Parents Gym wants girls training 1-2 levels ahead

[LittleGymmie88]

My 8yr old has competed level 2 and 3. Had very successful seasons. Her gym wants her to repeat 3 because she does not have all their required skills for level 4. Such as back walk over on high beam, and cast to handstand(she can do a cast to handstand but it’s not consistent) She has all level 4 skills but does not have the upgrades required to move up. Her coach would like her to do another year of 3 while continuing her to working on level 4 and 5 skills. They plan on having her compete her kip. I am bummed for her because I know most other gyms she would easily be competing 4. Is this what is best for her in the long run? I know gymnastics is a journey not a race, but her gyms high expectations seem to run off a lot of girls. Our DP program is much smaller than our xcel program.

 

[raenndrops]

My 8yr old has competed level 2 and 3. Had very successful seasons. Her gym wants her to repeat 3 because she does not have all their required skills for level 4. Such as back walk over on high beam, and cast to handstand(she can do a cast to handstand but it’s not consistent) She has all level 4 skills but does not have the upgrades required to move up. Her coach would like her to do another year of 3 while continuing her to working on level 4 and 5 skills. They plan on having her compete her kip. I am bummed for her because I know most other gyms she would easily be competing 4. Is this what is best for her in the long run? I know gymnastics is a journey not a race, but her gyms high expectations seem to run off a lot of girls. Our DP program is much smaller than our xcel program.

Training ahead is common, but not letting a gymnast compete L4 because they don't have a consistent cast handstand and don't have a BWO on high beam seems to be a little much.
The ONLY way I would find this acceptable would be if they were planning to go from L4 to L6 without testing out of L5 by scoring 36+ 2x at L4. If that isn't the case, you could stay for this upcoming season and competing L3 again and THEN move gyms or move now.

 

[Onia]

I personally would talk to your gymnast and discuss how she feels about this situation & her options. Then make a decision based on her response & what’s best for her and your family as a whole.

I experienced this same issue with my gymnasts and we decided to switch gyms. It was a personal decision for us and it worked out a little better for us in the end. They excelled and the other gym was begging to have them return. We respectfully declined. It sounds like this situation is about privates and conforming to the other gymnasts journeys instead of your daughters. I commend your daughter for her skills at 8 years old. Stay encouraged! However, her input is the most important because she has to train & compete. Try to maintain a healthy balance.

I highly suggest you visit and do a few practices with other gyms to access the needs of your gymnasts. Also, make sure you’re paying attention to deadlines for fees, club membership dues/tuition, USAG membership updates per club/gym, competition/leotard/warmup fees, etc.

Options
A. Repeating level 3/work 4 and 5 skills
B. Privates
C. Exploring other gyms

Hope this helps! Best of luck

 

[littlegirlsdream]

When asking what is best in the long run I think the answer really depends on what you/your daughters long term goals/hopes are. Every gym has their own philosophy. Some gyms work hard to perfect every single level and score as high as possible at each of those levels while others focus more on long term goals and do not worry so much about perfecting every skill/routine in the lower levels. . I always found it helpful to look at the gym as a whole. Do they have a lot of successful upper level kids (if that’s what you are wanting), or do they have a very successful excel program if that’s what you are looking for. Yes, It is a marathon and you do have to trust the process but make sure you are at a gym that matches the end goal you and your daughter have for this marathon. If they are strong in what you are looking for then trust they know what they are doing and if they aren’t strong in what you are looking for then you may want to look at other options.

 

[gympoppop]

There is no way your daughter should be competing level 3 both for development and fairness to the other gymnasts. I understand some gyms like to compete down but this is extreme. Is there a training hours difference between 3 and 4 at your gym? Most gyms there is a difference and that could make a substantial difference in development over the course of a full year.

 

[LittleGymmie88]

There is no way your daughter should be competing level 3 both for development and fairness to the other gymnasts. I understand some gyms like to compete down but this is extreme. Is there a training hours difference between 3 and 4 at your gym? Most gyms there is a difference and that could make a substantial difference in development over the course of a full year.

She actually is going to be training the level 4 schedule but competing 3. So she will have the increased hours.

 

[HopefulGymnast]

Are these US DP levels? What skills does she have on floor and vault? A gym wanting gymnasts to have things like a cast handstand before level 4 seems just wrong to me. Unfair to the other gymnasts competing, and unfair to the gymnast who they're holding back from their potential. But imo it's especially super unfair to the other competitors.

 

[Aussie_coach]

There could be a real positive to this.

Having her repeat a level where she already knows all the routines inside means she will not have to spend very much time on learning, training and practicing routines.

She can just quickly run routines and spend the vast majority of her time accelerating skills.

The plan could be to really accelerate her quickly to a more advanced level.

 

[HeatherJynell]

My 8yr old has competed level 2 and 3. Had very successful seasons. Her gym wants her to repeat 3 because she does not have all their required skills for level 4. Such as back walk over on high beam, and cast to handstand(she can do a cast to handstand but it’s not consistent) She has all level 4 skills but does not have the upgrades required to move up. Her coach would like her to do another year of 3 while continuing her to working on level 4 and 5 skills. They plan on having her compete her kip. I am bummed for her because I know most other gyms she would easily be competing 4. Is this what is best for her in the long run? I know gymnastics is a journey not a race, but her gyms high expectations seem to run off a lot of girls. Our DP program is much smaller than our xcel program.

My old gym says they practice up and compete down. It was discouraging to a lot of gymnasts who were missing just a skill or two for the next level and was terrible for my daughters self esteem especially when she competed so well in the level that she was in. I took her to try out for a couple other teams to see how they accessed her skills and both said she was ready to move to the next level and the few things she was missing they felt certain she would have before the next competition season. I’d advise talking to your coach and asking him/her to reassess at the end of the summer.

 

[katrid11]

Gosh I feel bad for the L3s competing against a girl nearly ready for L6.

so the kip cast handstand is a L6/7 skill. BWO is L5 skill. Your daughter is working L5/6/7 skills not L4. She likely has all of her L4 skills.

I would be more concerned about if all of these upgrades are executed with perfected form. There is a reason why a lot of teams take 1-2 years to progress from kip cast to kip cast HS.... they are seeking the perfect HS--- more to allow progression into other harder skills. Every gym we have been at start cast HS progressions at Level 4.

In the long run she will be ahead on skills ASSUMING the gym continually works on upgrades during the season. Some do not. If she was around our area, being a 8yr old L3 puts her in the most competitive age bracket - most # of girls.

the main questions would be - how many girls have repeated L3 b/c of missing L5/6 skills in the past? Are they still at the gym? Did they move up the following year? what is the requirement to get out of L4? Do you need a giant and bhs on beam to move to L5? I think asking some forward questions may help you understand if this is the right gym long term vs just the next year.

Repeating L3 is never a bad idea for gaining strength and skills HOWEVER your daughter is well past that point. It maybe worth checking out other gyms if you have access and are concerned about her feeling like things are progressing (her confidence is a big thing to ensure is doing fine)