So I watched practice for the first time in a month, and I noticed that DD and her teammates are wearing ankle weights during beam practice now. DD is 8, and a L2 moving up to L3. I am concerned about long-term injuries due to extra wear-and-tear and curious about the use of the weights. For the coaches on the board, what sort of precautions do you take when using weights in the gym? When is this training practice effective? Is there any research on the safety of using ankle weights during gymnastics training?