Moving up- several questions for those more experienced than me.

[cbone]

There seems to be a ton of confusion at my daughter's gym (among last year's Level 3 team) about moving up. The gym's policy is that you have to have all of your skills to move up. They did testing last week and the week before, but no official announcements have been made. The Level 4 gymnasts that are repeating already know they're repeating, but the kip test is pretty clear to know if you're going Level 5 or not. Those moving up to Level 4 don't have any such clarity. QUESTION #1- When and how do you usually find out about move-ups at your gym? I want forum input before I waste the coaches' time with questions that might be easily answered here.

I have been told by two different coaches that my little one has all of her skills. I've seen that in practice and agree, but putting them together into a routine is another matter entirely! She knows the routines, but they are rough. She also tends to turn in counter-intuitive directions on skills (if any of you coaches want to explain that here or in a PM, I would appreciate it since I'm ignorant about that), so the co-head coach is re-tooling some of her turns on beam and floor. Despite her struggles, I've been told to expect her to compete Level 4 in fall. We'll see I guess. A few months of training might knock some rust off. QUESTION #2- How long does the process of moving from "having the skills" to "having the routines" take from what you've seen?

Many of her teammates from Level 3 are working in a different group at practice (usually the girls that "have all of their skills" are in one group and the ones that don't are in a different group). At our gym there was a weird dynamic last season. It was the first year that our gym had a Level 3 team. The Level 3 team had one dedicated coach and weren't part of the "big sister-little sister" program. As such, they really thought of themselves as a totally seperate group. Even though they are working in different groups, the old team still congregates together during breaks. QUESTION #3- Do any of you have good advice on how to prime my daughter for not having some of those teammates with her next season? I know that moving at a different pace is normal in the sport, but it's not normal for my little one and her team who really grew with one another's support last season.

While speaking with one of the gym moms I really like last night, she indicated that her daughter doesn't have her RO-BHS yet. This may necessitate her daughter competing Level 3 again in the fall while uptraining Level 4 anticipating the move up in spring. She indicated that her daughter has made up her mind that she is NOT going to compete Level 3 again this fall. I think this mentality comes from wanting to keep the old team together since they are so close. QUESTION #4- If a gymnast had a hugely successful season at a previous level (her daughter won AA every time but one last season, taking second at that meet), are there any anticipated negative effects to skipping competing in the fall season with the expectation of a move-up in the spring? This one is just idle curiousity for me, but I figured some of you may have seen this before.

Thanks in advance for the clarity.

 

[GymGirl's Mom]

1. When is the 1st meet? At DD's gym some move up decisions are made as little as a month before the 1st meet.
2. How long has she been training routines? I have seen kids learn routines in a week. If she has a month or more until her first meet I would just trust she'll get it.
3. At the end of each season I prep DD by telling her groups change all the time and her group may be different (heck, will always be different) one year to the next. Believe it or not, the kids know it, and "get it" and it really doesn't take a lot of explaining. Kind of like at school- your best friend was in your class in 1st grade, now in 2nd she has a different teacher.
4. I see NO REASON (now, mind you I am not a coach) for a kid to repeat Level 3... ever! As far as moving up in the spring vs fall- it happens all the time. Some kids compete L5 in the fall and L6 in the spring. I don't think training but not competing l4 until she has her ROBHS is going to negatively affect this child in any way. Again, my humble opinion, and I am not a coach.

 

[gymnastbeth]

For the group change, tell your DD that groups will change, that's just a part of gymnastics. She can still see her old friends, just not during practice time. She has the opportunity to make new friends if she's in a new group. Remind her that she goes to gymnastics to get better, not to socialize. It may be a bit of a shock at first, but she'll adjust in no time.

From my original level 4 team, only one other girl besides me still even does gymnastics. I'm still friends with teammates that quit, we just aren't teammates anymore.

At my gym we get told move ups at the end of practice, individually with the coach at the end of summer. Generally we have a good idea before then what level we will be because of what training group we are in, and what skills we have.

Just sit back and be patient for the coaches desision on move ups. Don't stress!

 

[cbone]

1. When is the 1st meet? At DD's gym some move up decisions are made as little as a month before the 1st meet.
2. How long has she been training routines? I have seen kids learn routines in a week. If she has a month or more until her first meet I would just trust she'll get it.
3. At the end of each season I prep DD by telling her groups change all the time and her group may be different (heck, will always be different) one year to the next. Believe it or not, the kids know it, and "get it" and it really doesn't take a lot of explaining. Kind of like at school- your best friend was in your class in 1st grade, now in 2nd she has a different teacher.
4. I see NO REASON (now, mind you I am not a coach) for a kid to repeat Level 3... ever! As far as moving up in the spring vs fall- it happens all the time. Some kids compete L5 in the fall and L6 in the spring. I don't think training but not competing l4 until she has her ROBHS is going to negatively affect this child in any way. Again, my humble opinion, and I am not a coach.

1. First meet is September.

2. Training routines (skill by skill) has been less than two months, though they've only been putting the pieces together for a couple of weeks. Watching YouTube and Level 4s at gym has been six months, so she "knows" the routines but is just doing them now.

3. Thanks!

4. I feel the same way.

 

[SuperGirlmlm]

1. Two months before the first meet.
2. As you know, every gymnast is different, but I can get my routines down within three days.
3. There's different girls on my team every year.
4. I think that whatever you do, I think she should compete in some way, because it will help her when she gets to higher levels when pressure is high.

 

[Natasha]

#1) At our gym all the girls train whatever skills they are ready to train over the summer- usually one to two levels up. The training groups are usually set at the beginning of the summer, and only a few changes are made in the fall if needed. What level the girls compete can be decided as little as one month before the first meet, as usually that is when you have to register for the meet. Our gym likes to give the girls every last chance to show that they can compete the next level. The training groups often have more than one level in their group (i.e. we have a couple of groups with girls training L5/6 as some are expected to probably repeat 5 where others will get the skills for 6)
#2 If the girls have all their skills, the routines will come. Polishing of the routines usually may happen as the season progresses. It is very common for us to see our girls floor scores increase as the season goes on as the girls polish up the routines, especially the dance. Sometimes, however, little ones do have a really hard time learning the routines. We do have a couple of just turned 6 year olds who will probably do Bronze this year instead of L4 (even though they have the skills) just because their time will be more well spent continuing to work on skills rather than spending all their practices learning and memorizing routines.
#3 Young children make new friends very quickly. She will soon find that she is close to her new group as well. (My dd had a new training group every year in compulsories and at L4 usually competed with girls that were not in her training group.)
#4 depends on the child and the family. If she is the only one not competing, that can be hard when all the teammates are preparing for competition and going to comps together, coming back with medals, shirts, etc. OTH she will have the fun of getting to work skills while everyone else is doing routine after routine after routine.... It also depends on gym policy. Some gyms expect girls to compete and be part of the team.