Women consistenly....last

[GymDad9.9]

A minimal polished routine will outscore a more difficult clean routine every time. How are her scores? I have noticed that many L6ish routines are frequently scoring 9.5+. I'm not a big fan of the whole "meet the minimum to get a big score" mentality, but for some that 1st place AA is quite important. Quick disclaimer: I have no problem with minimal routines nor do I have a problem with those that are consistently on top in their current level due to progress issues as these things happen; however, imo, L6 should be used a bridge from L5 to L7 with a difficulty somewhere in between, not a L5 routine to selected music.....just my opinion though.
My DD faced the same thing in L7. She had great scores, 9.3-9.5, but consistently lost several 'places' when her full and switch half competed against back tucks and wolf jumps. She didn't have a L8 vault, but after a few meets in L7, I asked the coaches to move her up so that she could at least be competitive in the 3 other events.

A teammate of my daughter is going through this right now with floor in Level 6. Her routine has three tumbling passes instead of two and is getting scored down by virtue of the two passes done by most Level 6 girls. She's gonna keep with the three passes as Level 6 is a temporary bridge to finishing the season at Level 7 (once the Giants are down).

 

[cadybearsmommy]

I guess it must vary by area bc around here skills like switch half and fiulls wouldn't be competed until L8. I've been to several combined L6-7 combined meets this year even with some of the super competitive gyms from other states and haven't seen any of those skills in L7. At all.
I've also never seen three passes in L6 either. As a matter of fact many gyms only do two passes for L7 as well.
I think it's more the norm to see minimum to moderate L6-7 routines and more upgraded routines at L8 and up in our area since there when compositional deductions come into play. We also see a lot repeating L6 and 7 probably for this very reason, giving extra time to prepare for L8.

 

[2gymkids]

We are having a similar journey at level 4 this year. It's heartbreaking, especially since the last two meets have improved SO much from the first two, and she walked away empty handed (was one spot out from getting a medal on several events). I know that in the end, the lessons she is learning about measuring her success in other ways, about working hard and being proud of herself no matter where she places, etc, are going to serve her well, but that sure doesn't make it any easier to watch. I feel your pain! These kids are amazing every time they get out there, I wish they could see that like we do!

 

[NY Dad]

A lot of the problem here comes from this everyone gets a medal type mentality. I find it crazy that comps in the US give out medals for AA to 50% or in some cases to everyone!...
This is a great way of highlighting last place.

I totally agree with Aussie_coach (and many others). (disclaimer, my dd has't competed yet and I'm going a bit off topic here but some of the comments made me think of something totally unrelated). When I originally though of this it seemed more relevant but I still wanted to post it.

It's so easy to remove their internal motivation and replace it with an external motivator (the expectation of getting a metal or pin or ribbon or a water bottle). The problem is that the internal motivation is that only thing that can be sustained for the long run.

After my dd broke her elbow about a month ago I let her watch extra TV while she was doing her PT (I felt bad for her and I knew it was hard work). One day when I reminded her to do PT she hadn't finished her homework so I told her she couldn't watch TV while she did her PT. She refused to do her PT unless I let her watch TV. I reminded her that she needs to do it to get her mobility/strength back so she could return to gymnastics. She still refused (which was very unlike her). I told her that going forward she isn't going to watch TV while she does her PT. She should do it b/c she wants to get better and get back to the things she loves to do.

After that she hasn't even ask about extra TV when she does her PT, she realized that's not why she's doing PT.

Hopefully everyone can see the connection I've made.

 

[profmom]

I will join in the group hug with my L9 son. He's 13 and nowhere close to puberty, and has never been super strong. At this point, everyone around him is taking off and acquiring the skills that need strength, while he is trying to get them to work as best as he can with what he's got. He's not so much about medals or placements, but he is disappointed when he misses skills in meets and even more disappointed when he sees that other guys at L9 are capable of so much more than him.

It sounds like your DD has moved up into optionals fast, and like my son, she's doing skills that she just has in hand and hasn't fully cleaned up yet. All of this is building toward success later in optionals, but for now, all you can counsel is patience and focus on achieving personal milestones.

 

[Gymmonkeymomma]

Just responding to a couple questions. DD just turned 10 a few weeks ago and is the youngest of our level 6s. She is scoring low 9's (9.0 - 9.2) except vault which is high 8's. We are also a "peak at states" mentality gym, whereas some others are top notch at the get go!
Thank you all for your hugs and commiseration. Sometimes it can feel like I am the only one - it's nice to know I am not alone!!

At 10 and especially if yours is on the smaller side, vault can be a struggle for a while, but one day, it just clicks and they grow a little, gain a few pounds and it's all good.

I agree with the clean minimal routine scoring better than one with harder skills but poor form. Part of my DD's problem was being at a gym where form didn't matter. Literally. My older DD did the most hideous giants you could ever want to not watch, lol. Little monkey wasn't quite as bad but when we moved her to new gym, they did ALOT of cleaning up. More than 6 years later (at age 16 and 4th yr level 10) she still is required to do drills for her 'bent arm kips' on a regular basis!

 

[dbean]

My DD is a level 6 and has completed 2 meets. She scored okay in her first meet but was near bottom in her second. No medals. She too lacks skills and form compared to her teammates (on bars and vault) but she is loving it and luckily sets her own goals regradless of how she places. It has been a joy to watch her and while she will likely repeat 6, we are okay with that because next year she will be even stronger. I too feel a little sad about her placing low but since she seems happy either way, I just keep telling her how pround we are of her. Plus last year I was a crazy gym mom and dont want to be that mom again...my biggest worry is that some of the moms (well one) will use my DD to motivate hers. "If she can do it so can you" or "she's got it, why don't you"...that really boils my buttons. We are well aware of where she is skill wise but she works hard and that is all one can ask for.

 

[Mrs. Puma]

has walked away from the last few meets with lots of tears and no medals.

Been there! Until this last meet, Puma Jr did not medal for 11, yes ELEVEN, consecutive meets. It sucked. I felt awful for her. But that 5th place medal she got last meet was so much more than a 5th place medal. It represented all her hard work in the last 19 months since the gym change. It was worth more than all the medals, even the first place ones, she got while at the other gym. Hang in there! Vent away!!!

 

[CCGymbug]

I agree about the metal issue but It is hard when you have kids that repeat RT gym mentality, gyms that go way over recommend hours etc. The playing field is very unfair. Dd with a 9.4 floor still came in 4th place which would mean no metal pretty much ever. But it has decreased their value significantly. But alas there is no perfect world....

 

[SurpriseGymMom]

Well, my DD is very, VERY seldom on any kind of podium. She loves gymnastics and has the guts to do even the scary skills.... but she will never get an award for "best form ever"..! She also has a tendency to do her absolute worst turns in front of the judges.
The meets we go to are usually not the "feel good" meets where everyone gets a trophy. You earn any hardware, which means my DD rarely gets any. But, she is competing all 4 events and keeps working towards making each meet better and improving on her personal goals (which can never have a number attached to them, since her score by judges and placement dependent on how others do are out of her control...). I have her make goals like hit her BHS-BHS on beam, or hit her HS out of her clearhip, stuff like that. My kid scores lower than most others on her team but she has good work ethic, she can do the skills and has a good attitude. She just isn't great at minding the details and perfecting things. Not for lack of trying between her coaches and myself, lol, she is just more in it for the fun of it and is always looking for that next big skill, which she will certainly also chuck and love every minute of..

 

[SurpriseGymMom]

As a side note.... i would never allow DD to pout or feel bad about not medaling. It is not a given. In fact, it shouldnt be. It should be only for the top, and you should really have to work to earn it. I will however be proud as heck of my kid if she performs well and hits all her difficult skills, even if she gets a 32AA!!

 

[JMACAZ]

Well, my DD is very, VERY seldom on any kind of podium. She loves gymnastics and has the guts to do even the scary skills.... but she will never get an award for "best form ever"..! She also has a tendency to do her absolute worst turns in front of the judges.
The meets we go to are usually not the "feel good" meets where everyone gets a trophy. You earn any hardware, which means my DD rarely gets any. But, she is competing all 4 events and keeps working towards making each meet better and improving on her personal goals (which can never have a number attached to them, since her score by judges and placement dependent on how others do are out of her control...). I have her make goals like hit her BHS-BHS on beam, or hit her HS out of her clearhip, stuff like that. My kid scores lower than most others on her team but she has good work ethic, she can do the skills and has a good attitude. She just isn't great at minding the details and perfecting things. Not for lack of trying between her coaches and myself, lol, she is just more in it for the fun of it and is always looking for that next big skill, which she will certainly also chuck and love every minute of..

This was a great reminder to me. My DD is also doing some of the hardest skills of her group but it takes a looong time for her to get them. She does have personal goals especially on bars and beam and works hard in the gym. She is proud, her Coach is proud and that's all that really matters