Parents Liv's Progress...

[starmaker]

Well, Liv's been working very hard at the gym for the past month or so. She's determined to not be left behind by her current level 5 team members. However, they have changed her training group to include just one day with her old (now new level 5's) teammates. The other 3 days she trains with the level 4/5's. This arrangement seems to be working for her because the girls in that group are younger and her best gym buddy trains in that group. Also her old teammates are working on getting level 6/7 skills. Some are the girls are throwing giants, flyaways etc. Liv is just ready for that yet.

Last week Liv cleared the vault table without a spot for the first time. Her vault coach did not let her ring the bell though because she was too "archy" and stayed on the table too long. The next training day she cleared the table again but again couldn't ring the bell. Well this week she's been all about vaulting. She is RUNNING! Can you believe it! She is running with purpose! I saw her vault over the table and it looked good to me. I am sure it is not great but her body was straight and it didn't look in slow motion. She was allowed to ring the bell. She was sooo happy!

During bars, I saw her make 5 dips kips in a row and it looked good! Her arms and legs were nice and straight. I was really quite impressed with her quick improvements with the kip. She made her first one in december. Then it was very inconsistent for about a month. Now she can do several in a row with decent form. I was very proud of her.

Then during TOPS, they're skills were being evaluated and Liv did.......get this.......10 straddle presses!!! WOW! The best part was her control. She went nice and slow and did not rush one press into the other. All the girls gave her hugs and high fives. She was able to ring bell again. And she was just sooo proud of herself. Her face was priceless!!

Thank you all for letting me brag. I am just so stinkin proud of her. I love to see her so motivated and determined. Unfortunately I was not able to get on video this time-maybe next time.

 

[gymnut1]

All sounds fantastic. Well done Liv. Not surprised you are so proud. Chalkbucket is proud!

her vault coach obviously knows how to motivate her lol.

 

[bogwoppit]

It sounds like Liv is progressing beautifully and that she is really enjoying the challenge, Lovely that her club seems to know exactly where to place her to keep her happy and gym fun.

THanks for the update.

 

[mariposa]

Liv is just amazing! Sounds like her coaches know how to keep her challenged and are watching for her best interest. I bet she will be competing level 5 in the fall.

Congrats on getting over that vault table, Liv! And WOW on those presses, you just rock! That really is just amazing.

 

[Aussie_coach]

Wow! Thats great progress, you should be very proud.

 

[cathiann]

Sounds like she's doing great! Congrats to her on her hard work.

 

[starmaker]

Thank you all for your nice comments! I am so happy with her new gym. Olivia has 7 coaches and every single one of them is great!! They just really know how to bring out the best in her. They even know when she just needs to be 6 years old and goof off. They other day she was having a foam pit fight with one of her coaches! Needless to say Liv was just thrilled to "play" at gym.

Liv is just amazing! Sounds like her coaches know how to keep her challenged and are watching for her best interest. I bet she will be competing level 5 in the fall.

Congrats on getting over that vault table, Liv! And WOW on those presses, you just rock! That really is just amazing.

Mariposa, According to the compulsory HC, Liv is going to compete L4 again in the fall. However ever since she made that decision, Liv has been really determined and has made major improvements. IMHO, Liv is better prepared or has more L5 skills than some new girls in our L5 group. She is defiantely not the weakest L5 but it seems they think Liv will not have a successful season for whatever reason. I don't want them to sandbag Liv. I hate gyms that do that but Liv is so young and I really want her to have "fun" competing. I know it's not all about the medals but at the end of the day winning is more fun!! Not that I want her to win at all meets but she did not have great L4 season. She never cried and handled herself like a champion but I know she was upset. Holding her at L4 in the fall, then L5 in the spring and next fall will ensure sucess at L4 and L5. If she chooses to skip L6 and go right into L7 she can do that. I know she has the potential, it's a matter of what she wants to do and how fast she wants to go. When I talk to her she doesn't really want to "skip" levels and rush through. She wants to stay with her friends and "enjoy" the ride. But when she realized she was being "left behind" she was insulted.....lol! (but determined) Hell, if they have to threaten repeating to get her to work hard then so be it..... She seems to think she is young and has all the time in the world and kind of just goes through the motions until she thinks it's important. She thinks she can slack off 9 months of training and work real hard for 3 months and be ok.....really she is all of 6 years old and has related this to me. She is wise beyond her years!!!

 

[Shelovesthebars]

That's awesome that she made it over the vault table. And wow, ten presses! I can't wait to see her and show my dd. My dd can still only do one at a time and that is when she feels like it. She likes to do them for her Mastiff. LOL!

 

[gymnut1]

Not that I want her to win at all meets but she did not have great L4 season. She never cried and handled herself like a champion but I know she was upset.

I thought she had a great level 4 season. She looked so lovely in her videos. What was she upset about?

 

[starmaker]

I thought she had a great level 4 season. She looked so lovely in her videos. What was she upset about?

Gymnut, I thought she looked lovely too! But the judges didn't feel the same way...heehee!

Well at her first meet she fell on beam, added an extra cast on bars, did poorly on floor but did manage a 9 on vault.

Her second meet she forgot her floor routine but improved her beam routine. Bars were still weak.

Her third meet....9 on floor finally!! but weak beam and missed her mill circle on bars.

4th meet....beautiful floor again! Over on her mill circle again. Weak vault and beam!!

5th meet...great beam and vault but weak floor and went over on mill circle AGAIN!

States....nice floor, and vault but weak bars (nailed her mill circle but low score anyway) and fell on beam again.

7th meet....NAILED everything and won 1 st AA with a 36+!!

I guess at the end she pulled it together but in the big picture she did not feel successful. She barely placed on every event. She struggled with vault, jumps on beam and mill circle more than anything.

It's really tough to say what level she should do....it's a hard call....I think having her have another shot will help her confidence in competition. The state of Florida is soooo competitive. It seems like if you don't score into the 37's you will not place. I would hate to see her struggle in L5. I don't know. What do you think?? What would you do?

 

[Mom2Gymgirls]

Hi. With hindsight now, I'm not sure what I would have done. I was kind of in the same boat as you are last year. DD did L4 and turned 7 during the middle of the season. She was moved to L5 but was struggling on bars for the most part. She didn't make kips until September and then it took at least a couple more months for her to make high bar kips. The coaches gave us an opportunity a month before her first meet to go back and compete L4 saying that DD would have a really great year, build confidence and be able to feel really good about herself. Second option was to remain in L5 and not have as great a season and maybe scratch on bars the first couple meets. DD chose to stay in L5, and as the season went on, there were several times that I thought we made the wrong decision and that she would have been better off doing L4 again. However, at the same time, sticking with L5 let her continue to build the strength needed for L5 bars, which she would not have gotten if she had gone back to L4. We went with L5 and there were a couple meets where bars were a disaster for her, but she handled things very well and usually didn't let it get her down.

She will do L5 again this year, and I'm really hoping that bars start to come together for her the second time around. I can say that I noticed that girls who did do 2 years of L4 vs. 1, for the most part, did better at L5 than girls who only did one year. This wasn't true for all, but for the majority, maybe.

It sounds like your dd has what's needed for L5, so I would say if you don't think she would be too upset by not placing, etc. that you might consider going ahead and doing L5 since by doing that she will be gaining experience and building on skills needed for the future. L4 doesn't necessarily give you as much opportunity for that. Hope I'm making sense.

 

[starmaker]

Mom2Gymgirls, Thank you so much for sharing your experience. I have seen several young CB gymnast repeat L4 and do wonderfully. Juju, Pixie, Abby all repeated level 4 and are having wonderful level 4 seasons and I'm pretty sure will go on to have a successful L5 season.

Her HC told me it's not about Liv having her skills (she has all her L5 skills) but it's more about perfecting them. She was also having fear issues on beam that seem to be better due to taking off pressure or determination from being demoted.

They (her coaches) want her competing one level and having all her skills for the next level. They want ALL their gymnast to have skills one level above their competing levels. Our new L5's have giants, flyaways etc. Most of our L4's have kips, cartwheels on beam and vaulting over table. Liv's gym is big on uptraining year round. I don't worry about being ready for L5 by staying in L4. If I had one complaint last season was......when are they going to work level 4!! They barely run routines from beginning to end. They work pieces and skills.

On bars, if she works L4 bars she does it with a kip instead of just a glide. L4's practice look more like L5 and L5 looks more like L6 going on L7. It's crazy but it seems to be working.

 

[mariposa]

I think that the coaches at Liv's gym seem to have a great program and I would trust them. I don't think they are sandbagging with Liv at all. She was just starting to get to really nailing all her routines and I know she will have an amazing level 4 season in the fall. She can then go into Spring as a level 5 and if she doesn't rock it, she has all summer to work on everything and then rock level 5 in fall!

Repeating level 4 for Abby was the very best decision. Her friends struggled a lot in level 5 and she would have as well. She has had some good meets and some really great meets, all while getting to work on the basics that will help her in level 5 and beyond as well as working on those level 5 skills to get them more solid. I am not sure how she will do in level 5, but I think it is good for her to have seen that working hard and working on those little things pay off eventually!

Liv seems to be in a really great gym and it seems to be working for her. I am always amazed by her and know she has such a bright gymnastics future!

 

[UnoMas]

Hmmm. Well, she is so very amazingly talented and so, so very young! I watched a lot of our new L5's struggle this year, especially the young/small ones on vault and bars. All but one of our 1st year L5's are repeating this year. Since she has all her skills though, that's a tough call...but in the end I think you do have to trust the gym. She is so young and as you mentioned she can skip from L5 to L7 so if that is part of the plan then I can almost see competing fall as a 4 (and rocking it!) and then onto 5...and then on to 7 if she so chooses. So young, so much talent, it is just choosing the path for all that potential. Either way she is going to be an awesome gymnast!

Congrats on getting over the vault! It is SO scary to watch at first, huh? She'll be FLYING over it soon!

 

[gymnut1]

Seeing as though Liv uptrains all the time and she is so young another season of level 4 will not be boring for her. She can still go level 5 next spring right? So really just another 6 months of level 4 rather than a year. I see no disadvantages with that. Good for her confidence too.

My dd competed in a competition too hard for her in september. She wanted to do it and we talked about how she would be last probably (she was). We set skill targets (like making her kip) which she mostly made. And we celebrated those. However I realised recently that the experience totally knocked her. I don't think she or I anticipated how she would feel inside. In the gym she loves to have a go at the hard stuff and puts out a 'tough' image. Over the winter she lost many of the skills she competed and alot of her confidence. However confidence is building again and skills are back. Every child and situation is different but Liv has loads of time she doesn't need to rush. If she was a little disappointed with some of her level 4 routines she has plenty of challenges left for another 6 months of level 4. She is a little star. I'm sure her coaches and you and Liv will make a good decision. I love seeing how she is getting on.

 

[starmaker]

I am not sure how she will do in level 5, but I think it is good for her to have seen that working hard and working on those little things pay off eventually!

QUOTE]


That's what I think too. It would be really good for Liv to realize that being tight and the "little" things are important and make the difference. Somewhere down the line Liv just stop going for it. She started playing it safe. And for a while it seemed her skills were going backward. I can tell she was not too happy but would put on a happy face regardless. She still loved the experienced and loved competing! We all know she had all the skills and ability but just couldn't put it all together at one meet.

When she nailed every event at her last meet I was so happy for her. I just really wanted her to experience some success. It's so hard when all your teamates are winning left and right and you are barely getting by. I think experiencing a little more of that would remind her of what she is capable of...I don't know...maybe. Getting her to work to her potential has been a difficult task. Motivating her to give 100% has been tricky.

 

[starmaker]

Hmmm. Well, she is so very amazingly talented and so, so very young! I watched a lot of our new L5's struggle this year, especially the young/small ones on vault and bars. All but one of our 1st year L5's are repeating this year. Since she has all her skills though, that's a tough call...but in the end I think you do have to trust the gym. She is so young and as you mentioned she can skip from L5 to L7 so if that is part of the plan then I can almost see competing fall as a 4 (and rocking it!) and then onto 5...and then on to 7 if she so chooses. So young, so much talent, it is just choosing the path for all that potential. Either way she is going to be an awesome gymnast!

Congrats on getting over the vault! It is SO scary to watch at first, huh? She'll be FLYING over it soon!

I totally trust her coaches and their program. However there are 7 coaches that work with Liv and all have different approaches/ideas. One of coaches is all about getting them to optionals as quickly as possible. Another is about perfecting basics at compulsories and she is very detailed oriented. Yet another believes TOPS is the way to go. Luckily we have an amazing gym owner with a great vision. She balances it all out. She is a BIG fan of Olivia's. She has told me she would love to see Liv repeat L5 than L4. I've also been told to forget about compulsory all together that TOPS is priority. It's a little confusing and they really leave me to push or advocate for Liv one way or the other. I since differed to her Compulsory HC, who seems to believe in taking it slow and steady. She claims Liv should repeat L4. Her husband, Liv's bars coach, thinks Liv will do much better bars at L5 than L4.

I tend to feel repeating L4 will be best for Liv in the long run. It also gives her more time to work TOPS skills and perfect L5 skills. She has plenty of work to do. Boredom should not be an issue!!

 

[UnoMas]

I totally trust her coaches and their program. However there are 7 coaches that work with Liv and all have different approaches/ideas. One of coaches is all about getting them to optionals as quickly as possible. Another is about perfecting basics at compulsories and she is very detailed oriented. Yet another believes TOPS is the way to go. Luckily we have an amazing gym owner with a great vision. She balances it all out. She is a BIG fan of Olivia's. She has told me she would love to see Liv repeat L5 than L4. I've also been told to forget about compulsory all together that TOPS is priority. It's a little confusing and they really leave me to push or advocate for Liv one way or the other. I since differed to her Compulsory HC, who seems to believe in taking it slow and steady. She claims Liv should repeat L4. Her husband, Liv's bars coach, thinks Liv will do much better bars at L5 than L4.

Yikes. How confusing!!!!!!! So, I guess it is picking the right person to trust then! Wow. Well, then going with your gut feeling is probably the right thing. In our gym, the only coach who gets an opinion is HC, so we don't have to try to compare opinions! She will do great in L4 this fall, collect some bling, polish a few things, and then be ready to go on to L5 and hopefully do great there too. Our girls only get to "move" over the summer and we compete fall and spring as the same level...so for us, not moving up is a WHOLE YEAR of the same level. That is so nice that she has the option of just fall as a L4!

 

[Monkeygirlsmom]

sounds like she is doing great! sounds like she has a good coach too
thanks for the update

 

[starmaker]

Yikes. How confusing!!!!!!! So, I guess it is picking the right person to trust then! Wow. Well, then going with your gut feeling is probably the right thing. In our gym, the only coach who gets an opinion is HC, so we don't have to try to compare opinions! She will do great in L4 this fall, collect some bling, polish a few things, and then be ready to go on to L5 and hopefully do great there too. Our girls only get to "move" over the summer and we compete fall and spring as the same level...so for us, not moving up is a WHOLE YEAR of the same level. That is so nice that she has the option of just fall as a L4!

It could be confusing but at the end of the day there is something for everyone. Not all gymnast need to perfect compulsories. Not all gymnast are able to do TOPS. All gymnasts have different goals and objectives. At the end of the day all coaches report to gym owner who takes the time to get to know each team member and meets with parents twice a year to discuss progress plans. They also provide two inhouse mobility meets to give the girls a chance to score out or prove they are ready for the next level. Compulsories true season is in the fall. They allow the gymnast to compete the next level up in the spring (as practice for their true fall season). In May they have an opportunity to score out if they choose it and are ready. The second inhouse is at the end of compulsory season(dec). How you do in that inhouse determines if you are ready to compete one level up in the spring. It seems confusing but it really gives everyone a chance to go at their own pace.

I tell Olivia it's all up to her. If she really wanted to go from L5 to L7 in a year she could. She has the potential. She just needs to put in the hard work. If she wants to take slower than that is fine too. L7 at 8 years old vs. L7 at 9 years old....really anyway you look at it, it's very young!!

Thank you all for all your nice encouragement and words of wisdom. I really appreciate this site and all you guys. My non gym mommy friends think I am crazy when I start going on and on about what to do with Liv's gymnastics. I am glad I have you guys to sort out my own thoughts and bounce ideas around.

I will keep you guys updated on her progress....and soon her first TOPS testing is just 2 months away....