WAG Private or no private? That is the question.

[rsm]

Hi everyone. My almost 7 yo level 4 DD has been struggling a little with her ROBHS and seems to be losing confidence is being able to do it. She can do it sometimes, but it is not consistent, and often bends her arms and lands on her knees. It seems to be getting worse the last few weeks, not better (I only see them do it one day a week at the end of practice. I don't see the other days). She was more consistent a month or two ago when she got it maybe 3/4 of the time. Now it's more like 1/4 of the time. And she does not want to do it by herself at the end of the floor routine either anymore. Even though she was okay with it a month ago.

She has never done a private lesson, so I'm wondering if it would be useful in this situation, or should I just let it go and assume it gets resolved on its own. I just feel that the confidence is going in the wrong direction. I'd rather be able to get her going in the right direction now than wait for it to get even worse. And there is less focus now in training on getting the BHS right, and more on perfecting routines during practice. And they have been shortstaffed the last few weeks which hasn't helped either. Any thoughts either way on this?

 

[Coloradogymmie]

We do privates every week, so my dd gets more time to work on her ROBHS and kip. I think if you have the money to afford it, then do it. It's a luxury and definitely shouldn't be necessary to get the skill. There are several threads on private lessons, people seem to be either yes or no on this question...but I don't see the harm in it.

 

[2gymmies]

What does your dd want? If she wants to and you can afford it, I think it can be a great tool.

 

[Hollisbecky]

We do private lessons when my dd is struggling with something. She has been struggling with finishing all the skills on the floor. She had a few privates to help polish her skills. It helped a lot.

 

[rsm]

DD isn't really sure if she wants to do a private lesson or not. It's a new situation for her which always makes her hesitant. Once she does it, she will probably be asking for more. If it will help in this case, I think it would be worth it for her. If just to restore her confidence. It won't be a weekly thing. I'm hoping just once or twice for the most. Just wanted some thoughts on whether or not it would be helpful. I'm assuming it couldn't hurt at this point, so I'm leaning towards doing it.

 

[cbifoja]

We also do private lessons and it seems to help my daughter. She has a 1 hour private most every week. For her, it is because she struggles with detail and sequencing. It is nice to have a coach focused totally on her and meeting her personal needs without having to spread herself out to the other gymmies. That way, Coach M can give her the massive amount of help she needs on the small things.

So yeah, put me down in the "pro" column.

ETA: Bella LOVES her private lessons! She sometimes has issues with her coach and her private lessons are a time to have very positive and personal interactions that I believe have really improved their overall relationship.

 

[beamer]

In this case: private.

My DD, 11-year-old L6, was in the exact same situation at her first gym.

Repetition made the difference and that was not happening during practice, where the focus was on routines.

 

[rsm]

DD has a half day of school today, so here I was, all prepared to call the gym to see if we could schedule a private lesson for today. I ask DD and she says she doesn't want to do a private lesson. She is not happy with her BHS, but she still doesn't want to do private lesson. So decision made for now. Thanks all for the input though. It was very helpful.

 

[cazoon]

Me and my sister do two thirty minute privates per week. They are very helpful and give us a chance to work on things that we cannot do in practice. However, competition season is now over and we probably will not do them again until closer to next September. You should definitely do it because they are especially beneficial when you have one specific skill that needs fixing.

 

[bogwoppit]

Mine hated private lessons, I think they both had two each in their many years of gym. Both after injuries to tweak optional floor and beam routines. Some kids just do not enjoy the intensity of one on one situations in the gym.

 

[LizzieLac]

I am not against privates at all. However, I can't help but wonder why her coaches are not able to help her (as opposed to going backwards) during her normal workouts. Who would be doing the privates? The same coaches?

 

[cbone]

We did two privates last year and none this year. I think privates are really helpful when the problem is technical. My daughter was having issues with footwork last season and each private corrected the individual issues. When the problem is mental, I'm not sure how helpful a private is. I guess that depends on the coach and their ability to help the gymmie through the mental hurdles.

We have seen that open gym has been really great for skill development. The girls seem to push each other, get more reps than a normal practice and there's always a coach there to help them. I guess it's like a fun little semi-private.

Good luck however you guys choose to go!

 

[rsm]

@LizzieLac... She is going backwards, I think, because the gym has been shortstaffed for a few weeks (temporary situation), and they are now focusing on routines rather than skills. Both result in much less time doing repetitions of any skill. DD is fine for all other events. But not being quite there with back handsprings means that she needs the repetitions which she doesn't get. Now this is my conjecture, so could be something else. The coaches, when they were focused on it, were very good at getting her where she was, so I'm confident that they can fix any problems with some time.

And cbone, I think part of the problem is technical. They don't have open gym, and she doesn't get to practice outside of gym. DD says she would consider doing a private with a friend, so I'll see if that's an option. Otherwise, we'll just leave it as is for now.

 

[Gymmommy71]

My daughter got her kip with the aid of private lessons, and I'm not sure she *ever* would have got it without them. After 9+ months of watching her stuggle w/ a skill that I knew she absolutely needed, I had to do something. It took about six 30 minute lessons over a three week span, and she finally got it. Sometimes a kid needs way more repetition and coach attention for a particular skill than a regular group class will provide.

 

[iwannacoach]

I've always felt that problems, for the large part, should be solved with-in the "practice" time and setting. My reasoning is that you can't simply "figure it out", as there's much more to it than that......you have to learn the skill over time and maintain it.

It sounds like your dd has learned it during a period of the training cycle that favored tumbling instruction, and is "losing it" now that the group is concentrating on routines. That suggests a private that solves the problem may be a lost cause when the coaching staff continues to beat the drum on routines at the cost of tumbling time.

I'll take a chance with a guess about the root cause of her dilemma. Most beginners have a mental vision or model that defines how a skill should be done, and these models are totally wrong about 90% of the time. When she was working her bhs often, she'd get feedback from the coaches about what she was doing and what she needed to change, and essentially was nudged in the proper direction rather than the direction her model would have taken her.

That model, now that she's kinda on her own with her skill, is working it's way back into how she does the bhs. A private may get her a better understanding of what she's got to do to make the skill work, but that's a maybe, and to return back to practices that don't allow tumbling work.....well it just doesn't seem there'd be a good outcome.

I think you could try a private but don't expect too much, cuz there's no real replacement for repetition and correction.

 

[Kiwi]

I am wondering what the coaches are doing during normal training. It is normal in our gym to spend lots of time on getting new skills, and then change to more practising of routines as comp season approaches. But if the coaches can see that she is not getting the skill when she does her routine, what are they doing about it? I don't understand why they would not be working with her on it. Even in a group situation, all the kids don't need to all be doing exactly the same thing all the time, if the coach is any good.

 

[sglemon]

A couple of years ago, my dd was doing a ROBHSx2 and popped out of the second one and landed on her back. Well, there went the ROBHS. She was scared and mentally it reeked havic on her. We did use privates to get it back. It took one on one instruction with a coach she trusted, first working them on tramp with assistance, then minimal assistence, then the coach standing there, then the coach taking a step back. It was a process, but after two weeks it was back like it never went away. That was not going to happen with a normal class, because the coach had a group of about 10 girls.

 

[LizzieLac]

I am thinking the way Nicki is. I don't understand why they aren't trying to do something about the BHS in practice. I realize that they are short-staffed and now that meet season is here most focus on routines. However, I still believe that if they carved out 15-20 minutes every workout to work tumbling (for all the girls really), then the BHS will improve. Afterall, it IS PART of the routine and bent legs, bent arms, etc. will result in big deductions.

How does she do if she is spotted? Maye she just needs to work it in practice with a spot for a while. For my DD, the occasional spot was all she needed to get the body alignment and "feeling" of the skill to then be able to do it on her own.

I guess I just feel like you should not have to pay extra money for a private on a BHS when that is one of the key skills that should be coached for a level 4 during the workout you are already paying for.

Good luck - I hope it works out!

 

[rsm]

Thank everyone for your insight. I agree that she is not getting the repetitions she needs. I think this part at least will resolve itself when one of the coaching staff returns next week, so the group will have 2 coaches instead of 1, and they will just be able to do more. I was hoping the private(s) would at least get her back to where she was, assuming that they be able to continue to build on that during practice (as I said with 2 coaches again next week instead of 1). One of the higher level coaches has not been available, and one of DD's coaches has had to fill in for her.

@Nicki... she is getting corrections, and if does one badly, will get spotted and corrected. But then they get so few repetitions each week to practice the corrections, they quickly get forgotten by the next time they practice. Again, I'm hoping next week, things will start getting back on track. I know privates won't be a replacement, but I'm hoping it might give a boost that can be sustained with normal practice.

 

[bookworm]

I would save my money...you'll have plenty of opportunity to part with it as she goes up the levels...