Return to gym stories

[Aussie_coach]

We are allowed to open from today (June 1st) with a maximum of 20 people on each premises. That 20 people limit includes coaches, parents etc.

The tricky bit is that we were only given the information that we could open today, at midday yesterday. We had exactly 24 hours notice!

 

[gymisforeveryone]

Our gym opened up today! And the day was a great success.

My observations:

Optional girls bounced back pretty quickly. They were full of excitement! We only did basics on bars but they were begging to do more. Kips were not affected, everyone could do 5 decent ones in a row. Tap swings and floor bar stuff also no problem. Maybe 50 % still had their cast handstand, 20% had kip-CHS. Beam was good to. We did dance stuff and acro basics, and even BHS was OK for everyone. Some did BTs. That's all that we had time today. No one was scared.

Compulsory girls were ok too. We did 3 sets of 5 chin up pullovers to see how they are doing strength wise and they could all do it, but some struggled. Everyone had a bit sore arms afterwards. We did tap swings, casts and glides too, and upper compulsories did kips. All OK. Beam was OK too. No one was scared, not even a bit. They did all the basics. Everyone had their press handstands still down.

Pre-team was the greatest succes! I felt like they had became more mature over the break. They concentrated really well and LOVED our press handstand warm up. Bar skills still all there. Some came back even stronger, after spending so much time doing pull ups and leg lifts at home. Even the kids who didn't do that much at home still could do straight leg pullovers and leg lifts etc. Floor skills not affected at all.

 

[SMH]

My girl just had her first day back! They had a group of 11 kids in the gym- then that group was split into smaller groups of 2 or 3 kids. They are starting with only 1.5 hours at a time.
She finished her level 4 season in March and is training level 6. They did lots of basics and she was super happy she didn’t lose her kip! She had a great day!

 

[Tmacs]

1st day back... 3 hours a day, 3 days a week. The gym did lots of zoom training the whole 2 months and it seemed to help... still has her kip and a pretty ROBH. And a smile from ear to ear.

 

[2GymGrls]

Second day back. I was a bit nervous since she is jumping from 8 hours a week to 14. She is aiming to score out of L5 at some point and they now have her training with the Optionals. Kip and tumbling are still there. Beam is a bit shaky. Mostly sore hands and lots of sore muscles. She’s doing great.

 

[RTT2]

So far I've only heard stories about kids getting right back to the gym with no problems- great news! I guess all of our fears were unfounded. We aren't back yet, but it's good to know that everyone seems to be returning with only minor soreness but no lost skills.

 

[cogymmom2dd]

I have 2 kids back at the gym as of Monday this week.
Oldest who ended her season on level 6. She said she was able to do everything on bars the first try. She is upset that she wasn’t allowed to try her giants. She is most worried about this because she finally got confident enough To not need a spotter right before COVID and had beautiful giants and planned on competing them in her routine for her last meet of the season and state meet. She said she has all of her floor skills and needs to work on her BHS vault entry and BHS on beam but otherwise is happy with everything.

My younger daughter will be moving up to level 4 and said she hasn’t lost any skills. She still has her kip and vertical handstand on beam. She said she needs to work on vault, mainly because they are now introducing the vault table and she needs to work on her speed to be confident with that.
They are back 12 and 9 hours per week, which each is less than what they should be doing. (Normally should be 15 and 12 for summer months). They practice with about 20-25 kids in the gym at a time and are broken down into smaller groups of 5-6 and rotate each event with that group.

 

[josie55]

Mine has started back. They only did drills to start and are starting VERY slowly in tiny groups and at very low hours. In no way would I say no lost skills. These are upper optionals who have been conditioning a lot while out but it’s going to be a long, slow road back.

But that’s okay - it’s great to see my kid so happy and in addition to facility upgrades they were greeted with a big “Welcome Home!” banner, which warmed my heart.

 

[cmg]

My daughter had a great first day. I am so relieved! I know its only one day, but she has a very positive mindset and that is a very important first step. I feel like the time away from the gym has given her motivation to shed past bad habits and/or fears and start fresh. I hope this lasts for a very long time,

 

[FlippinPrincess]

So far I've only heard stories about kids getting right back to the gym with no problems- great news! I guess all of our fears were unfounded. We aren't back yet, but it's good to know that everyone seems to be returning with only minor soreness but no lost skills.

I wonder how many weeks they were out. Mine has been out 12 with absolutely no idea when gyms are allowed to open (I've heard after July 4 which is ridiculous given our state's current statistics). Some gyms closed well after us and are already back open. These last 4 weeks have been awful for my daughter to stay motivated for anything gymnastics related and I can't imagine how bad it will be if we have to wait 4 more.

 

[jillc]

My DD (competed level 5 last year) went back part time in mid May and full time this week.
She had the same experience many others are describing, sore hands and a little sore overall— but after just 2.5 week her skills are all back to where they were before the break (edited to add that she was off for 9 weeks total).

One thing that has surprised me is that the calluses an her hands are back yet. I guess I don’t really know how long those take to build.

 

[JessSyd]

These stories are lovely, and are giving me hope. We still have no return to gym date but it will likely be mid July at the absolute soonest.

Did anyone‘s kid lose team mates? My daughter’s team has already had two girls who stopped turning up for zooms and are now saying they won’t go back to gym. She’s sad - her teammates are everything and this is going to cause her to have a rethink too.

 

[amiandjim]

So, kiddo has been back for a week and half, but this week is their first full schedule. She struggled a little Monday, but has been in good spirits since. She has most bar skills back, but says she hasn’t tried giants yet (she is a rising level 7 and had just done her first unspotted giant before the break), and her clear hip is weak. On beam, she has dealt with some fears, but did her bhs on pit beam yesterday, which surprised me. Funnily, she said the rope climb has been the hardest physical ability to get back right now.

JessSyd,

We have lost 3-4 level 7s and a couple level 6s (last years levels). Some would have quit anyway, but 2 were definitely due to the quarantine.

 

[GymParent]

Mine is in her 3rd week back. She's a rising level 10. She was out 9 weeks and conditioned daily at home. They started off with 2 hour practices the first week, 3 hour week 2 and they are back to full practice this week. Coaches are taking it slow with them to try to prevent injuries. For the level 9s and 10s they are working at about a level 6/7 this week. They will move to level 7/8 skills next week. So far bars has been the hardest. Hands are getting tougher but still soft.

Compulsories started back this week. We lost about a quarter of the upper optionals with a few moving to the HS team instead.

 

[aerials]

Mine went back this week, level 8 or 9. She said front tumbling and bars were the roughest. Oh and she is sore......

 

[cogymmom2dd]

These stories are lovely, and are giving me hope. We still have no return to gym date but it will likely be mid July at the absolute soonest.

Did anyone‘s kid lose team mates? My daughter’s team has already had two girls who stopped turning up for zooms and are now saying they won’t go back to gym. She’s sad - her teammates are everything and this is going to cause her to have a rethink too.

Only lost one teammate/friend to a case of CGM.
This teammate has been back and forth between 3 different gyms in the past 4 years. She was with us, left, came back, and is gone to a different gym. Mom has tunnel vision and pulls her from each gym if she has a mediocre season, blaming each gym for her daughter’s inability to be successful in the optional levels.
There was also a girl who struggled last season after a huge growth spurt and is now entering HS and wants to focus on HS sports so she quit. My daughter is only 10 so was never close friend with her due to age difference.

 

[bagira]

My kids went back last week, 3 hour practice. We are in region 5. Older daughter is level 8, younger daughter is level 6, and son who is level 4. They were all so super excited, it was very cute to see. Gym is following a lot of safety measures, I was impressed. All three had good practice. They were less rusty than they expected. Level 6s went to high beam and each was still able to do BHS! I was pleasantly surprised with that. My YD said her back tucks were "pretty bad". My OD said she was very sore after tumbling, and and was mad that coach won't let some of them twist (it's a good thing). They just did a little bar conditioning at the end of practice, and their hands were killing them, after 10 minutes. OD is very sore still.
Didn't get much info from my son, but he said it was good and he can do one circle. Girls are super excited for practice #2 today! Thinking of all whose gyms are still closed, crossing fingers that it would happen soon for everyone!

 

[FlippinLilysMom]

My daughter started back last week. 3 days last week, back to full time this week. She's beyond thrilled to be back in the gym and to be done with school. She is going fewer hours now that she's no longer training elite. Having her home more has been amazing for all of us. Her decision, while disappointing at first, I think will be the right decision. Hopefully she can continue to do gymnastics, continue to love the sport and take it all the way to college while still feeling healthy and not broken down physically or mentally.

 

[bagira]

Well, I hate to type this, but practice #2 was a disaster for my older daughter. Right at the beginning of practice they were doing "lines" and she twisted BOTH of her ankles on bad landing doing C jump. She sat there, cried and iced her feet for the remainder of the practice, and then wobbled out of gym saying she has no more tears left. She is my emotional one... Every year since level 6 she gets hurt at least once a year, so she knows how it feels to be on sidelines. And to just come back from being out for 2.5 months and again be out so quickly is hard for her. I kept her home from practice today and she is icing and elevating, have to see how she is in couple of days to see if I need to take her to the doctor. Hoping it's nothing serious! She competed 2 years of level 8 and wants to love up to 9 this year, which is totally within her reach IF she stays healthy.

My younger daughter tried bars for the first time since virus closure and she said she could barely do a kip. She struggled with bars since level 4, and took her 2-3 years to get straight arm kip, and last year as level 6 her bars were actually not too bad. She said she struggled the most compared to her teammates, so I told her to be patient and skills would come back. The rest of the events were uneventful.

 

[Dahlia]

Dd said her first day back was good (she is sore, though!). She still has her kip, but her form suffered a bit. I'm confident she'll get it back in plenty of time for competition season (assuming there is one). Other than that she said she felt really good about her skills. Definitely has some muscle to rebuilt as well as endurance.