Extra-curricular tumbling (hardwood floors...acckk)

[beamer]

Here's what happened this past weekend:

DD (L5/6, age 10) had her annual school dance show.There were several performances over the course of the weekend, culminating in a final show Saturday night. This Saturday night show was a more free-wheeling performance in which some of the more advanced/older dancers got to perform acts they had choreographed themselves.

DD was set to perform a dance with a group of her 5th grade friends when one of the girls, who is a cheerleader, suggested soon before they went on stage that she and my DD (the only tumblers in their group) should add standing backhandsprings into the routine. When DD balked (she has never tumbled on a hardwood floor without some sort of mat) the other girl got mad and began to bully her into submission.

DD refused and bolted from the show in tears.

We had a long talk about living up to your responsibilities when there is a group depending on you and also about standing up for yourself (i.e., saying "no" instead of fleeing) when you are being asked to do something you don't feel comfortable with.

But it did get me thinking about the issue of tumbling outside of the gym. I think this other little girl has been trained, through so many years of cheerleading, to be okay with tumbling across a wood stage. I have seen gymnasts do this too (whether on a stage, the grass, the beach, etc.). If she were a stronger gymnast, would my DD be okay with it too? How do coaches and parents feel about this extra-curricular tumbling?

 

[2gymmies]

My dd is training Level 9 and has done some basic tumbling on grass or gym floors, but she usually is very hesitant because she always says that she wouldn't want to have to tell her coach she hurt her foot (or wrist or whatever) tumbling outside the gym. My guess is most coaches will frown upon doing it and be supportive of your dd for not wanting to.

 

[AlexsGymmyMom]

My DD also does cheer and I HATE the tumbling on the gym floors or on the track. She does do BHS but I draw the line at back tucks. I still cringe when I see her doing the BHS on the wood floors!

 

[Natasha]

my dd is not allowed to tumble outside the gym. She used to complain and say she wouldn't get hurt, but I pointed out to her the pounding that it results in is bad for her. After she broke her wrist in the gym last year it has been a non-issue as she wears a wrist brace now and wouldn't even think of tumbling on a hard surface.

 

[bogwoppit]

Mine also does cheer and I have a hard time with the fact they they practice on mats and not a sprung floor. NO way is she allowed to tumble on hard floors.

Learning how to say no is important, hopefully she learns how to say what she needs to say without running away.

Last minute changes to routines are never a good plan anyway.

 

[Gymmonkeymomma]

Both of my DD's have/had difficult tumbling for floor routines, but neither will do more than BHS on hard floor or grass. It has been drilled into their heads that these skills are dangerous for gymnasts to perform outside the gym. They have seen too many friends get hurt.

I'm sure it was tough for your DD to have to say no to friends, but great that she could stand up for herself!

 

[GymGirl's Mom]

My DD is NOT under any circumstances allowed to tumble on the grass, a stage, gym or a hard floor of any kind. I am glad your DD had the sense to run- yes it would have been nice to stick up for herself, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do to stay safe. Hopefully she'll run the first time a friend tries to bully her into drinking, or smoking, or worse!

 

[Bajanswife]

My DD sometimes does a BHS on grass and wood floors, but she does only one at a time (whereas on a spring floor she can do several in a row). We both feel safe with her doing just one because we know she can do that one without any effort and with very little chance of injury. She's a strong and active child, and that one BHS does not expose her to any greater risk than she is exposed to doing the many other (non-gymnastics) things she likes to do. We have told her not to attempt more than one though, because on a floor that isn't sprung she may not get the momentum she is accustomed to and that may lead to improper execution (and thus injury). She does jazz dance too and in the end of year dance show last June she did a BHS on stage as part of her routine.

 

[Ingwe]

1st, Good for your Dd for standing up and saying no. That took courage.

My dd is training L9 and Ihave to admit that she will tumble outside of the gym. We live at the beach and when she is not in the gym she is on the beach surfing and sometimes tumbling. In fact last week her and another gym friend took a break from surfing and were doing some tumbling, aerials etc and they had a nice "audience" of Boys watching them and cheering them on. I think they "planned" that little show in order to get the boys attention at barely 13 they are just getting a tad boy crazy.

 

[MaryA]

At my dancing DD's recital last week, a girl did an areal as part of a hip-hop number. It was NOT a strong areal (her head was way too close to the floor for my liking). There was also some "stepping into someones hands who then pushed them into the air into a backwards flip" kind of thing. Made me VERY nervous. I tell my daughter the same thing 2gymmies was saying, "How would your head coach feel if you have to tell her you hurt yourself doing something stupid?"

 

[gym law mom]

She had every right to say no and shouldn't feel bad about it.

 

[Bajanswife]

She had every right to say no and shouldn't feel bad about it.

I agree! I realize that I didn't address that part of things in my previous post. Doing things under peer pressure when you're not 100% confident is a recipe for injury!

 

[beamer]

You are all saying pretty much what I was thinking. Thanks for your input!

I was glad DD resisted the pressure, I just wish she had resisted the pressure without freaking out and bagging out of the show altogether!

I was also curious as to whether your DDs' coaches would advise/have advised in the past against the out-of-gym tumbling. There does not seem to be any sort of policy against it at DD's gym; probably it would be a tough policy to police!

 

[Kiwi]

There are girls in my DD's group who practice RO-BHS on the grass field at school, but my DD doesn't. I am not keen on it outside the gym. Too much impact on wrists, ankles, etc. (and DD has already had some injury problems). I let her practice her BHS on our trampoline (which is a really big trampoline). DD was in a dance item last year and she did a forward roll to splits, BWO, cartwheels and split leaps on the hard stage. I don't mind cartwheels on the field or hard floor, but nothing that needs spring.

I think your DD did well to resist the pressure, and she ran away because she didn't know how else to deal with the bully except remove herself from the situation. Better that than giving in to the pressure and doing something she really didn't want to do.

 

[gymgurl]

I used to do a lot of tumbling on grass and I still do but I have changed tactics, I used to do a lot of round off flic series now i will just do round off flic step out as there is less pressure on the hands and ankles or bwo flic step out. I know what is with in my ability so won't do anything more than a round off flic even though i know i would probably be okay but if she doesn't feel 100% confident its best she say know because tumbling on hard you have to be 100% committed.