Question for Coaches

[bar princess's mom]

My DD competed half of last season as a Level 4 (she wasn't old enough for the first half) and did fairly well. She was middle of the pack most of season but improved throughout the season so she was scoring 35 AA by states. She has mostly form issues (pointed toes, straight arms and legs, etc.). She is more than strong enough to do the "skills" required. They just aren't pretty all of the time. I have always assumed that was a maturity thing that will come with time. The coaches decided to leave her in Level 4 this year so she could gain more experience, compete the whole season and uptrain. I was ok with their decision at the time.

We have now completed our frst two meets for this season and she is not doing well. Her scores are down significantly and she has made some big mistakes these last two meets. I have watched a couple of practices and she only seems to be trying her hardest when they are uptraining. When they are running through the routines or working on Level 4 skills, it seems like she is just going through the motions. I have talked to her and I get the impression that she thinks its easy and she's already done all of this so she doesn't have to try. Unfortunately, these last two meets she was with the 6 yr olds and she placed in all 4 events and AA even with her mediocre performances. This will not be the case for hete rest of the season.

I am concerned that we made the wrong decision by keeping her back. Should we have let her go to Level 5 and compete half the season? Have any of you experienced this with your gymnasts before?

 

[vagymmomma]

I don't know of a case where a gymnast was worse off being held back -- especially for younger girls. Gymnastics is very repetitive though and the gymmies have to learn the value of performing a skill correctly and not just rushing to the next level. This seems particularly hard for younger girls to grasp. The girls I've seen pushed too soon will ultimately experience poor results and quit. Children respond differently to training, but they need to understand that the finer points are critical to success in gymnastics. What motivates your DD? Have you tried speaking with her coaches? It's critical that you trust the coaches. Sometimes they make a mistake, but they usually have a pretty good handle on what's best for a gymnast long term.

 

[2gymbratz]

At our gym the requirements to move up from level 4 to 5 are 2-33 AA and at least an 8.25 on each event twice. Those are the mandate scores. We don't even have a choice to hold them back once they get those scores, no matter what the age. As a coach and mother of two gymnasts, I do understand her frustration in doing the same routines over and over. Both of my girls are in there levels for a second year this year. The kids definately to get bored with it, but at the same time they should be getting better. Just remind her that it's not all about moving thru the levels. It's about perfecting her current routines and uptraining to get those level 5 skills. If she can get those before she is changes levels that would be awesome! Then there is a good chance that she will have a good first year level 5 season. It is important to correct those small things, (bent legs and arms, pointed toes, stretch, hollow) because that is something they need in every level and the deductions for those things add up quick. Best of Luck!

 

[TexasRose]

I would recommend talking to her coach and seeing if they're getting the same impression that you are- that she's only trying when she's uptraining. I know that many times when we watch a portion of practice it can be misleading because it's only a glimpse of their several hour practice. Personally, I don't think you made a mistake having her compete level 4 again. She did great last year but you said that she has issues with her form. Those deductions will add up as she continues to compete. If it was my DD I would rather see her take the time to learn and do the skills with beautiful form than move up and learn new skills. Bent legs may not be a big deal when doing a ROBHS now but if she bends her legs in her back handspring she may not be able to progress into ROBHS-BT- just an example. I think that as they progress to the harder skills it becomes even more important that their form be good- not just for scoring but for injury prevention as well.

I know it must be frustrating to see her not scoring as well. I would just talk to the coach and see what they're thinking.

 

[bar princess's mom]

I trust her coaches. I don't think they could have foreseen this reaction from her. I didn't and I'm her mother! Her form issues are not really on the skills or at least the big skills. It is mostly the dance, especially beam. She has all of her Level 5 skills and some Level 6 skills already. She may have a form break when she does ROBHS but when she goes for multiple BHS's or a BT, she's on. It's like she knows she needs to have better form to do those but doesn't try as hard with less difficult skills.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

how old is she?

 

[Geoffrey Taucer]

how old is she?

This is a very relevant question.

For young girls, it is generally a good idea to level up conservatively. As they get older, the answer to this question becomes a little more complex.

 

[Aussie_coach]

If she is only 6, then she is not old enough to compete level 5 anyway so once again she would have sat out half the season. It does not matter that much that she is winning easily at 6, as she gets older there will be time to learn the difficult lessons. You will no doubt have tears at the first meet she doesn't do so well in and you will need to have a few talks about why it has happened but it will all be a positive learning experience for her in the end.

It is not unusual for kids of this age not to try when doing what they consider skills which are easy for them. She is not really old enough to discern the difference between doing skills at 70% and doing them at 100% and not yet mature enough to have the ability to motivate herself to do them better. At 6 (and at 7) it is the coach who needs to motivate the kids, find ways to make it exciting to work on the old skills and routines and so on.

 

[cher062]

Don't let scores be your guide it to if she is improving. You can get a bunch of tough judges and the scores will be low as they take the max deduction for every mistake. Many of the deductions are "up to a certain amount" Also every gymnast have good and bad meets. You say she placed with scores you thought weren't that good sounds like hard judging. Don't let the scores be your guide as to if she is improving or not.

How old is she? Just because she was with 6yo L4 girls doesn't mean she competed against them. they do break out by the groups by age ranges.

Did she grow at all this past year? That makes a huge difference in their performance as they get use to their center of gravity shifting a bit - it always sets them back a bit as they learn to adjust.

Talk to the coaches and see if they are happy with her progress and her workouts. From your description is sounds like she is right where she should be. She is also another year older and what didn't bother her at meets before may now be causing her some nervousness. Relax and enjoy the ride - gymnastics isn't like other sports its a long process and every little thing can cause set backs - give her the season and just give her positive support.

 

[bar princess's mom]

how old is she?

She is 6 and will be 7 by January.

 

[bar princess's mom]

It is not unusual for kids of this age not to try when doing what they consider skills which are easy for them. She is not really old enough to discern the difference between doing skills at 70% and doing them at 100% and not yet mature enough to have the ability to motivate herself to do them better. At 6 (and at 7) it is the coach who needs to motivate the kids, find ways to make it exciting to work on the old skills and routines and so on.

This makes me feel better. I want to do what is best for her long term and I was concerned that her "boredom" would cause her to lose her spark and love of the the sport. Although I have not spoken to her coach, I know she sees it also. I can see it in her reaction to her routines when she is competing and practicing. (Side note: I am friends with her coach outside of gym so I make a determined effort to not talk gym when with her in social situations but I can read her reactions very well).

 

[cher062]

so she is right where she should be in the 6 - 8yo age group USAG have ranges of age groups that compete against each other. At some meets the host can break it down further if they have alot of kids but usually these are the ones they use for competitive groups

L4 - 6-8, 9-11 and 12+
L5 - 7 -8, 9-10, and 12+
L6 - 7-11, 12-14, 15+
L7 - 7-11, 12 - 14, 15+
L8 - 8-11, 12-13, 14-15, 16+

I have seen the 6yo and 7yo be their own group at meets becaues there are so many at that age group for Level 4, but this is usually done so more kids can get ribbons etc and/or so they can split the sessions better for the meet.

Just take a deep breath and enjoy the ride your DD is only 6yo and she sounds like everyother 6yo doing gymnastics. It's just hard to see other gymnasts shortcomings while we focus on our own kids. if she placed she will mostlikely place again as her skills improved and she moves forward. Remember Scores are not an indication of improvement its just a numerical value of an individual's opinion at that moment in time. Listen to the coaches if they say she is doing well then she probably is.

 

[NGL780309]

Our DD are the same age and level and after reading your post I wanted to share with you what my DD's coaches did with her. Like your DD mine was too young to compete level 4 last year. She missed the entire season, but was able to do a few invitationals upon turning 6. She scored very well (high 36-low 37). They had a group of 11 level 4's repeating, but decided my DD should move to level 5 even if she couldn't compete. She did all level 5 February until August about 3 weeks before her first meet. I think that really kept her motivated and improving. Once the did start doing level 4 routines she did very little. It was made clear to her that if you do your first 3 bar routines perfect, you are done and on to level 5. So there was a motivation there for her to try her very hardest. Same with beam, hit your routines assigned and parts and you can do the 5 and 6 stuff. It worked well for her and I'm so thankful that the gym managed her so well. She had a great season scoring 38's and won every meet and most events. It was great for her confidence and everyone was pleased with the outcome.

Meanwhile I watched the repeat 4's not show a great improvement scorewise. They competed a full year of 4 last year and while they improved they didn't improve dramatically. I think from talking to their parents there was a lot of girls that trained below their potential on the 4 stuff, but would really try hard when working 5 stuff. There was a lot of boredom. This group did get to train lots of 5 skills, but somehow it didn't work out the same way. I personally think it has a lot to do with personality. My child thrives being the bottom of the group and she is the bottom of her level 5 group. I think the coaches really recognized that. So I think what you are seeing might not be uncommon.

Maybe it would be helpful to talk to her or her coaches and see if they could work with her on being motivated to work those details for a small amount of time and then get to move on. My DD is not naturally motivated, but she works well with knowing if she does a set amount as perfect as possible she is done. Her coaches giving her that motivation has carried over to her starting to set her own goals for practice. She recently started writing a goal for each practice, like 5 perfect fhs or 5 Kip cast connections. She seems to like a measurable amount of something to strive for.