Parents Finally a good night!

[my4buffaloes]

Dd has really been struggling on her level 7 skills since move-ups. There were tears most nights as she watched teammates get skills while she still struggled. Finally this week something has clicked. She has gotten her cast-handstand and her back handspring on beam. They still need some work, but she feels like they are 95% there and that she just needs to polish them up a bit, if that makes sense. it was so nice to see her smiling at practice and having her come home happy again. As a parent I just hate watching her struggle and get so frustrated!

Anyone else's child get a new skill lately?

 

[MaryA]

Level 7 skills are coming slowly for my DD too. Floor looks good... tumbling seems a lot stronger than it was last year. Last night DD was talking about how much fun the FHS FT is because it's so powerful. Very cool. Thank goodness vault is still just FHS, though they're working on flipping vaults for next year (or whenever). Beam and especially bars though... This is the first time I've really seen her struggle with a fear on beam. She can do her BHS on low beam without a spot and on middle beam with a spot but can't bring herself to do them on high beam at all yet. Beam was her best event last year (state beam champ! so it's hard to see her struggle. Bars are ALWAYS a struggle. Nowhere near giants yet, working on cast-handstands and getting her free-hips big enough that they count as a "B" skill (since there is vertually no chance that she will have her giants in time for comp season).

I'm glad things are clicking for your daughter. Gives me hope that it still could happen for mine before meet season. They have an in-house mock-meet at the end of September, and DD is really motivated by competition, so I'm hoping that the looming "meet" kicks things up a notch for her.

Congrats to your DD!

 

[vagymmomma]

No new skills recently, but L7 has been a ton of fun so far for DD (she's a new move-up as well). Nothing beats that smile when they're feeling good about things (it's all a Momma really wants)! We're in the tough stage of "just cleaning up the skills". Bars have been way too easy (her coaches are telling her she should be scoring very solid 9s already), but beam is a continued work in process (got all the requirements, but a little bit of grace would be nice to see as well ).

 

[vagymmomma]

By the way, do the new level 7s have their floor routines yet? We're just now narrowing music choices - I guess there are 2 months to go, but it seems to be coming fast.

 

[MaryA]

Yup, music and routine "done." Not perfect yet, by any stretch of the imagination, but the basics are there.

 

[kayjaybe]

Awesome for her! My dd is struggling with her back walkover on the beam for L6. She is watching all her friends do it, but she is just so scared. When she does it, it is actually quite lovely, but she is so scared. She is starting private lessons tonight and I hope that will help her confidence.

 

[profmom]

My DD has been uptraining for L7 all summer as well, and I think the chances that she will compete L7 this season are approximately the same as the chances that Barack Obama and Mitt Romney will decide to end the first presidential debate by holding hands and singing Kumbaya in perfect harmony. Bars has been tough, tough, tough -- she's finally starting to get the straddle cast handstand here and there, but she looks to be a long way off on giants. However, she has had a wonderful time with beam and is totally loving learning the new skills. I just hope she's not the only one in her group not to move up. (Actually, I guess what I am hoping is that she magically gains all her skills, because all of these girls really want to move up, and I wouldn't want any of her friends to have to wait another year just to keep her company!) Good luck to all these wonderful, hard-working girls!

Oh, and, on edit, MaryA, I am soooooo not looking forward to Yurchenkos! A couple of girls in her group actually could just about do them, but my DD . . . um . . . not so much!

 

[Quadqueen]

profmom, are your L7s training yurchenkos?? Our gym does not have any girls doing them for some reason. Almost all do tsuks...our loan remaining level 9 does a front-front. I really wonder why they don't have them train yurchenkos.

 

[my4buffaloes]

We got routines in July, and they have been doing dance-throughs each week. They have been working on the fancier vaults (have no idea how to spell them!) since move ups - but I think it is drills for them, not the real thing yet. But way more fun the a FHS vault again, although they are starting to get back to that in practice some as competition season approaches.

Dealing with the fears is hard! I watched some girls deal with serious fears last year and this year my dd has had one and it has been frustrating to watch. I think she has worked through it, or at least getting there, but it was on a skill that she competed for a full year so I am baffled. Hoping she can work through it soon though. Her current tactic is to just avoid doing the skill completely, but I think her coach has caught on to that is making her work on them again.

I hope everyone gets all the skills they need quickly!

 

[SignHere]

Does anyone else find that watching their DD learn these higher level skills is a bit more, nerve wracking, than watching them learn level 4,5 and 6 skills? I don't like to watch practice during observation weeks anymore. I am thinking about letting myself be pleasantly surprised at meets ...

 

[GymBeeMom]

Our compulsory girls have there routines and our 9/10 group have theirs. Our 7/8 girls haven't gotten routines yet but I assume they will have what they need when the time comes. I am excited to see what my DDs floor and beam routine will be but no sign of one yet

 

[profmom]

profmom, are your L7s training yurchenkos?? Our gym does not have any girls doing them for some reason. Almost all do tsuks...our loan remaining level 9 does a front-front. I really wonder why they don't have them train yurchenkos.

Kate, I'm not sure how gyms decide what they're going to do. The rationale we have heard, which makes sense to me as someone who doesn't know a lot, is that the Yurchenko is a good one to train because you can build it up into more difficult vaults after you've got the basic vault under your belt. Our gym has L5s do some drills for Tsuks, but once they get to L6, they spend much of the time during the comp season working on front handspring vaults and drills to improve them, but also start working in earnest on various types of Yurchenko timers. Once they start uptraining for L7, they're fully into working timers and Yurchenkos into the pit. For the last several years, the gym has not let girls move up to 8 until they can compete a Yurchenko (SAFELY!).

Funny thing is that after I posted, my DD came home from practice all excited that she'd flipped her first one (with a spot). Aggggggh! Granted I think they were working with a mini tramp and not a springboard -- at least I fervently hope so -- but still, aggggh!

Hickory, I have learned that if my DD is off on that low beam in the corner that you really can't see very well from the parents' viewing area, it is an excellent idea NOT to try to peer around the corner to see what is happening. I've also learned that watching adorable little L4 boys fall off the mushroom is cute. Watching a slightly bigger L5 boy peel off one going at the much faster speeds they can achieve now, not so cute.

 

[AlexsGymmyMom]

Alex has been uptraining for Level 7 all summer but will probably compete Xcel again this year. The gym has started having a "test" to move to Level 7 which consists of cast handstands, giants , front handspring front on floor and the back handspring on beam. Only 3 girls have been moved up so far. Alex has all the skills but is afraid of them. She is consistant with her cast handstand. She competed giants at her last couple meets last year but won't do them on the high bar anymore. She also has done the back handspring on beam with a spot but won't go without a spot. She has also competed the front handspring front and that is coming fairly easily to her. Hopefully she can get out of her head soon and move up but not likely to happen before meet season officially starts which is the beginning of November.
She is doing a few privates to try to get over her fear without holding up everyone else during practice so maybe that will help! Crossing fingers and a few fairies might be nice so any spare fairies out there please send them our way!!!

 

[my4buffaloes]

This summer I was glad I wasn't in the gym much. Dd was trying to get her back handspring on beam - but was missing her hands (there were usually mats on either side though). As the summer went on they made her try it on various beams, with and without mats and she was crashing all over the place I guess. She would tell me all about the crashes on the way home. I was starting to really worry that she would either a) get hurt or b) get scared to try. But that didn't happen and now I am anxious to go see her do the back handspring. But I am glad I missed the summer practices!

 

[gardenia01]

My 10 year old daughter will be competing Level 8 this year and the vault is definitely the most scary thing to watch. She has been working on a yurchenko, though not sure whether that will be her vault or a tsuk instead. They have her going back and forth. The yurchenko can be kind of scary to watch, particularly if your dd is small. I'm now used to the bhs/bhs series on beam and the round off dismount and bars and floor at Level 8 aren't vastly different from Level 7. I'm sure next year bars will be the scary thing, what with release moves. Oh and the bhs/salto series on beam.

 

[2gymmies]

Congrats to all of you level 7s getting your skills! There are some major fear hurdles as you get to optionals, that is for sure! When my older dd went to 7 she had a major fear of giants - didn't compete them at all for level 7, but got them finally. At level 8, the big hurdle was vault - the yurchenko almost did her in. Now as we get close to her level 9 season, we are back to bars being the issue - she is progressing nicely on all of the skills individually, but try putting together toe-hand, swing half, bail, and then throw a double back dismount after all that! Good times (not) - and scary is an understatement! We try to talk about all of things she used to be scared of that are now "easy" like jumping to the high bar and backwalkovers on beam - it is nice to put scary skills in perspective.

Good luck and I hope the new skills keep coming for everyone!