores among the top 360 (which is the guarantee for the state meet).

 

[gracyomalley]

When DD was 8/9 she repeated old level 5 for half a season - she fully expected to get "high scores" and was a bit disappointed with only a one point improvement at the first meet that season - but 3 months later it was a couple more points up, and state placement on beam, and 4 meets later state at old level 6, a year later 5th at state level 7...so sometimes repeating to get a chance to solidify (and in DD case, wait for bars and vault to come together) can be really helpful long term at this age. However, DD had a very supportive team and a great coach (2 great coaches with lots of experience and faith in her for half that time) and was an early bloomer so her form and technique/strength began to really kick in those 2 years.

I mention this because halfway through the "repeat" half season I sat down with her coaches and asked if she should concentrate more on ballet (she was trying to do both) if gym was going to be a slow process for her...not to say I was unhappy with her progress (or seeming lack thereof) but wanting to keep her happy/well-rounded and enjoying the sport with reasonable expectations. Her coaches both felt she was doing "fine" which in retrospect she of course was, and that things would come together (they did).

Trust in the coaches and communication as well as realistic parent expectations are key. Presently my younger boy is struggling - but after talking to his coach and giving him a chance to really think about things and what he wants - letting him TOTALLY make the decisions, he's pulling things together this last 3 weeks - 2 new skills and a better attitude.

Its so hard to know what's right and I will fully admit having sometimes made decisions that I thought were right for my kids that didn't work out (still might have been right decisions, though) and gym is so all-encompasing as a sport its hard to have perspective.

Is your daughter getting personal coaching/a personal skill building plan? Does the coach "see her"? Actually see her strengths and weaknesses (and we as parents need to be honest about this too...) Does she enjoy gym and have friends there who are supportive and lead to a positive environment? (at this age this is key...but in some ways even more so later on). If she NEVER gets another skill or point, does she still get excercise, postitive social and emotional lessons, etc at her present gym? If all that isn't true then no matter what, its not the gym for her...

At Level 3, if all the above are true, then whether she's getting the "best" coaching, or at the "best" gym is hard to say....after establishing the above, then I'd personally look at optional program level athletes in the gym - are they successful, are they healthy, are they happy and supportive/kind to each other and role models for the younger kids? Even bottom of the pack kids may make it there and if her present gym tops out at low level optional or has more than the reasonable number of injuries, teens who hate each other, etc, all that is also relevent.

Some kids thrive in more competitive/bigger environments, and some wilt. Unless your kid is set on Division 1 college scholarship or Olympics, bigger isn't always better FOR THAT KID...just like different kids do better in different learning environments/schools. The stars will shine wherever (but also NEED the best training for entirely different reasons), but most people need to find their niche in life to be their most successful...

 

[3rd_time_around]

Qualifying score (at least in our state, I think its everywhere but not sure) is 32 for L3. Sounds like she is pretty much there. If the skills are back solid as you say, should be plenty of time to bring them up as the season progresses.

There's no score to qualify to level 3 or to move up to 4. You can enter competition at level 4. Now if you're in a level, there is a state meet qualifying score, but because it's level 3, you don't even have to qualify to Lvl 3 state to move up to level 4.

 

[Deleted member 18037]

There's no score to qualify to level 3 or to move up to 4. You can enter competition at level 4. Now if you're in a level, there is a state meet qualifying score, but because it's level 3, you don't even have to qualify to Lvl 3 state to move up to level 4.

I know that. I was addressing qualifying to go to states.m

The OP expresses concern about her child going to stares. That is what I was speaking to.