Why is puberty such a big deal for a gymnast?

[Bella's Mom]

I've seen several mentions of how hard puberty is on a gymnast. I get the emotional part, what with all the hormones and that's about the time boys and school friends become more important than gymnastics.

But I honestly don't get how physically challenging puberty is on a gymnast. It seems to me that the changes that happen occur slowly really. I mean girls don't grow four inches, twenty pounds, and a cup size overnight. So why does it hit their skills so hard????

It feels like because they are in the gym so many hours a week and they are practicing their skills every week that they could make the small adjustments that come from the small developments. So what am I not understanding???

I will admit that it's been a long time since I went through puberty and Bella isn't anywhere close to puberty so I'm not witnessing the "change" firsthand. So educate me please!

 

[bogwoppit]

Well lets put it this way, in June of 2009 my DD was 4'8" and a little gymnast, by the following June she was 5'4" and a full grown woman and one of the tallest girls in our gym. Can you imagine how hard it is to adapt to your new body for any kid, then imagine a gymnast trying to get that new body to do skills that she has learned with her little girl body. THey are basically learning everything all over again and it is not easy at all.

Often during puberty the bones grow faster than the tendons and ligaments, losing flexibility and opening the way for injury and pain.

Puberty is often the age when gymnasts discover fear, they realise that they could get really hurt and that can slow them down too. Adding to that growing up and realising there is a lot more going on in the world than just gym.

 

[MdGymMom01]

I totally agree with Bog. I remember being the same size as my classmates in 6th grade and then coming back to 7th grade after the summer (just 3 short months) and not even recognizing them because they grew about 3-4 inches, put on about 15-20 pounds and suddenly looked like women. Yes--it can happen that fast. Plus, when your hips used to be as narrow as your flat chest and then suddenly your hips "develop", your center and balance WILL be thrown off on the beam. That takes a LOT of readjusting. Imagine a kid being really consistent and gaining skills for the past few years and then they hit a 3-6 month patch where everything feels "off" and they can't hit a single skill. That can be very frustrating and tough to deal with day in and day out at the gym. And that is just a small part of the puberty issues.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

Bog said it perfectly.

 

[maryRS]

I'm certainly no expert, but some girls do grow almost overnight! I guess it really isn't quite that way, but it can be close. Watching the teens in the gym and even the pre-teen girls to some extent, I can see how the changes can affect the girls.

I've seen several mentions of how hard puberty is on a gymnast. I get the emotional part, what with all the hormones and that's about the time boys and school friends become more important than gymnastics.

But I honestly don't get how physically challenging puberty is on a gymnast. It seems to me that the changes that happen occur slowly really. I mean girls don't grow four inches, twenty pounds, and a cup size overnight. So why does it hit their skills so hard????

It feels like because they are in the gym so many hours a week and they are practicing their skills every week that they could make the small adjustments that come from the small developments. So what am I not understanding???

I will admit that it's been a long time since I went through puberty and Bella isn't anywhere close to puberty so I'm not witnessing the "change" firsthand. So educate me please!

 

[cher062]

Bog and Md Gymmom said it as well as anyone could. I know my son grew 2 inches in 2 months and 2 shoe sizes not easy to adjust to. My DD went from flat chested to a "C" Cup in less than 6 months again not exactly gradual (hopfully she won't get bigger since she is only 13 almost 14). also started her period within the last 6 months not something they are easily use to. and like bog said they now know FEAR. It seems that Tween age is when they realize they are standing 4 feet off the floor on a 4 inch piece of wood trying to do an arieal combination and land on that 4 inches.

 

[gymdog]

It really depends. It wasn't for me, because I grew very gradually and have never really developed (still an A cup). But some people do go through more dramatic growth spurts, and that can really throw things off - equipment settings, timing of skills, needing more strength, etc.

Even as a child I wasn't particularly small, but I am a pretty small adult. So it can be difficult to predict growth patterns I think (I mean if you looked at my genetics you might have been able to predict that, but growing up I was more average sized then just leveled off).

 

[gymgurl]

i never really had to adjust to the change as i started gym after the onset of puberty, but even so i don't think it would have affected me much because i am still fairly underdeveloped (double A - A cup depending on the brand) and almost no hips. I don't know what happened but i am still the same fearless kid i was when i was little so i think it really depends on how drastic the change is.

 

[Geoffrey Taucer]

I've seen several mentions of how hard puberty is on a gymnast. I get the emotional part, what with all the hormones and that's about the time boys and school friends become more important than gymnastics.

But I honestly don't get how physically challenging puberty is on a gymnast. It seems to me that the changes that happen occur slowly really. I mean girls don't grow four inches, twenty pounds, and a cup size overnight. So why does it hit their skills so hard????

It feels like because they are in the gym so many hours a week and they are practicing their skills every week that they could make the small adjustments that come from the small developments. So what am I not understanding???

I will admit that it's been a long time since I went through puberty and Bella isn't anywhere close to puberty so I'm not witnessing the "change" firsthand. So educate me please!

Even a quarter of an inch in height can make a HUGE difference to the timing and leverage of a skill. And, perhaps most significantly, it will make the skill feel different to the gymnast. And when you're working skills that involve being inverted six or more feet off the ground, it can get REALLY scary if it suddenly feels different from what you were expecting.

The implications cannot possibly be overstated. It effects the mechanics of the skill, it effects the psychology of the skill, it effects the amount of strength required, it affects the gymnast's ability to do the skill without getting injured... the list goes on.

 

[bookworm]

And I think one of the toughest parts of puberty for the gymnast is that the coaches still want to coach that little girl body indefinitely...because heck, spotting a tiny little 65 pounder is a lot easier than spotting the 5 foot "woman" with breasts and hips....I have seen that after the gymnasts start to develop then that is when the "fat" comments begin (although they will deny that they are said)...now I know it is not all coaches but quite a few that I or my friends have heard about or encountered unfortunately...and that doesn't even include the adjustments that the gymnast has to make because she is going through puberty...emotionally it's a tough time when the gymnast senses the disappointment in the coach because all she did was grow up...

 

[coachmolly]

I think Bog summed it up very nicely, and it is a very individual thing, but with all of the problems possible (growth injuries, growth, fears setting in)- it's hard not to get hit with at least one. Some girls make out much better than others, I guess some bodies just adapt to growth and the demands of gymnastics more quickly or with fewer glitches, who knows. The slightest change in center of gravity can throw of the most basic skills like handstands, so just imagine how hard it can be when you're attempting to do much more difficult skills with added height/weight.
I think in some cases body image can also become an issue during this time. Leotards leave little to the imagination and it can be hard for some girls who develop quickly or gain weight before their teammates or are just generally embarrassed. Girls at that age can be pretty cruel as well. I know I felt my fair share of embarrassment and received some less than kind comments from teammates during those years about height, weight, etc. that were difficult to handle.

 

[tumblerK]

The growth is somewhat gradual, but as is the decline in skills from what I experienced. I remember a day when I had had my kip consistently for quite a while, and one day my first turn on bars I missed the first one. No big deal, focus and try again. Missed it again. I had just done the skill last practice, it wasn't like I hadn't done bars in 2 weeks. I tried a few more and missed those too. I was quite confused, and then it caught my coach's attention. She told me to do glides, which I thought was ridiculous, as I was probably a level 6 at the time. After a couple of turns doing glides, I could kip again. It was about how much I was extending and stretching my taller self. I had been gliding the same way for a long time, and I was still making the kip before with the same amount of extension on my glide, but I could have extended more before. Did any of that make sense? I'm rambling because my brain is fried from homework...

 

[CoachGoofy]

Just a little bit of weight distribution change feels hugely different. And when things feel different you get lost in the air. Or that's how timing changes and it's really frustrating to not be able to do something you used to do.

Adult women also tend to have a lower strength to weight ratio than children, which again makes things difficult.

In my experience, a whole lot of girls just one day come in looking more grown up. Most of my current group are in that age range, & they've been changing overnight! One girl came in on Monday and was a touch shorter than me, and the next Monday she was a touch taller. It was insane!

 

[NGL780309]

I was never a gymnast or an athlete of any kind, but I just find this topic interesting because I never went through any crazy growth spurt as a teenager. I'm not short, 5'6", so it's not like I didn't grow, but it was very gradual. And everyone in my family is kind of shaped like a boy with no hips or behind at all. I've always wanted some, but maybe it will end up being a good thing if DD continues with gymnastics when she's a teenager.

This is an interesting topic and made me wonder about growth spurts at other ages. I always hear other parents talk about how their kid just grew 3 inches and gained 6lbs in 3 months and I'm talking about younger kids my DD's age and a little older. Do these growth spurts have an impact too? What is another age range that they tend to have growth spurts? Neither of my children have ever had a true growth spurt yet. My DD who does gymnastics has only grown 1 to 1.5 inches per year and gained just a few lbs also. Between 5 and 6 she only gained 2lbs.

 

[gymdog]

They can, but I think it usually just appears as a leveling off of progress for awhile at that point. They may still be gaining strength/power by gaining some size, so it might even help in some areas (vaulting). When you consider that in pubescent growth spurts a girl may be practicing skills that are near her "peak" (even if she hasn't totally peaked yet) there would be more to lose since the skills are so much harder and she has already achieved a greater percentage of her physical potential. Even without significant growth spurts there can still be setbacks at this point of course, especially with injuries (which may be magnified by growth spurts). Or just overall stress at this age, or physiological changes.

 

[Aussie_coach]

It's not just the change of size, as the girls go through puberty their bodies are doing many more functions than they were before and its physically draining. The kids get tired more easily and it will affect everything they do.

Also they are more prone to injury during any kind of growth spurt, even a gradual one.

Their minds are a problem too. They will get fears they never had before, they will feel things they never felt before.

 

[Jasmynn]

What was really surprising to me is how big collegiate gymnasts are! I always thought gymnasts were tiny until went to a college meet. OMG was I in for a surprise. I couldn't believe the size of some of the gymnasts, some even appeared to be overweight. (not muscular either)! However, they were still great gymnasts and performed as well (if not better) than their smaller team mates. So, I don't know.

 

[Mack_the_Ripper]

I started competitive gymnastics after I'd started puberty (fairly early), but hit another growth spurt when I was 15. My growth had been sort of delayed due to restrictive eating, lots of hours in the gym, even though I'd already begun my period and everything. Then I had a foot injury and did essentially nothing but bars, strength, and some beam stuff for a couple months. When I came back, I'd gotten my period again, gotten larger hips and breasts, and my tumbling was shot. I'd always had fear issues, but I was actually more daring when I came back, since I was really determined to get ally my skills up to snuff. Unfortunately, my tumbling was not where I expected it to be, so I did a lot of falling and crying. Body image had always been (and continues to be) an issue for me, but now I'm on the optional team so I'm working out with some girls who are similar in age and appearance to me, which is nice.

I know my coaches are hoping the talented little girls enter puberty late and slow. There's an 8-year-old at my gym doing switch-leap back tuck combos and BHS-BHS-layout dismounts on beam, and a very talented (started late) 11-year-old who looks about 8. I can only imagine how hard it would be to adjust to new body ratios for these girls - not just getting breasts and hips, but having longer legs and being taller. It slows you down and could make beam a nightmare for a little girl.

 

[Bella's Mom]

The growth is somewhat gradual, but as is the decline in skills from what I experienced. I remember a day when I had had my kip consistently for quite a while, and one day my first turn on bars I missed the first one. No big deal, focus and try again. Missed it again. I had just done the skill last practice, it wasn't like I hadn't done bars in 2 weeks. I tried a few more and missed those too. I was quite confused, and then it caught my coach's attention. She told me to do glides, which I thought was ridiculous, as I was probably a level 6 at the time. After a couple of turns doing glides, I could kip again. It was about how much I was extending and stretching my taller self. I had been gliding the same way for a long time, and I was still making the kip before with the same amount of extension on my glide, but I could have extended more before. Did any of that make sense? I'm rambling because my brain is fried from homework...

Makes sense to me. It's just amazing to me. I guess because I've never really done any of this, it was hard for me to understand. I could understand the mental, emotional, and psychological aspects much more than the physical one. I didn't realize some girls went through puberty so quickly. I don't remember such drastic changes when I was a kid.

Thanks everyone for all the great explanations.

 

[Bella's Mom]

I was never a gymnast or an athlete of any kind, but I just find this topic interesting because I never went through any crazy growth spurt as a teenager. I'm not short, 5'6", so it's not like I didn't grow, but it was very gradual. And everyone in my family is kind of shaped like a boy with no hips or behind at all. I've always wanted some, but maybe it will end up being a good thing if DD continues with gymnastics when she's a teenager.

This is an interesting topic and made me wonder about growth spurts at other ages. I always hear other parents talk about how their kid just grew 3 inches and gained 6lbs in 3 months and I'm talking about younger kids my DD's age and a little older. Do these growth spurts have an impact too? What is another age range that they tend to have growth spurts? Neither of my children have ever had a true growth spurt yet. My DD who does gymnastics has only grown 1 to 1.5 inches per year and gained just a few lbs also. Between 5 and 6 she only gained 2lbs.

Our daughter's sound very similar. I am, however, short. I'm only 5'1". B's daddy is only about 5'6". So if she stays in gym, I hope at least she won't shoot up to be super tall. She comes from short people for several generations. LOL She has never had a big growth spurt either. One of her teammates (6YO) is already complaining of growing pains. Not a peep from Bella. She is still short for her age and doesn't seem to be in a hurry to grow. She's almost 7 and is still 3'9" and 40 pounds of muscle.

If she stays like me, she might get some hips but not much in the breast department. So who know..... But it sure is an interesting topic.