Boy, was I ever wrong!!!

[Aussie_coach]

You are right about your daughters hands, 6 years old is really way too young to be wearing grips. The grips can in fact damage their growth plates. She wont rip much at her age because she sill be so light, the heavier the girls are the more pressure on their hands.

 

[Billy]

You are right about your daughters hands, 6 years old is really way too young to be wearing grips. The grips can in fact damage their growth plates. She wont rip much at her age because she sill be so light, the heavier the girls are the more pressure on their hands.

I understand where the coach is coming from in ordering the grips for her level 4 team. But I'm watching my 6-year-old kid, you know? Also, DD is the youngest on the team by two years. The next youngest is 8 and most of the girls are 9 or 10.

 

[Tumblequeensmom]

IF AND ONLY IF you're interested in the grips from 10-O... have you checked out the little "pixie" grips? They're just the cutest thing! One of our tiny, tiny 8 year olds at the gym is getting them!

 

[Tumblequeensmom]

Ooops... I see Gymdog already mentioned the Pixie grips! I should read all posts before I respond!

 

[gymjourneymom]

Grip issues-dowel vs. palm for level 7

My DD never wanted to wear grips either. In mid- level 5 she started wearing palm grips b/c she was getting rips so often. She did well with them & was State champ & AA champ that year. Then training for 6 she was suppose to switch to dowel grips(per the bar coach). I got them for her (Gibson Just right)& encouraged her to break them in....but she never liked them & still refuses to wear them(wore palm grips all level 6 ). She's now training for level 7 & having trouble with giants. All of her team mates wear dowel grips(they switched when they were told, to back between levels 5-6), but she's still using palm grips. She says whenever she tries to wear the dowel grips she gets yelled at b/c she performs poorly in them(can't cast high enough,etc.). So now she just refuses to even try them. I can't help but think she's making it harder on herself by not switching...her team mates who wear the dowels seem to progressing faster then her. Maybe I sould have encouraged her to switch when everyone else did. But she was "comfortable" & didn't want to "mess with a good thing" back then....now she's too comfortable & can't bring herself to switch to dowels. Can she progress in palm grips????

 

[Billy]

Can she progress in palm grips????

Well, I was just watching Nadia's bars routine from the 1976 Olympics, a perfect '10' that she did without grips. So I'd have to say, yes, it is possible. Maybe it's not usual, and maybe it's harder, but it's definitely possible. I'm going to do a bit more research and see what other Olympic gymnasts don't use grips. I wonder when gymnasts actually started using grips in the first place. Anyone know when grips were invented?

 

[gymdog]

But she was "comfortable" & didn't want to "mess with a good thing" back then....now she's too comfortable & can't bring herself to switch to dowels. Can she progress in palm grips????

I suppose, although I've never known anyone who used palm grips, it was either fingertip (dowel) grips or bare hands. We weren't allowed to use palm grips really. To me (never have used them), it seems like they would kind of be in the way of gripping the bar for circling skills, by making the palm bigger but not doing anything for the fingertips (sorry if that doesn't make sense, I'm not exactly sure how to phrase it). But I really don't know anyone who has used them. It takes awhile to get used to grips for a lot of people, the ideal thing for some might be to do some swings with them rather than expect to be able to do all their skills immediately. I didn't start using grips until level 6 because of this (was supposed to have them in 5, but I had learned long kip without and it took me awhile to transition without messing up the long hang kip). I had kind of a disorganized transition because I was switching from a rec program to competitive so I had sort of been on my own with grips and then put in a competition group that was using them more consistently. This could be part of the problem if she is trying to switch when everyone else is used to them, the bar workout won't be designed for someone to be just getting used to grips. Have you talked to her coaches lately about it?

 

[gymjourneymom]

The coach says she should be using the dowels for at least part of every practice to get used to them...but she's not doing it. No one is enforcing this at practice. They are leaving it up to her. She has had "issues" with "change" in the past. She really "fights" change. I think the coach wants her to decide on her own that she needs the dowels. DD says she's having trouble with "hand postioning" in giants with the palm grips(she can do them in the strap bar, no grips there). But "can't cast high enough" with the dowel grips to practice . I'm wondering if she should just try no grips at all??? But after wearing palm grips all this time I'm afraid her hands will rip severely. Thanks for you in put.

 

[Ingymmom]

Hmm yeah sounds like what I have (not in size 0 ). The 501s? (I have buckle). To be honest I know a lot of people who don't like them, although I do (I'm only on my second pair right now, although the stitching is wearing away). Or rather, I'm used to them. The kind I am I thinking of are the Link Removed. It looks like they now have the ten-o 501s in a slim cut (seems pretty new, don't recall this from a couple years back but I got my last pair about 5 years ago when I was training level 8). They're calling them Link Removed They come in velcro too it seems. I prefer buckle and I think it's not a bad idea to start with the buckles, they don't come undone as much, but it's pretty much personal preference (my coaches require buckle though).

I think these are the same as my dd's. They are the buckle 501-12 (also 0's like the OP). All of our girls wear them (coach required at our gyms pre-team level) and they seem to like them, no complaints - although our coach customizes some, and my gymmie has such tiny fingers the holes have to be taped. All of our gymnasts have great bars so guess they work for us

 

[Ingymmom]

Yes, they are. She has taught herself a lot of skills, which has allowed her to skip from L2 to L4. She already has all of the L3 skills from teaching herself.

She had the complete L4 bars routine before they introduced the grips. That messed her up. Since we've told her she doesn't have to use them, she's found a renewed excitement about bars. She's been practicing all weekend, she's so happy.

I have never met a single coach from rec to competitive that was OK with this kind of practice at home. Very surprising.

 

[gymdog]

I think these are the same as my dd's. They are the buckle 501-12 (also 0's like the OP). All of our girls wear them (coach required at our gyms pre-team level) and they seem to like them, no complaints - although our coach customizes some, and my gymmie has such tiny fingers the holes have to be taped. All of our gymnasts have great bars so guess they work for us

Oh yeah, they work fine (I've been using them for quite some time), but they don't break in as easy as some other brands in my experience. I had one pair from L5 (very rarely used though, until L6) to L8, and then I've had a pair from 8 until now. I don't know why the second pair has held up better, except in L7 we used to go to bars multiple times a practice and then I switched a kind of less competitive program the last two years so maybe I did end up doing less swinging overall. Once I switched back to my original gym I had worn the stitching off them real quick, although I think they'll last a little longer (I don't use them that much now).

 

[Ingymmom]

Oh yeah, they work fine (I've been using them for quite some time), but they don't break in as easy as some other brands in my experience. I had one pair from L5 (very rarely used though, until L6) to L8, and then I've had a pair from 8 until now. I don't know why the second pair has held up better, except in L7 we used to go to bars multiple times a practice and then I switched a kind of less competitive program the last two years so maybe I did end up doing less swinging overall. Once I switched back to my original gym I had worn the stitching off them real quick, although I think they'll last a little longer (I don't use them that much now).

My dd's took a good month to break in = lots of tap swings

 

[Billy]

I have never met a single coach from rec to competitive that was OK with this kind of practice at home. Very surprising.

Well, they've never told her not to and they've never told me that she's doing skills wrong or that it's messing up her practice. She's actually always been complimented on her terrific form, especially on bars and beam, both of which she practices at home. What it is doing is making her stronger, making her hands tougher and giving her tons of confidence at practice (when grips aren't involved, that is).

 

[lakshmi369]

I think absolutely "Yes"! At L4 most girls at clubs in our area do not use grips. In fact my DD is also one that just does not get rips and is working on some last L7 skills (including Giants) and has not had any problems with rips. She will eventually need to go to grips (maybe next Summer) to help her lock on to the bars when doing harder tricks. Confidence is so key in this sport! Good luck to your DD!

 

[Ingymmom]

Well, they've never told her not to and they've never told me that she's doing skills wrong or that it's messing up her practice. She's actually always been complimented on her terrific form, especially on bars and beam, both of which she practices at home. What it is doing is making her stronger, making her hands tougher and giving her tons of confidence at practice (when grips aren't involved, that is).

Hey if her coaches are ok with it, then that is their policy , cool or whatever... I have just never heard of coaches being ok with it and it surprises me, because IMO parental intervention can only take a kid so far... you may be in for a bumpy ride the next few years if your dd is still involved in gymnastics.

 

[maddiekate]

If she just started training Level 4, why is she jumping to the high bar anyway? Are they uptraining already?

We started jumping to the high bar in pre-team.

 

[maddiekate]

I have never met a single coach from rec to competitive that was OK with this kind of practice at home. Very surprising.

Our coach encouraged us to practice at home. 3 of the girls on my team have low beams at home that they bought through the gym. Sometimes our coach will give us a certain skill she wanted us to work on at home too.

 

[Ingymmom]

Our coach encouraged us to practice at home. 3 of the girls on my team have low beams at home that they bought through the gym. Sometimes our coach will give us a certain skill she wanted us to work on at home too.

You are absolutely correct, & I agree maddiekate - practicing certain things at home can be very fun and great for a gymnast , but this child is such a young girl, & it is the following that concerns me..

"she's been practicing bars (a lot!) at home (we have a training bar) and has been jumping to catch the bar. We measured and set up her mats to simulate the jump to the high bar (by distance and height of jump but the bar is not actually "high") and she's done great. She's even started teaching herself to do a baby-giant"

this can be lot more dangerous then what many think without proper supervision & in the wrong environment, I am glad to hear that this child's coaches are aware & approve of this type of practice. I personally would not work with my dd on these skills, but I guess I don't have to , our coaches are great, and my dd seems to move along just fine with her assigned gym time

 

[Billy]

my dd seems to move along just fine with her assigned gym time

Does your daughter have no desire to practice at home? I cannot keep DD from practicing. She does leaps through the mall and pivot turns in line at Walmart. Nobody makes her practice at home. She does it because she loves it. There is never enough gym time. At dinner time or shower time or bed time it's always "can I do just one more [insert skill]? Please!!!"

 

[Takiah]

When i was level 3-4 we never trained with grips. In fact back then grips were only for elite gymnasts.

Now coming back to gym at 19 years old i found grips a must.

I completely understand how frustrating it is learning to use grips. I thought this might be important to post since the previous posts were just from on lookers and I have actually had this problem my self.

When I first started using grips i kept flinging off the bar and I was getting so angry because I thought my grips were "broken" but I kept at it for a while and now I love my grips.

The problem I was having was just that the grips were not moulded yet, now if your daughter is comfortable training without grips for the time being thats fine but she also needs to be training with grips or come the time that she does NEED to use them and she isnt used to the way the bar feels with them it could cause some strain on her training at a later date.