Pushing? And crying...?

[coachmolly]

When it comes to little ones, I really just work on getting them into the right positions rather than pushing. I don't want them to associate splits and stretching with pain at that point. As they advanced more, I'm a little more strict with stretches, making sure they are giving their best attempt. That means making sure they are in the correct position and sometimes gently pushing them, but it is a very gentle and gradual push. Some of the kids even asked to be stretched now, like CoachGoofy mentioned. If they are having trouble with stretching, I will remind them how important flexibility is to gymnastics. That it will help them learn new skills, help prevent injuries, and that with lots of work they can get their splits all the way down. For the beginner girls, the idea of getting their splits all the way down seems to be the best motivator.
I use the same approach with bridges, just making sure they are in the correct shape as little ones/beginners and don't start actually stretching them until they are more advanced and only if they seem to need the additional help.
Watch the progress, talk with the coach, and talk with your dd about why stretching and flexibility are so important and hopefully that will help resolve the issue.

 

[gymnast88]

welll.......

it actually depends on the girl. you can only push certain girls so far..... but other girls like being pushed it gives them a goal to work for which helps them get their skills down and their splits flat other girls are sensitive and and if they are pushed they shut down completely they refuse to do the skilll and they cheat on their condiitioning which is supposed to help. i know a girl like this and she is currently competing her second year of level 8. though i am not saying that repeating a level is bad (im doing the same) it might be good for that person.

 

[Kiwi]

Thanks everyone for all the great answers!

Re PNF stretching, as far as I am aware it is not recommended for children, and I don't believe they are using any in my DD's class.

She can do a standing back bend, although she does find it a little difficult and was one of the last in her class to get it. She can do a kickover with feet on a 6 inch mat, but not from flat yet.

I have seen her cheat on her conditioning in the past, but lately she has been trying really hard and seemed to be really enthusiastic about her classes.

My main concern is with her back, particularly when it was still sore that night and keeping her awake. I will discuss this with the coach, hopefully after class on Tuesday. I want to be able to discuss it calmly and rationally, not an emotional wreck like right after my DD told me the story and I went into protective mummy mode!

I guess it's okay if she has a bad day now and then, just don't want it to be a regular occurrence. I think she is overtired at the moment (it's the end of the term, end of the year, too many late nights), so she probably cried more easily and got upset and feeling down more easily.

Thanks so much for all your replies!

 

[kyla978]

Yes it is very normall to be pushed into a split my coach does it alot and even if they are 7 its a normall way of getting your splits and if they cry they cry

 

[Kiwi]

I forgot to update this with what happened. I did talk to the coach and she was very receptive. Coach said she thought that pain in the middle of the back was unusual, she said any back pain was usually felt in the lower back. She was trying to improve DD's shoulder flexibility so that DD could learn to do the back walkovers properly, not using her lower back. She said she would try to get DD to work on other exercises for shoulder flexibility rather than pushing her in bridge.

A couple of weeks ago, DD got her back walkover! I was pleasantly surprised as she'd been having so much trouble with the kick-overs. I spoke to her coach again recently who said DD's shoulder flexibility has improved (although it is still not great). DD hasn't complained of the mid-back pain recently, but I will keep 'monitoring' just in case.

 

[CamSeawind]

It seems like the coach was being to harsh, especially because the girls are so young, but his may just be me as I come from a pretty laid back gym.

 

[loveforgym]

At my gym we're pushed down in splits/bridges too, but it might depend on the gym. It hurts bad to me because were pushed down in oversplits, but i just don't say anything because it's part of getting more flexible. I can understand when they're little though

 

[Ribbon]

I know it's hard to be pushed down to get your splits, but as more people have said above is necesary to get more flexibility, it's true that you can push yourself down but you may be afraid of hurt yourself.
I remember how my training used to be when I was little and I was always pushed down to get my splits or just get more back flexibility. I know is defferent, because in rhythmic you need much more flexibility than in artistic, maybe that makes normal see a little girl crying because of stretching. It hurts it's true but as coachmolly has said usually is just recolocate the bad position and when you're static in that you star getting pushind down. I've got all my splits perfectly flat and I can fold myself over (using my back I mean) but I still get always pushed down and sometimes I cry.

But it's true that at the start it's hard because it hurts and if you don't do correctly you coach will push down more or just speak in a really serious and "not friendly" way but as the time passes you get used to that and the pushing down gets more routinary and you don't get pushed down everyday because your coach knows that your are trying really hard ^^

 

[Mack_the_Ripper]

It sounds to me as though in the OP, the girl just had a bad day. Sometimes everything in gymnastics feels impossible. I have always been very good at pushing myself down in splits - when the coaches come by to push me down, I just don't go anywhere. Then they pick my back leg up! Oww. Right now I don't see coaches physically pushing girls down in their regular splits, since at the optional levels essentially everyone is down, but they do pick up your leg to make you do an oversplit or a ring shape. Often they are more likely to make sure your hips are square, especially for younger girls.

As for pushing in bridges...it is very common to do a bridge incorrectly. You need to extend your shoulders away from your hands, and it might be hard to figure out what the coach means when s/he says that if s/he doesn't help you get into that position. And on leg lifts - by that time she was probably just shot emotionally, so I wouldn't worry about it.

And yes, I have heard coaches say "No crying in gymnastics!" This is a lie. Gymnasts cry occasionally no matter how hard we try not to.

 

[Kiwi]

Thanks, Mack. Yes, my DD is one who needs a bit of a cry to vent and then once she's got it out she picks herself up and continues. I'm still going to get her back checked out as she says it still hurts a bit at times in bridge, but it doesn't seem to be a major problem at the moment, thank goodness.

 

[Bella's Mom]

As a mom, it's hard to watch the slight push/form adjustment when it causes some uncomfortableness but like others have said...par for the course in gym. My daughter's coach has said that Bella has "dense" tight muscles (like most kids here, she is ripped and rock solid) so she has already pulled her groin a couple of times because of this (not from splits but from momentum). Coach says the only fix is to increase her flexibility and that once she "gets" her splits, the pulls should mostly stop.

Our gym doesn't have a no crying policy. They just ignore it. My daughter got in trouble for a behavior on Friday and the lecture embarrassed her. Embarrassment causes tears when you're 6. It was funny in an "awwww" sort of way to watch her conditioning while sobbing but I'm very glad her coach didn't make her leave the gym. I think if someone was really hurt and crying that would be another issue but for little emotional stuff....they ignore and make you work through it.