Parents Frustrated!!!

[MyHappyLife]

Ok, having a crazy gym mom moment and I need to vent! My DD competed L6 this past season and did fairly well. We get official placements for next year in a few weeks, however I found out from her coaches already that she is being placed in the 5/6 group for next year. This means she will either compete new 5 or new 6 - the coaches will decide which level the entire group will be competing after they learn the new compulsory routines in a few weeks. I guess I'm just frustrated because my DD and her entire team is expecting to move to L7 or at least new 6 and now there is a distinct possibility that she may be competing L5. A little background - her lowest AA at L6 this year was a mid 34, most meets were mid to high 35's, with a couple of 36's thrown in. Her entire team is pretty good and those scores put her right about the middle of the pack. She won each individual event at least once throughout the season, placed 1st AA once and placed top 5 AA every meet except for one. Am I wrong to feel frustrated that she is basically repeating here?? I love our coaches and usually trust their decisions without question, but I'm having a little trouble with this one. From what I have seen, new L5 seems to be a bit watered down from old 6, and new 6 could actually end up being a little easier even than new 5 and many people think it is pretty useless. I think with her scores she is more than proficient at old L6, and I don't feel like she needs to be scoring 38's before she can move up and be a successful optional. She also just turned 12 so she was not a really young L6 this year either. We have a few weeks before the new training groups are put into place so I do plan to have a meeting with the coaches to find out exactly what their reasoning is, but for today I just needed to vent and try not to be a CGM!

 

[Jenny]

Vent away and get it all off your chest so you can go into your meeting with a clear head. I can understand your frustration. I don't have any advice really as I haven't got my head round the new levels yet. Hopefully they can explain their thinking better when you see them. I think new level 6 enables girls to develop optional routines and skills before they have all their level 7 skills like giants. Hopefully your dd will at least be doing new level 6 if she already has old level 6 basics down well as her scores seem to indicate. And good luck.

 

[MeetDirector]

MHL -

Your frustrations are valid and I am thankful every day that my dd is past this crazy point in the new progression (she is a Lvl 9 training 10). I feel for every one of you with an athlete right at the "crazy point" in the new progression. Frankly, I think there are going to be a lot of CGM (and CGDad) incidents out there with the solution to it all being good communication between gym and athlete/parent. Coaches are going to have to understand that parents are struggling to understand and only have the best interests of thier child at heart; parents have to understand that this is just as new to coaches and everyone is trying to figure it out at the same time.

My prediction is that by about August things will be much clearer after all of the regional clinics have happened. To be honest, I would recommend trying hard not to focus on the "number" and instead focus on the skills being worked. As long as girls are working the next and the next harder skills, they will be setting themselves up to fit into an appropriate level when all of the dust settles.

Hang in there and Good Luck.

 

[MaryA]

Yes, I agree with Meet Director. Don't get me wrong... I would be frustrated in your shoes too. But I think I could handle it as long as I knew that they were training level 7 skills. If, at this point in the season, they aren't spending a lot of time uptraining (giants, BHS on beam, layouts, starting to train flipping vaults, etc.) then I would be concerned.

 

[LizzieLac]

I TOTALLY understand! This was my DD this past season between current 5 and 6. Ultimately, she repeated level 5, but competed a couple of level 6 meets and did just as well as the our current level 6 team. So, I can't say that I ever really agreed with the coach's decision about what level to compete. However, the training these girls receive is excellent. My DD never scored lower than mid 36s, often 37s and once 38. She won or came in 2nd AA every meet (haven't had states yet). She only came in 2nd when one of her teamates ended up in her age group!

I felt the same way regarding age, as she just turned 13. She started late competing, but it is what it is. The result has been a VERY strong level 5 that was able to uptrain level 6 and level 7 skills and even prove to her coaches that she was a 9+ scorer on level 6 beam and floor and 8+ scorer on level 6 bars. I have told myself I have to look at the whole progression of her skills and her happiness. Her training is going well, she is healthy, and while she never agreed with the decision to repeat level 5, she is relatively happy.

I know the system isn't perfect, but I have decided to step back and watch the ride. Good luck to your DD!

 

[gasrgoose]

Good luck!

Try to understand the coaches perspective before your meeting. Are they focused on what she did last season? Are they focused on her ability to perform new skills? Etc. Obviously this is difficult, if you knew "why" you wouldn't need the meeting. But look objectively at what could be holding her back. Strength, flexibilty, attitude, relationship with coach, fear, work ethic, lack of speed, etc. I'm not trying to assume the reasons or even if there are legit reasons. But trying to understand "why" will help your meeting

I know a parent who had a meeting with the coach that did not go very well. The parent let emotion direct their comments and the coach reacted pretty negatively. It won't change anything about what level the girl competes or how she is treated. But it probably did a little harm to the relationship between the coach and parent.

Understanding the issues from the coaches perspective changed their reaction.

 

[Gymmommy71]

I hear you, and I agree new L5 is a slightly watered down version of current L6 - easier bars, easier beam. Her being almost 12 is a big deal too, and I agree those are good AA scores (L6 scoring is tough, so a 36AA is great IMO...we had some great AA gymnasts on our team who never hit a 36 - there always seemed to be at least one event at every meet that they were scoring really tough on).

What Level 7 skills can your DD do and how do they look? Are they consistent? I have no idea what's going to happen to my DD (and she didn't do as well as your DD). New L6 is probably the best thing for my DD, but I don't know what levels her gym is planning to have teams for - KWIM? Like we may not even have both a new L5 AND a new L6 team - but instead one or the other? Is your gym for sure going to have both teams?

 

[MyHappyLife]

MaryA - I think the uptraining thing is my biggest problem. Right now her team is learning new, higher level skills, but when the new training groups start in a few weeks, her new group will mostly be girls moving from old L5 that have not yet learned the skills she has already competed. So, I suppose I need to ask - what happens then? The 5/6 group will also be coached by our compulsory coaches, not by our optional coaches who are used to working with L7 skills. I'm afraid that my DD, as a 12 year old L5, would just feel like she's spinning her wheels and getting nowhere. I know the 5 thing is just a number and I'm trying to not get hung up on that, but to keep working the same skills that she did pretty well with this year is my issue. I hate to compare our gym to others, but with the scores she had this year, this would not even be a question at many other gyms..........

 

[Jenny]

Does she have all her level 7 skills?

 

[MyHappyLife]

Does she have all her level 7 skills?

She has some 7 skills (bhs on low beam - they haven't tried moving to high beam yet, floor is fine, vault is vault) but our gym's philosophy seems to be to perfect the level you compete and work on drills to lead up to the next level skills. Then at the end of the season and over the summer they put all the pieces together from the drills they've been working and the new skills come together. Our head optional coach is especially particular about how he teaches giants, so our girls who just finished current L6 are really not starting to work them until they switch to the optional coaches. This might not work for everyone but it seems to work for us - both our compulsory and optional levels are really successful.

 

[level9mom]

Very glad we don't have to deal with the new levels. But I would not care if she is training new skills. Her scores indicate she does pretty well. And to me, Level 7 seemed the easiest level. Level eight is where is starts to get funky, especially vault and bars.


Every awful story begins with "we were on beam and..."

 

[gymmomtoo]

Go into the meeting asking for enlightenment and what their plan is. Present your concerns (her age, repeating with easier skills, etc.) and see what they say. i might even say what you said here--you usually trust them fully, but are having a hard time with this decision. Good luck!!

 

[SignHere]

To the OP, good luck in your meeting... My understanding from DDs coach is that the "new" level 7 is harder than "old" level 7, esp on bars. Where they used to be able to do 2 circling skills (360 degrees, same or different), which could be fulfilled by a clear hip, my understanding is that now one of them has to be a B skill , so either a clear hip to handstand or giant.

My impression is " new " level 6 is optional without giants on bars....

 

[wallflower]

To the OP, good luck in your meeting... My understanding from DDs coach is that the "new" level 7 is harder than "old" level 7, esp on bars. Where they used to be able to do 2 circling skills (360 degrees, same or different), which could be fulfilled by a clear hip, my understanding is that now one of them has to be a B skill , so either a clear hip to handstand or giant.

My impression is " new " level 6 is optional without giants on bars....

I haven't looked closely at the rules, but most of the level 7's we see are doing giants anyway. Very few gyms in our area or state allow the girls to do clear hips instead of giants even if it fulfills the requirement, so really for most this is not a significant change.

 

[iwannacoach]

She has some 7 skills (bhs on low beam - they haven't tried moving to high beam yet, floor is fine, vault is vault) but our gym's philosophy seems to be to perfect the level you compete and work on drills to lead up to the next level skills. Then at the end of the season and over the summer they put all the pieces together from the drills they've been working and the new skills come together. Our head optional coach is especially particular about how he teaches giants, so our girls who just finished current L6 are really not starting to work them until they switch to the optional coaches. This might not work for everyone but it seems to work for us - both our compulsory and optional levels are really successful.

I like to think of myself as a pretty progressive coach that has an overall plan that give kids their best chance to move into the optional program and compete carefully. I have, in the past, put kids into training situations that are not immediately rewarding, don't make sense to their parents, and which require both trust and time.

I'm wondering if the setting the coach prefers for your dd falls into that progressive vein, but neither you nor dd can wrap your minds around the fact that "it's level 5!" I don't know your situation, and can only speak in general terms from the perspective of a coach and a parent.......

I've never seen a kid fail, who was determined to succeed, had the sense to work as hard as they could, stayed with the program, believed in them self....... and a whole bunch of other applicable cliche cliche' type of chatter. If a challenge at next year's L5 is still a challenge despite the fact the kid's working L5 routines. There are abundant opportunities, in that level, to improve the foundations that future skills are built upon, as well as advantages in the form of less pressure to compete a new "big trick," and being able to learn a skills that aren't being forced by a competitive schedule.

I have seen kids fail, however, who move up with just enough...... especially when "just enough" is often defined by other children's performances at meets within the area, state, and region. The standard, if you will, isn't as cut and dried as a few minimum skills, but rather what's taking place out in the "real world." I suspect your child's coaches and HC intimately know what is best, and have demonstrated that awareness over the course of time by having success at both the compulsory and optional levels.

Working hard, learning and understanding, polishing, and improving are the most certain means of "getting there." Moving a level,..... not so much.

Moving up a level, not so much

 

[cbifoja]

I don't think you're being a CGM because a lot of perfectly sane moms in our gym are having very similar feelings about this whole L5/L6 thing. And funny because it only seems to be affecting those two levels. Everyone else is pretty okay with the changes.

And not that it matters one whit, but......I hate the way your coaches are doing move up (assuming they don't start practicing until late fall)! LOL The girls have all summer to train! Let's see what they have a little closer (but not too close) to competition season!

 

[Deleted member 14190]

Hi, myhappylife, I am a head coach and have to make decisions like this each year. One thing I noticed about your post was the scores that you mentioned. If I can give you any consolation at all, if there is anything that I can ever say to help you,,,, it will be this. Scores are no substitute for skills, scores will never prevent your child from injury, scores will never help your child to attain proper technique with these new skills. In other words, scores are just numbers and do no reflect the real world mastering upper level skills to reach the next level. Trust your coaches, trust that your child will be wildly successful taking an extra year, and you will be thrilled at how happy she will be once meet season starts and that success bleeds over into workouts... I am certain that we will see an post from you in the future, maybe in the Brag alert section? hope this helps.

 

[Natasha]

As long as your daughter is getting training for the appropriate progressions of skills I would not get too caught up in what level she may be doing, especially if it is L6 or L7 because basically the same skills are allowed at L6 as L7 (with the exception of a couple of C skills on bars at L7). A gymnast could actually do the same routines at L6 or L7, and be a very successful L6 or a struggling L7 simply because of what the competition is doing. For example, our gym now wants L7 gymnasts to be competing full layouts on floor whereas previously that was expected of our L8 gymnasts. And, Pirouettes are now allowed at L7 on bars. It may very well be that your gym has L6s compete what your L7s used to do.