Parents When does it happen?

[rmankini]

My just turned 7 year old is training level 3. Her form is probably the worst on the team. She "thinks" she's pointing or has tight legs. But honestly does do it when she is really thinking about it!! But after the reminder from coach, falls back into her habits....

Have any of you Moms of higher levels gymnasts dealt with this in early years, but then their gymnasts "got it!"

 

[AWOL]

We have all gone through that.

 

[rmankini]

Really? Because we have brand new 6 year olds that are total naturals! They were born with perfect form.

 

[rmankini]

I mean on her team, her other teammates rarely get called out. I'm afraid her coach is even getting to the point where she doesn't bother correcting her! That's when it gets dangerous in my opinion!! Because she isn't getting corrected like she should.

 

[LindyHopper]

Excuse my rambling...

Short Stack is an 11 yo L5, and she and one of her closest friends on the team are very different.

Short Stack excels at beam, and takes forever to get new skills, although when she finally does, there are very few form issues to correct--pointing toes and being "tight" is just who she is. (We joke She even points her toes in her sleep) She struggles most on floor and vault.

Meanwhile, closest friend excels on vault and hates beam. She gains skills rather quickly, but they look sloppy and form needs to be fixed. Head coach once teasingly told her mom "Her knees need to be introduced to each other... they've never met!"

What it comes down to is that even though they are so different, they've both tended to have their skills "competition ready" at about the same time. And they tend to place similarly at meets. Your daughter just might be less like Short Stack, and more like her friend. One is not better than the other--just different.

 

[SMH]

How long has your daughter been training for team?
My dd (7) just finished her first competitive season. She's agile, fast, flexible- she gets skills fast then has to go back and fix her form. I figure it's several things, one, she's only 7 and while learning new skills she's focusing on that, not on perfect form- and two, that's just how she's learns/acquires skills. She, like the example above loves vault and beam is the enemy. Give it a season and you will be amazed at how much improvement will be made form wise. It's hard to see it over a shorter period of time.

 

[Seeker]

She probably thinks they are straight, so she just ignores the correction. I remember asking my daughter about that once when she was about 8 and she said "I was already pointing my toe."

Um...not exactly!! Maybe show her video or photos to show how it actually looks. I did that just one time only and it made an impact -- she points them now, but it did take her some time to "feel" herself.

This worked for my daughter -- her coach did it with her group a few times and it helped. Sitting on the floor, with her legs out in front of her, have her flex and point. Pay attention to how it feels to actually point her toe. Seems silly, but she really probably hasn't thought about it. Then have her squeeze her legs together, straightening the knees. Be mindful of how that feels and what muscles it takes, so that when she gets the correction she knows exactly what to do.

 

[SMH]

Videos do help! My daughter's coach taped her on beam and then they went over it so she could actually 'see' where she wasn't tight and pointed.

 

[Deleted member 18037]

Its different for them all. My daughter has had great form from a wee bit. Skills take a long time.
Others on her team have been quick at skills not so much at form.

They are all pretty much equal now, 4 years later and Level 6/7

 

[CTMOM]

Really? Because we have brand new 6 year olds that are total naturals! They were born with perfect form.

They are all so different. ODD was a hot mess with form at 7, a little better at 8 and it finally clicked this year at 9. She started out level 3 last year scoring in the low 30's, but has hit 37+ several times this year. YDD had great form at 5/6. Each kids develops at their own pace. She will get there. Take videos all the time and you will be amazed at the progress over the next 1-2 years. We love watching ODD's old videos. The form made me cringe at the time, but I am so proud of her progress.

 

[gymdaughter77]

I am having a similar situation! My daughter is 8 and we left a "Turner's" program to go to a USAG Level 3 team. Everything was great during her tryout, but during her first practice it was very obvious to me that DD was behind. The coaches assured me everything would be fine. Well, it hasn't been. They wouldn't let her compete and in January moved her back to developmental team. I feel like they could care less about working with her and are just doing what they have to do hoping that she'll quit. I'm beyond frustrated because she loves to gym! She does some things really well and I have seen a big difference in her strength and ability. I just wish it could all come together for her!

 

[CuriousCate]

Still photos really helped my kiddo.

She's also 7 and training lvl 4 and man oh man, her first season and then her first two meets at lvl 3, her toes were ridiculous. NEVER pointed. And she got raked over the coals score wise. And like others have said, she really thought she was pointing them because she's have them pointed when she'd start a leap or BWO, but then lose the toe point mid-skill.

I took a bunch a photos during her second meet and they really captured two BIG things. 1 - her toes NOT being pointed and 2 - in EVERY picture, one of the two judges was staring DIRECTLY at her toes!

Magically, meet 3, she crushed it.

Of course, now back in practice, she still needs reminders CONSTANTLY or she just doesn't realize it. But, at least now, she can follow the command on the spot to point her toes because she is aware that she wasn't really doing it and that the judges really really pay attention to it.

 

[MuggleMom]

My daughters coach told me once-- "I can't get too mad at her she really believes her legs are straight and toes are pointed" They just keep correcting. She does better in meets than in practice. Once she did a gorgeous bar routine and I said see how straight your legs are and she told me "That's cause I had to go pee" I am seeing improvements but I think its like others said some tend to get things quicker but take longer to nail down form and some tend to have form but take a little longer to learn. There are also the blessed that get things quickly and have perfect form and I just ignore them

 

[mommyof1]

Yes, there is hope!

Signed, the parent of a 10-year-old L3 who recently asked to watch last year's meet videos after reviewing this year's. Holy cow, what an improvement.

 

[rmankini]

Thank you all for the encouraging words.