Parents feedback on new L7-- repeaters out there?

[balancedmom]

HI CB-- my DD is a middle of the road gymnast in terms of scoring and podium placement. She is 10 (almost 11) and will compete L7 this season, BUT she is really struggling with some skills (front tumbling and cast HS on bars). Coach says she wants her to still do L7, but I am assuming she will have a hard season. I don't want this to get her down or impact her confidence to the point where she starts not enjoying the sport (she loves it, but competitions can be hard). I have told her lots of kids repeat L7, and still make it to higher levels, etc, but would love to hear from other folks whose gymnasts may not have been on the top but still made it to the higher levels. Any stories of repeaters out there? kids who struggled at L7, etc?
thanks!

 

[JoyAvenueMom]

One girl at Kipper's gym struggled her first year of L7. "had" the skills, but rarely placed. She repeated L7 last year and finished 2 at regionals. She just tested out of L8 and is competing L9 this season. To be fair, she also switched gyms and is getting much better coaching. Some gyms would have your dd compete L6 this season, then L7 next season..which creates the same outcome as repeating L7. If the coach really wants her to compete L7, maybe she is confident the skills will come this season. I think repeating any optional level is more normal than not, and repeating L7 isn't any kind of indicator doing well or not at the next level.

Kipper has a team mate who is struggling with some L7 skills. She struggled all season at L6, and then finished strong with a 37.6+ score at states. Roughly the same age as your dd. Her mother has communicated to the coach that she would be fine with her dd repeated L6 so that she can have some success throughout the year. Her dd is concerned with scores and is bothered by not placing. Kipper says that winning is definitely more fun, but she would prefer to move up and struggle than repeat. Each kid is a little different, I guess.

 

[raenndrops]

We have 2 girls that have competed L7 for 3 years. One of them is competing L8 this season (and competing High School). The other one is competing 2 meets at L7, then moving to L8. There is a chance they will both be in L9 before graduating high school.

 

[kayjaybe]

Kids will struggle at different levels. I wouldn't let that worry you.

Dd struggled with old L6, then repeated it as new L5. Then started a 3rd season as new L5 before she squeaked her way into L7. (needed giants per our team move-up rules).

She struggled in L7 last year and didn't medal much except vault. She did surprisingly get 2 medals at states, but just wasn't solid at all. I assumed she'd be repeating L7 this year, especially when fear of giants resumed this summer.

Amazingly, she worked through it and is/was ready to start this year as a solid L8! (The "was" is because she just injured herself on Monday and won't be competing our first few meets.)

Had you asked me any time last year or even through the summer where I thought she'd be this year and I would have said L7.

Things can turn around quickly. Don't worry about what the next season or next level may hold. Encourage her to live in the moment and enjoy every minute of the sport, no matter what level she is competing.

 

[wgymmom]

HI CB-- my DD is a middle of the road gymnast in terms of scoring and podium placement. She is 10 (almost 11) and will compete L7 this season, BUT she is really struggling with some skills (front tumbling and cast HS on bars). Coach says she wants her to still do L7, but I am assuming she will have a hard season. I don't want this to get her down or impact her confidence to the point where she starts not enjoying the sport (she loves it, but competitions can be hard). I have told her lots of kids repeat L7, and still make it to higher levels, etc, but would love to hear from other folks whose gymnasts may not have been on the top but still made it to the higher levels. Any stories of repeaters out there? kids who struggled at L7, etc?
thanks!

When does her season start? My DD is still working on some skills for 7 and will officially compete in early January, but her coach is still very optimistic about her season prospects.

 

[munchkin3]

Skill acquisition comes at different rates, different times. You can have a kid who hold steady, not learning too many new skills but just staying around the same level......another can shoot past with tons of new skills......a year later it can be totally the opposite.

It just depends........we have a few repeaters. And many newbies.....we will see how everybody does.

 

[gymjunkie]

What skills would she compete if she struggles with HS and front tumbling?

 

[balancedmom]

What skills would she compete if she struggles with HS and front tumbling?

I don't know She will have to get those. She did the front tumbling at her in house and did fine, but it is really not consistent. She did not get a full HS on bars and only got an 8.

 

[UnoMas]

My DD is repeating 7. She did place frequently as a first year 7 but didn't have giants. This year she has them so hoping for a great year while getting ready to compete 8. She is a slow but steady gymmie...old for level at 14/15 but still hanging in there!

 

[SurpriseGymMom]

My DD will be competing L7 this year, and if I was a betting person I would say it will likely go about the same as L4 and L5 did.... Very little or no podium time, and honestly that's ok with me. That's not what we're in the sport for. My kid has won an event ONE time. One. She was pretty consistently in the bottom scoring pack last year. She can do the skills, no problem there, she's usually one of the more advanced when it comes to actually getting/doing skills (always doing upgrades etc) but her form is just not there. She has a really easygoing personality, nothing type A about this one at all!
This year I thought for sure she was going to either repeat L5 (we don't do 6) or go Xcel, so did her coaches. She surprised all of us by working her buns off all summer and got all the L7 skills as one of the first ones. The other ones have caught up and will, in truth, probably score better than my DD because of her form. I'm still super proud of her and not considering holding her back because of that!!
All that to say I guess I don't see the big deal about scoring and placement as a measure of success. To me, if a gymnast is progressing well, learning new skills, competing where they are proficient (but maybe not experts) and having fun, then it's a successful season!!! Someone has to have the bottom scores too, those gymnasts might have an even MORE successful meet than the wunderkind gymmie who just won everything (as usual) but didn't really have to work for it on a personal level.....
I do get that some gymnasts feel that winning and scoring is really important and of course I was super thrilled for DD when she got called up for that ONE first place (and she was beaming ear to ear!) but I think as a whole we should celebrate personal successes more and placements less.
There really isn't any "repeating" of Optional levels, many kids simply do more years in each level once it gets to this point. Perfectly normal. Some kids will never get past L7-8 skills and even so, that's pretty amazing!!!
I would emphasize personal growth and progress even if it turns out she will do a second year at L7. In Optionals she can upgrade her skills in her routine as she goes. And, like others have said, a lot can happen in a short time. 11-12yo is a big time for personal development especially when it comes to emotional maturity and she may surprise you with her determination this upcoming year!

 

[balancedmom]

My DD will be competing L7 this year, and if I was a betting person I would say it will likely go about the same as L4 and L5 did.... Very little or no podium time, and honestly that's ok with me. That's not what we're in the sport for. My kid has won an event ONE time. One. She was pretty consistently in the bottom scoring pack last year. She can do the skills, no problem there, she's usually one of the more advanced when it comes to actually getting/doing skills (always doing upgrades etc) but her form is just not there. She has a really easygoing personality, nothing type A about this one at all!
This year I thought for sure she was going to either repeat L5 (we don't do 6) or go Xcel, so did her coaches. She surprised all of us by working her buns off all summer and got all the L7 skills as one of the first ones. The other ones have caught up and will, in truth, probably score better than my DD because of her form. I'm still super proud of her and not considering holding her back because of that!!
All that to say I guess I don't see the big deal about scoring and placement as a measure of success. To me, if a gymnast is progressing well, learning new skills, competing where they are proficient (but maybe not experts) and having fun, then it's a successful season!!! Someone has to have the bottom scores too, those gymnasts might have an even MORE successful meet than the wunderkind gymmie who just won everything (as usual) but didn't really have to work for it on a personal level.....
I do get that some gymnasts feel that winning and scoring is really important and of course I was super thrilled for DD when she got called up for that ONE first place (and she was beaming ear to ear!) but I think as a whole we should celebrate personal successes more and placements less.
There really isn't any "repeating" of Optional levels, many kids simply do more years in each level once it gets to this point. Perfectly normal. Some kids will never get past L7-8 skills and even so, that's pretty amazing!!!
I would emphasize personal growth and progress even if it turns out she will do a second year at L7. In Optionals she can upgrade her skills in her routine as she goes. And, like others have said, a lot can happen in a short time. 11-12yo is a big time for personal development especially when it comes to emotional maturity and she may surprise you with her determination this upcoming year!

thanks--- I agree that the focus is not all on scoring I think it can be hard on these kids who work so hard and want to be the best but as you say, most kids don't make it this far! My DD sounds a bit like your daughter but takes time to get the skills, and then even more time to perfect. The form is just not there. I like your attitude about it.

 

[balancedmom]

Kids will struggle at different levels. I wouldn't let that worry you.

Dd struggled with old L6, then repeated it as new L5. Then started a 3rd season as new L5 before she squeaked her way into L7. (needed giants per our team move-up rules).

She struggled in L7 last year and didn't medal much except vault. She did surprisingly get 2 medals at states, but just wasn't solid at all. I assumed she'd be repeating L7 this year, especially when fear of giants resumed this summer.

Amazingly, she worked through it and is/was ready to start this year as a solid L8! (The "was" is because she just injured herself on Monday and won't be competing our first few meets.)

Had you asked me any time last year or even through the summer where I thought she'd be this year and I would have said L7.

Things can turn around quickly. Don't worry about what the next season or next level may hold. Encourage her to live in the moment and enjoy every minute of the sport, no matter what level she is competing.

thanks and hope your daughter heals quickly. I am not worried about levels, but want to keep my DD doing the sport she loves without getting discouraged, and while I don't care what level or whether she is on the podium, she does, so have been talking to her about the fact that most kids don't make it past this level, and she may be in this level for a couple of years, so she needs to set some goals and focus on having fun!

 

[balancedmom]

When does her season start? My DD is still working on some skills for 7 and will officially compete in early January, but her coach is still very optimistic about her season prospects.

she starts in a week, and does not have her full cast HS so not sure what they will have her do on bars

 

[raenndrops]

she starts in a week, and does not have her full cast HS so not sure what they will have her do on bars

They will probably have her cast as high as she can (she gets the SR at 45º from HS) and hopefully, limit the number of casts she does.