Please help! I don't know what is best!

[NGL780309]

DD is 5, turning 6 in December and is training Level 4. She didn't compete this fall because of age, but will do 2 meets in January. The plan after that was to have her move to level 5. I'm really questioning that decision. She can do all of her level 4 skills and has a few level 5 skills. I know bars is usually the hardest for L5 and that's probably her strongest event. I really don't know what is best. Is there a best?

I'm leaning strongly toward having her stay Level 4. I don't want to go through another meet season where she can't compete with everyone else. The problem is, that is just me speaking. She doesn't care and actually prefers it. It's her sport, not mine. I did ask her and her reponse was she wanted to stay with her friends. The main advantage to her staying would be getting to compete. Somedays I feel very strongly that staying Level 4 is best.

Other days I feel strongly that Level 5 is better. Level 4 isn't required. It would be better for her to spend 2 years in Level 5 than level 4. She would get to stay with her same group. The work-out schedule is so much better for me. It would only be two days during the week and then a Friday night and Saturday morning. I would really prefer that.

I really don't know what to do. Sometimes we ask people their opinion already knowing what we are going to do. In this case I really don't know.

Her coaches say she could go either way. Her dad, who is a coach, says no way should she do Level 4 again it's a complete waste of time.

Her gym typically doesn't have girls repeat unless they did really poorly at Level 4. A few repeated last year and are doing well at competition this year compared to the first year girls.

If I did decide to let her do Level 5, she could compete in a few meets next January after she turns 7.

Please give me your honest opinion. I just want to do what's best for her and I really don't know.

Coaches out there, is doing 2 years of Level 4 really a waste of time?

 

[cftmoonlight]

I don't think she can compete level 5 until she is 7, so I would keep her level 4 to compete because learning to compete is a skill in itself. Two years of level 4 isn't a waste of time, it just depends on the gymnast.

 

[Ingwe]

Why not have her compete level 4 this season (Jan) then once the season ends, then move her to Level 5. She could train L5 (just the same way she is training L4 now, while waiting to be age eligible) and then compete L5 once she turns 7.

Like the other poster said, getting competition experience will only help her in the long run.

 

[Azgymmiemom]

I see your dilemma...

this is my experience, although my dd is 7 already, so the age thing doesn't catch her. My dd just moved to team before summer. She spent april, may, and all summer training level 4 and had her first comp. last sat. now, she is in no way ready to compete level 5 yet, but she has a lot of the skills already and she is also getting bored with the level 4 routines. I think she loves to compete, though, and needs to compete the routines she knows solidly. However, there's no way she'd want to do a whole extra year of level 4...she'd probably quit from boredom.

so, all that to say...let your dd do this season as a level 4, compete the routines in jan and see how she does. If it flops, she can stay a level 4 and polish and gain confidence. If she is a competent level 4 in scores, let them move her up to 5. Otherwise, she will just be completely bored doing summer and another season at level 4. just my humble opinion.
besides, if this is what her coaches think, I'd tend to follow their advice.

good luck to her!!

 

[twisting007bigflip]

"Coaches out there, is doing 2 years of Level 4 really a waste of time?"

Absolutely not. Another year at level 4 would give her another entire year of up-training...that's huge.

Most of the time we only move kids up a level if they are ready to compete at the next level. Competition ready (at the gym where I work) is that the kid needs to be able to score well at that level. So if a kid is missing skills, or still needing more technically correct skills for level 5, they continue to compete level 4 until they show proficiency at level 5.

If your child is currently 6 and turning 7 in january, and has all of her level 5 skills, then she could potentially have her level 6 skills for her 8th birthday if given another year for uptraining. The following January she could go in as a Level 6.

I would keep her as a 4 and uptrain. This way she still works skills and doesn't have to worry about perfecting routines - because she's already good at level 4.

 

[Megley]

I tend to agree with AZgymmiemom. Let her compete a couple of Level 4 meets in the spring and see how she does. If she does reasonably well, then let her move to Level 5 and compete a couple of Level 5 meets next spring and then a full season in the fall. In the long run, it probably isn't going to make too much difference which route she takes as she will end up in the same place so I'd choose whichever she prefers and is easier for you. As an example, my dd competed L4 as a 6 yo. She moved to Level 5 the following year, though she could have repeated as she was borderline (we have a Spring season so her birthday was not an issue). She repeated Level 5 and now is heading into her first Level 7 season. Her friend and teammate competed two years of Level 4, one of Level 5, and now is headed into Level 7.

A word about boredom, though: the basics in gymnastics are boring. Drills are boring. Running through and picking apart the floor routine over and over and over again is boring. But it's the only way to develop the foundation and form that they will need to move on in gymnastics. I don't think I fully understood this until my dd had been through several seasons of competition.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

from a training standpoint, the compulsories that we have had are a waste of time. i don't want to hark back to what took place prior to 1988, but i know this...most of the posts you see here are about 5-7 year olds, if/what they should be competing, etc; there is a plausible explanation for where we have arrived but i'm too tired today to be long winded.

in the old days, they didn't begin competing until they were 9. the first age group was 9-11 year olds. this meant that the children trained and learned about the sport of gymnastics from the time they started until they were 9. and we still had problems, just far fewer. now these problems have to do with kids at an age that can't remember to brush their teeth let alone how to do it correctly.

and if "dad" is a gymnastics coach he should appreciate this. if he is a young "coach" he'll learn over time.

a whole lot of people here, not just me, keep preaching that it is a marathon and not a sprint. our sport will be more peaceful when everyone comes to that understanding.

it takes an inordinate amount of time to become a good gymnast. there is not another skills sport quite like it. doesn't matter what level they compete. only that they have proficiency (safety first) to compete that level and that they are having a colossal good time.

and something else you said about boredom. gymnastics IS boring from a training point of view. like watching grass grow (which is why i don't get why parents want to observe practice every dang night when it will be months to see any appreciable gain) or watching paint dry.

if they start at 5, and it is meant to be, the child will still be a child when they get good. only they will be a 15 year old child. and doing an adult like activity. perspective is always best.

"Coaches out there, is doing 2 years of Level 4 really a waste of time? "

no, not if they are working hard, practicing gymnastics and enjoying themselves. pretty simple, eh?

 

[gymjourneymom]

from a training standpoint, the compulsories that we have had are a waste of time. i don't want to hark back to what took place prior to 1988, but i know this...most of the posts you see here are about 5-7 year olds, if/what they should be competing, etc; there is a plausible explanation for where we have arrived but i'm too tired today to be long winded.

in the old days, they didn't begin competing until they were 9. the first age group was 9-11 year olds. this meant that the children trained and learned about the sport of gymnastics from the time they started until they were 9. and we still had problems, just far fewer. now these problems have to do with kids at an age that can't remember to brush their teeth let alone how to do it correctly.

and if "dad" is a gymnastics coach he should appreciate this. if he is a young "coach" he'll learn over time.

a whole lot of people here, not just me, keep preaching that it is a marathon and not a sprint. our sport will be more peaceful when everyone comes to that understanding.

it takes an inordinate amount of time to become a good gymnast. there is not another skills sport quite like it. doesn't matter what level they compete. only that they have proficiency (safety first) to compete that level and that they are having a colossal good time.

and something else you said about boredom. gymnastics IS boring from a training point of view. like watching grass grow (which is why i don't get why parents want to observe practice every dang night when it will be months to see any appreciable gain) or watching paint dry.

if they start at 5, and it is meant to be, the child will still be a child when they get good. only they will be a 15 year old child. and doing an adult like activity. perspective is always best.

"Coaches out there, is doing 2 years of Level 4 really a waste of time? "

no, not if they are working hard, practicing gymnastics and enjoying themselves. pretty simple, eh?

Amen to your entire post Dunno!!! Truer words have never been spoken! I'd love to hear your long winded version sometime!

 

[nevertooold]

From a previous post of yours:

"So DD's team had their second meet this past weekend...
As a team the floor scores were in the mid 8 to high 8 range. We also had one 4.500...
Bars was better than last meet overall, but we still had a 6 something and a few 7's and the rest were 8's...
Beam was a bad event for our entire team. Girls were basically hitting the routine and scoring a 7.00..."

Sounds like there may be others who could benefit from repeating level 4, maybe your daughter would still be with some of the same teammates if she stayed in level 4?

Also I know you mentioned you compete against teams with girls scoring 9.8 and 9.9 in meets. If that is the "culture" of other gyms in your area, what is the rush of moving up girls who are scoring 7's and 8's. Seems like it would be hard for them to have much competitive success. Sometimes you have to play whatever game it is that the other gyms in your area are playing, and if that game means train level 6 and compete level 4 well then....

Just my opinion.

 

[NGL780309]

Why not have her compete level 4 this season (Jan) then once the season ends, then move her to Level 5. She could train L5 (just the same way she is training L4 now, while waiting to be age eligible) and then compete L5 once she turns 7.

Like the other poster said, getting competition experience will only help her in the long run.

That's what she would do if she moved to 5 because they move around January and the 2 meets are in January.

 

[NGL780309]

"Coaches out there, is doing 2 years of Level 4 really a waste of time?"

Absolutely not. Another year at level 4 would give her another entire year of up-training...that's huge.

Most of the time we only move kids up a level if they are ready to compete at the next level. Competition ready (at the gym where I work) is that the kid needs to be able to score well at that level. So if a kid is missing skills, or still needing more technically correct skills for level 5, they continue to compete level 4 until they show proficiency at level 5.

If your child is currently 6 and turning 7 in january, and has all of her level 5 skills, then she could potentially have her level 6 skills for her 8th birthday if given another year for uptraining. The following January she could go in as a Level 6.

I would keep her as a 4 and uptrain. This way she still works skills and doesn't have to worry about perfecting routines - because she's already good at level 4.

I would love to keep her as a Level 4 and uptrain, but our gym kind of sucks and doesn't really uptrain. They are doing a bit now, but just a tiny bit. I know what will happen if she stays level 4. The coach will be spending so much time helping the new level 4's that DD will basically be on her own. It's already happenning. As an example on bars she is one of the few that can do a really good bar routine so she gets no attention. She's pretty much left to her own devices. The couple of 4's that repeated last year did no uptraining.

 

[NGL780309]

from a training standpoint, the compulsories that we have had are a waste of time. i don't want to hark back to what took place prior to 1988, but i know this...most of the posts you see here are about 5-7 year olds, if/what they should be competing, etc; there is a plausible explanation for where we have arrived but i'm too tired today to be long winded.

in the old days, they didn't begin competing until they were 9. the first age group was 9-11 year olds. this meant that the children trained and learned about the sport of gymnastics from the time they started until they were 9. and we still had problems, just far fewer. now these problems have to do with kids at an age that can't remember to brush their teeth let alone how to do it correctly.

and if "dad" is a gymnastics coach he should appreciate this. if he is a young "coach" he'll learn over time.

a whole lot of people here, not just me, keep preaching that it is a marathon and not a sprint. our sport will be more peaceful when everyone comes to that understanding.

it takes an inordinate amount of time to become a good gymnast. there is not another skills sport quite like it. doesn't matter what level they compete. only that they have proficiency (safety first) to compete that level and that they are having a colossal good time.

and something else you said about boredom. gymnastics IS boring from a training point of view. like watching grass grow (which is why i don't get why parents want to observe practice every dang night when it will be months to see any appreciable gain) or watching paint dry.

if they start at 5, and it is meant to be, the child will still be a child when they get good. only they will be a 15 year old child. and doing an adult like activity. perspective is always best.

"Coaches out there, is doing 2 years of Level 4 really a waste of time? "

no, not if they are working hard, practicing gymnastics and enjoying themselves. pretty simple, eh?

Dad actually thinks kids her age have no business competing. Not only is he a very experienced coach, but he's from another country where the systems are set up completely differently. Where he grew up and coached girls didn't start competing until around age 9. That's why he thinks doing another year of Level 4 just to compete is a waste. He thinks she should just work at her pace and compete later. Basically have no "label".

And just to clarify I didn't say anything about boredom. That was other posters. I don't think DD would be bored. She has a great time at the gym regardless of what they are doing. She even smiles while she conditions. I have noticed that when she's doing stuff she does well already she is a bit more unfocused. She certainly likes to do new things.

 

[gymdog]

I think you'll just have to play it by ear, honestly. See how the spring meets go. Level 5 would still be more than a year off, so not having the routines wouldn't be an issue that even entered my mind at this point. That said, I think it's pretty tough to get the level 5 bar routine without uptraining. My level 4s are doing basic kips now (drop kips especially) and some can already do it. I would not say we are particularly high pressure, nor do we have a lot of time (so not a lot of uptraining). Even for the little ones that have the physical properties to be good at bars (strong, not very scared) the L5 routine is often difficult at that size. It's hard to do big swings when you can barely grip the bar. In my experience the slightly older girls are almost always better at bars. Same goes for vaulting.

If she isn't driven to compete or doesn't care about competing, the slower path might be a bit better if it's better for you in other ways, anyway. It would give her time to acclimate and have some success without a lot of stress. On the other hand if they can only train L5 skills in the competing L5 group, then there could be an issue there.

 

[sportzmomov3]

When my DD started gymnastics, I seriously had NO clue (not that I'm any more clued-in now). Pre-team, team, levels, HUH? She was 5 or 6 when she first stepped into a gym. She didn't compete level 4 because back then very few gyms in our area had level 4s and we were in a rec gym. She started competing at 7 as a level 5. Our gym at that time had coaches who knew the gym's scores wouldn't be 9s but the girls had amazing potential. So, during meets the girls were told NOT to look at any of their own or teammates' scores. And guess what? They really didn't care. At the end of the day, they were still little girls who were giggling and having fun. If they brought home medals great, if not - they still either got goody bags or we'd go out for an ice cream or something. Even now as a level 9, it's the journey, not the destination for my DD. She's happy to report on her latest skill achievement, series, whatever. I haven't stayed in the gym watching her and love to see what she's done when it's competition season.

This is my long-winded story with the bottom line being, when they are 5, just let them have fun. Competing isn't necessary. As I've come to realize, just what is the rush?? There's a reason that in the "olden" days the girls didn't compete until 9 - those first years were meant to give a solid foundation on form and technique for the later years of thrills & skills.

They're our children first and foremost. Gymnastics is just an activity they choose to do - it does not define them!

 

[lilgymmie7]

[


doesn't matter what level they compete. only that they have proficiency (safety first) to compete that level and that they are having a colossal good time.


I love this and agree 100%

My DD is now 6 and awaiting her first level 5 competition. She too was 4yo when they invited her to train level 4. The following year they had a team level 5 try out and again asked my DD to go for it. It turned out that they wanted her to train level 5 irregardless to her age. She was then 5. They had originally planned on just having her train and wait to compete when she turned 7. However SHE, DD had other plans. She wanted to compete, or so they said, so they gave her the option to compete through the GIJO rec. program. She enjoyed it. She did however voice that even with that she was bored and they allow her to further uptrain. We are at a gym where parents are not allowed to view practice. So DD is truly responsible, along with her coaches, for her own training. It works out great! I pay, she flips is really our mantra.

In short, I listened to her coaches and currently I have a very happy gymnast. Trust that the coaches have her best interest in mind. Your DD will probably drop you hints that she is also giving to her coaches. These little ones are wise!

 

[Deleted member D3987]

Dad actually thinks kids her age have no business competing. Not only is he a very experienced coach, but he's from another country where the systems are set up completely differently. Where he grew up and coached girls didn't start competing until around age 9. That's why he thinks doing another year of Level 4 just to compete is a waste. He thinks she should just work at her pace and compete later. Basically have no "label".

And just to clarify I didn't say anything about boredom. That was other posters. I don't think DD would be bored. She has a great time at the gym regardless of what they are doing. She even smiles while she conditions. I have noticed that when she's doing stuff she does well already she is a bit more unfocused. She certainly likes to do new things.

i told you i was tired...sure glad i didn't stake my life on that word boredom. and then your husband/coach is wise. he too has to work within a system that is not conducive to training. i really am tired and will try to expound on this a bit more tomorrow.

 

[NGL780309]

[


doesn't matter what level they compete. only that they have proficiency (safety first) to compete that level and that they are having a colossal good time.


I love this and agree 100%

My DD is now 6 and awaiting her first level 5 competition. She too was 4yo when they invited her to train level 4. The following year they had a team level 5 try out and again asked my DD to go for it. It turned out that they wanted her to train level 5 irregardless to her age. She was then 5. They had originally planned on just having her train and wait to compete when she turned 7. However SHE, DD had other plans. She wanted to compete, or so they said, so they gave her the option to compete through the GIJO rec. program. She enjoyed it. She did however voice that even with that she was bored and they allow her to further uptrain. We are at a gym where parents are not allowed to view practice. So DD is truly responsible, along with her coaches, for her own training. It works out great! I pay, she flips is really our mantra.

In short, I listened to her coaches and currently I have a very happy gymnast. Trust that the coaches have her best interest in mind. Your DD will probably drop you hints that she is also giving to her coaches. These little ones are wise!

So you're saying let her just go to Level 5 and forget about competing? Has it worked well for your DD to train and not really worry about what level she is vs her age? They sound similar.

 

[Bella's Mom]

At the end of the day, they were still little girls who were giggling and having fun. If they brought home medals great, if not - they still either got goody bags or we'd go out for an ice cream or something.

Gymnastics is just an activity they choose to do - it does not define them!

Can I be your fan?

I love the idea of a having a goody bag or some other treat regardless of medals won or beam falls!

And with your permission, I'd like to steal that last line (with crediting you of course) to use in my signature. Awesome attitude and one I strongly agree with.

 

[bogwoppit]

I love the idea of a having a goody bag or some other treat regardless of medals won or beam falls!

In our family we go for ice cream after every meet no matter what, we always find something to celebrate, there is ALWAYS something good that happens. JUst competing is an acheivment in my mind!

 

[Deleted member D3987]

i lurve ice cream.