Parents looking for advice for new gymnast

[TumbleTimes4]

I'm new to this forum and curious if anyone else has experienced this with their gymnast and how they handled it.

My daughter has been training JO level 3 with plans to compete in the spring. Her coach recently approached us to tell us that she is missing two major skills on bars (front hip circle and stride circle) and she recommended that my daughter move to xcel bronze so that she can still compete with feeling pressure to get the needed skills and not risk having to scratch. Her coach feels that a growth spurt has possibly hindered her progression. Her legs and arms have gotten longer with her torso staying the same size.

My daughter is very upset about this, and even though I think it would be a good move for her (especially since we have already starting paying assessments and for the Leo), as of now she wants to continue training JO.

She does not handle change very well, but I fear she is feeling very frustrated because she has worked so hard but is still not getting the skills and possibly is feeling rejected and not good enough.

Has anyone dealt with this and can share some advice? Do we make her switch or hold out to see if she gets the skills?

 

[CuriousCate]

How old is she? What was her experience with gymnastics prior to this season on lvl 3?

 

[TumbleTimes4]

How old is she? What was her experience with gymnastics prior to this season on lvl 3?

She is 7 years old. She started gymnastics at age four and she spent a year on preteam at age 6.

 

[amiandjim]

I think the biggest issue in making your decision will be how your particular gym views Xcel vs. JO. Do Xcel girls do fewer hours? Can you move back to JO from Xcel (some gyms allow this, some do not). If you DD can compete Xcel for the experience, while still training for JO level 3, I don't see a problem with having her do so, but if changing to Xcel now will drastically alter her hours or her ability to move back to JO, then I might hesitate. Last year, my 6 year-old DD competed level 2, and it seemed like she would NEVER get her mill circle, but she did and was scoring in the 9s on bars by state, so you just never know.

 

[cadybearsmommy]

We were in this exact same boat. DD was originally training level 3 at our old gym. She was struggling so we actually made the decision as parents to move her to Xcel bronze to take the pressure off. She wasn't happy about it at first but there were also some issues with some teammates on L3 that were exhibiting bully type behaviors so it got her away from those girls. She did decent in bronze, not great. We realized right away that her gym had not been focusing on form the way some of the gyms that we competed against did. So it was really no wonder she couldn't pick up the more difficult skills, she didn't even have the form down on the basics. We switched gyms that summer and she repeated Xcel bronze (with slightly more difficult routines) and her scores went up by over 3 points all around. It was the best decision we could have made for her. She then moved to XS last year and was very successful and this summer she had a skills explosion and will be competing L6. She was a bit of a late bloomer in gymnastics, it took some time for her skills to really click and take off but what's important is that while she took a different path, she ended up at the same place.

How far away is the first competition? I can understand the concerns if there is only a month or two left for her to get these skills. Would they consider letting her scratch bars until she has the two major skills?

I would ask some questions about how Xcel works in your gym. How many hours will she train? Will she have the opportunity to move back over to JO later on if she wants? (at some gyms once you are Xcel you have to stay Xcel, other gyms are more accommodating.)

A year at bronze could very well be better for her than struggling through a year of L3. The first year of competing is nerve wracking as it is and even gymmies that have all of their skills have trouble overcoming the nerves sometimes. I wouldn't want her to be under any more pressure than she had to be. Scratching bars for a while could also take the pressure off but then she wouldn't be able to compete for all around. Talk it over with the coaches, find out what their long term plans are for her. Best of luck with your decision!

 

[TumbleTimes4]

Thank you guys for your help.

Just to answer some of the questions, we are very pleased with her gym and with her coach. And her training seems very solid. I have absolutely no concerns about that.

Right now she is currently training 10 hours a week. Her excel training would drop her down to six hours a week, but we have the option of doing an additional 3 hours with her current JO team on Saturdays to give her extra time to work skills. When I asked about moving back to JO after a year of bronze, her coach is open to it, but it would be based on her progression and what they feel would be the best path for her at that time. Her first meet is in January.

 

[mommyof1]

She still has nearly three months to get the skills. Why not let her keep training L3 until January and then have her switch to Xcel if the coaches still feel she isn't ready?

 

[CuriousCate]

Our gym does bronze and silver instead of lvl 2 and lvl3 and then you move to JO level 4 or you progress to the higher xcel levels if you don't make lvl 4 or don't want the commitment. They do this because our state does not offer many level 2/3 within a 2 hours radius.

Anyway,my DD is 6 and will turn 7 mid-way through the silver/lvl3 season and is the youngest kid on her team and was the youngest at every meet she competed last season. All of her teammates have been 7 at least since summer and ages go up to 9. What I'm wondering is why they won't just let her continue to train lvl 3 and just compete bronze with her lvl 3 routines (missing whichever elements she might be missing). It might mean she has to repeat lvl 3, but so what? She's young enough for that. Seems strange to make a judgement on a 7 year old when that is well within the younger half of most lvl 3 gymnasts rather than letting her stick it out (that I know, at least!).

 

[cadybearsmommy]

Thank you guys for your help.

Just to answer some of the questions, we are very pleased with her gym and with her coach. And her training seems very solid. I have absolutely no concerns about that.

Right now she is currently training 10 hours a week. Her excel training would drop her down to six hours a week, but we have the option of doing an additional 3 hours with her current JO team on Saturdays to give her extra time to work skills. When I asked about moving back to JO after a year of bronze, her coach is open to it, but it would be based on her progression and what they feel would be the best path for her at that time. Her first meet is in January.

It sounds like a reasonable plan. Especially since they will let her continue to train with L3 on Saturdays. I can understand why they want to get her to bronze asap if she is going to compete bronze to learn the routines, get to know her new teammates etc. Some of the L3 routines like the floor wouldn't work for bronze simply b/c of the shorter time limits. Would they consider maybe giving her another month in L3 and then switching to bronze if nothing has changed? That would give her a bit more time and also should give her sufficient time to learn the bronze routines.

Also keep in mind that L3 is not a required level, so if your dd did a year or two of Xcel, and did really well she could very well enter back into the JO program at L4. So many of the L3 bars skills they never use again anyway. My dd who will be competing L6 still cannot successfully complete a stride circle, but she can do an entire L6 bar routines with kips, clear hips, etc. Go figure! LOL!

 

[IreneKa]

I would keep her in JO. Those skills take longer to get for some kids, but they do click eventually. Even if she has to miss first couple of meets, or scratch bars. I'm sure by states she will be just fine.
We went through this with my DD. She was missing those two skills too, and was put into L2 instead of 3. She got them in the next 3 months or so, and they finally let her move up to 3 mid-season. I'm sure she would have been just fine if she stared in L3 from the beginning.
I have nothing against Xcel, it's a great program, but you don't want a 7 year old who is willing to work hard and learn to be marked as "Xcel material".

 

[gymmomtotwo]

I agree with keeping a 7 year old in JO if you can. You dont say how she is doing in progressing on other events, but I assume she is progressing normally. The mill circle is a go nowhere skill, and I have yet to see a front hip circle in competition above level 3. My DD progressed to level 4 without ever learning either of these skills (didn't do level 3). I have seen so many kids get skills at the last minute before the season begins. If they will allow you to let her continue with the JO practices, that is what I would do. Sounds to me like moving would be harder on her confidence than staying and working to get the skills

 

[duyetanh]

She still has nearly three months to get the skills. Why not let her keep training L3 until January and then have her switch to Xcel if the coaches still feel she isn't ready?

This

 

[e'smum]

my dd, whose 1st year in gymnastics was a lvl 3 non-compete, was allowed to compete the last 2 meets so she could go to states. she did not have her mill circle yet (i'm guess that's the same as the stride circle). she did get it and had a fantastic year the following year as a "real" level 3 gymnast. lol. she was 6/7 the first year and 7/8 the 2nd. they did not scratch her. her coach helped her with the mill circle and she took the deduction. big deal. it's level 3. there were girls that competed w/o a ROBHS. i'm sure they eventually got it by states but it's level 3. it's like kindergarten, IMO. just let them compete. they don't have to be perfect.

 

[e'smum]

It sounds like a reasonable plan. Especially since they will let her continue to train with L3 on Saturdays. I can understand why they want to get her to bronze asap if she is going to compete bronze to learn the routines, get to know her new teammates etc. Some of the L3 routines like the floor wouldn't work for bronze simply b/c of the shorter time limits. Would they consider maybe giving her another month in L3 and then switching to bronze if nothing has changed? That would give her a bit more time and also should give her sufficient time to learn the bronze routines.

Also keep in mind that L3 is not a required level, so if your dd did a year or two of Xcel, and did really well she could very well enter back into the JO program at L4. So many of the L3 bars skills they never use again anyway. My dd who will be competing L6 still cannot successfully complete a stride circle, but she can do an entire L6 bar routines with kips, clear hips, etc. Go figure! LOL!

what i find hysterical is to see level 4 on up try to do the shoot thru and mill circle once they've moved on. most can't and they fall. just like they did trying to learn it.

 

[2gymkids]

what i find hysterical is to see level 4 on up try to do the shoot thru and mill circle once they've moved on. most can't and they fall. just like they did trying to learn it.

Yes!! My DD has been training L4 all summer but there was some question as to if she would move up based on the consistency (or lake thereof) of her kip. She was all worked up- she kept saying "My level 3 bars is just as bad as level 4!! I can't do the shoot through or mill circle anymore at all!!" I think that might have been the deciding factor in letting her move up, lol. Her other events are fine and bars might just stink no matter which level she does.

To the OP- my DD hit her level 3 bars routine all the way through exactly twice in meets- her second meet ever and then states (and by hit- I mean she didn't fall off during any major skill- it certainly wasn't beautiful). She did fine on her other L3 events and even managed to place in the AA a few times and is now getting ready to compete L4. I would just make sure the gym offers flexibility between the two teams if she moves to Excel now.

 

[JoyAvenueMom]

It is difficult to offer advice without knowing how your gym views XCEL. You said: "When I asked about moving back to JO after a year of bronze, her coach is open to it, but it would be based on her progression and what they feel would be the best path for her at that time." I agree with others that 7 years old is way too young to "tagged" as XCEL material. If the plan is to spend a year at bronze while perfecting skills for JO3, then I think it is a great plan. She is young, and 8yo at L3 is pretty standard. However, the coach's comment about evaluating where she is in a year makes me think they have doubts regarding her ability to make the L3 team next year. Again, it is really hard to know without understanding the culture of your gym. Just curious, does your gym have a young optional team? (9yo - 11yo at L7), or is the age range a little older?

 

[TumbleTimes4]

Thank you to every who commented or posted. You had great suggestions. I had a long talk with her coaches and their gym policy states that a gymnast must have all level 3 required skills to compete or they will be scratched from the meet. They don't spot at the meet or allow them to scratch one event.

We have already paid money for the Leo and for assessments and didn't want to waste that money if she didn't get her skills. We made the decision to bump her down to bronze to garauntee that she will compete. She will continue to work on her level 3 bar skills and if she gets them before competition, she can move back up and compete level 3.

My daughter has been happy with the move. I think that with her being as young as she is coupled with her nerves about competing for the first time, she was relieved to have a slight reduction in training hours and to have the pressure removed of getting a skill. Her happiness in the gym is the top priority and so I think this was the right move for us. We will re-evaluate again in the summer after having her first competition season under her belt and she if she is even interested in pursuing JO again or if she is happy to stay in Xcel.

 

[cadybearsmommy]

Best of luck to her this season!