Parents Repeating Level 9 and Dreams of Elite

[OrchidZ]

I'd appreciate any positive stories or thoughts about repeating 9.. Does repeating 9 (for a gymnast who was strong in prior levels and had a rough L9 due to injury and coaching issues. Just turned 13yo.) indicate a gymnast won't or probably won't still have the potential to eventually train elite? I see moms on FB and here that have girls just sailing through which, while great for them, isn't helpful or applicable to this. Not a lot of stories about girls who were on a solid track but had setbacks and still made their goals. It seems like (from what I've read), if a girl isn't well on the way to Hopes or Elite by 11-12, it just doesn't happen.

 

[Deleted member 14190]

I'd appreciate any positive stories or thoughts about repeating 9.. Does repeating 9 (for a gymnast who was strong in prior levels and had a rough L9 due to injury and coaching issues. Just turned 13yo.) indicate a gymnast won't or probably won't still have the potential to eventually train elite? I see moms on FB and here that have girls just sailing through which, while great for them, isn't helpful or applicable to this. Not a lot of stories about girls who were on a solid track but had setbacks and still made their goals. It seems like (from what I've read), if a girl isn't well on the way to Hopes or Elite by 11-12, it just doesn't happen.

First off , the term repeating is not used in optionals , we say send year. The reason we say this is because it is totally common to spend more than one year in a level. The end.

 

[Deleted member 14190]

First off , the term repeating is not used in optionals , we say send year. The reason we say this is because it is totally common to spend more than one year in a level. The end.

Supposed to say second ).

 

[FlippinLilysMom]

I'd appreciate any positive stories or thoughts about repeating 9.. Does repeating 9 (for a gymnast who was strong in prior levels and had a rough L9 due to injury and coaching issues. Just turned 13yo.) indicate a gymnast won't or probably won't still have the potential to eventually train elite? I see moms on FB and here that have girls just sailing through which, while great for them, isn't helpful or applicable to this. Not a lot of stories about girls who were on a solid track but had setbacks and still made their goals. It seems like (from what I've read), if a girl isn't well on the way to Hopes or Elite by 11-12, it just doesn't happen.

I wouldn’t say it can’t happen but she will have to try and qualify junior elite which is not an easy task. I’d assume that most girls trying to qualify junior elite are either first year or second year level 10.

 

[3rd_time_around]

Level 9 is a very common level to repeat. Many great gymnasts have done 2 years of level 9.

 

[mom2557]

I'd appreciate any positive stories or thoughts about repeating 9.. Does repeating 9 (for a gymnast who was strong in prior levels and had a rough L9 due to injury and coaching issues. Just turned 13yo.) indicate a gymnast won't or probably won't still have the potential to eventually train elite? I see moms on FB and here that have girls just sailing through which, while great for them, isn't helpful or applicable to this. Not a lot of stories about girls who were on a solid track but had setbacks and still made their goals. It seems like (from what I've read), if a girl isn't well on the way to Hopes or Elite by 11-12, it just doesn't happen.

I've seen a girl qualify senior elite without ever doing hopes or junior elite.

 

[amlfbaba]

Here's my opinion... who the h*** cares what we have to say or what precedent says. You know it's going to be difficult. At that level, there are two things that really matter: can the gymnast perform the skills and can she earn the required scores in competition.

How about this: Your daughter, with her coaches and you (parents), should make a 2-3 year plan. Be honest about as many things as possible -- skills / blocks / injuries -- and then say, "I want to be at JO Nationals in May 2020 (or Elite Qualifier in 2020) What do I need to do to get there?"

And then go do the plan.

 

[gymgal]

If you don't know their histories, look up Jade Carey and Ashton Locklear. Yes, it is possible. However, (and I am not from the elite world so I don't know for sure) it seems that most who make it to elite have been training for it for several years. It doesn't mean that they have to be formally in the TOPS or Hopes programs but their coaches are following a different path than they would with a college bound gymnast. It rarely happens where a gymnast goes all the way through to L10, just like all of her teammates and then the coaches say - "Hey! let's start training you for elite." Are you in a gym that is training potential elites? Have the coaches discussed it with you? If I was in your position, I would be wanting more clear answers before moving forward.

First off , the term repeating is not used in optionals , we say send year. The reason we say this is because it is totally common to spend more than one year in a level. The end.

Supposed to say second ).

Have to say, it took me a few moments to figure out what you were trying to say initially. I was like - what the heck is a "send year?!"

 

[Flicfliclay]

Here's my opinion... who the h*** cares what we have to say or what precedent says. You know it's going to be difficult. At that level, there are two things that really matter: can the gymnast perform the skills and can she earn the required scores in competition.

How about this: Your daughter, with her coaches and you (parents), should make a 2-3 year plan. Be honest about as many things as possible -- skills / blocks / injuries -- and then say, "I want to be at JO Nationals in May 2020 (or Elite Qualifier in 2020) What do I need to do to get there?"

And then go do the plan.

I wish there was a heart key to press instead of the like! The is perfect!

 

[Faith]

I see moms on FB and here that have girls just sailing through which, while great for them,

I am willing to bet that they are not “sailing through”. Elite is a beast and it’s never an easy ride.

Remember social media always presents the sanitised, best face. People will post “woohoo, got x skill” alongside a neat, well executed video. They don’t post the 440 times before it went wrong, the tears and frustation, the wanting to quit because they can’t do it, the physical aches and pains, the growth spurt that means it all went wrong again after being so close.

It is very hard not to look at others and see them learning new stuff, progressing at a seemingly warp speed. It is difficult not to compare and see your child being left behind, dropping off the radar. But every child will have peaks and troughs. Focus on the small steps your child is making.

Mine has pretty much repeated the last 3 years. She was way ahead of the field at 11, but various reasons have meant she’s not visibly progressed. Others seem to have caught her up and stormed past, and they are the ones people are talking about and focussing one. However i know they have not had it easy, at all. Dd is at least happy, and a new coach and things seem to be clicking into place. She’s got 4 years now to take it slow and build on that, while the others have to stay with the high training hours and injuries to improve.

It’s the long game. Tough in this seemingly short sport where the thinking seems to be if they aren’t world class the day they turn senior they won’t get there. But with the right coach they can and do. There are probably far more slow developers have a senior career than the young bright stars who burn out last year of junior.

 

[rjb123]

I am willing to bet that they are not “sailing through”. Elite is a beast and it’s never an easy ride.

Remember social media always presents the sanitised, best face. People will post “woohoo, got x skill” alongside a neat, well executed video. They don’t post the 440 times before it went wrong, the tears and frustation, the wanting to quit because they can’t do it, the physical aches and pains, the growth spurt that means it all went wrong again after being so close.

It is very hard not to look at others and see them learning new stuff, progressing at a seemingly warp speed. It is difficult not to compare and see your child being left behind, dropping off the radar. But every child will have peaks and troughs. Focus on the small steps your child is making.

Mine has pretty much repeated the last 3 years. She was way ahead of the field at 11, but various reasons have meant she’s not visibly progressed. Others seem to have caught her up and stormed past, and they are the ones people are talking about and focussing one. However i know they have not had it easy, at all. Dd is at least happy, and a new coach and things seem to be clicking into place. She’s got 4 years now to take it slow and build on that, while the others have to stay with the high training hours and injuries to improve.

It’s the long game. Tough in this seemingly short sport where the thinking seems to be if they aren’t world class the day they turn senior they won’t get there. But with the right coach they can and do. There are probably far more slow developers have a senior career than the young bright stars who burn out last year of junior.

there is literally no one who sails through this sport, period. It is HARD, and looking at IG/ FB/ CW sanitized videos is not the real (or whole) picture. Anyone can say anything online (and people do!) but that is NEVER reality. Hang in there, encourage your DD to take it one step at a time, one day at a time. Set those big goals, but set the smaller ones too. Enjoy the journey!

 

[FlippinLilysMom]

I can attest to the above statements, while it may seem like some kids are "sailing through" that is definitely not the case. I always think of the "overnight success" stories, it may look like it was an overnight success to an outsider but I can guarantee that it took years and years of hard work, failures, etc...before they finally got to where they are. These past 6 months have been TOUGH! I've never seen my DD struggle so much, she'll get a new skill, after working on said skill for weeks or months, and then the next day she will lost that same skill and basically have to start over again to get it again. If she can survive this next year, learning all of these crazy, scary, highly difficult skills, then I truly believe that she will make it all the way through, but she is being pushed and tested more in these past few months than she has her entire career up to this point.

 

[Peachy88]

 

[Flicfliclay]

There's also the point of making sure your daughters know the reality of making Elite is very very tough. You can go look at the stats and there are very few truly Elite gymnast in the United States. I would say under 100? That is a mere blip of girls if you consider how many are in the sport. My daughter in on the "elite" track, but we are very very real with her and she knows that the reality of making this dream true, it will take LOTS of work and hitting routines at the right time on the right day.. which is so so hard.