Parents Level 5 skills

[Kcanflip]

At what level did your gymmie start learning/uptraining for level 5 skills? It seems like a big jump from level 4 to level 5 skill wise, and seems more drills and exposure to l5 skills early on would make for a smoother transition. It seems level 4 is a common level to repeat because of this.

My Gymmie is just a level 4 now, competing in the fall, but I'm *hoping* she will start getting to work on l5 skills over the summer. Especially because she is already an 'older' gymnast for her level and these skills only get tougher the bigger you get from what I've heard. Not to mention the fear factor kicking in as kids get older too.

Just curious at what level most gyms start introducing tucks and bwo on beam and flyaway on bars, etc.

 

[cbifoja]

Drills started about two levels before. Actual skills were uptrained the level before. Then things were cleaned up and perfected during the season.

 

[gracyomalley]

Don't know about "most", but DD gym was in transition when she did the old 5/old 6 (so new4/5) switch....2 coaches leaving, new (and wonderful) bars coach not there yet...DD had hung back during the summer while some of the older girls uptrained and then decided after fall season she wanted to move up and "got" the BWO, clear hip, fly away and BT in a month. Took a few meets to polish, of course.

If a kid is a strong new 4, with great BWO on floor, strong ROBHSBHS, and good straight arm kips/powerful swings on bars, its really a pretty smooth transition, and repeating 4 with the above emphasis plus strength and form emphasis can be most of what a kid needs for L5 skills....although scoring in this level tends to be tight - the kids I've seen "win" at old6/new5 are all kids who actually have most if not all L7 skills....with really mature form.

 

[Committed]

DD is a L4, and her team has varying skill levels, so some girls are working harder skills than others. DD is new to the team, so she's working the least advanced skills, but they include:

Floor: standing back tucks, FT. (The adv. girls do ROBHSBHSBT or FHSFHS, or FHS FT, or ROBHSLO)
Beam: BWO, FWO, BHS (adv. girls- cartwheel BT dismount, or standing BT on foldout beam on the tumble track)
Bars: sole circle, cast handstand, clear hip (no one is working flyways, to my knowledge)
Vault: FHS, but they're doing RO drills on the springboard

 

[raenndrops]

YG is currently finishing her 3rd season at Old L4/ New L3. She is currently training kips (again... she trained them last year too... and the year before that), Squat On, Long Hang Pullover (has had this for over a year), Possibly will be training Flyaways soon, Beam HS to vertical and holding it, Beam Cartwheel on the low beam, BWO on floor, She has a FHS-step out on floor, but not a FHS to 2 feet, lol, FT (right now, with a springboard onto an 8" mat it is pretty), RO2BHS, Standing BT off a block, FHS Vault, and different beam dismounts (in case she decides to compete Xcel Gold).

 

[Becauseisaid]

DD was L3 this past season and will (hopefully) be L4 next season. (Working on overcoming a fear of jumping to the high bar.) ALL the girls L3, rising L4, and rising L5 are working on L5 drills and skills. But not all girls with all skills.

Beam: all girls working BWO. A few working BHS.
Floor: all girls working multiple ROBHS in a row and FHS. Some working BT and FHSFHS
Vault: all girls drilling FHS over table. Some starting drills for the Yurchenko.
Bars: all girls working drills for cast to handstand and clear hip. No fly aways just yet.

I love this time of year - as do the girls - because they have the time to work on their uptraining not constrained by level. Closer to the end of summer, they start focusing more exclusively on the routines for the level they will be competing in the fall.

 

[wgymmom]

DD competed new L4 in the fall, so she's doing new L5 skills right now. We don't uptrain during the season.

 

[momto8in10]

Our girls are training L4, but there is much speculation that they aren't all moving to 4. Only 4 out of 11 have their kips. Of those 4, two (my DD and another girl) are working on tucks, cast handstands, back walkover on beam. None are doing fly aways, yet. The girls are often pulled away from the group to train these skills. Earlier in the spring, they were working with the old L4s (not sure what level they will compete in the fall, likely 6; we didn't do 5, last year), separate from their other team members.

 

[3LittleGymmies]

I think it will really vary by gym. Our first gym in another state did no uptraining until after states. No drills, nada. So unless you learned super fast, you didn't have much chance. Our first new gym here did do up training. As a 4 (just finished), my dd had her BWO and jump series on beam, BT and FT on floor, ROBHSBT with a spot, FWOFT no spot, etc. In just a few days at the new gym we are trying, she has her BHS on beam with a light spot along with her cartwheel into tuck dismount and flyaway dismount on bars. She is working on free hips and cast handstands, too.

 

[3LittleGymmies]

That should be FHSFT*, oops!

 

[gwenmom]

Dd competed Lvl 3 this year is currently working Lvl 4 skills and drills and some skills for Lvl 5. At least this is what I see from the little I watch. I did happen to watch this week due to coach changes. But this seems to be what I have observed.

 

[GYM0M]

DD had a BWO on beam long before she competed level 4. Our HC trains two years ahead, says it's necessary. DD trains TOPS mostly so they try to introduce her skills for TOPS testing 2 years before she needs them. I've seen this also in some compulsory training but it's not that obvious. DD actually learned her FT and her flyaway two weeks before her first level 5 competition.

 

[ollieblueeyes]

I thought lvl4 and lvl 5 were very similar with a few upgrades. Our lvl 4s and 5s train together.

 

[Kcanflip]

Wow...it really does vary. I think our home school kids may be on a more aggressive path, training up a lot more. We just changed gyms due to a move so eager to see what they start training. Guessing most of the l5 skills will come in January after USAG at l4 in the fall and that would allow 7 months to master l5 skills before next competition season. But maybe the pre - skill drills will at least be introduced.

 

[SurpriseGymMom]

It totally depends at our gym. Dd competed L4 this winter/spring (season just ended) but has had some of the L5 skills for quite some time.... Others they have started drills on, others they are practicing regularly. Some girls are further ahead than others on different events... Some girls already have done giants (but then may be lacking skills on other events!) some aren't even drilling for flyaways yet (but pre-skill stuff is being worked on!). Looking at what they're doing right now, most girls will gain the necessary skills before next season, so many of them are already there or close. Our gym competes the girls where they are proficient and and can do the skills safely but not by any means held back either (I.e. You won't find girls training L7 skills competing 4...). I would say our gym is pretty good at letting the girls work upward as long as they are progressing well. My kid is further along in her beam skills than her bar skills, for example. someone else is way ahead in bars, but not on floor etc.

 

[profmom]

It also depends on the skills. Some take a long time and a lot of preparation to get! For flipping vaults, DD's gym starts training toward the end of old L5/new L4. The skill my DD, who competed L7 this year, is most excited about training right now is one she won't compete until she's a L9, which is probably two years away. My son and his teammates were starting to work on Arabian-type skills on the trampoline last summer, even though they were slated to compete L5 or L6 and won't need them until optionals (L8 for the boys). Right now, while both my daughter and son are mostly working on skills they will need for next year's projected levels, they are also building foundations for skills a level ahead (for DD) and for optionals for DS.

 

[headoverheels]

Mine just completed level 3, has almost all her level 4 skills, and some level 5 skills. I'd say halfway through this past season was when they first started some level 5 skills.

 

[Geoffrey Taucer]

To give a coaches perspective: it depends on what constitutes "uptraining."

I could say my girls start training for level 5 when they're at level 3, or I could say they start training for it after level 4 states, and neither would be entirely inaccurate.

For example, let's look at the roundoff-backhandpsring-back tuck on floor. The back tuck is the easiest part of that tumbling pass; if the gymnast has a strong RO-BHS, strong aerial awareness, and a strong understanding of the set, the back tuck itself is relatively simple. Among my soon-to-be-first-year-level 5s, not a single one had ever even attempted to connect a backhandspring to a back tuck before level 4 states this past year. But by that time, they'd all been working their backhandsprings and roundoffs since pre-team. They'd been training straight jumps, handstands, cartwheels, and backward rolls since rec. There are a number of trampoline drills that my level 4s are training; my level 3s are working the lead-ups to those drills, and my pre-teamers are learning trampoline basics.
So while none of them actually started training a roundoff-backhandspring-back tuck until well after level 4 states, they've all really been training it since they started rec gymnastics.

 

[MMG2006]

To give a coaches perspective: it depends on what constitutes "uptraining."

I could say my girls start training for level 5 when they're at level 3, or I could say they start training for it after level 4 states, and neither would be entirely inaccurate.

For example, let's look at the roundoff-backhandpsring-back tuck on floor. The back tuck is the easiest part of that tumbling pass; if the gymnast has a strong RO-BHS, strong aerial awareness, and a strong understanding of the set, the back tuck itself is relatively simple. Among my soon-to-be-first-year-level 5s, not a single one had ever even attempted to connect a backhandspring to a back tuck before level 4 states this past year. But by that time, they'd all been working their backhandsprings and roundoffs since pre-team. They'd been training straight jumps, handstands, cartwheels, and backward rolls since rec. There are a number of trampoline drills that my level 4s are training; my level 3s are working the lead-ups to those drills, and my pre-teamers are learning trampoline basics.
So while none of them actually started training a roundoff-backhandspring-back tuck until well after level 4 states, they've all really been training it since they started rec gymnastics.

I agree so much as I think it's all preparation. I think it it's individualized as well. My daughter is only level two..three after states... But has been working ROBHBH, plus some, ( she just keeps going lol) Ariel , FHSFHS, cartwheel and BWO on beam, kip on bars ( doesn't have it yet just started ) and not sure about too much else as I don't always watch. And don't even know what a flyaway is yet though I saw it mentioned in previous post Just seems to be a lot of "up training".. However, I will say she is only one of a couple girls doing it at her age/ level. But they tend to pace the kids according to age which I think is great. And even though having some of these skills, she will still be level three next year..four is a stretch, as she needs lots of polishing and a lot of maturity to move on.... She is a newish 7 first grade. And though she gets these skills faster, she is by no means winning every competition... Not even close...but she doesn't care she just wants to learn the next skill lol that's why I think it's great that even at level 2/3 they are "training" / preparing them for level 5 plus. ( so long as it is safe to do so )