Women Good meet and a question

[Amber]

So we went to DD's 3rd level 4 meet this weekend. She did really well on vault and bars, scoring a 9.4 and 9.55 respectively, 9.05 on floor, and 8.5 on beam. She had a bad fall on beam in practice, and is dealing with some fear. No fall at the meet, just wobbles, and doing a conservative routine. She wound up getting 1st on vault, 2nd on bars, 4th on floor, and 6th on beam, getting 3rd overall . She was very happy...has been on the podium for AA every meet so far!

My question is this: the coach told DD's team to do their absolute best, since two teams (the best in our state) ONLY sent their repeat level 4's (this is their second year). And these girls scored in the top 5 at the state meet last year. How common is this? To not send all level 4's? And will the new 4's show up later on? Our gym doesn't do mandatory repeat of level 4, only if there are serious skill issues. Any opinions?

I am so proud of little DD, especially with the tough competition!

 

[GymBeeMom]

Hmmmm. Not really sure why they didn't let all their team compete. Seems odd to me, but perhaps only because our gym doesn't really have a "repeat" team. I'd be curious if that is common practice. I know we have a local gym that has many repeats and they always blow our level 4 girls out of the water Not sure if they compete all their girls at every meet, though.

 

[LizzieLac]

We always send the full squad (repeaters and first years), unless someone is hurt.

 

[gymdog]

My guess is the first year group just isn't ready (hasn't learned routine well enough yet, etc) although by December that's pretty late in most places. Not uncommon for some kids to sit the first few meets out if they aren't ready.

 

[gymmomtoo]

Never heard of that as a rule--sometimes as gymdog said, our first years might not compete a meet if they aren't ready, but we don't hold out the entire group. (and by "we" I don't mean to imply that I have any input as a parent LOL!)

 

[GymBee97]

I don't think its common but it does happen. Usually at the start of the comp season this can happen because the New L4's may not be ready to compete yet. They may not have all the skills to do them safely, or can't remember the routines etc so why have a family pay for a meet their kid isn't ready for. Also if there are 2 season (sep - Dec and Jan - may) many L4's won't compete until the Jan - may season at least in my area that happens. I actually appreciate gyms that think of that and save the family some meet fees when their kids aren't ready. I don't think not entering kids makes a difference because those top kids would still be there the only advantage to letting the other who may not be ready compete is to get those nervous jitters out of their system.

Of course there are a few gyms that do keep kids back so they can be #1 which I don't agree with at all.

 

[Muddlethru]

Our season pretty much starts in January. We do one meet in December and not all levels or gymnasts compete at that meet. When my daughter was a Level 4 gymnast, I recall they had the repeat Level 4s compete before in December. But the entire L4 team competed their first meet in January. My daughter's first meet was in mid January. Even now, our season does not get in full swing until January. So, in our situation, the reason they did not send the entire team was because the new L4s may not have been ready yet. I did not even know my daughter was competing or moving up to L4 until mid September. So, she would not have been ready to compete in Nov. or Dec.

I do know a gym in our area that has team members tryout to compete at a meet. They had an inhouse evaluation/meet to determine who was actually competing. They do not send their entire team all the time. Then again, that gym had (I say "had" because it is no longer) a very large team.

 

[Amber]

I guess being "not ready" makes sense if level moveups are in the fall. Our level moveups are set by August, so our team is ready to compete by the end of September.
DD's goal is to outscore the repeaters Erase the preconceived notion that second year 4's dominate....she is just competitive and stubborn enough to do it !

 

[gymgal]

I could see a gym doing this if it was a very large meet as well and the new 4s were not yet ready to compete in a large forum.

 

[Quadqueen]

I guess being "not ready" makes sense if level moveups are in the fall. Our level moveups are set by August, so our team is ready to compete by the end of September.
DD's goal is to outscore the repeaters Erase the preconceived notion that second year 4's dominate....she is just competitive and stubborn enough to do it !

How did your DD even know she was competing against repeat L4s? Her coaches or you must have told her. Unfortunately, there's nothing anyone can do about it, so I would try to get her to have more personal goals, such as staying on the beam, pointed toes on floor, etc.

 

[sglemon]

We repeat level 4 and have never done that. All 4s, go to all the meets, unless, a new level 4 is not quite ready yet. But that is an individual decision. I think that is odd they would hold a whole group back.

 

[Quadqueen]

We repeat level 4 and have never done that. All 4s, go to all the meets, unless, a new level 4 is not quite ready yet. But that is an individual decision. I think that is odd they would hold a whole group back.

ok, not trying to be snarky, and I'm really not trying to pick on you, but I had to laugh at "I think that is odd they would hold a whole group back" !!! Isn't that what they do at your gym in L4?!

ok, sorry, I'm done...

 

[Amber]

How did your DD even know she was competing against repeat L4s? Her coaches or you must have told her. Unfortunately, there's nothing anyone can do about it, so I would try to get her to have more personal goals, such as staying on the beam, pointed toes on floor, etc.

We live in a small community and coaches all know each other and how big teams are...so when a normally 25 kid level 4 team shows up with 10, they talk to other coaches (friendly-like). All the local coaches here are friends with each other on Facebook!

As for my DD, she is ultra competitive...pointed toes, etc is always on the list. Since she has been on the podium at 2nd and 3rd place, of course she aims for 1st...which means beating the repeaters (who always are 1st it seems). Not a bad goal at all....sums it all up..better, tighter form=1st place.

She takes it all in stride (the good and the bad at competitions), so I let her be who she is. I am not a CGM

 

[Quadqueen]

I understand the coaches and parents would know who's repeating...I'm just wondering how your DD knew I know mine at L4 and 7 years old would never have made the connection that the team was smaller at a certain meet so they must have only sent repeaters!! As far as I'm concerned, there's no reason to worry about things out of our control. It does stink when you're comparing apples to oranges though.

I don't think you're a CGM

 

[SGMOM]

I understand the coaches and parents would know who's repeating...I'm just wondering how your DD knew I know mine at L4 and 7 years old would never have made the connection that the team was smaller at a certain meet so they must have only sent repeaters!! As far as I'm concerned, there's no reason to worry about things out of our control. It does stink when you're comparing apples to oranges though.

I don't think you're a CGM

My kid is an eavesdropper, and she figures out tons of stuff just by listening to what's going on in the gym. All it would take is for her to hear a couple of comments. I've been at meets where I've heard coaches comment on who was a second year level 4, and I wasn't even trying to listen. Also, we have lots of gyms around, and some kids are friends with kids at other kids. When a kid isn't going to be at a meet, they tell their friend why. We had a couple of meets last season where my daughter knew another gym didn't send the whole team.

 

[Gymmommy71]

My guess is the first year group just isn't ready (hasn't learned routine well enough yet, etc) although by December that's pretty late in most places. Not uncommon for some kids to sit the first few meets out if they aren't ready.

I agree that it's probably that the gyms' first year L4's just aren't as ready as they want them to be. They may draw a hard line at first year vs. second year to avoid hurting some feelings.

Congrats to your daughter for her excellent scores. 9.55 on bars...wow...I'm betting the girl who got first place above that had to be a second year ...

I used to think that L5 was the common "repeat year", but I'm starting to hear about 4 being repeated a lot more now...

 

[2gymmies]

I don't think it is totally weird. We have a gym that splits the team between first year and second year for a couple meets, giving the first year girls a smaller meet to get their feet wet and not have to compete against their own, more seasoned teammates. Also, we have a gym near here that has certain meets that the team is required to attend and then some additional meets that each family can choose whether or not to enter their child. Also, I've heard that Gedderts doesn't travel all of the compulsory girls, specifically first year 4s or maybe first year 5s because of expense.

 

[SignHere]

Our gym has a very large Level 4 team (think 25 girls) and a very large level 5 team (25 girls ) . Approx. 80 percent of the girls who go through our program will repeat either Level 4 or Level 5. This is because it is important for girls to take time working on perfecting basics, artistry, and performance. I know some will say you should do that BEFORE they start competing, in preteam. But will you lose the kids when they get bored of practice, practice, practice, for another year without the competition?

So, our gym will go to a few meets every season and split the team ... Repeaters will go to one meet, and 1st year girls will go to another ( in both Level 4 and 5) . This is so the first year girls are not always competing against repeaters from their same gym. This is especially important for those girls who don't repeat either level.

 

[wallflower]

My first thought is who cares who is 1st year or 2nd year? That is something that only matters to parents in those beginning compulsory levels. You don't see many parents/coaches/girls saying that in the higher levels because by that point you are just happy your kid has made it that far and that they surive the meet without injuring themselves.

I don't think it really matters any way whether someone is a 1st year or 2nd year and I don't see why parents care. Each kid is where they are and who they compete against shouldn't matter. Every gym has a different method of doing things. There are a lot of "1st year level whatevers" that have been working on their skills much longer than girls who have already competed that level. Seriously. A lot of gyms train up several levels. I know of a gym in our area that is competing level 4 and they have had their level 5 skills for over a year already. So when they finally compete level 5 next year as "1st year level 5's" are they really any different than girls that are on their 2nd year of level 5 but in actuality starting training the skills at the same time or even later than some of the 1st years? Just something to think about.

 

[LizzieLac]

Every kid is a first year level 4 and then a first year level 5, and so on throughout their gymnastics career.