WAG Frustrated with gym...need some perspective..

[lilbean05]

My daughter is on a huge team with about 25 girls in her level. We just had our first meet of the season and an email was sent out with who would be doing what events. About half the girls were on all 4 events and the other half were on 2 events. My daughter was on 2 events and was really upset because she really wanted to do all 4. At the meet, as it turns out, a lot of the girls slated to do 2 were given last minute opportunities to do 3 and 4 events, to the point where during warm ups, one girl got lots of extra attention to brush up on the tough skills before putting her in. And when they did do their routines, they had major mistakes (scoring in the 5s and 6s). My daughter was NOT one of these girls--she was still only allowed to do 2 events and in the end only 3 or 4 girls were in the same position. It was really quite frustrating because they were allowing most of the girls perform and do poorly while not even affording another group of girls a chance.

Fast forward to the week after the meet and my daughter is determined to prove to the coaches that she can do the skills. Problem is, during practice, they break the girls into groups and always put my daughter in a group of 3 girls that aren't allowed to work on the tough skills. They are given directions to do a handful of basic skills and then the coaches focus on coaching a different group of girls the more difficult skills.

So, my daughter is very frustrated. I have seen her do the full routines before with an assistant coach who came over to help, not perfectly by any means, but to completion without skipping a skill. But when her main coaches are with her, they take no interest in her and don't afford her the opportunity to accomplish her goals.

I am not pushing for her to level up or score score score--I just want to see her given an opportunity and my gut feeling is telling me that she is really not being treated fairly. Then again, I have minimal experience with gym coaches so perhaps this is totally acceptable.

Thoughts? Experiences?

 

[magymmom]

Gym switch My dd gym is the type that you either compete all 4 events or you do not compete, exception being injury as is my dd case. I am not experienced with this idea of only competing 2 events.

 

[cbone]

What Level are we talking about? Why are you at a gym with such a large team? What are the top scorers on the team scoring and what is your daughter scoring?

 

[MaryA]

I think everything sounds very disorganized. The meets, practices, everything. If the gym doesn't think your daughter is ready even to be practicing the skills necessary to compete at her level, then they shouldn't have her at that level. And if they have placed her at that level, then they need to provide instruction in the skills at that level, on all events.

 

[lilbean05]

We are at a very well known gym in our area, though I don't want to get more specific then that. She is in Level 4 and scored a 7.5 on the vault and a 6.6 on the beam in her first and only meet. Other girls scored anywhere from a low 5 to mid 8 on all events (which would make my daughter sorta smack dab in the middle) and one or two girls got a 9 in one or two events. It seems like my daughter just isn't getting a fair shake and I had no idea it was going to be like this. I would switch, but I am really not sure where to take her or what, if any, repercussions there are for switching mid season. But it sounds like, so far, my gut reaction isn't too far off.

 

[Seeker]

That doesn't sound good. If there are other gyms in your area, I would check them out. I've never heard of only doing 2 or 3 events at Level 4....that seems strange. From a very basic level, 25-ish kids on one team is way too big IMHO. I just don't see how that is viable unless there are several coaches. But it doesn't sound like she's being given proper instruction. Just from a chaos standpoint alone, I would at least check out other options.

Good luck!

 

[cbone]

Where I am from, several Level 4 girls from other gyms did not compete floor this season due to safety concerns. If you do not have a solid RO-BHS, it is dangerous to do floor. Our gym's policy is if you don't have all of your skills, you don't move up, but I guess skipping a dangerous routine works as well as keeping a child from competing until they have all the skills for that level. Other than the RO-BHS, no other Level 4 skills seem to have any real inherent danger that would prevent kids from doing those routines, though (dunno, IWC, correct me if I'm wrong there), so I'm not sure why kids aren't doing at least three routines on your team.

This is one person's opinion, so take it for what it's worth. Scores in the 7s and below are usually indicative of gymnasts who do not demonstrate mastery of the skills required of their current level. I know that there are exceptions to this rule (a very good gymnast we knew last year fell twice on bars at state and scored in the low 7's). You are at a gym where I infer that many of the girls do not have the necessary skills to compete at this level, much less move to Level 5 (new Level 4) next year. The team is also so large that it seems difficult for the gymnasts to get the coaching necessary to develop those skills. If I were in your situation I would consider another gym, one that has a more favorable qualified coach to gymnast ratio.

Tell your daughter to hang in there. She obviously has the passion to want to do well and prove herself. That mentality will serve her well in the gym and in life!

 

[Deleted member D3987]

blind leading the blind is the first thing that came to my mind...

 

[cbone]

dunno's posts are always just vague enough to never be quite sure who is being slighted...

 

[iwannacoach]

Whoa......I'm not touching any of this!!

 

[wallinbl]

If there are other gyms in your area, I would check them out. Smaller teams mean it's more likely your DD will get some attention and not get lost in the shuffle.

 

[profmom]

The only thing that sounds good about this entire scenario is having the girls broken up into small groups based on skill level at practices. I agree that it's time for a gym switch, but if you don't have a lot of alternatives, it might be worth talking to the coaches beforehand. Some questions to ask:

What are the gym's plans for progressing this large group of L4s first to the point of safe execution of all L4 skills and then toward improving and strengthening these skills?

Do they anticipate getting everyone to the point of competing all four events this year? In a typical year, what percentage move up to L5 and how do they do as L5s?

What can they say about your daughter and her progress with the sport? What is their plan for her? (I'm not advocating "when will Susie get her kip? but rather "what is your plan for training her -- how will she get the help she needs to strengthen her performance on the harder bars/floor skills she is missing?")

The only way I can see this possibly making any sense is if L4 is not viewed as a meaningful comp level for this gym (but then why the heck compete it??). If you look ahead and see a L5 team of about 24 girls, all of whom are competing all four events fairly competently and about 22 of whom were hopeless L4s last year, then maybe they do indeed have some kind of coherent plan. (Still boggling at the thought of trying to manage a team of 25, about half of whom can't compete two events . . . .)

 

[mylittlemiss]

Sounds like a tough situation. At my dd's gym the girls on team (any level) don't compete until they are quite proficient at all of the skills/routines for the level they are at. There's no doing just some events, it's all or nothing and really they don't compete until they are already proficient enough to be scoring 8's and 9's. Now, if a situation comes up at a meet and a girl becomes injured or too anxious (where safety becomes an issue), then she'll scratch. However, there's no flip flopping on who is doing what. Sounds like a frustrating and confusing situation, especially for the girls who are tossed to and fro in between the coaches decisions. A level 4 team of 25 sounds large, but I would assume doable if they had a good sized coaching staff and were organized to handle it. Sounds questionable in the scenario you described.

 

[sglemon]

I can't comment on the girls competing vs the ones that don't. I assume it is a safety reason. You don't want girls competiting on an apparatus, unless they are proficient.

But what sends up a red flag for me, is the scores. A big team shouldn't make a difference if things are done properly. Our level 4 team, is over 30 and has been for many years. Other teams in the state also have large level 4 teams. I can speak for my gym, there are not any girls on the team scoring 6s or below, unless an uncharacteristic disaster happend on something. I would say our team, as a whole, averages around 36 all around. If I see a large team scoring 5s and 6s, there is a much deeper issue, then the girls performance, whether, management, safety, lack of qualified coaches, etc... What is the reason behind those 5s and 6s, you need to ask yourself? I would honestly look to go elsewhere, even if it means your DD will be demoted a level in doing so. If it isn't a option you need to have a heart to heart with the gym owner.

 

[gymgal]

dunno's posts are always just vague enough to never be quite sure who is being slighted...

So true.......

 

[SGMOM]

I would not want my daughter competing if she were only able to get 5s and 6s. I have seen, even at level 4, injuries. Kids landing between the springboard and the mat stack onto their heads, roundoff back head springs, beam falls, and letting go of the bar. I know that any kid could get hurt, but certainly having the child prepared to compete at that skill level must be safer. You could always do private lessons if you're wanting her to catch up to her teammates, but I agree with the other posters that a better option may be for her to be in an environment where the whole team is encouraged to compete at a safer level.

 

[rsm]

DD is also at a well known gym with about 20 girls on the L4 team with 2 coaches. I always find it interesting to read how other gyms approach coaching, especially when some or a few of the girls receive most of the attention. Obviously DD's group has a range of ages and skills, but everyone is given an equal chance at each practice. The difference is that the coaches know where each girl is with a particular skill and will tweak any spotting/help/comments just for her. The only reason for one of the girls to skip an event or a skill in practice would be an injury. Even if they require a spot to complete a skill, the coaches will let the girls compete to at least get the experience on that event.

As a parent, if my DD is not being given an equal chance, regardless of the size of the team, then that's red flag to me. Especially if you see it continuing in the higher levels. But the large team on its own doesn't need to be a problem. At DDs gym, Level 4s generally can get moved up if coaches think they will get the skills, but level 5s only get moved up if they already have the skills. So there might be some girls requiring spots for level 4 comps, but not for level 5 or higher. But the key for us is that all the girls get the same opportunities. If I were in your position, I'd look at the higher levels and see how it's done. If it's the same, then perhaps it's a good time to look at other gyms.

 

[krisnkids]

At dd's first gym the child was not allowed to compete an event unless they were capabable of doing the event and getting an 8. Those kids have gone to meets and gotten lower scores, but they are capable of doing the routine to get an 8. Sending a child out in a "competition" who cannot complete the required skills on an apparatus, especially at the level and age that level 4 gymnasts are, does not make any sense to me and is setting that child up to fail. We want children to love the sport they are in, not feel bad because they aren't as good as the next girl.

In the OP's case I would be concerned that the coaches are so wishywashy in their coaching techniques. One should not work really hard with a child AT A MEET to get a skill so they can compete it. Warm ups at meets is just that, warming up, not a training session. In that they have 30 level 4s, many gyms can handle that big of a team, but I do worry about the average gymnasts on that size of a team getting the attention they deserve and not becoming just another number.

 

[lilbean05]

Thank you all so much for your responses! This is our first competition experience and I am mostly upset that my daughter wasn't treated equally and doesn't seem to be given a fair shake at practice. I am assuming that they plan on moving some up to Level 5 and are going to keep the rest back on Level 4. All week my daughter has been coming home, though, and saying that she hasn't been given any opportunity to practice the round off back hand spring or the mill circle when other girls have. AND she has demonstrated previously that she can do these things when an assistent coach comes in to help out and DOES seem to give my daughter equal treatment. I really would think about changing gyms, but this one is "the best" in the area and we are also half way through with purchased leos and parents association fees paid in full, etc.

Thank you all for your insight!

 

[coachmolly]

First of all, 7s in a first level 4 meet are not necessarily scores that demonstrate missing skills or the inability to successfully compete at that level. Scores vary widely based on state/region and 7s are very common in some areas for perfectly competent, middle of the pack kids who just might be lacking a little bit of polish or have a bad case of meet jitters. So I don't think that fact in itself is necessarily a red flag.
The thing I would be worried about is the lack of attention your daughter is receiving. It's not too uncommon for gyms to have large level 4 teams, but if you are going to have that size team, you need to have the resources to coach all of them. The fact that your daughter is not even being allowed to train the skills she is expected to compete indicates a problem. Especially if she can do the skills.
Is there a gym owner or head coach you could talk to? It doesn't need to be confrontational, just explain the situation and mention that your daughter is getting frustrated. You have every right, as a paying customer, to mention to the gym owner or head coach that you are not getting the services you are paying for.
Best wishes, I hope your DD gets the coaching she deserves!