Men Basic skills help

[GmanMom]

Good afternoon, my little man is 9 and started basic gymnastics classes about 1.5 years ago and was quickly asked to be part of a team. He competed level 4 last year and will be competing level 4 again this year. We are fine with him doing level 4 again vs rushing and pushing him up. My question is they said he needs work on basic skills. I know he struggles with handstands and I’m sure there is more. We are a competitive family my husband and I workout in the gym 6 days a week, all our kids have been in a gym since little babies. So it’s hard for us to see him struggle. Of course being 9 he goes to school all day, gymnastics three nights a week plus saturdays. He likes to go fishing and play videos games when he’s not doing so that. We don’t want to push him to workout and practice during his time off (because he doesn’t get that much to be a kid) but we want him to grow and succeed as a gymnast because he really does love gymnastics. He just doesn’t have that drive right now to practice on his own time, he would rather play Nintendo.

I know I sound like a “stage mom” which I never wanted to be. Any advice?

 

[raenndrops]

Let him be a kid. This is his journey. If he decides he really wants to advance, he will put in the work. If he isn't ready for that yet, then he isn't ready.

 

[Dahlialover]

Kids have to stay in the sport to progress in the sport. Pushing extra practice at home is a sure-fire way to hasten the end of a gymnastics career. It’s not your sport and his achievements (or lack thereof) are not yours. I’m as guilty of meddling as any typical well-meaning over-involved parent, so I understand how hard it is to relinquish control. But that’s the right thing to do. Good luck!

 

[NutterButter]

Is he really struggling? Repeating a level isn't at all unusual and especially if he's newish to the sport (sounds like he went directly from rec classes to team with little or no time spent in preteam...if this is the case it's not surprising he needs another year to solidify basics).

As far as his drive - I wouldn't worry about it that either. He loves gymnastics right now so leave it at that and see where this year goes. He's still relatively new to the sport and he's only 9.

 

[Dahlialover]

Repeating level 4 is very beneficial for many boys. Level 5 is a big jump in difficulty and it can be completely demoralizing to boys who are not very well-prepared. Unless your kid was competing clean, full-bonus routines on all the events in level 4, they should not move to level 5. Level 5 is also the highest level most boys ever compete. Beyond level 5, you are looking at a 16-24 hour per week training commitment and the skills become a lot scarier. We had a group of boys last year who were all on The cusp between level 4 and level 5. All of The boys who went to level 5 quit after the season ended and all of the boys who repeated 4 are still enjoying the sport and competing level 5 this year. The boys who went to level 5 were the stronger gymnasts but they got burnt out (or their parents got burnt out) and now they are gone and it is sad. It’s also worth noting that all the coaches’ kids repeated level 4. The coaches know how this goes and they know it is better in the long-term not to rush.

Age is also a consideration in advancement. Very few boys compete level 6 because it is ridiculously difficult and you have to be competition-age 12 to compete level 7/8. (Boys typically skip 6 and compete either level 7 or level 8 but not both). So, if your son’s birthday has already passed, he will be competition-age 10 next year. If your gym doesn’t do level 6, then he will have to repeat either level 4 or level 5 before he is old enough to move to level 7/8. Repeating both levels and moving to level 7/8 at comp-age 13 is actually great option. You have to be competition-are 14 to go to level 9, so doing level 7/8 at 13 is perfect.

Anyway, I don’t think you should see repeating level 4 as a sign of a struggle. If he is enjoying it and making g progress, there is no problem.

 

[GmanMom]

Repeating level 4 is very beneficial for many boys. Level 5 is a big jump in difficulty and it can be completely demoralizing to boys who are not very well-prepared. Unless your kid was competing clean, full-bonus routines on all the events in level 4, they should not move to level 5. Level 5 is also the highest level most boys ever compete. Beyond level 5, you are looking at a 16-24 hour per week training commitment and the skills become a lot scarier. We had a group of boys last year who were all on The cusp between level 4 and level 5. All of The boys who went to level 5 quit after the season ended and all of the boys who repeated 4 are still enjoying the sport and competing level 5 this year. The boys who went to level 5 were the stronger gymnasts but they got burnt out (or their parents got burnt out) and now they are gone and it is sad. It’s also worth noting that all the coaches’ kids repeated level 4. The coaches know how this goes and they know it is better in the long-term not to rush.

Age is also a consideration in advancement. Very few boys compete level 6 because it is ridiculously difficult and you have to be competition-age 12 to compete level 7/8. (Boys typically skip 6 and compete either level 7 or level 8 but not both). So, if your son’s birthday has already passed, he will be competition-age 10 next year. If your gym doesn’t do level 6, then he will have to repeat either level 4 or level 5 before he is old enough to move to level 7/8. Repeating both levels and moving to level 7/8 at comp-age 13 is actually great option. You have to be competition-are 14 to go to level 9, so doing level 7/8 at 13 is perfect.

Anyway, I don’t think you should see repeating level 4 as a sign of a struggle. If he is enjoying it and making g progress, there is no problem.

Thank you for all the info. We are still kinda new to all this and learning. I did not realize you had to be a certain age for certain levels. Thank you for explaining it so.

 

[skschlag]

Agree to everything said. I just want to add that my son repeated L5 (which is now L4) 3 times. He did 3 years at that level back in the day. I questioned the 3rd year but it turned out to be the best thing ever. The levels were different back then, but the gist is the same. He went on to have a great gymnastics career.

We did not have him practice at home. He would go through spurts of wanting to condition at home, but we really encouraged just playing. He did all the little kid things, played multiple sports, and played an instrument for a while (turned out to not be his thing lol)

It is easy to get caught up in it all, but for true longevity, less is more early on

Good luck and I can't wait to see how he does this year!

 

[Dahlialover]

We had a group of boys last year who were all on The cusp between level 4 and level 5. All of The boys who went to level 5 quit after the season ended and all of the boys who repeated 4 are still enjoying the sport and competing level 5 this year.

I should clarify, not all of the level 5s quit, just the boys on the cusp between level 4 and 5 who chooses to go to level 5. The three strongest a level 5s, who had all been top 3 AA at state in level 4, continued. It was the kids who were just slightly less strong that quit. They didn’t do poorly in level 5 but it was just too big of a leap in intensity for them (or in one case, for the parents). So it’s not like level 5 is impossible, it’s just not something to rush into.