Parents Competition season is done and now to reflect.

[Flippingwith2]

My DD had a rough comp season she’s currently xcel silver (10 yrs old), her very first comp she competed as xcel bronze and scored 4th in vault. Once she was switched the scores were in the low to mid 8’s throughout the season she kept getting a starting value deduction due to having skills not allowed, not enough skills, or song over length. It’s been very frustrating. Her very last competition her normal coach couldn’t be there so the gym’s JO coach showed up and was correcting some simple things on my DDs routines or execution of skill. She was very upset and kept telling me she didn’t “need” to hear the the JO coach criticizing her routines. Personally I think it was long over due. Her regular coach is a great guy but the girls run the session how they please. He doesn’t have them condition other than a short lap and stretch at the beginning of class. It’s almost like he’s just there to make sure they don’t get seriously injured but not to actually coach them and help them work on their weaknesses. Anyway, JO coach talked to us after the meet and suggested DD take T&T so that she could strengthen her core because it’s weak and she looks like a noodle out there. DD is very against it and insists her coach is doing a fantastic job. So as parents what would you guys do in a situation like this? I’m thinking of having her just try the class but I also don’t want her to start hating gymnastics.

 

[raenndrops]

My DD had a rough comp season she’s currently xcel silver (10 yrs old), her very first comp she competed as xcel bronze and scored 4th in vault. Once she was switched the scores were in the low to mid 8’s throughout the season she kept getting a starting value deduction due to having skills not allowed, not enough skills, or song over length. It’s been very frustrating. Her very last competition her normal coach couldn’t be there so the gym’s JO coach showed up and was correcting some simple things on my DDs routines or execution of skill. She was very upset and kept telling me she didn’t “need” to hear the the JO coach criticizing her routines. Personally I think it was long over due. Her regular coach is a great guy but the girls run the session how they please. He doesn’t have them condition other than a short lap and stretch at the beginning of class. It’s almost like he’s just there to make sure they don’t get seriously injured but not to actually coach them and help them work on their weaknesses. Anyway, JO coach talked to us after the meet and suggested DD take T&T so that she could strengthen her core because it’s weak and she looks like a noodle out there. DD is very against it and insists her coach is doing a fantastic job. So as parents what would you guys do in a situation like this? I’m thinking of having her just try the class but I also don’t want her to start hating gymnastics.

1. The coach should know there is a 1:00 time limit on floor in Xcel Silver. If her music is over that, it should have been cut. There is a 45 second time limit in Bronze, so if she kept that music, she should have been fine.
2. The coach should know the allowable skills (or at least what isn't allowed) AND how many counting skills are required for the levels he is coaching. If not, he should look them up or ask.
3. Your daughter may think he is doing a fantastic job, but if she CAN do the skiils that she SHOULD have in her routines, but he is having her do unallowed skills (on floor this means no B acro skills and no C skills at all and only 1 salto or aerial) then, he is NOT doing a terrific job.

 

[NutterButter]

Are there other gyms in your area? Based on what you are describing I would be checking them out. With what you've shared, I'm not sure your coach knows what he's doing. There's no excuse for getting deductions on music and composition/unallowed skills. This is 100% on the coach. Add to that a lack of conditioning/flex and I have to wonder what's going on there. The solution of the JO coach to take another class (spend more money) isn't sitting well with me either.

 

[txgymfan]

I would set up a meeting with head coach and explain your concerns about, safety ( most importantly) , lack of code knowledge, conditioning and general lack coaching and leading. In the meantime research but don’t contact new gyms. If you want advice on looking for a new gym, search our forms. There are many threads about the process, including a very recent one.

 

[Deleted member 18037]

Does she think she had a rough/frustrating season or was it rough/frustrating for you?

 

[Flippin'A]

If I were in your position my biggest concern would be the lack of strength/flexibility work. It sounds like your DD likes her coach and is having fun, but trying to train competitive gymnastics, even at the early levels, requires a certain amount of physical preparation to be safe. It might be something to think about as skills get tougher.

 

[Carly]

I'm sorry to hear that you are in this position. If they are really not coaching the girls, I'd would be looking for another gym. It is also very concerning that she had so many problems with starting value deductions. It does happen occasionally that a girl is missing something and has a lower start value but it just sounds like the coach does not know even the basics of the Xcel routines.

 

[John]

@smbramstedt I think you should sit with your daughter and determine what she wants out of gymnastics. Gymnastics gets progressively harder and more dangerous as the levels climb. The body needs to be protected from injury as life continues after gymnastics has come to an end. That protection comes in the way of form on skills and muscular development. Sadly your DD's current coach does not care to understand how important this is. While this is your daughters journey sometimes you have to help her make and understand the hard decisions. Your daughter may wish to continue xcel or pursue greater gymnastic aspirations but either way she needs to condition and focus on what's needed to continue a healthy life after gymnastics.

Move gyms or fix the current situation.

My two cents.

 

[Flippingwith2]

Thank you all for your replies. I’ll try to answer in order.

@raenndrops - The deductions for music/skills were frustrating. She would be upset seeing the 9.5 SV. The teams floor routine was never good from the start meaning that they had to continuously tweak the routine to fit the rules set out for xcel. By the looks of it he’d only adjust what they got the deduction for but didn’t look at the rules completely. I was told yesterday that he was new to xcel so this was his first year sending girls to compete. I’ve noticed with his more hands-off type coaching she likes being able to practice what she wants but she had to practice with the JO team yesterday and they are more structured and catch what she needs to work on. After practice she was wiped out and told me that they are tougher than her coach. I’m wondering if she’s just afraid of getting coached by them because they don’t let the girls run the session like she’s just so used to.

@NutterButter - there are other gyms and before we picked this one she tried others and we all liked this one best but her first month with them she was preteam and had more structured coaches. She liked the idea of xcel because it worked with her cheer schedule, so that’s how and why she ended up in xcel instead of team. Doing t&t doesn’t add to the tuition fees we pay for the hours she’s there so now she’s going to just shift who she’s going with on certain days. (I thought that same thing when I was told at first!)

@txgymfan - a meeting is now being set up and I’ve talked to the rest of the xcel parents so we know what concerns to bring up as a group. I’ll definitely write down your topic suggestions. I’ll also take a look at the thread. Thank you.

@Deleted member 18037 - I would say both. After every competition once she was switched to silver she was excitedly bringing out her score card to check what group she was in and would wait to see if her name would be called for medals and when she didn’t she was just in tears. It was a lot of her saying “my best wasn’t good enough” “I’m not a good gymnast” that’s the part that frustrated me.

@Flippin'A - that did definitely concern me. She had a couple of private lessons with one of the JO coaches and she told her how important strength training/conditioning was to the sport especially core strength. When she heard that DDs coach wasn’t conditioning them she actually went to talk to him right away and she told me to talk to the front office about any concerns about coaching.

@Carly - the SV deductions were very frustrating. DD would get mad at the judges. As first timers to the competition scene we didn’t know what or why things happened until the next practice AFTER the comp. I’m going to take a look at a the thread about looking up other gyms and see where we go from there.

 

[Flippingwith2]

@smbramstedt I think you should sit with your daughter and determine what she wants out of gymnastics. Gymnastics gets progressively harder and more dangerous as the levels climb. The body needs to be protected from injury as life continues after gymnastics has come to an end. That protection comes in the way of form on skills and muscular development. Sadly your DD's current coach does not care to understand how important this is. While this is your daughters journey sometimes you have to help her make and understand the hard decisions. Your daughter may wish to continue xcel or pursue greater gymnastic aspirations but either way she needs to condition and focus on what's needed to continue a healthy life after gymnastics.

Move gyms or fix the current situation.

My two cents.

It is a talk we definitely have to have. My worry was becoming that parent that’s coaching from the side lines. It’s just hard watching her so down on herself after every comp. There is a meeting being set up with the coaches to talk about our concerns so I’m going to write some of the suggestions from this thread and bring them up.

Thank you for your response.

 

[Deleted member 18037]

@Deleted member 18037 - I would say both. After every competition once she was switched to silver she was excitedly bringing out her score card to check what group she was in and would wait to see if her name would be called for medals and when she didn’t she was just in tears. It was a lot of her saying “my best wasn’t good enough” “I’m not a good gymnast” that’s the part that frustrated me.

Well the coach being new aside.....

At 10 she is old enough to understand the commitment a competitive sport takes. That means not just cherry picking doing the parts you like to do but the work that is not necessarily fun but is necessary for strength and safety. The boring drills that get you to the next "fun" skill..

A "good" gymnast takes work. And her "best" would involve doing the "stuff" that she thinks is useless and boring

If she is not prepared to do that perhaps gymnastics is not for her.

And that's the conversation you need to have with her. Without her buy in, even a move won't matter.