Parents Pocket Gymnast

[cbifoja]

We were at a meet in West Virginia this weekend and came across the most darling little girl. She is a 7YO level 7 who we affectionately started referring to as a pocket gymnast because she was such a tiny little phenom that it felt like you could put her in your pocket and take her home!

Bella was totally infatutuated with KM and couldn't take her eyes off of her during the whole competition. It's funny because we had seen videos of her from the time she was age 4 but it never occurred to me that we would end up being able to watch her compete.

I wish I could say we parents were more dignified but no....you would have thought someone gave us a puppy to ooh and aah over. Every time she was up, we all shushed one another and gave her our rapt attention. Even Bella's coach was watching her with envy! She said she hoped santa brought her her own pocket gymnast for Christmas! LOL

But boy has she inspired my daughter! Bella had an awesome practice last night. Even her coach, who does not hand out compliments often, said she had never seen her work so hard. Bella said her goal was to test out of 6 and then compete 7 next year. Now, our gym does a full year at 6 so this isn't going to happen, but I like seeing her so motivated!

 

[Gymmonkeymomma]

Cute

One of my DD's best friends is a just-turned-10 year old level 10. I think DD pushes herself even harder now because of her friend.

 

[bogwoppit]

Share her videos if they are public please, we all love a tiny phenom.

 

[cbifoja]

Okay, wasn't sure if that was legal or not since she isn't my child.

Phenominal Gymnast Konner Mcclain! - YouTube

Don't you just want to steal her!!!! (not really planning on kidnapping this dear child!)

 

[bogwoppit]

Okay, wasn't sure if that was legal or not since she isn't my child.

Phenominal Gymnast Konner Mcclain! - YouTube

Don't you just want to steal her!!!! (not really planning on kidnapping this dear child!)

i figure if her parents put her on YouTube they want the world to see her. If it was video you took of her at a meet that wouldn't be okay. I hope people see the difference.

She is fabulous, but I do wonder what the rush is as there is some seriously whippy tumbling going on there. I am assuming her meets are cleaner? I think I would have slowed down the progress a bit to clean things up.

 

[cbifoja]

At the meet she casted up to a beautiful handstand on highbar but lost her balance and fell forward. It was so scary to see such a tiny little girl fall such a distance. But that kiddo landed steady on her feet and just went back to work.

 

[bogwoppit]

Are her parents coaches? She seems to be in the gym alone in most of the videos?

 

[cbifoja]

You know, I don't know. I guess I just assumed she took a lot of private lessons.

 

[Faith]

What bog says. Fair enough I suppose if everything was clean with good form and technique...

ive seen video a while back when she was 3 or so, and frankly it looked like an accident waiting to happen.

I hate to be negative a bout such a young child, but there's been discussion over discussion here about why its not a good thing for that age group to be working those skills and spending so much time in the gym. And I think videos like that only serve to panic those new to gymnastics parents who think their 5 year old is getting behind not training 30 hours a week.

in summary I guess the child and the videos to me come across as simple bragging rights for the coach/parents, rather than being any good for the child herself, or for other gymnasts and gymnastics in general.

again, apologies for the downer post, but I'm not comfortable with it at all.


They need to learn to spell phenomenal too.

 

[agymmom]

I watched a few of her videos yesterday. I have no idea of her form or whether it's right or not for her to be doing what she is, but she obviously has quite a bit of talent! Good luck to her!

 

[Gymmonkeymomma]

And I think videos like that only serve to panic those new to gymnastics parents who think their 5 year old is getting behind not training 30 hours a week.

They need to learn to spell phenomenal too.

We have a L3 parent who thinks their DD should be allowed in the gym 7 days/week "whenever she wants" (she's 5). Seriously?

The spelling bugged me too, lol!

 

[nameless]

wow, i've watched this lil munchkin before.. since she was about 4.. awesome ability i can only dream my baby could achieve that much in her next 2 years..

 

[LizzieLac]

My concern with kids doing so much SO young is the injury/burnout factor. But time will tell. She obviously has some serious natural talent!

 

[cbifoja]

What bog says. Fair enough I suppose if everything was clean with good form and technique...

ive seen video a while back when she was 3 or so, and frankly it looked like an accident waiting to happen.

I hate to be negative a bout such a young child, but there's been discussion over discussion here about why its not a good thing for that age group to be working those skills and spending so much time in the gym. And I think videos like that only serve to panic those new to gymnastics parents who think their 5 year old is getting behind not training 30 hours a week.

in summary I guess the child and the videos to me come across as simple bragging rights for the coach/parents, rather than being any good for the child herself, or for other gymnasts and gymnastics in general.

again, apologies for the downer post, but I'm not comfortable with it at all.


They need to learn to spell phenomenal too.

I don't think you're being negative by expressing your opinion. It would be different if you were calling her names but you aren't. I remember the first time Bella showed me the 4YO video. I had very similar eek reactions that you are having.

The ones where she is older are easier to watch and watching her person is pretty cool. Of course, no one can know her future, but I hope she loves what she's doing and she is obviously naturally talented. And the silly lady in me thinks how neat it would be if Konnor ever became an Olympian and I could see I watched her when she was little!

Totally agree about the spelling. LOL

 

[cbifoja]

She scored something like a 37AA in an L6 meet so I'm guessing her form don't suck (sic).

 

[gymgal]

My concern with kids doing so much SO young is the injury/burnout factor. But time will tell. She obviously has some serious natural talent!

She also appears to have no fear, which is a major reason she is so advanced... But those type of kids scare me. We have a few in dds gym - fearless, I mean. I cringe every time they try something they're not ready for.

 

[UnoMas]

I have seen that little girl at a meet and she is something!!! She seems to be the only one on her "team"...I remember that from watching her.

 

[Muddlethru]

We had a girl make it to junior international elite at a young age. She "skipped" 4, 5 and 6 and was a 7yo L7. She was homeschooled and drove a total of 3 hours a day to and from the gym. She LOVED every minute of it. This type or caliber of gymnast is rare and the type of training, commitment and sacrifice required is not for the majority.

I don't see the parent or coach of this pocket gymnast as bragging about anything. And if that was the intention, they have every right to be. This pocket gymnast inspired OP's daughter to work harder--that's a good thing. This girl is 7 and is a worthy topic of conversations by adults and children alike. If this gymnast only got this far, she'd still have plenty to show her kids she could do at a young age. Let's face it, very, very few kids from 4 and up can do what she can do. I personally had no problems with the video. Many athletes that have reached "greatness" can probably speak of training routines that would appear despicable to us mere mortals.

 

[cbifoja]

I have seen that little girl at a meet and she is something!!! She seems to be the only one on her "team"...I remember that from watching her.

Really? When I saw her this past weekend, she was on a pretty good sized team....about ten girls maybe.

 

[gardenia01]

It doesn't look like that video was put up by her parents. It's by one of those gymnastics montage makers who like to make video montages about young talented gymnasts. I know the footage from her at age 4 is on youtube and that may be her parents who put that up. Not sure where the other footage came from. She certainly has a god given talent. Whether she will become an elite gymnast or make a national team remains to be seen. It should be interesting to watch her and see how her career advances.