Parents Need to vent a little

[Deleted member 26368]

And man, if I was one of those parents of the girls fooling around? We would be having a come to Jesus moment....because this sport is expensive enough as it is, and I am not paying this exorbitant monthly fee for social hour. Yes, it's supposed to be fun. But there is a difference between fun and disobedience and disrespect.

Yep, this was me and DD at the end of the season last year, LOL

 

[LJL07]

Answer: Not many.
There are always the few that pull this off. But for most, the injuries pile on, social life becomes more important, they are sick of hurting all the time, etc. My kid, if she stays with the sport through high school graduation, will be a level ten for five years, and that is more than enough for her...we take it day by day, month by month, etc-you get where I am going with this....we have no idea if she will make it to the end. People seem to think that once you make level 10, you are golden. Not so. She hurts every day, and always has nagging pains. That is a lot to take, even when you are passionate about a sport. And when it starts compromising how you perform, it can be a problem. So far she has managed to hang in there. But if the day comes when she wants to walk away, I will have no regrets for her. I am so proud of her and what this sport has taught her, and the person she has become....it has given her so much, and it has also taught me a lot as a parent.

Right there with you. It has been a rough year for my daughter. Also training for 10 but she’s just been plagued with injuries all season. She’s only in eighth grade, so imagining another four years of this seems hard! All of the girls are hurting at this level. It’s hard!

 

[PeanutsMom]

Answer: Not many.
There are always the few that pull this off. But for most, the injuries pile on, social life becomes more important, they are sick of hurting all the time, etc. My kid, if she stays with the sport through high school graduation, will be a level ten for five years, and that is more than enough for her...we take it day by day, month by month, etc-you get where I am going with this....we have no idea if she will make it to the end. People seem to think that once you make level 10, you are golden. Not so. She hurts every day, and always has nagging pains. That is a lot to take, even when you are passionate about a sport. And when it starts compromising how you perform, it can be a problem. So far she has managed to hang in there. But if the day comes when she wants to walk away, I will have no regrets for her. I am so proud of her and what this sport has taught her, and the person she has become....it has given her so much, and it has also taught me a lot as a parent.

@duyetanh I am right there with you. This has always been my daughter's journey, not mine. If she quits this year as a level 7/8 I am still super proud of all she has accomplished. She has carried school, good grades, a social life, and the equivalent of a part time job since she was in 2nd grade. If she decides she is done, we will support her in the next thing she does. Thankfully she doesn't hurt all the time (at this point) and she still loves learning new skills (I think that more than anything is what keeps her in the sport). She likes placing and being on the podium, but she really thrives on conquering the next skill. If she moves up a year each year (which I know is more difficult the higher they go) she will make level 10 by 9th grade. I am okay with that. We have never bet on a college scholarship to get her to college, so it isn't factored in for us at all.

 

[MuggleMom]

Thats the one thing that breaks my heart with the sport I was talking with my DD the other day and was like you sure you want to still be doing this (I try and ask at the begining of every summer) and she was like ya I love it I just wish I didn't hurt everyday...and she is only training level 8 with many years ahead of her. You start to think maybe they will hurt less after the growing is done but I don't think thats really the case.

 

[mom2newgymnast]

Thats the one thing that breaks my heart with the sport I was talking with my DD the other day and was like you sure you want to still be doing this (I try and ask at the begining of every summer) and she was like ya I love it I just wish I didn't hurt everyday...and she is only training level 8 with many years ahead of her. You start to think maybe they will hurt less after the growing is done but I don't think thats really the case.

I ask my daughter that all the time. I really love gymnastics and I worry that it sounds like I'm trying to talk her into quitting, but really I just want to make sure that she wants to be there. So far she has always said yes. But I have to say that she has really been lucky and doesn't deal with a ton of pain and has never said that she hurts all the time. That has to be so much harder.

 

[GYM0M]

@PeanutsMom Does the HC divide his/her time more evenly? Is the coach new to the gym as well?

 

[PeanutsMom]

@PeanutsMom Does the HC divide his/her time more evenly? Is the coach new to the gym as well?

No. Head coach has a group of 8-10s he works with most and then also does the extra practices (invite only). The lower groups (6/7s working higher levels) is rarely interacted with. Other coach is not new per se, having been there a couple years already, but the role has definitely changed.

 

[GYM0M]

@PeanutsMom Ok, well, I’ll play devil’s advocate a little. What’s happening to your dd is not fair and really stinks; however, I’d be willing to bet it’s more about the coach’s ambitions as opposed to favoritism. Starting a TOPS program in a smallish town is hard, sustaining that program is even harder. Takes a ton of work and even more time. In reality, these new hotshots are a little old to be ‘starting’ the program; however, if your coach wants to train elite level gymnastics, TOPS is a fantastic place to start getting the training for themselves. He/She is probably excited and eager to start the next chapter of their career. Let the newness wear off a bit more. Hopefully your coach will find the necessary balance for both paths.

 

[PeanutsMom]

@PeanutsMom Ok, well, I’ll play devil’s advocate a little. What’s happening to your dd is not fair and really stinks; however, I’d be willing to bet it’s more about the coach’s ambitions as opposed to favoritism. Starting a TOPS program in a smallish town is hard, sustaining that program is even harder. Takes a ton of work and even more time. In reality, these new hotshots are a little old to be ‘starting’ the program; however, if your coach wants to train elite level gymnastics, TOPS is a fantastic place to start getting the training for themselves. He/She is probably excited and eager to start the next chapter of their career. Let the newness wear off a bit more. Hopefully your coach will find the necessary balance for both paths.

You are probably correct. The past couple of years we have had several girls go on to college gym programs and the push to become a gym that gets girls recruited is definitely there. No trophies ever used to be displayed in our gym, now we have a banner announcing a National champ and college flags of where all the former gymnasts have gone. It is definitely now visible and seems to be more the trajectory the gym is taking.