L5 to L7 Jump!!!

[lakshmi369]

Our DD made the jump from L5 to L7 last year. After a chaotic beginning and move up L6 meet where she scored 34.something things finally came around by the end of the year.
It was a tough time for her.... making a gym and coaching change while in this process.... I really thought it might be too much for her but it ended well. We like to say she came out of the season "average" and should have a good L7 year this coming season.
We were just wondering what other stories are out there from people whose DD made the same jump from L5 to L7?

 

[kevchriswilli]

At our gym ....we do a split level 6/7 year together.... They go from level 5, train all summer... do 6 in fall and 7 in Jan. It does make for a super long season but we did it and don't regret it. She is now training Level 8. Alot of gyms don't even do 6......the skills are pretty much the same but I think they judge harder at Level 6.
JMO

 

[NOG]

At my dds gym, they generally do 1 meet at level 6 then opt out to go 7. They are contemplating changing that next year. There still may be girls that opt out of 6 to go 7, but they may have a 6 team. My dd was 5 last year, so we are uptraining this summer. I guess we'll know at the end of summer which level she'll fall in. I'm glad that your dd had a good year, it's nice to hear that other girls who've made that jump from 5 -7 do well. Your dd will rock 7 next year (if she stays that level) for sure.

 

[gymgramma]

I've heard that a lot of gyms don't compete level 6. The girls do compete 1 meet to make their mobility score,but then it's on to level 7. I have heard coaches say they do it because the judging is so hard at level 6 and the girls will get those skills before competing level 7 anyway. Is this what you've been told?

 

[Ingwe]

I like the idea of doing the split season. This year our gym is having our girls compete PREP OPT (doing level 7 skills, BHS on beam, RH,BH,LO, Giants, etc) then depending on if they master the skills moving them to L7 in the winter. MY DD has all of her L7 skills (except Giant but is really close. She has it in straps but I don't count that LOL)
They have to go to a L6 "score out" meet in September as well. This is the first year they have ever done this so I am intersted to see how it all plays out. Oh and of course this was told to us all last week. Totally caught us all off guard. We thought we were doing L6.
BTW, I am new here and haven't really posted yet.

 

[lakshmi369]

I have heard the same story but in hindsite tough scoring at L6 may have been the best preparation for L7! LOL

 

[lakshmi369]

I like the idea of doing the split season. This year our gym is having our girls compete PREP OPT (doing level 7 skills, BHS on beam, RH,BH,LO, Giants, etc) then depending on if they master the skills moving them to L7 in the winter. MY DD has all of her L7 skills (except Giant but is really close. She has it in straps but I don't count that LOL)
They have to go to a L6 "score out" meet in September as well. This is the first year they have ever done this so I am intersted to see how it all plays out. Oh and of course this was told to us all last week. Totally caught us all off guard. We thought we were doing L6.
BTW, I am new here and haven't really posted yet.

Welcome to CB! I am pleased your coaches are willing to change and do what they see are in your DD teams best interests. It is hard to change policy like that sometimes even when it makes sense. L7 is for sure and for certain an exciting time and your DD should love it .... whether this year or next..... its al good! We hope she has a great summer and is ready to go this fall!!!

 

[BlairBob]

Much of the time the judging in L7 seems easier than for L6.

Any kid with all the talent and tolls will burn through L6 and L7 anyways. Sometimes, we try to get them out of compulsory especially if we know they are going to peak as a gymnast in L7 maybe L8.

 

[gym law mom]

My gymmie did a year as a L6(that gym does not do L7) and I think it was great for her. Certainly got her confident on her bar skills and yes the scoring was tougher, but each level has its own challenges. I think having that L6 year did make it easier when she moved to L7.

 

[lakshmi369]

My gymmie did a year as a L6(that gym does not do L7) and I think it was great for her. Certainly got her confident on her bar skills and yes the scoring was tougher, but each level has its own challenges. I think having that L6 year did make it easier when she moved to L7.

I hear you. Many schools of thought on L6 arent there? How is your gym situation doing now? Off subject I know, but hope it is good.

 

[Reecee]

Our gym just started skipping level 6. They bring in a judge in April and have the level 6 girls compete. If you get above a 34.00 then you can go to level 7. They started doing this becuase a bunch of girls were getting fraustrated about the scores and so 9 girls quit. And so many girls quit that we only have 4 level 5s, 3 level 6s, and 3 level 7s. (but we have like 18 level 4s). I think that it is a good idea for the kids who are ready. And if they are not, they just stay in level 6.

 

[lakshmi369]

The appearance of politics being involved with the decision to do the jump is always a concern! Even if it is not and jump is solely based on score. Everyones DD feels ready to go to L7 but its not always an easy or even advisable path from what I have seen over the years.
I am glad to hear your gym is getting back on track. Just wondering, did the girls who left go to a different gym that was willing to bump them to L7?

 

[Reecee]

Yes, our gym is getting back on track. Two of our coaches just quit and so we are getting two new ones, hopefully they will have more experience. 3 of the girls switched gyms and moved up to level 7. The rest did not switch gyms at all, they just quit. One of them became a cheerleader. And the other 5 were going into highschool and did not want to start any other sports.

 

[fishchimes]

There's one girl I know of at my gym who jumped. Let's call her Connie. She competed level 5 last year and at one of the last meets of the season she scored out of level 6. She is competing level 7 currently. Her scores are terrible; in the mid-7 range, but she doesn't really seem to care.

Connie's 9. I think she's a little nuts actually; has a tendency to flip out when things don't go her way. Like one time the coach was trying to get her to use a springboard for the bars, and she was screaming for him to "take it away." And some other instances that aren't as easy to explain. I just think of her as Crazy Connie, lol xD But everyone loves her anyway, including me.

Maybe the jump drove her insane. Nah, I think she was just off her rocker to begin with.

 

[jasmine196]

The jump is not necessarily a good thing for some gymnasts. At the last gym I was at, we had the girls compete on Level 6 meet, score out and then go 7. The problem was, the head coach just wanted them to compete level 7 and didn't care if they had the skills or not. This has been going on for 2 seasons, and it never got better. My philosphy is if the girls can score out of level 6 great. I HATE level 6. But I wouldn't compete them Level 7 until they had all of their skills. If that meant not letting them compete for a year, then fine. I always want my gymnasts to have success at the level they are competing. Its to bad that other coaches just want gymnasts on the floor and don't care how they do.

 

[KyraGymnast]

i am hopefully going to skip six (i just competed 5) But am having trouble with some of the seven skills.

 

[T.Gymnastics]

i competed a full year of six and they do judge really hard

 

[gymjoy]

Just a little background before my little rant about level 6. My dd competed L6 for three season. Once in another state, and twice with her current gym. She was very upset to compete that third season of L6. She wanted to move up to L7, but the coaches wanted her to fix her form on some things and improve her confidence. After a month or so of pouting, she applied herself to all her coaches asked. She won her level 6 states, tested out of L7, and competed L8 for the spring season making it to regionals. What is it about L6 that makes it such a divisory level?

IMHO - Level 6 is a hard level, but a very important one. Being the final compulsory level the skills are a bit more difficult, and the judges are expecting better gymnastics from the gymnasts preparing to move into optionals. They do judge harder.

I know that a lot of gyms skip level 6. I am starting to understand that this is not because all their gymnast are ready for level 7, but because the coaches and girls (and parents) dislike the toughness of scoring well at level 6. Maybe the coaches are also afraid of losing girls during that season and allowing them to skip to 7 keeps them there longer and lets the gym say - "Wow! Look how many optional gymnast we have."

I think skipping 6 for the reasons above does a dis-service to the gymnast. Besides building up and perfecting skills, gymnast need to build up and perfect their mental and emotional abilities. Level 6 is a great place for all of this to happen.
So many of the girls I have watch skip 6 only do okay at 7, and often repeat it. Others do one season of 7 and quit because their scores were average, and they were not prepared to move on to level 8 - where the skills and judging once again get tougher.
There are always exceptional girls who are ready for optionals and do not need level 6. But many gyms skip it as a rule, not an exception.
I am not against skipping levels. DD did it this year, but it made for a challenging year. I was not certain we would make it at some points. I do think skipping should be for the right reasons - the gymnast is ready with all the skills and confidence to preform well in the higher level, and not because the gym dis-lilkes the level or wants to maintain gymnast for longer who might leave if they score lower at a certain level.

 

[gymalex]

level 6

I think the bar routine is very difficult in level 6. It's a big step up from the level 5 set. However, if you can't make a level 6 bar routine, you have no business training and competing level 7. Yes, it is true that scoring is tougher in level 6 than in level 7, but for a few reasons: On bars, the amplitude (cast/clear hip height) deductions are much stricter than level 7. On beam/floor, you're judged on the whole, entire routine, including text. In level 7, you are only judged on the elements listed in the code of points, so there just isn't as much to take.
That all being said, the level 6 skills are EXTREMELY important. If you skip over them or breeze through them, your optional skills will suffer. My gym does a whole season of L6, then L7 back-to-back. As a result, the kids are always very well prepared for L7 and do well. I believe that if the coaches educate the athletes and parents about the strict judging, and tell them that it will get better (and they'll be stronger gymnasts because of it), it might make sense to them and encourage them to stick around....

 

[NOG]

It is true that in the past our gym hasn't done level 6 (might be changing this year), and they have done that because the owner/coaches don't like that level. The parents have actually asked in the past to bring back L6, and it has always been a no. BUT, they have never passed a girl on to L7 who wasn't ready. If the gymnast isn't ready to compete L7, then they have stayed at L5 for another year. I personally would like to see them bring back L6. My dd competed L5 last year and is currently uptraining. If she doesn't get the skills needed to do well in L7, I would like to see her do L6 rather than do L5 again (I think...). I think it would do her good in preparing for L7 as opposed to doing L5 again. I know that the scores will stink, but won't they stink for everyone?