Parents Should I hold her back.

[Jenn's Jam]

DD (12) recently has gotten all skill requirements for L8..

Now I always want the best for my DD but I feel like she may be progressing to fast, like just a few months ago she got all skills for L7 and lets not forget that the kid hasnt even done gym itself for 2 years.

I did ask the HC about this, he said that theres no reason to slow down the progression.
But i'm just worried if all of this may cause injury even though the coach said he has it under control.
He also said he is aiming for L9 Next meet season..
Although she has done GREAT as a level 7 in meets thats scary to me! I don't watch practice much so I really should just to see how this is all happening so fast. I know my kid and she has always progressed fast even in rec. But 8 years of progression in 1 year.. Does not really add up to me.
Lets also not forget that it may also be to expensive for me to handle.
L7 is one thing, L8 is where it starts to get difficult in my eyes then L9? Ugh. I may just be over-reacting and should just trust the coach or maybe I should just go watch some practices but so far I may want to keep her in L7 for another year just because I don't wanna put any stress on her or injuries.

But the other side to the story is ofc what the HC said and also that dd has told me that she wants to get somewhere in gymnastics. Obviously its to early to tell what she is aiming for but I don't know if doing that would help her or possibly just slow her down in a negative way.

I know if I told DD this that she would be upset. But at the end of the day it matters about whats gonna be best for my kid.

I'd like to get a few pairs of extra eye's on this. Thanks.

 

[Aussie_coach]

I would trust the coach’s judgment. It may seem a little scary to you, but it isn’t really 8 years progress in 1 year. If the gymnast has any sort of talent, there is really no reason to spend an entire year at each of the lower levels.

It is not nessesarily more dangerous to move quickly through the levels. Depending on the child it can actually be safer. Right now she is progressing and learning, so this is the time to progress and learn. A very large number of girls hit a stage where either the changes in the maturity to their bodies or the changes in maturity in their minds will make it harder to learn and progress. They may start to feel fear or doubt, or they may experience massive changes in their body and have to rework things out.

Waiting for that to happen and then trying to learn level 9 and 10 skills is much, much harder and more risky.

 

[raenndrops]

I agree that you shouldnt think of it as 8 years of progress in one year.

We have girls that get evaluated for rec classes and they are placed immediately into our final rec level and then less than a year later, they are on the L3 team.
This year, we actually had a girl come in for an evaluation (at the beginning of August) and was immediately placed on the L3 team. She has scored over 36 this season (with a 37+ potential, which is practically unheard of in our area) and could have moved up to L4 in January, but her mom didn't want her to even though all our girls practice the same times and same days (7.5 hours a week). The mom was worried that she wouldn't be on top of the podium and she might get discouraged and want to quit.

If the coach thinks she is ready for L8, then I would trust the coach... because, honestly, she is going to keep training those skills (and probably more) whether they call her an L7 or an L8. It is part of the process. Good luck.

 

[profmom]

I wouldn't put any energy into worrying about levels. She'll train the skills and the levels will take care of themselves based on what she has when it's time to start registering for meets. Just be aware that, while the jump from 7 to 8 may look straightforward at this point, the jump from 8 to 9 is orders of magnitude more difficult. I'm a little surprised that the coach is making projections about that jump at this point. If the coach is thinking 8, she's probably progressing very well on vault, so that wouldn't be a sticking point, but L9 beam and bars can be very challenging.

 

[MeetDirector]

Trust the coach!

As a parent on the sidelines you really can’t tell if an athlete is ready to progress or not. Stop worrying about “levels”; the coach knows best what skills she can do and will guide her progression.

As a parent provide her the non-gymnastics refuge that she needs (home) and keep writing those checks .

Good Luck

 

[Sasha]

I can understand why you feel like the train might be running away As others have said, level numbers are arbitrary - what is important is that she is in a safe and healthy environment, learning skills at her pace by a competent coach, and enjoying gymnastics. If you feel good about that, then the levels, scores, and rate of progression will take care of themselves.

Safety-wise, Level 8 isn't really any different than Level 7, so if she is ready for 8, no reason to stay in 7.

I agree that L9 is a bigger jump in skills, but what is important is that she is doing them safely and consistently in class before trying to compete them. If she achieves that with her coach, then no reason to wait on competing them. There are many 12-13 year old level 9s.

Sounds like your daughter is very talented and is having fun. Sometimes NOT starting them at at 2 is actually the best thing for a talented athlete. Their bodies escaped all the pounding in the early years, and they aren't burned out. Please continue to share her journey with us

 

[tpMom]

I think the bigger risk of injury comes from a big jump in training hours, but that usually doesn't happen between 7 and 8. If she were a level 4 that practiced 10 hours a week and they were bumping her to 25 hours a week I would be concerned about injury. The thing I've seen with my daughter is that when she moves too fast she develops fears, which is hard on her self esteem. If your daughter feels safe training level 8 and is not developing fears or seeing a huge jump in training hours then I would say let her go for it!

 

[FlippinLilysMom]

Trust the coach!! My DD went from level 4 to level 10 in 3 years, we were also worried about her moving too quickly but she is doing great! So glad we trusted her coach, she is exactly where she should be and it wouldn't have done any good to hold her back.