How much to expect with increased hours

[Blessed4x]

My DD will be going from 2 hours twice a week to 3 hours 4days a week for the summer. At the end of the summer the coach will determine if she should move up to L4 team and continue the 12 hours, or over to the AAU side which would drop back to 4 hours. She was told she will have to work very hard and make some pretty big gains in order to stay with L4. Just wondering if it's even realistic to expect much change in 3 months with more hours? I am inclined to put her on the AAU team now so she can meet some girls she would compete with, but she is determined she can prove herself. The other part of me thinks that since it's her that wants it so bad why not let her try. I know each gymnast is different, but in general wondering how much to expect with tripling the hours?

 

[gymmomtoo]

If she's the one that wants this, she could certainly make some big gains in 3 months. I think giving her the chance is a good idea. If she does move to AAU, then she'll be ready to shine . Good luck to her!

 

[iwannacoach]

I found, as an aspiring athlete, I was constantly motivated to prove myself to every one, including my parents. I didn't think it was much of a burden, as I loved what I was doing and wanted to go as far as I could go with the limited opportunities I was given. I think that allowing your child the opportunity, while expressing valid, age centric concerns about her chances for success, is a great way for her to shoulder the reponsibility for her goals.

You've said nothing about her age, so I can't help out with suggestions beyond let her prove that she's capable, enjoys the extra time, and support her with positives when she's earned them.

 

[Flossyduck]

Sounds as though everything is in place - triple the hours, the dangling carrot and your daughter's motivation. That's a great recipe for improvement.
My daughter switched gyms a couple of months ago, almost tripling her hours, and two months in she has made huge progress - better form, increased strength and new skills. It took a little while to get going but things seem to be really clicking in to place now. She's starting to recognise it herself too, which adds to the motivation.
I'd let her give it a go, it really doesn't sound as though there's much to lose so long as she knows that the worse that can happen is that she will be doing AAU next year and probably shining bright.

 

[Quadqueen]

12 hours for L4 for 3 months should provide her a great opportunity to progress. My DD does 12 hours and she's training L6.

 

[bookworm]

I think it will also depend on her actual natural talent base...tripling her hours alone won't make it happen but if she has ability the extra hours will facilitate the progress... we had a girl in our old gym who went 40 hours a week (day and nite practice) and still scored in the 35 AA range and was beaten by many a girl who trained the standard 25 hours a week for Level 10s in our gym. I guess what I'm saying is don't think the hours or desire alone will do it, there's got to be a skill base to build on..