cogymmom2dd
Proud Parent
- Feb 9, 2020
- 193
- 196
My DD1 is really struggling this season as a 1st year L8. We’ve had a lot of things happening in our lives, so I don’t know if those could be contributing factors or if this is a sign that we either need to find a new gym or scale back all together.
Backstory: we moved last summer. New school, same gym. She is new to middle school and spent the first few weeks of school eating by herself in a cafeteria overflow area. There was assigned seating due to COVID policies and she knew some people from this school but not at the same lunch period as her. She struggled and begged to just be able to do day program gymnastics, which our gym doesn’t offer any longer.
Officially diagnosed with abdominal migraines, gets them approx every other month and she is out of the gym for at least a week at a time. I have been timing them and usually come on before big tests or meets, so could be stress induced. During this week, she doesn’t eat or drink like she should, we have had multiple visits to the ER for hydration and pain control. I feel like it’s one step forward and 2 steps back both academically and at the gym.
Last year, she was on a hybrid schedule, so her remote school days were spent at the gym in the morning and she finished her assignments in the afternoon. She did amazingly well in school last year and did OK with gymnastics. Ended strong at the end of the season with 36+AA as L7.
We were anticipating her repeating L7 again just because she didn’t have a great season l until the end and wanted her to be able to have podium finishes this year.
Over the summer, she practiced up skills and caught on to them quick. She was flipping vaults, had her pirouette on bars, and had all of the L8 skills for beam and floor. Coach/Owner said she’s ready for L8. So, we go with what the coach says. School starts, meet season starts, and she is struggling. Will not flip on vault. Has a watered down vault with an 8.6 SV. Has not made a flyaway dismount out of a giant on bars in competition yet. She does her giants and then freezes and doesn’t connect the flyaway. Her pirouettes are sloppy. She also cannot do a full on the floor anymore, won’t even throw a layout. She has had many of these skills for years and all of a sudden they are gone.
To add to everything, she is struggling at school in a few classes and the teachers say the same thing as the coaches: we know she is capable of doing everything, she just doesn’t do well on tests/ competitions.
Part of my concern is that she has a slight form of ADHD and anxiety is having problems focusing and concentrating. She’s 12. Her body and brain chemistry are changing, so maybe this is just a phase and we need to have her evaluated and possibly on a low dose of medication. Another part of me is wondering how she would do academically and socially if we were to switch gyms to one that has a day program. She did so well with gym first and school later in the afternoon.
However, I feel like most of my local gyms with day programs were designed for kids who are on an elite path and not necessarily run of the mill level 8’s.
I know she is also struggling because she is the only L8 competing this year. We had a L9 who quit all together and a L8 who does HS gymnastics so doesn’t compete in season with her.
Our gym owner has caught on to this and has offered some solutions for her: come in an extra day for a 1:1 with her. Not a private, but just extra practice because she needs to focus on specific skills. Coach will still be there coaching some of the lower levels (bronze and silvers). She is not the head coach for that team, but does go out and help from time to time. She is mostly there on those nights to do office work but said she would do this twice a month. She would be there to spot her and give feedback as needed. She said we can do this at no extra cost. She offered to have her come an hour early every day for practice but DD2 is on the same practice schedule and there are many days that she gets off the elementary school bus and we have to leave for practice. It would add in an entire round trip on our end. This would also be at no extra cost.
She also said she would look into another gym that has a pit that she can vault into and see if she can get the motions back for her vault. We would have to pay for this obviously. She said she knows there is a local gym that rents out space for privates so we would have to pay that fee and she would come and coach her at no cost. We have an elevated pit but not one at ground level and she thinks that a few sessions doing this will bring back muscle memory and she will overcome her fears.
She also said that she totally understands if we leave all together, she will give us recommendations as to where she would like to see her go. She keeps saying she has so much potential but I just don’t know how to motivate her.
Part of me says maybe we need a change, but the other part of me is thinking that she is almost old enough for middle school sports. Maybe encourage her to find something else to focus on and cut down the gym hours and compete XCEL platinum or Diamond next year. Maybe have her evaluated for anxiety/ADHD and see how that goes, I am so lost.
I should add that I have 2 additional kids on team at this gym and receive a pretty hefty discount because I have 2 kids training and competing optionals. DD2 is thriving on L6 and I cannot uproot her. Her best friends are at the gym. She loves her coaches. I do not want to sacrifice her happiness. I also absolutely cannot have 3 kids at 2 separate gyms.
Any thoughts, advice, etc?
Backstory: we moved last summer. New school, same gym. She is new to middle school and spent the first few weeks of school eating by herself in a cafeteria overflow area. There was assigned seating due to COVID policies and she knew some people from this school but not at the same lunch period as her. She struggled and begged to just be able to do day program gymnastics, which our gym doesn’t offer any longer.
Officially diagnosed with abdominal migraines, gets them approx every other month and she is out of the gym for at least a week at a time. I have been timing them and usually come on before big tests or meets, so could be stress induced. During this week, she doesn’t eat or drink like she should, we have had multiple visits to the ER for hydration and pain control. I feel like it’s one step forward and 2 steps back both academically and at the gym.
Last year, she was on a hybrid schedule, so her remote school days were spent at the gym in the morning and she finished her assignments in the afternoon. She did amazingly well in school last year and did OK with gymnastics. Ended strong at the end of the season with 36+AA as L7.
We were anticipating her repeating L7 again just because she didn’t have a great season l until the end and wanted her to be able to have podium finishes this year.
Over the summer, she practiced up skills and caught on to them quick. She was flipping vaults, had her pirouette on bars, and had all of the L8 skills for beam and floor. Coach/Owner said she’s ready for L8. So, we go with what the coach says. School starts, meet season starts, and she is struggling. Will not flip on vault. Has a watered down vault with an 8.6 SV. Has not made a flyaway dismount out of a giant on bars in competition yet. She does her giants and then freezes and doesn’t connect the flyaway. Her pirouettes are sloppy. She also cannot do a full on the floor anymore, won’t even throw a layout. She has had many of these skills for years and all of a sudden they are gone.
To add to everything, she is struggling at school in a few classes and the teachers say the same thing as the coaches: we know she is capable of doing everything, she just doesn’t do well on tests/ competitions.
Part of my concern is that she has a slight form of ADHD and anxiety is having problems focusing and concentrating. She’s 12. Her body and brain chemistry are changing, so maybe this is just a phase and we need to have her evaluated and possibly on a low dose of medication. Another part of me is wondering how she would do academically and socially if we were to switch gyms to one that has a day program. She did so well with gym first and school later in the afternoon.
However, I feel like most of my local gyms with day programs were designed for kids who are on an elite path and not necessarily run of the mill level 8’s.
I know she is also struggling because she is the only L8 competing this year. We had a L9 who quit all together and a L8 who does HS gymnastics so doesn’t compete in season with her.
Our gym owner has caught on to this and has offered some solutions for her: come in an extra day for a 1:1 with her. Not a private, but just extra practice because she needs to focus on specific skills. Coach will still be there coaching some of the lower levels (bronze and silvers). She is not the head coach for that team, but does go out and help from time to time. She is mostly there on those nights to do office work but said she would do this twice a month. She would be there to spot her and give feedback as needed. She said we can do this at no extra cost. She offered to have her come an hour early every day for practice but DD2 is on the same practice schedule and there are many days that she gets off the elementary school bus and we have to leave for practice. It would add in an entire round trip on our end. This would also be at no extra cost.
She also said she would look into another gym that has a pit that she can vault into and see if she can get the motions back for her vault. We would have to pay for this obviously. She said she knows there is a local gym that rents out space for privates so we would have to pay that fee and she would come and coach her at no cost. We have an elevated pit but not one at ground level and she thinks that a few sessions doing this will bring back muscle memory and she will overcome her fears.
She also said that she totally understands if we leave all together, she will give us recommendations as to where she would like to see her go. She keeps saying she has so much potential but I just don’t know how to motivate her.
Part of me says maybe we need a change, but the other part of me is thinking that she is almost old enough for middle school sports. Maybe encourage her to find something else to focus on and cut down the gym hours and compete XCEL platinum or Diamond next year. Maybe have her evaluated for anxiety/ADHD and see how that goes, I am so lost.
I should add that I have 2 additional kids on team at this gym and receive a pretty hefty discount because I have 2 kids training and competing optionals. DD2 is thriving on L6 and I cannot uproot her. Her best friends are at the gym. She loves her coaches. I do not want to sacrifice her happiness. I also absolutely cannot have 3 kids at 2 separate gyms.
Any thoughts, advice, etc?
