Parents DDs score went DOWN??

[crazygymmom]

Hi there! I have rarely posted, but I really enjoy reading! I was wondering if I could get some input, please!

My dd is first year level 5. Level 4 was rocky, but we decided to move up anyway. We've had 4 meets so far and in vault, floor, bars, and all around she's always placed 1st or 2nd. Beam has been a consistent 4th. AAs starting at 33.5 and going up to 34.5.

Meet last night was upsetting to say the least!! AA was 32!! (7th out of 10 AA)
She fell off the beam, didn't get her squat on, forget the 2nd backhandspring, took several steps after her vault, etc, etc, etc. It was a crazy night!!

When I asked her what happened, she said she didn't know, but was clearly upset!! She said she felt ready to compete. I know I'm way over-analyzing the whole thing (but that's what I do LOL!). The meet format was different, and it was a late meet (she's an early bird). Coach also said for the last few weeks she's been not doing her best at practice.

Do you think this last meet was just an "off night" and that she'll get her groove back? We have a home meet this coming weekend and she really wants to do good! I've just never seen someone always do well and then just flop! I really hope it's not all down hill from here! We've had a talk about practicing and I'm hoping more serious practicing will help.

 

[Blackie6]

My DD just finished her first season as a L5 and never even got up to 34AA. While her scores for the most part improved thru the season we found that some meets are just judged differently than others. And, not sure what your DD's age is, but sometimes one bad event turns into another bad event and then another...sometimes just resulting in a bad meet altogether. Everyone has an "off" day. At states last weekend my DD couldn't wait for bars (usually her best event) and then feel off the squat on. Never did it at a meet before, it shocked her & glad that was the last event. Sometimes when they make a mistake they can't shake it off for the next event. Times of the meet seem to affect my DD's score too sometimes. We are not morning people. Our joke is she doesn't wake up until last event, LOL

I think as long as you and coaches are seeing that her scores are going up and improving for the most part, she is moving in the right direction and just chalk it up to a bad meet, bad day. It happens to everyone. If you think (you mentioned not doing best at practice) maybe it's a motivation thing, maybe there is something else going on? Maybe you can watch some of the practice to see if something is not right and talk to coaches?

 

[crazygymmom]

Thanks so much for your input, Blackie!

She's 8, just turned 8 a few days ago.

Yeah, she fell of the beam first thing which has never happened at a meet. That may have set the precedence for the rest of the meet!

Also she did say something about trying too hard! I was also thinking the same thing, that maybe she was pushing herself too hard. Her other meets seemed so "easy" and this one, her coach had set a goal for her, which I agreed with, and maybe it was messing with her head!?

 

[Tumblequeensmom]

This is gymnastics.... after having DD go through the levels up to 7, I've come to realize every meet, every judge, even your DD is different for every meeet!!! Gymnastics is such a subjective sport, regardless of the USAG "standards". There is no way of trying to figure out why one meet was such a success and another was a disaster... if all skills are competed.

On the other hand, sometimes it's just not a great meet! Things happen. The more emphasis you place on it, the harder it is to "get over it." You just have to move on and hope the next meet is better.

Gymnastics... it is what it is!

 

[Megley]

I agree that sometimes girls just have bad meets and there really is no rhyme or reason to it. The judges may have been harder this meet, or perhaps falling off the beam just rattled her for the rest of the meet.

It seems possible too that the coach setting a goal for her backfired and caused her to stress out too much. That could explain the bad practices too. Perhaps having a goal is just too much pressure on her. Every child is different - some do well with goals and others don't. I can certainly see how a coach-driven goal could cause a child to get too wound up and nervous, thereby causing a bad meet. Perhaps the coach could back off on the goal setting and see if that helps.

Meg

 

[Gymmonkeymomma]

There will be lots of ups and downs. It's the nature of the sport and some have bad days/meets, without any reason. Your dd should be proud of herself for doing her best, no matter what the numbers say. I know it can be very frustrating as a parent. I watched my DD this season start at 34, go up to high 36's just to crash and burn at States.

 

[crazygymmom]

I really appreciate the input! It really does help to hear from others!

I'm not so worried about the numbers, I think it's more about the placing. Like I told dd, if her placement was consistent than that would be fine, but for her placement to go down so much...

We just talked about the goal! I told her no more numbers (which was her coach's goal).

 

[Blackie6]

Ohhh, the coach set a goal? That's really hard at 8, and so much pressure. I'm sure coaches don't see it as a problem, maybe doen't realize the pressure they put on the younger ones...but maybe for next meet tell her to set her own goals. We try to stay away from the numbers thing (LOL) and try to focus move on improving events. For goals this year my DD was really working on floor stuff with leaps, form and FHS. Maybe your DD was trying so hard to please the coach it all just backfired. Sounds like she is having a great season and maybe coach is getting caught up in how well she's been doing and tried to give her a nudge...

 

[ginnymac]

I would say that you can't focus on the placements of 1 meet, either. For every gymnast who is having an "off" day, there is another one who is having an "on" day.

Chalk it up (no pun intended) to the fact that some meets you hit, some you don't. With many gymnasts, a fall early on in a competition can really freak them out. Especially an 8 year old who hasn't fallen much in prior competition. Consider it a learning experience and put it behind. Get the falls now, learn how to deal with them and move on.

Focus on the positives that occurred (however small).

And as a coach, I would suggest that score based goal setting is not a great technique to use with younger gymnasts. JMHO

 

[snowbound]

I can relate, my DD had a really good L4 year last year (lowest score was 36.5AA) and after 3 meets this year hasn't broken 33.5)

I think it may have started out with she was just getting to be a big fish in a little pond and didn't realize that there were girls outside our gym working much harder than she was.

At any rate, we sat her down and told her she needed to focus on the basics that she did so well in L4 (pointed toes, straight elbows) and as long as she isn't struggling with any of the big skills, the rest will come. (she had two weeks off from meets, and we have one on Sunday, so I will let you know how it goes) Her coach told her this week (unsolicited...we didn't ask, she just volunteered it) that she thinks she will earn much higher marks at this meet since it's obvious in practice that she's working harder.

Anyway, they all go through it, she will get it back, don't worry!
Snowbound

 

[Tumblequeensmom]

I even dislike that a coach has told a gymnast that "they will score really well" at an upcoming meet. Anything can happen! My DD's coaches would occasionally say something like that to her the last few years.... "Her bars looked really good tonight, 'she should score about a 9.2' with that routine!" And of course, when she did NOT score as high as "predicted" with a particular routine, it really threw her for the rest of the meet. Focusing on placements and scores is just not something you want to be doing if you're in this sport for the long haull. . . Esp. at such a young age. I can understand it if you ever get to the point where you're considering a college scholarship, but now??? No.

 

[Mom2G&D]

Growth spurt?

Is it possible that your DD is going through a growth spurt? If so, that could be throwing her off.....

 

[mariposa]

I think everyone has hit everything I would have said. Every kid has a bad meet sometimes or bad event, it happens. They practice so much to get a few minutes to show the judges what they can do and it doesn't always come together at one meet. Pressure can also cause problems, adding to the nerves they already have.

I also think that not all kids progress through the season the same as others. Some start out at a 32 and by end of season are hitting 37s, while another may start at 32AA and peak at 34s, they are all so very different. My kid is one of those kids that take a long time to finally start to put it all together. I imagine it will be that way when she gets to level 5. First year to kind of practice and try to get it all together and 2nd year to get a chance to shine some. Nothing wrong with it, just how my kid is. Like everything there are early and late bloomers in gymnastics and it takes all kinds to make the sport.

 

[taximom]

First of all welcome to the CB! We hope that you'll post more often now instead of keeping up by reading!
Lots of great advice above, competing is a skill that takes practice. The more your daughter competes the more comfortable she will be. She will also learn to deal with the pressure from coaches, parents or even herself and sometimes the falls or mistakes.
Everybody is bound to have an "off" day sometime. We don't focus on placements because you can't control what anybody else does. Our daughter goes out there and gives her best each day. Sometimes she places other times not. She sets goals for herself that are event related such as I'm going to stick all my tumbling lines. Or I'm going to stay tight for my entire beam routine.

 

[Panda-girl's Mom]

Like the others I would just chalk it up to she had an off day. There are so many things like the judging, the time of day and so on. Sometimes my daughters coaches predict her score and daughter gets excited and then fails to make the score, When my daughter tells me this I get really annoyed. I would not make too much of a big deal about it because it may upset your daughter more, I would just move on and let her just concentrate on your next meet.

 

[NotAMom]

I'm not so worried about the numbers, I think it's more about the placing. Like I told dd, if her placement was consistent than that would be fine, but for her placement to go down so much...

Placement and numbers alike... Consistency is not something you can control. She is 8 and competing at L4/5. At this age and level, she is there primarily to have fun (while showing off her stuff). Everyone is bound to have bad days and some have more bad days than others. I suggest not to sweat it. It's better for everyone in the long run.

Just FYI, when my daughter was L4, we attended a relatively large meet. They had upwards of 100 kids at that level divided into 2 flights. She had a great day and came away with the highest score of all the L4 kids. The next year we returned to the same meet at L5, she had a horrible day. Her score placed literally at the very bottom. She wasn't happy and neither were we. We put that behind us and she's still with the sport 5-6 years later riding the rolling coaster only at a higher level.

 

[cathiann]

Jumping in late merely to agree with everyone else. You'll drive yourself nuts if you analyze one meet so much--she had an off night--with falls and bobbles, so it's not surprising she scored lower and placed lower. Let it go and move on