profmom
Proud Parent
- Nov 18, 2011
- 9,461
- 17,029
Just be aware that different gyms have different ways of handling advancement. The best way to figure out your child's likely trajectory to L7 is to ask the parents of the current L7s-L8s in your gym.
DD's gym, for instance, is one of those that holds the philosophy that old L6/new L5 is an important developmental level for most gymnasts. In the five years DD's been competing, only two girls skipped that level. So of the girls DD's competed with who are currently L7 and L8 (DD competed L7 this year), one (DD) had two years at 5, a year at 6, and then went to 7, I think four had a year at 5, two years at 6, and then went to 7, about ten did one year at 5, a year at 6, and then 7, and one went right from new 4/old 5 to 7.
"Slow" isn't necessarily bad. One of the girls who "repeated" L6 made it to regionals this year as a L8 and looks very likely to move up to 9 after only one year at 8. DD did a second year at L7 as well as L5, but I think she will have a much better debut year at L8 as a result. I trust the coaches completely on these decisions. They do a great job of retaining optional gymnasts, and have some success in placing girls on college teams.
DD's gym, for instance, is one of those that holds the philosophy that old L6/new L5 is an important developmental level for most gymnasts. In the five years DD's been competing, only two girls skipped that level. So of the girls DD's competed with who are currently L7 and L8 (DD competed L7 this year), one (DD) had two years at 5, a year at 6, and then went to 7, I think four had a year at 5, two years at 6, and then went to 7, about ten did one year at 5, a year at 6, and then 7, and one went right from new 4/old 5 to 7.
"Slow" isn't necessarily bad. One of the girls who "repeated" L6 made it to regionals this year as a L8 and looks very likely to move up to 9 after only one year at 8. DD did a second year at L7 as well as L5, but I think she will have a much better debut year at L8 as a result. I trust the coaches completely on these decisions. They do a great job of retaining optional gymnasts, and have some success in placing girls on college teams.