WAG Skipping level 5 and 6

[munchkin3]

At DD old gym, they do the one level per year, and I think it has bitten HC in the rear.
All of the really good girls left to other gyms that push harder and faster, and he is left with the bigger older girls and must teach bigger skills. He confessed to me once that he is scared to spot certain skills from girls bigger than him! LOL. But I don't think he would ever change his ways and teach a small 60 lb. level 4 girls Giants if she was ready......it's just not in his 'old school' mindset.

I think it should be a balance. If you have a kid who can master skills faster, then you should move them.

 

[2G1B]

Yup. My dd learned jo 4 routines last fall...competed and scored out. Then learned jo 5 routines in 4-5 weeks...competed and scored out. Then learned all new gold routines within a month. Quite the nerve racking season for a parent, I must say!! :-\ She seems to take it all in stride! ;-)

Why did they have her score out of 4 and 5 and then do gold? I can understand the scoring out; but if you have scored out of 5 you should be ready for 6 even if you aren't ready for 7. 6 is optionals, so I just can't see the benefit of doing gold at that point? (Someone correct me if I'm wrong; but I thought that for 6 the only thing harder than 5 was the height if casts, the rest is the same or possibly even easier than 5.)

 

[Moxiegrl83]

The routines aren't too hard to learn fast. My DD had two weeks to learn the L4 routines after State to score out. As long as the skills are clean, they are allowed a few txt errors before a deduction. I wasn't sure she could honestly, but after a pause on floor where I was certain she had forgotten her routine, turns out she was just waiting on the music.

 

[sce]

At DD old gym, they do the one level per year, and I think it has bitten HC in the rear.
All of the really good girls left to other gyms that push harder and faster, and he is left with the bigger older girls and must teach bigger skills. He confessed to me once that he is scared to spot certain skills from girls bigger than him! LOL. But I don't think he would ever change his ways and teach a small 60 lb. level 4 girls Giants if she was ready......it's just not in his 'old school' mindset.

I think it should be a balance. If you have a kid who can master skills faster, then you should move them.

You can also teach skills higher than the level a girl competes. Ideally, the little girls should be learning higher skills or at least the progressions for them, if they are ready. Whether they skip levels is really a separate issue.

 

[sce]

As long as the skills are clean, they are allowed a few txt errors before a deduction.

Well, as far as I know this isn't true. Just that those little text errors won't be enough to drop below the score needed for scoring out.

 

[JoyAvenueMom]

@gymnastca25 , what do you mean by "so many" scoring out of 5 & 6? Since 5 and 6 are roughly equivalent skill-wise, it's really only skipping (scoring out) of one level. However in our area, it is the exception, not the norm. It may be more common on this forum, but I think many parents find themselves here because their kiddo is not the "normal" gymnast. If you're looking at a particular gym, it may just be their philosophy. They may want to get to optionals quickly and plan for more than one year of L7. But as a parent, I would wonder why? The VAST majority of gymnasts drop out before reaching Level 9. Why rush to get there? And multiple years of placing in the lower half only adds to the likelihood the gymnast will quit. This year, there were a handful in our state who went from L4 to L7 who scored respectably in the 35's...but only high 37's and 38's were winning. Now...there was one who went from L4 to L8 and is kicking butt...but again, that is a rare exception.

 

[Along4theRide]

Why did they have her score out of 4 and 5 and then do gold? I can understand the scoring out; but if you have scored out of 5 you should be ready for 6 even if you aren't ready for 7. 6 is optionals, so I just can't see the benefit of doing gold at that point? (Someone correct me if I'm wrong; but I thought that for 6 the only thing harder than 5 was the height if casts, the rest is the same or possibly even easier than 5.)

Good question. Our gym has been competing primarily Xcel the past few years...since a coach\owner change. Now some girls are aiming to make the switch to Jo optionals. Those that could scored out of both levels, then rejoined the rest of the team to finish the season in Xcel gold. They are still training\competing level 6 skills...just along side their team mates.

 

[gymbeam]

@gymnastca25 , what do you mean by "so many" scoring out of 5 & 6? Since 5 and 6 are roughly equivalent skill-wise, it's really only skipping (scoring out) of one level. However in our area, it is the exception, not the norm. It may be more common on this forum, but I think many parents find themselves here because their kiddo is not the "normal" gymnast. If you're looking at a particular gym, it may just be their philosophy. They may want to get to optionals quickly and plan for more than one year of L7. But as a parent, I would wonder why? The VAST majority of gymnasts drop out before reaching Level 9. Why rush to get there? And multiple years of placing in the lower half only adds to the likelihood the gymnast will quit. This year, there were a handful in our state who went from L4 to L7 who scored respectably in the 35's...but only high 37's and 38's were winning. Now...there was one who went from L4 to L8 and is kicking butt...but again, that is a rare exception.

well, one explanation could be the one our gym gave us. the coaches want to move my daughter through quickly because they feel it is easier for the gymnast to learn advanced skills before they grow a lot...which means its also easier for coaches to spot them. my daughter started gym at 8 years old so she doesn't have much time to move slowly before possibly hitting puberty.

 

[Mrs. Puma]

well, one explanation could be the one our gym gave us. the coaches want to move my daughter through quickly because they feel it is easier for the gymnast to learn advanced skills before they grow a lot...which means its also easier for coaches to spot them. my daughter started gym at 8 years old so she doesn't have much time to move slowly before possibly hitting puberty.

I have also heard the theory of teaching them some things before fear sets in? These kind of go hand in hand I would assume.

 

[gymbeam]

yes! forgot they mentioned that in our convo, too!

 

[Aero]

At DD old gym, they do the one level per year, and I think it has bitten HC in the rear.
All of the really good girls left to other gyms that push harder and faster, and he is left with the bigger older girls and must teach bigger skills. He confessed to me once that he is scared to spot certain skills from girls bigger than him! LOL. But I don't think he would ever change his ways and teach a small 60 lb. level 4 girls Giants if she was ready......it's just not in his 'old school' mindset.

I think it should be a balance. If you have a kid who can master skills faster, then you should move them.

This is upsetting to me. Coaching cannot take a "one size fits all" approach. It is good to have a standard procedure, but if a child does not fit the mold, then they must be accommodated. There are always exceptions. By mandating one level per year, this coach is essentially holding back a lot of talented kids from their true potential! And as far as being "old school," that certainly wasn't a good way of teaching then, either. In my opinion, this method of coaching is inferior and defective. Athletes must have a training plan that fits them, rather than trying to fit to one plan. If this procedure was followed in every gym, there would be very few elite gymnasts, if any.

 

[raenndrops]

Why did they have her score out of 4 and 5 and then do gold? I can understand the scoring out; but if you have scored out of 5 you should be ready for 6 even if you aren't ready for 7. 6 is optionals, so I just can't see the benefit of doing gold at that point? (Someone correct me if I'm wrong; but I thought that for 6 the only thing harder than 5 was the height if casts, the rest is the same or possibly even easier than 5.)

I don't know the specific situation, but one possible rationale would be that they her casts weren't to HS yet (high enough for the SR, but would take amplitude deductions in L6). In Gold, the gymnast gets experience in lower pressure optionals, while having time to uptrain to go right into L7 potentially the next season.

 

[munchkin3]

This is upsetting to me. Coaching cannot take a "one size fits all" approach. It is good to have a standard procedure, but if a child does not fit the mold, then they must be accommodated. There are always exceptions. By mandating one level per year, this coach is essentially holding back a lot of talented kids from their true potential! And as far as being "old school," that certainly wasn't a good way of teaching then, either. In my opinion, this method of coaching is inferior and defective. Athletes must have a training plan that fits them, rather than trying to fit to one plan. If this procedure was followed in every gym, there would be very few elite gymnasts, if any.

I agree, with SCE also.
We are no longer at that gym, and the two coaches were at odds because one like up training, one did not. I have a very pragmatic approach to this. My DD has her best years right now....10-12. This is the time to push. She wants to work, school is still manageable, she still wants to please, and puberty is a few years off.
I can't tell you how many 13-15 yo old gym has in the optional program, and they are a nightmare! They talkback, sit around, decide when they 'feel' like it.........sorry, not trying to generalize all teens, (I have one of these wonderful beings too!) but HC did it to himself! I begged him when DD was 9, 'what's the plan' ......same plan it has been for 15 years....I love him, but no thanks. But old gym has one of the BEST compulsory programs around, hands down.

Once my DD can get her KCHS, then she is in business. I think that, and the Free hip are the biggest obstacles for level 7. Layouts, and twists, and of course the dreaded BHS on beam......
DD is prepping for real Giants. She has had strap bar Giants for a long time, and can do the from one swing. But also don't forget that the most important thing to 'skipping' levels is CONDITIONING!!! What a difference 1.5 hours of conditioning make!

 

[gymmomtotwo]

Really talented kids skip levels when ready. The "typical" kid at our gym does one level a year testing out of 5 and competing 6 instead. One size does not fit all, but in general the goal is a level a year. And no, kids with level 7 skills do not compete 4 to win medals.

 

[txgymfan]

This is an example of continuing a very old thread when you could have started a new one. This thread is from early 2015.