Parents Poor first meet scores

[Dad1234]

My newly turned five year old had her first level 2 meet. She came in next to last with a all around score of 25-26ish(can’t recall the exact score). She looked to be one of the youngest at the meet, if not the youngest. She was definitely the smallest kid competing in her level. Most kids in her age division (5-6) looked to be six. I know these scores aren’t good and I really don’t care too much about how she scores. She is in gymnastics to get her energy out and have fun. But, she was upset that she didn’t get a medal when several of her teammates did. Is it typical for first meet scores to be so low? She only trains four hours a week and I know some other level 2’s train a lot more. I thought she did good but her scores said otherwise. I obviously don’t understand the scores and what the judges are looking for. I personally was just happy that she remembered her routines as she was afraid that she was going to forget them. It seems like a big age difference between a newly turned five year old and some of her six, almost seven year old teammates and competitors. Anyone else have a kid who started young with low scores only to see drastic improvement with age? She has some natural athletic ability but I think she is missing a lot of the little details in her routines as she is five and those details aren’t important to her yet. I see these 5-6 year old superstars on the Facebook gymnastics pages but yet no one ever talks about poor scores, only the good ones. I’m wondering how many other kids start out where mine currently is.

 

[Freddy's Fred]

My newly turned five year old had her first level 2 meet. She came in next to last with a all around score of 25-26ish(can’t recall the exact score). She looked to be one of the youngest at the meet, if not the youngest. She was definitely the smallest kid competing in her level. Most kids in her age division (5-6) looked to be six. I know these scores aren’t good and I really don’t care too much about how she scores. She is in gymnastics to get her energy out and have fun. But, she was upset that she didn’t get a medal when several of her teammates did. Is it typical for first meet scores to be so low? She only trains four hours a week and I know some other level 2’s train a lot more. I thought she did good but her scores said otherwise. I obviously don’t understand the scores and what the judges are looking for. I personally was just happy that she remembered her routines as she was afraid that she was going to forget them. It seems like a big age difference between a newly turned five year old and some of her six, almost seven year old teammates and competitors. Anyone else have a kid who started young with low scores only to see drastic improvement with age? She has some natural athletic ability but I think she is missing a lot of the little details in her routines as she is five and those details aren’t important to her yet. I see these 5-6 year old superstars on the Facebook gymnastics pages but yet no one ever talks about poor scores, only the good ones. I’m wondering how many other kids start out where mine currently is.

It's painful as a parent to see our kids unhappy, but don't pay any attention to the scores. 5 is very young to be competing at any level. Let her coaches handle corrections. Just continue to tell your daughter that she did great and that you are really proud of her for going out there and competing. The difference between 5 and 7, is very different from the difference between 10 and 12 just in terms of body awareness, concentration, etc. Stick with it and I am sure her scores will improve dramatically.

 

[rebcoola]

We did bronze not level 2 but yes my older DD had terrible scores in the beginning. Just tons of little deductions she would put her foot down and break connections, go over time, pause and think etc that would seem tiny but can add to be huge deductions. All of it worked out she squeaked into states "32 AA" that first year and by the 2nd year was regularly scoring 34's and 35's. Scores with the little ones are hard they don't get what goes into and are much more focused on doing whatever feels like the big/cool skill than the little things. Hopefully you will go to some meets where all the girls get medals or the age groups will work out more in her favor and she will do better.

 

[Aussie_coach]

In a way that is actually a good thing. I have seen a pattern of kids who struggle in utheir first meet finding it easier to cope with results in subsequent meets. Kids who do brilliantly the first time, win lots of awards, get high scores etc now have this set up in their minds as the expectation for meets. If a day comes in the future that they don’t do so well, they find it harder to cope with.


I have seen gymnasts do amazing in their first year, and then when they move up a level and it gets harder, just quit because they can’t handle it.

The challenge of the first meet should never be to win, but to get out there and complete all routines. Help your gymnast set different goals that you guys can celebrate, not ones focused on winnning but how about nailing a certain skill, remembering the routine, Improving PB scores etc.

 

[mls529]

A few weeks ago, I was looking at old pictures and videos on my computer and watch my DD's 1st meet at level 2. Now that I know what I know, it was interesting to watch. My DD had bent legs, flexed feet, weird form on almost everything. But I never would have known any of that back then -- I just watched her and said, she didn't fall, why is she getting low scores? I promise it will get much better. I agree that just remembering routines at her age is a huge success!

 

[gymgal]

yes, the difference in body awareness, focus, and understanding of directions is huge between an young 5 and an old 6, in general. Hang in there. Explain to her that she will get better, that it is important for her to listen to her coaches during practice and that you are so proud of her for just getting out there and doing what she loves!

 

[Natasha]

I think scores of a just turned 5 year old are in no way a prediction of how well she may do in the sport. It amazes me that any 5 or 6 year old can remember and apply all the details that need to be attended to, much less remember the routine to earn a great score, and for many little ones, I fear that in order to achieve great scores they are putting in hours of repetition to memorize all the details and possibly not having a lot of fun. I really wish the beginning levels for these little ones only had achievement awards with the different colored ribbons- for your child's situation and for what Aussie Coach pointed out... The best predictor of how your child will do in the future is dependent upon if she is enjoying what she is doing now, because if she doesn't stay in it, she has 0% chance of being successful in the sport later.... For what it's worth, my kid didn't step foot in a gym until she was a year older than your daughter is now and she competed 3 years of L10.

 

[gymdog]

I would try to definitely put a lot of this out of your mind, if you worry about it it will be more likely to rub off on your child even if you don't mean for it to.

There's a big difference between random clips posted on Instagram and actually doing the compulsory level 2 routines correctly, with correct dance steps and not forgetting sections or skills. It's like any other social media, what is posted is the polished and edited version. So you can't really compare your daughters meet to that. Also most of the big Instagram pages I see, based on the clips shown, it seems like those kids are getting a lot of private lessons.

I would wait until the second meet and look at her improvement, because for a new five year just being in the meet and trying to remember everything in general was probably overwhelming, now that she knows what to expect I'm sure her focus will be better at the next one.

 

[sce]

It's all new. She may not even connect scores with medals, she just sees others getting medals and she didn't. Help her to see that it's about having fun doing gymnastics. On some days, some kids might get medals and on other days others might get them. Praise her for working hard and tell her you loved watching her perform.

 

[Deleted member 18037]

In a way that is actually a good thing. I have seen a pattern of kids who struggle in utheir first meet finding it easier to cope with results in subsequent meets. Kids who do brilliantly the first time, win lots of awards, get high scores etc now have this set up in their minds as the expectation for meets. If a day comes in the future that they don’t do so well, they find it harder to cope with.


I have seen gymnasts do amazing in their first year, and then when they move up a level and it gets harder, just quit because they can’t handle it.

The challenge of the first meet should never be to win, but to get out there and complete all routines. Help your gymnast set different goals that you guys can celebrate, not ones focused on winnning but how about nailing a certain skill, remembering the routine, Improving PB scores etc.

This. A good lesson to learn early. Not everyone gets a medal.

 

[Deleted member 18037]

Focus on what she does not how she scores. Her numbers will likely get better and she might even get medals most of the time. And there will be meets she won't.

It is a lesson everyone needs to learn at some point.

Scores are a funny fickle thing. As they get higher in levels the difference between a medal or not could be 0.1 (or even less). Depending on age groups she could watch nearly everyone on her team who didn't score as well as she did get medals and she could come home with none. This happened to my daughter this year at states. 2nd highest AA of her team, everyone else got one or more medals. She got none. Had the toughest age group. Now was L7 and 12. But there have been many examples along the way. And don't get me wrong she would rather get a medal then not. But she also knows when she has hit her routines, with or without a medal. And your daughter will too, with time.

We have had girls in compulsories who never got medals who are still doing gym and optionals and are lovely gymnasts, while some of the regular compulsory podium finishers quit before they ever got to optionals. Some of them because the medals were more important and they didn't come so frequently as before.

Gymnastics is about improvement. Getting skills, working hard and having fun. Make sure you get video so she can see how far she comes. Take her out for ice cream or get her a treat no matter how she does.

When you send her to her coaches on the floor, say I love you, do your best and have fun.....

And when its over focus on anything but medals and scores. Boy you rocked that handstand. Man your legs were much straighter this time.
And I just love watching you do gymnastics.

 

[Dahlia]

Being one of the youngest in a meet is challenging in and of itself, and it's not uncommon to have a wider range of ages in a given bracket due to lower number of girls at the younger ages. Sometimes this can result in 7 year olds being in the same bracket as 5 year old. It's just what it is.

As a parent, don't focus on scores or medals. Praise her effort, over and over and over. Even if she gets first, focus on the effort, not the place. You never want your child to tie their worth to a place or a score or a medal. And help her set goals as well. A sense of accomplishment can come from something as little as working hard and finally getting a vertical handstand on beam.

She will improve. Some of it will be skill/practice, some will be maturity. My dd started competing shortly after turning 6 and I think her first AA score was around 30. She's now scoring in the high 36s at a higher level. Around age 8 was when she seemed to gain enough maturity to start really focusing on form and that made a world of difference.

 

[LJL07]

A just turned 5 year old is reallllly young for level 2. It might not look super hard, but there are a lot more deductions in level 2 compared to level 1 and so on up the compulsory levels. Even if she has the skills, the details are so hard for a little kid to master (staying tight, pointing toes, keeping legs together, etc.). All of that stuff can lead to little deductions. This is definitely no prediction of future success. It can be hard to balance medals with level placement when they are so young because most 5 year olds love shiny medals! Don't give up, and I'll bet she will improve as the season progresses. The amount of growth in one year can be amazing.

 

[aspiringymnastmom]

We had an almost identical first meet experience with my freshly minted 7-year old. She was definitely the youngest in her age division, She is in IGC Copper though not IGC. I think details is what got her (she looked good to me!) She came in last, and she was crushed So I just wanted to commiserate with you!

 

[3rd_time_around]

My dd trained 4 hours a week at level 2, and her team won state, so don't worry about the training hours either. She's fine.

 

[Dad1234]

Thank you everyone for your responses. They were helpful. I just wanted to follow up and say that my girl did end up winning a couple of medals this season. She was thrilled and I was quite surprised that she won.