Parents New to gymnastics

[CanGymMomma]

I am a new mom to gymnastics and I just need a little bit of advice. I swam competitively all my life so gymnastics seems like a foreign language to me. My daughter, who just turned 6, has been in a pre comp program for about 1 year. She got moved into the group half way through last year. She LOVED the group last year as it was challenging and older group. They worked on kips, walkover on the beam, and that’s all the skills I know the name of. The rest of the group aged out and was moved into level 2-3. This year it’s a whole new group of girls that don’t seem to be at the same level. They are back work working on cartwheels, pullovers, and so on. Often times my girl is off to the side working on her skills while the rest of the group works on another. The drills and progressions are no longer being worked on and she’s often left to herself to continuously work on the same skill over and over again. I’m watching her regress and get really frustrated. I’m not sure what to do. We switched to this gym because it had wonderful coaching and a great atmosphere. As I have said I’m not a gymnasts so I have no clue if this is normal or what steps I should take if it’s not. It’s hard watching your child explode with enthusiasm, new skills, and having fun to being alone in a corner, regression, and frustration. Help!

 

[Dahlialover]

I’d talk with the coach about your concerns and ask if there is a plan to move her up at some point? If that conversation is unsatisfactory, you could check out other gyms.

 

[GymDadWA]

6 is not too young to compete, you could ask if there is room on team for her, but it is right before the season starts and she wouldn't know the routines so most likely they would say no.

You said she joined this group mid way through the year, so presumably at the same point this next year they will be back to that type of training.

 

[Pineapple_Lump]

Throwing out another possible scenario. You switched to this gym because of the coaching. Chances are those coaches have high standards and they placed your child in with more advanced and technically proficient gymnasts because they saw her potential.

They likely want to see your child improve on the quality of her skills before doing more higher level skills and joining with this new group is a way to re-focus on some of the finer details/ technical proficiency. It is also highly likely your child doesn't understand this and the way she feels is normal and to be expected from many young children in this situation - not always easy to manage but communication is key in this situation. You should be having a discussion with the coach and letting them know how your child is feeling and finding out their plan so you can relay that to your daughter in a way she will understand.

 

[CanGymMomma]

Throwing out another possible scenario. You switched to this gym because of the coaching. Chances are those coaches have high standards and they placed your child in with more advanced and technically proficient gymnasts because they saw her potential.

They likely want to see your child improve on the quality of her skills before doing more higher level skills and joining with this new group is a way to re-focus on some of the finer details/ technical proficiency. It is also highly likely your child doesn't understand this and the way she feels is normal and to be expected from many young children in this situation - not always easy to manage but communication is key in this situation. You should be having a discussion with the coach and letting them know how your child is feeling and finding out their plan so you can relay that to your daughter in a way she will understand.

How do I have that convo without coming across as a “crazy parent”?

I 100% can see what you’re saying. The only issue I’m having is she’s being left alone a lot. And I think that’s the most frustrating part. Is there a way to address that without faulting the coach? Or just leave it and hope it all clears up?