Extra practice during meet week?

[MaryA]

Opinions... DD has a meet on Saturday (we'll need to leave at about 8:30 Saturday morning, so not awful). Then on Monday she (and her sister and my husband... mama's got some "alone time!") are leaving to go visit my in-laws for Thanksgiving. She'll be out of the gym until the 30th and then she has another meet on the 3rd (not ideal, but what can you do? ). She usually has practice M,T,Th,F, 13 hours total. HC had already said that DD could do Wednesday practice with the Optionals on the week she comes back, since she will be missing practice on Monday and Tuesday. Yesterday HC said that maybe she should do Wednesday practice this week too. My question is, is it a good idea to add an extra 4-hour practice this week with a meet on Saturday? Do you think it might wear her out and do more harm than good? Or do you think it will be O.K? DD wants to do the extra practice. She says, "If the Optionals can do it ("it" being practice 5 days a week), I can do it!" But, of course, the optionals have had this schedule for several months now (at least) and she has not. For those of you who don't know, she is a 10-year-old level 6 and tends to be a pretty high-energy kind of kid, but she definitely comes home from practices tired.

 

[JBS]

Just make a choice and see how the meet goes. It'll be good experience for the future either way.

I wouldn't worry too much about it either way.

EDIT: I really didn't answer. I don't think it will wear her out...but I don't know your gyms workout style or your daughter. I would listen to the coach.

 

[Geoffrey Taucer]

I actually tend to hold fewer and less intense practices going into a big meet. Right before a meet, there's no need to push new skills, no need to do heavy conditioning, no need to attempt to really "build" at all; it's just maintenance and fine-tuning. Anything more, and you run the risk of wearing out or injuring the athlete right before the meet.

That's just my 2 cents.

 

[Bajanswife]

At DD's gym they all do an extra practice in the week leading up to a meet, but it is heavy on routines and cleaning up, and usually doesn't involve conditioning. Will she get a chance to work on HER routines on that extra Wednesday? Maybe get permission for her to skip the conditioning part? My only concern would be if she's put to do something totally different that's not in her routines. If the optionals are also routine cleaning for the same meet, then she can do the same.

 

[gym law mom]

Since she'll have her regular practice hours this week, I don't see the need and any positive to adding 4 more to offset her missing some hours in the future. Its nice the coach will let her practice with the optional girls the week she comes back and that will give her 3 practices going into the next meet. Give her some down time this week, I think she'll be fine.

 

[Pickle's Mom]

Is there something in partiular they want her to work on during the extra practice?

 

[Allieonbeam]

I actually prefer if DD has less practice the week of the meet which may sound weird. Surprisingly, she did better on the meets when there is some kind of holiday or some other re-scheduling of practice during the week. She looked fresher and sharper and results were better.
There was one meet at the start of the season when in addition to her regular 4 days a week she had a additional day of practice (still not sure why I agreed to that) and she looked exhausted and winded by Sunday. So I am quietly happy when there is a holiday day off while other parents are asking for a make-up.

 

[MaryA]

Is there something in partiular they want her to work on during the extra practice?

She didn't say. Though she did say something about wanting to get her in to practice with the optionals anyway. I'm not exactly sure what that means, and I'm a little afraid to ask.

 

[MaryA]

At DD's gym they all do an extra practice in the week leading up to a meet, but it is heavy on routines and cleaning up, and usually doesn't involve conditioning. Will she get a chance to work on HER routines on that extra Wednesday? Maybe get permission for her to skip the conditioning part? My only concern would be if she's put to do something totally different that's not in her routines. If the optionals are also routine cleaning for the same meet, then she can do the same.

Optionals group is very small (like 5, I think?). The gym just opened and HC was the compulsary coach at another gym, so lots of compusaries followed her, but not so many optionals. So I would think that she would get a lot of individual attention. Not sure if they'd be running full routines or not, since optonals aren't competing at this meet.

 

[gymmomtoo]

I can't imagine it'll wear her out since it's a few days before the meet. How exciting your coach wants your daughter to practice with the Optionals! Seems like she's thinking of her future there. If your daughter wants to do, I'd let her.

 

[MaryA]

Turns out her plan, before the opportunity for extra gym time came up, was to go to intermural roller-skating. I'm thinking that maybe she's safer in the gym where at least everything is padded...

 

[Allieonbeam]

Turns out her plan, before the opportunity for extra gym time came up, was to go to intermural roller-skating. I'm thinking that maybe she's safer in the gym where at least everything is padded...

this is hilarious in this case I would vote for gym too

 

[UnoMas]

this is hilarious in this case I would vote for gym too

Oh goodness, me too. Gym it is!!!!!