Parents injury during summer

[Lilou]

What would your gym do, or have they done, when a gymnast is uptraining and halfway through the summer gets injured and will only be able to condition for about 4-6 weeks? Our gym makes level decisions in August, meets start in late Nov., no level changes until the following Spring after States (so no split season of levels).
If the gymnast had nearly all of the next level skills before the injury would your gym allow them to move up levels anyway in anticipation of getting the skills and competition ready by November? Or move up and skip a meet, start up a month or two later to allow extra time? Of have them repeat a level they just finished successfully because they're injured and there are unknowns once the gymnast is back to normal?

We're going through this and I can see many sides and will do whatever our gym wants, but I'm curious how other gyms handle this type of thing.

 

[gymgal]

There are so many answers to this based on how different gyms handle it, what the injury was and what it affected skill wise. Also what level ex - Can the injury be worked around by substituting other skill?

 

[CLgym]

In the situation you described (gymnast has almost all of the skills for next level then gets injured during the summer), our gym would probably move the girl up to the next level in August so she could continue to train with the higher level once cleared by a doc. This is assuming the injury is not major, and something that will be recovered from within a reasonable time. However, the gymnast and her parents would also likely be told that if the gymnast is not ready for the higher level by meet season (early November?), then she will ultimately repeat/scratch. It is worth noting that our gym seems to be on the less strict side when it comes to these types of things, compared to what others have described on CB. I have seen our HC exercise discretion and flexibility in a variety of circumstances...

 

[Lilou]

It was Severs, then slipped off the beam, so she's been in a boot time for nearly 4 weeks and then she can easy back into gymnastics. Level 4 uptraining.

There are so many answers to this based on how different gyms handle it, what the injury was and what it affected skill wise. Also what level ex - Can the injury be worked around by substituting other skill?

 

[Tmacs]

I don't know about other gyms but ours seems to be set on having them with all their skills by September for a December-March comp season. My daughter was supposed to skip and go to 4 but then we left for the summer and she will need to go to 3 instead (competed 2 last year). I understand their reasoning but still hard as she has all her level 4 bar skills and that seems to be the big hold-up for most kids. She isn't quite to level 4 on beam and floor but I am confident she will get there. However, not training the vault during the summer is probably the big reason I'm o.k. with her not skipping and just doing 3 and uptraining. Anyway, long post to say that all gyms are different but ours would probably have her repeat unless she is super close in most things. Sorry about the injury!

 

[raenndrops]

At our gym, we would move her up. She would have the option to compete or scratch in the first meet.
For us, it is the same way we deal with a girl who HAD the skills but the skills have decided to go on vacation while the gymnast is still in the gym (we don't say they "lost" a skill). They have the option. Of course we are also willing to spot a skill (or even just stand there) in the early meets if that makes them feel better.
We will also allow a repeating gymnast to move up mid-season though if she gets all the skills comp ready by mid-December (We compete Nov-March + a meet in June/July).

 

[Deleted member 18037]

Having been through multiple injuries. It’s more then just the level.

It depends on lots of things, skills, where she is at mentally and physically...

My kids most recent injury ( there have been 3, all very recoverable).

She would of surely scored better had she stayed L7 ( likely regional type scores). But she was better off with her team. Mentally and physically. It would of been easy to not uptrain if she stayed 7.

Her scores s#cked this year but she is in a good place going forward with her team. We knew she was going to do 2 years of L8, so her scores this year were not relevant. The uptraining she does is very relevant. The bond with her team very relevant.

 

[Deleted member 18037]

Having been through multiple injuries. It’s more then just the level.

It depends on lots of things, skills, where she is at mentally and physically...

My kids most recent injury ( there have been 3, all very recoverable).

She would of surely scored better had she stayed L7 ( likely regional type scores). But she was better off with her team. Mentally and physically. It would of been easy to not uptrain if she stayed 7.

Her scores s#cked this year but she is in a good place going forward with her team. We knew she was going to do 2 years of L8, so her scores this year were not relevant. The uptraining she does is very relevant. The bond with her team very relevant.

Forgot to add. Her level decision was made by her and her coaches, her because at 13 she has a say. Had she been younger the coaches would of kept her at her last Level.

As a parent, I trust my kids coaches. That’s not to say I haven’t gone, ummm I need some clarification, can you explain your why. And they always have

 

[IreneKa]

My DD got moved up in a similar situation. She was diagnosed with a stress fracture in her back in June after her L3 season. They were uptraining since April, so she already had most of her L4 skills (kip not consistently, but about 50%). She spent all summer in a back brace just conditioning whatever possible. The move up decisions were made at the end of August, and she was moved up to L4.
She was released to full training at the end of September. The first meet was at the end of October, and she did fine.
The rest of the season went okay too, just some backwards tumbling blocks, which was expected after an injury like that.

She did however got re-injured at the end of that season, and that was basically the end of her gymnastic career. So maybe sometimes it's better to take it slow and fully recover after the injury. I don't know if things would turn out differently for my DD if she repeated 3 that year, probably not.

 

[Ali'sMom]

During summer leading into level 4, my DD got mono. She was out of gym completely for 8 weeks. Lost the little bit of a kip she did have.
Came back 2 weeks before the 2nd meet. She managed get most skills back, but man the kip was ugly... Leading up to the meet, they did say she could be L4. Uncertain if she would scratch bars. She did end up competing all 4 events at the first meet (not greatly), but thankfully there was a full month before the next meet and she was back to normal.

 

[Akl597]

Here's what our gym says: If they had all their skills for the next level prior to the injury then they would move up. They would be given a certain amount of time to get back to 100%. If they didn't have all their skills before the injury they would stay at their current level. I'm sure it all depends on the exact timing, the level and the injury.

 

[Thegymnasticsmomlife]

L

What would your gym do, or have they done, when a gymnast is uptraining and halfway through the summer gets injured and will only be able to condition for about 4-6 weeks? Our gym makes level decisions in August, meets start in late Nov., no level changes until the following Spring after States (so no split season of levels).
If the gymnast had nearly all of the next level skills before the injury would your gym allow them to move up levels anyway in anticipation of getting the skills and competition ready by November? Or move up and skip a meet, start up a month or two later to allow extra time? Of have them repeat a level they just finished successfully because they're injured and there are unknowns once the gymnast is back to normal?

We're going through this and I can see many sides and will do whatever our gym wants, but I'm curious how other gyms handle this type of thing.

Our gym would work

What would your gym do, or have they done, when a gymnast is uptraining and halfway through the summer gets injured and will only be able to condition for about 4-6 weeks? Our gym makes level decisions in August, meets start in late Nov., no level changes until the following Spring after States (so no split season of levels).
If the gymnast had nearly all of the next level skills before the injury would your gym allow them to move up levels anyway in anticipation of getting the skills and competition ready by November? Or move up and skip a meet, start up a month or two later to allow extra time? Of have them repeat a level they just finished successfully because they're injured and there are unknowns once the gymnast is back to normal?

We're going through this and I can see many sides and will do whatever our gym wants, but I'm curious how other gyms handle this type of thing.

I think it would depend on what skill she was missing prior to the injury, how the injury affects progression of that skill, etc. Some skills can be mastered in a short time while others take a year. There’s a lot of unknowns right now. That being said, if the gymnast is practically ready in August, then I would think she would be fine to move forward. Could an exception be made for your daughter due to the injury? Let her come back for a few weeks to see how she progresses? I would definitely ask. I know you want her to move forward but you also want her to be successful. You don’t want her to lose confidence because she wasn’t ready. Repeating a level is not a big deal. If she makes huge strides the next year, she could skip a level. It happens a lot at our gym. It just depends on that gymnast & how she progresses. They are all different. Best of luck!

 

[Lilou]

Thanks everyone. Our gym is ssslllooowwww to move kids up and at this point I'm nearly certain they'll have her repeat 3. She has her straight arm kip and has had it for a couple of months (she had a kip for a year now but not straight arms). She's tentative on the beam and not doing consistent cartwheels or split jumps. All other skills for 4 she has (she loves to tumble) but they haven't done a lot of vault yet. But she's struggled mentally being injured because she has wanted to prove herself and gets frustrated with only conditioning for 4 hours. It leads her to goof off sometimes too. Our gym says if they have all of the skills by now, they'll move kids forward but unfortunately with her injury she hasn't been able to show the skills. I can truly see both sides to this, but was curious how other gyms work through things like this.