We have a little dilemma on our hands wna just want to see how you all would handle it. This is a long one, sorry...
DD first year competing Prep Opt Novice won state last year. She is 10 now. We decided to give up swim team for gymnastics and move into JO program. She has been training with a group of "level 4s moving to level 5" since June. Some progress has been made - now has ROBHSBHS (needs to get legs a little straighter), front tuck (needs to improve landing) and is generally progressing nicely on beam (always had great long-hold handstand and can do cartwheel, needs bigger leaps and jumps but always sticks them).
Seems bars is giving some trouble - kip specifically, as she do squat on most of the time and now has started really jumping to high bar. Vault is "ok" but we're having troubling with landing as she tends to fall forward most of the time, but that is not the biggest concern.
The issue is in our gym if you can't really perform all of the routines/skills then you can't compete that level. So coach wants her to workout with a group of girls in similar situation - they are not really ready to make the move up to level 5, but are beyond level 4. They may different skills they are struggling with but bottom line is they will not be moving to the level 5 workout until they get the skills they are having trouble with.
So DD will not be able to compete level 5 until she gets her kip, which means she may miss several meets at the beginning of the season (we start around mid-Ocober). She will learn the level 5 routines and work on all those skills but will do it with this group during the level 4 workout.
The dilemma is that DD loves to compete, just loves the meets and I fear she will be sad missing out and may get out of that "competing mindset" if too much time goes by. Might she also get bored just practicing for several months? Would she be better off competing level 4 this year but still working on level 5 bar skills? Is it feasible to compete the first few meets as level 4 and then switch to level 5 when she gets her kip? If so, I worry that trying to learn the level 5 routine half-way into the season might be too hard.
What would you do?? Thanks!!!
DD first year competing Prep Opt Novice won state last year. She is 10 now. We decided to give up swim team for gymnastics and move into JO program. She has been training with a group of "level 4s moving to level 5" since June. Some progress has been made - now has ROBHSBHS (needs to get legs a little straighter), front tuck (needs to improve landing) and is generally progressing nicely on beam (always had great long-hold handstand and can do cartwheel, needs bigger leaps and jumps but always sticks them).
Seems bars is giving some trouble - kip specifically, as she do squat on most of the time and now has started really jumping to high bar. Vault is "ok" but we're having troubling with landing as she tends to fall forward most of the time, but that is not the biggest concern.
The issue is in our gym if you can't really perform all of the routines/skills then you can't compete that level. So coach wants her to workout with a group of girls in similar situation - they are not really ready to make the move up to level 5, but are beyond level 4. They may different skills they are struggling with but bottom line is they will not be moving to the level 5 workout until they get the skills they are having trouble with.
So DD will not be able to compete level 5 until she gets her kip, which means she may miss several meets at the beginning of the season (we start around mid-Ocober). She will learn the level 5 routines and work on all those skills but will do it with this group during the level 4 workout.
The dilemma is that DD loves to compete, just loves the meets and I fear she will be sad missing out and may get out of that "competing mindset" if too much time goes by. Might she also get bored just practicing for several months? Would she be better off competing level 4 this year but still working on level 5 bar skills? Is it feasible to compete the first few meets as level 4 and then switch to level 5 when she gets her kip? If so, I worry that trying to learn the level 5 routine half-way into the season might be too hard.
What would you do?? Thanks!!!