Women Questions about Xcel to JO

[louninak1213]

Hi. I have a kid at my gym who is 9 years old and she just finished competing her first season of Xcel Diamond. She is already excelling out of the diamond program. She is starting to throw BHS LO LO on beam and double backs on floor. We are unsure what we can do to help her continue to grow since she can't really compete those skills at the Diamond level. I mean she technically can but to continue to help her grow, we were wondering what options there was to transition her to JO. Her mom wants to know as well so she can make a more informed decision with her daughter.

1. She has never competed JO
2. She did XG, XP, and now XD
3. She is only 9 years old.
She turns 10 later this year.
4. She is originally from Japan.
She just moved her a couple years ago.
We petitioned her to start in gold.

Please let me know. Thank you all. Hope you are healthy and safe.

 

[Sk8ermaiden]

She needs to learn the level 4 routines and do one meet to get the 34 score, and learn the level 5 routines and do one meet to get the 32(?) score. These can even be done at the same meet, or in house, as long as they're done in order. The same will be true for the other levels - what would she be, a level 10? She'll need to score out of 7, 8, and 9 as well. Basically she may just need to spend this season scoring out of levels at meets and then start as a level 9 or 10 next season, unless your gym wants to bring in a judge and have her compete all the levels in succession. The good news is that after level 5, she can just do modified versions of her real optional routines on each event and doesn't have to learn new ones.

 

[JBS]

Just start at Level 4 and hammer it out. As stated above you can even do Level 4 & 5 at the same meet. Sounds like she has some tumbling power... how about bars... this will be important in a transition into upper level JO.

 

[louninak1213]

Just start at Level 4 and hammer it out. As stated above you can even do Level 4 & 5 at the same meet. Sounds like she has some tumbling power... how about bars... this will be important in a transition into upper level JO.

She is working on a pak currently. Thank you so much.

 

[louninak1213]

She needs to learn the level 4 routines and do one meet to get the 34 score, and learn the level 5 routines and do one meet to get the 32(?) score. These can even be done at the same meet, or in house, as long as they're done in order. The same will be true for the other levels - what would she be, a level 10? She'll need to score out of 7, 8, and 9 as well. Basically she may just need to spend this season scoring out of levels at meets and then start as a level 9 or 10 next season, unless your gym wants to bring in a judge and have her compete all the levels in succession. The good news is that after level 5, she can just do modified versions of her real optional routines on each event and doesn't have to learn new ones.

Thank you so much for your response

 

[louninak1213]

Just start at Level 4 and hammer it out. As stated above you can even do Level 4 & 5 at the same meet. Sounds like she has some tumbling power... how about bars... this will be important in a transition into upper level JO.

Vault is my biggest worry for her. She is really small so getting over the vault table was the biggest challenge for her at first.

 

[louninak1213]

Thank you all for your input. I really appreciate it. I wanted to know as much as I could so her mom and her can make the best decision for her.

 

[JBS]

What level is she ready for in JO?

 

[louninak1213]

What level is she ready for in JO?

I am thinking 8. She can flip her Yurchenko and land it consistently. She has all the skills for 9 on two events, but I would rather her be prepared for level 9 when she goes in. So probably 8 for a season, but we also have to see how she is doing when we can finally go back to the gym. She hasn't worked on a lot of the skills in a while so we will see that happens.

 

[gymgal]

How is her form and how has she been scoring in xcel? I would prep mother/daughter for a difference in scoring, depending on your location (some score similar some not).

Sounds pretty reasonable to have her score out of 4/5 and get her routines ready for 8, water them down for one L7 meet at the beginning of the season and do the rest of the season as a L8.

Also, do you have a JO program? Just asking because if she is going to be the only one (assuming she stays) , are you prepared for this in terms of meets, training, etc?

 

[louninak1213]

How is her form and how has she been scoring in xcel? I would prep mother/daughter for a difference in scoring, depending on your location (some score similar some not).

Sounds pretty reasonable to have her score out of 4/5 and get her routines ready for 8, water them down for one L7 meet at the beginning of the season and do the rest of the season as a L8.

Also, do you have a JO program? Just asking because if she is going to be the only one (assuming she stays) , are you prepared for this in terms of meets, training, etc?

She was only able to compete two meets this year due to CoVid-19, but she scored pretty well at both. Her form is really good. She was trained in Japan for a while so her toe point and straight legs are really nice. It scores a little harder in JO here than Xcel, but there isn't too much of a difference. She is staying at our gym. We have both JO and Xcel Programs.

That is what we are thinking. Do a 4/5 test out then doing maybe one or two level 7 meets than do level 8 after that.

 

[gymgal]

She was only able to compete two meets this year due to CoVid-19, but she scored pretty well at both. Her form is really good. She was trained in Japan for a while so her toe point and straight legs are really nice. It scores a little harder in JO here than Xcel, but there isn't too much of a difference. She is staying at our gym. We have both JO and Xcel Programs.

That is what we are thinking. Do a 4/5 test out then doing maybe one or two level 7 meets than do level 8 after that.

just curious, why did she go the xcel route with that much talent and young age? Was it parent choice?

 

[louninak1213]

just curious, why did she go the xcel route with that much talent and young age? Was it parent choice?

Her mom wanted her to get adjusted to America when they moved her from Japan and wanted her to experience other sports and other things that were available to her. They also lived far away at the time, but they were able to moved closer to the gym and to her new job late last year.

 

[JBS]

I am thinking 8.

Sounds like you know what you are doing... pushing to Level 9 & 10 too quickly can be terrible. Doing the season of L8 will allow you guys to have everything ready for a solid L9 the next season.

 

[txgymfan]

That’s great that you and the mom let her get her feet wet in Xcel before diving into JO. Please keep us posted and welcome to the Chalk Bucket. We love having intelligent, caring coaches contributing to the CB community. Please stick around and join in our chats.

 

[louninak1213]

That’s great that you and the mom let her get her feet wet in Xcel before diving into JO. Please keep us posted and welcome to the Chalk Bucket. We love having intelligent, caring coaches contributing to the CB community. Please stick around and join in our chats.

Thank you. I am glad to get some answers and I will be sure to contribute. Thank you.

 

[Aero]

I am very glad to hear that you are taking a patient, methodical approach towards competition with this athlete! Honestly, in my own personal opinion, competition should mean absolutely nothing in this coming year, solely because the coronavirus has thrown us all for such a loop. As soon as we are all allowed back in the gym, our sole priorities as coaches must be getting the kids back into adequate physical shape, and thoroughly solidifying their basic skills. This can only be achieved slowly and intelligently, through the constant use of effective, periodized conditioning designed to help all the athletes reach a solid, strong fitness baseline, and by consistently implementing detailed training sessions towards mastery of basic skills and concepts. This process must happen on its own time frame, without the competitive season affecting it. Surely, the health and long term athletic goals and plans for these kids take precedence over a single, measly, insignificant competitive season! Keep in mind that the next competitive season is likely to be a huge **** show anyway!

The only way to avoid sudden training overload, as well as injury, is to follow a very careful training plan. As amazing as our athletes are in this beautiful sport, they are not exempt from the realities of human physiology; gymnastics, being undeniably unique compared to all other sports, must still adhere to the fundamentals of basic strength training and appropriate ratios of stress vs. recovery periods. If you have further interest in this concept, please look into Dr. David Tilley's many resources. He is literally at the forefront of the medical field as it relates to gymnastics, not to mention he is an incredible role model concerning the positive cultural climate shift that gymnastics is thankfully moving through.

 

[cogymmom2dd]

My DD, age 9/10 (birthday in the middle of season) was in the same boat. Did a season of L3, went to XG because they felt L4 would be remedial for her and she was able to work on upskills. She competed a L4 and L5 meet in-house at our gym pre-season, scored out of both on the first attempt. She was only able to compete in 2 L6 meets in 2020 due to having the flu and then gym closure but she was able to take her exact routines/music from XG and use it for L6. There were some slight modifications with her tumbling passes but otherwise it was a pretty smooth transition and she scored decently at her 2 meets. If there is a season next year, the goal pre- COVID was to have her do a few L7 meets (Our competition season is from October to March. Many girls transition to their new level at the start of the new year) and see how they go and possibly transition to 8 for the bulk of the season- only time will tell!