Parents Catching up by competing level 9 skills in level 8?

[JoyAvenueMom]

Thanks for all of the info! One of the coaches I talked to (a coach not on the girls team, but on the boys team) shared with me "it's important to push - but not to rush". Even though there hasn't been a girl who hasn't repeated level 9 yet, I think it could change for our gym as they continue to develop the girls program and upgrade their resources/equipment. Since I first started this post back in the summer, I've seen many positive developments including support from other optional parents who are willing to help pay for these upgrades because they would rather stay than change gyms. Hoping for the best! Thanks again for all of your insights and sharing!

This sounds great! If your dd loves her gym, loves gymnastics, and you are both happy, nothing else should matter. It sounds like LOTS of parents are happy with the coaches and willing to support the program. That's always great to hear!

 

[gymdog]

DD's gym has several repeating L7 and L8 this year. You missed my point however, my concern is that the OP's gym had NEVER had anyone do a single year of L9. She didn't say that MOST of them repeated L9...but ALL of them. Considering how many have done single years of L9 at my dd's gym, that fact simply made me question whether her gym is capable of helping dd reach her goals. I'm curious whether they have the coaching staff to produce strong L10 athletes. I'm not questioning the general rule of repeating optional levels. Ha! If my dd even makes it to L9, I'm betting she repeats L7 and L8 along the way. ;-) It could be that this fact means absolutely nothing, and that her gym has produced several NCAA athletes in the past. If, however, they've never done it, repeating optional levels becomes a moot point.

Well, I guess really it depends on what happens after they pass level 9. If they've never had level 10s or anyone go on to NCAA gymnastics then that's more of the answer than repeating level 9.

But to be honest if your gym repeats 7 more frequently than 9 I would say they likely just have a different pathway they follow than the OP's gym or some gyms where they repeat earlier rather than later for whatever reason. I would say it's generally more common to repeat level 9 than level 7. It sounds like your gym has a different path through the optional levels with more stringent requirements to get to level 9, whereas another gym may try to get there faster but then spend time there. One way or another they take whatever amount of time to get to level 10 - it's really only a small percentage of kids who take a straight path there or even skip. But in terms of the others, some gyms have it where the repeating is more in the early years, some more in the later years. Just depends on how they structure their program. But I would agree if they have no level 10s and your goal is to get to level 10 and you're not a super talented skipping levels person you may have an issue.