Parents Not Concerned Enough?

[billise]

DD (age 6) was recently moved up to lvl 3 team (lvl 3 is the first level our gym competes) With our first competition a few weeks away many of the parents I have spoken with seem very concerned about skills that their DD's don't yet have. Many are talking about privates to help ensure their DD's get the needed skills prior to the first meet. My DD still needs her FHC and her ROBHS. She's close on the FHC but I think it will take a miracle for her to get her ROBHS. Anyway, my take is... "She'll get the skills when she gets them, no big deal." Do you all think I am being to nonchalant? Should I be a little more proactive in "helping" DD get the missing skills?

 

[OzZee]

I don't know as it seems so different in the US than here.
Here you don't compete without all the skills. You don't go into a level unless you are close to having them. So I'd feel differently if my dd was about to compete with missing skills.
But it seems kids in the US, at least in the lower levels often don't have all the skills or don't have them cleanly so I guess I wouldn't worry as she wouldn't be the only one out there without.

 

[billise]

DD's coaches say during the competition they just skip the skill(s) they don't have (of course there's a deduction) but they just keep going. With the FHC she can attempt it and if she falls just get back up and keep going. Thank goodness she can't attempt the ROBHS until it's solid in practice. The coaches say that, with their normal practice, it is really rare for a girl to not have the missing skill(s) by the 2nd or third meet.

 

[OzZee]

Well if that's how it works then I say leave the stressing to the other parents and just let her get the skills when she is ready.
Sounds like there will be loads of others taking the deductions at the first competitions so she won't be coming last on everything.

 

[Aussie_coach]

You are right not to stress. The kids do pick up on the the stress their parents feel and they feel it as added pressure. Added pressure to do skills that they are not ready for is when injuries happen.

She will get the skills when she is ready and that's all there is to it.

As Ozzee says though, I find the policy very strange to compete a level when they have not even got all the skills. In Australia you would not just be expected to have all the skills before moving up to a new level but you should have mastered them to a very high standard.

 

[profmom]

If you can maintain your current attitude throughout your DD's gymnastics career, you and your DD will have a much happier life in this crazy sport! If you could ever bottle it and sell it, you'd even be able to pay all the gym bills and meet fees without the slightest wince, from now through L10. You're doing it right!

 

[Clover]

Yes, I agree with profmom. Also, it tends to be the first year or two of competition that (in my experience) the parents are the most into the details of what is happening. After that they tend to learn to relax and trust the coach and the process more.

 

[lhmom]

DD (age 6) was recently moved up to lvl 3 team (lvl 3 is the first level our gym competes) With our first competition a few weeks away many of the parents I have spoken with seem very concerned about skills that their DD's don't yet have. Many are talking about privates to help ensure their DD's get the needed skills prior to the first meet. My DD still needs her FHC and her ROBHS. She's close on the FHC but I think it will take a miracle for her to get her ROBHS. Anyway, my take is... "She'll get the skills when she gets them, no big deal." Do you all think I am being to nonchalant? Should I be a little more proactive in "helping" DD get the missing skills?

Nope, you are just fine. DD was in the same position as your DD a few years ago. She competed the old level 4 at age 6 and when the season began, she was still struggling with some skills. I asked one of her coaches during the summer if she needed privates and he told me "no, she will get it soon enough". I backed off and sure enough, she did. Her back handspring she got before the very first meet. She struggled with her FHC for the 1st few meets, but then got it. It all worked out just like her coach said. Good luck to your girl this season!

 

[iwannacoach]

It has to be done in a normal practice setting. My take is that some kids can benifit, temporary or better, but at the end of the day they are the same kid and will struggle to keep what they "got" during prvates. Why? Because they have to maintain the skill at normal practice sessions.

What is more useful is to promote an atmosphere that supports your child's enthusiasm and keeps her wanting more and determined to do her best. If you can get that in a private, which can happen to some degree, then I'm all for it, but many of the privates I've watched are more like turning up the pressure on a kid to perform instead of turning up the childs enthusiasm, optimism, and energy level.

Privates can work, but they can also be an extra source of frustration for the child and parent.

 

[gymmomtotwo]

In our gym if you don't all the skills yet, you don't compete. They have to be done well, too. I sort of wish they would be a little more lenient, but I get where they are coming from. I watched a level 5 session where this little girl could do very little of the bar routine. I felt really bad for her her when she got her score. She was so sad, and all the adults in her life had to have known what would happen. She just wasn't ready to compete at that level. This sounds so mean, but the fhc and robhs are fundamental level 3 skills. If multiple kids don't have them, why are they competing? You have to have a skill pretty well before you can put it in a routine. If she's in good company and is prepared for low scores, then I don't see any harm, but I have seen some pretty sad kids who weren't ready. Of course, my 7 year old has yet to do a meet, has all her new level 4 skills, but remains on preteam until her skills are perfected, and that has its downside too. It' s hard to keep working at something you never get to show off. Anyway, I wouldn't do extra lessons. She'll get it when she gets it.

 

[Krystan]

Every gym is different in this regard. Our gym wouldn't be competing kids without skills, except maybe in level 3 (it's our first level too). But really - if the coaches aren't concerned, and your dd isn't concerned, then you shouldn't be. My dd would be a mess and refuse to compete if she didn't have all her skills 100%, but that's the way she is. If your dd is worried, then address it. If she's fine with it, let it go. The other moms are just going to be like that. They'll chill out eventually, or their kids will get sick of the pressure from them and quit. I think you have the right attitude!

 

[Natasha]

If you can maintain your current attitude throughout your DD's gymnastics career, you and your DD will have a much happier life in this crazy sport! If you could ever bottle it and sell it, you'd even be able to pay all the gym bills and meet fees without the slightest wince, from now through L10. You're doing it right!

Love this!! To the OP, you've figured "it" out quicker than most gym moms. Sit back and enjoy the ride of this crazy, wonderful sport!

 

[billise]

So just wondering, why the different philosophies? Why to some gyms say no competition until you have all the skills while others seem to think its no big deal? What are the advantages of each philosophy? DD's gym doesn't even start teaching FHC or ROBHS until you are moved up to lvl 3. They seem to move girls up (at least the ones who have been around for a while) based on the coaches opinion of the child's potential to get the skills as opposed to wether or not the child already has the skill

 

[Seeker]

Of course, my 7 year old has yet to do a meet, has all her new level 4 skills, but remains on preteam until her skills are perfected,...

This seems rather extreme...still on pre-team but has all of the skills to compete new L4? How much longer do they plan to keep her on pre-team??

 

[lhmom]

So just wondering, why the different philosophies? Why to some gyms say no competition until you have all the skills while others seem to think its no big deal? What are the advantages of each philosophy? DD's gym doesn't even start teaching FHC or ROBHS until you are moved up to lvl 3. They seem to move girls up (at least the ones who have been around for a while) based on the coaches opinion of the child's potential to get the skills as opposed to wether or not the child already has the skill

My guess at least where our gym is concerned, they see level 4 (now 3) as a practice level of sorts. They usually have the younger ones repeat 4, so the first year is just getting used to competing. They felt that DD was close enough to getting all the skills so they weren't stressed about it. Not to say that they did not work on correct form and clean skills during that time, but they seemed to treat the 1st yr of competing as a learning year. I know that worked fine for DD. Different gyms, different philosophies.

 

[gymmomtotwo]

This seems rather extreme...still on pre-team but has all of the skills to compete new L4? How much longer do they plan to keep her on pre-team??

Plan is to hopefully do some meets in the spring. You had to have all your skills by june 1 to compete this fall. Meets start in early September and the summer for the team has been about learning routines and getting ready for competition. Dd just recently got a kip (not perfected) and can do a squat on, both which have come this summer. But to put them in a routine together? She's not there yet. She is not ready to put everything together. I am hoping she gets to in the spring. No hurry, she just turned 7 two weeks ago.

 

[IreneKa]

We were told DD won't be competing L3 until she gets all the skills. Our gym starts competing L2 (old 3), so she will be competing L2 until she gets all L3 skills, then switch to L3. I was disappointed at first, but the more I think about it, the more I think it's a good idea. I know she would be very upset and discouraged if she did poorly at the meet. And she would do poorly, because a lot of gyms are like that, not allowing to compete until everything is perfect. So, competing L2 for now is her chance to shine, get good results, and boost her confidence.
To OP, I would say you know your child best. If you don't think she will be terribly upset by getting low scores, then no reason for you to worry. Otherwise, I would be concern about competing without all the skills.

 

[billise]

DD seems to be the perfect combination of intense and easy going (there's something about that 3rd kid ) She won't like scoring low but she won't melt down about it, she'll just push harder. Always chasing her older siblings (who don't go easy on her because she's young) has made her realize that tears and devastation won't help her achieve higher scores. She knows the only thing that will is hard work

 

[Deleted member D3987]

DD (age 6) was recently moved up to lvl 3 team (lvl 3 is the first level our gym competes) With our first competition a few weeks away many of the parents I have spoken with seem very concerned about skills that their DD's don't yet have. Many are talking about privates to help ensure their DD's get the needed skills prior to the first meet. My DD still needs her FHC and her ROBHS. She's close on the FHC but I think it will take a miracle for her to get her ROBHS. Anyway, my take is... "She'll get the skills when she gets them, no big deal." Do you all think I am being to nonchalant? Should I be a little more proactive in "helping" DD get the missing skills?

your thoughts are good.

 

[billise]

Thanks for chiming in Dunno. I value all the input I get here on CB but the experience and knowledge you provide have really come to mean a lot to me. I try to live my life constantly asking myself "what would Jesus do?" But in this crazy world of gymnastics I often find myself following that question up with "what would Dunno say/do"