Skipping Level 7?

[NGL780309]

Thanks for your response Cher. I don't worry or concern myself with how other gymnasts are progressing. You suggest trusting my DD's HC. But that is precisely the purpose of my post. We are constantly losing gymnast for reasons unbeknownst to me. Since I don't gossip and pretty much judt drop my DD of at practice, I rarely get to socialize with other parents. But this new occurrence troubles me now. Things keep happening and I am beginning to question the gym. I just wanted some insight on this direction the coaches were heading because my DD is going up quickly in the levels and want to be confident that she is in the gym that puts their gymnadts first. Often times, people are so quick to pass judgment and offer solutions unrelated to the original post. It just is too bad that instead of trying to help each other out, we try to cut each other down. My daughter could be one of the gymnasts I mentioned but I might have chosen not to say who she was for purposes of anonymity. Is it too hard to just try to answer a question and not put all sorts of analysis on the poster whom we do not even know?

I think it is important to watch what is going on in the gym because it gives you insight into what the future holds for your DD. To me it's like when your kid is a year from middle school you want to take a peek at what is going on there to see if that is the place you want your child to go.

I would be concerned if the coach was having kids skip levels and they were doing poorly at meets or having other adverse reactions to the stress of rushing. I don't really understand why a coach would rather have kids compete Level 8 poorly, rather than compete L7 successfully. I don't think it makes your gym look any better to others. That's making the assumption that they wouldn't be ready for L8. I see this in parents a lot too. They want to be able to say their kid is a certain level regardless of how they actually look at that level. I personally would rather always have my child doing a level that she can do confidently.

The gym DD used to go to would often rush through 6-7 to get to 8 and many of the girls did it successfully. They would either go 6/7 in one season or do a full season of 6 and then quickly go 7/8. I can't speak to the reasoning behind it, but they did it with almost every kid.

If it's something that is going to impact your DD immediately, I'd be asking questions. If she's a year out from the situation I just might keep a close watch on how the girls that skipped L7 do. If the coach were wanting my child to skip a level and I felt like she wasn't ready, I would say so and hope that the coach would allow her to compete a level she was really ready for.

 

[ek2]

This girl was a good L6 gymnast. But she does not have her giants, fulls, etc.

When you say good, what did she score on vault and floor? Was she in the 9+ range? What was her AA in level 6? If she was a strong level 6 than she must have some strength/flexibility that is not apparent during observation during practice?

Does anyone have any thoughts on potential problems in skipping L7?

If this girl is talented do you think the coach sees some potential? AND, since the season (at least in the U.S.) for optionals does not begin until January wants to see how far she progresses? Just because she trains level 8 does not mean she will compete it unless she is ready?

Would the jump from L6 to L8 be too drastic?
I know of a gymnast who blew through 3 levels in the space of a year, hit optionals and came in 1rst or second AA at almost every meet. Her coaches put her in a more intense workout group and she really rose to the challenge.

The gymnast in question is a pretty good tumbler and vaulter but her form is not so great.
She caN't climb the rope or hold her handstand for more than 10 seconds. But she is a ver hard worker and appears to have some natural talent? I personally just worry because my DD is in this gym and I would like to trust the coaches and would hope that they had the best interest of the gymnasts at heart. What do you guys think.

I have seen a couple of kids skip level 7 and do well. However, it is definitely the exception not the rule.

 

[gymgal]

I think this is highly individual based on the gymnast's skills, drive, dedication and natural talent. I'm sure the parent input (positive and negative) has a lot to do with it as well. If this is your child, I would certainly talk to the coach about the pros/cons of passing out of 7. Then you can make an informed decision. If it is not your child, I wouldn't cross the bridge until you come to it.

As for trusting the coaches, I want their input but ultimately I need to decide what is best for my daughter. I know how she handles stress, success, and failure. Is doing poorly all season going to set her in a tailspin or is it going to motivate her to push harder for next season?

 

[justanothergymmom]

I could be wrong, but I think our HC may be rushing some girls to higher levels because we now only have maybe 5 gymnasts in Levels 8 through 10. We used to have more higher level gymnasts but two years ago, we lost half our team, mostly, levels 7-10. We were down to 7 gymnasts in L7-L10. Well three of ourbest gymnasts left again this year. Last season, she moved one girl from L6 to L7 midseason. But this gymnast is truly talented. She placed 1st AA on 2 of her 3 Level 6 meets and also placed 1st AA on 2 of her 3 level 7 meets and placed either 3rd AA or 2nd AA on the other meets. She is now L8. She can already do her front giants. Now, our HC is saying she may move another girl from L6 to L8. This girl was a good L6 gymnast. But she does not have her giants, fulls, etc. Our gym has never had anyone skip L7. In addition, the gymnast is not even our strongest gymnast. Furthermore, our HC is also thinking of having our current L5 skip or score out of L6. Our last seasons L6 was a stronger team and our HC did not let them score out. So, I am thinking, this decision may be more a matter of ego. Does anyone have any thoughts on potential problems in skipping L7? Would the jump from L6 to L8 be too drastic? The gymnast in question is a pretty good tumbler and vaulter but her form is not so great. She caN't climb the rope or hold her handstand for more than 10 seconds. But she is a ver hard worker and appears to have some natural talent? I personally just worry because my DD is in this gym and I would like to trust the coaches and would hope that they had the best interest of the gymnasts at heart. What do you guys think.

The jump from L6 to L8 may not be that tough for some girls. My dd had strong L8 routines on 3 out of 4 events after her L6 season (but she did not skip L7). Based on what is highlighted though, I can't imagine that this gymnast would be ready for L8 in enough time to polish the necessary skills, unless she is very close on the giant and full (don't you need freehip hs and 2 giants for L8?) As far as climbing the rope and handstand holds these seem to be the absolute basics for any optional gymnast. If she can't hold a handstand on floor can she do a cast handstand or pirouette on bars?

I think the bigger issue is that you are questioning the coaches' judgement in their decision to progress this girl, and maybe concerned that they are not making wise choices for their gymnasts, and that this could eventually affect your own dd. Maybe I am wrong, and I could be projecting (LOL) because I felt this way for quite some time watching my own dd progress rapidly, and wondered if there were times that her coaches may have been too eager to move her (and a few of her teammates) along (even though she always scored well). All I can say is that if you are having these concerns now you may have bigger trust issues as your own dd moves through the higher optional levels (9 & 10). I would also have to wonder why most of the optional team has left in the past few years...it is hard to reconcile that sometimes a gym can be great at producing excellent gymnasts up to L8 but may not have the resources or experience to get them through L9 and L10.

 

[Muddlethru]

I have seen a couple of kids skip level 7 and do well. However, it is definitely the exception not the rule.

She scored in the 9s. She is strongest in vault but pretty weak at bars. Last 3 meets, she scored high 36 AA. I think she could be close to getting most of the skills in 3 of the 4 events in L8, sans bars, but it is not pretty. The coach says she is pretty close to getting her yurchenko. But I am just worried about rushing and pushing to get the higher skills and sacrificing form and a stronger foundation. I guess only time will tell.

 

[dmytv]

I really don't think its a big deal. Alot of gyms in our area score out of 6 and some out of 7. The truth is that most will repeat 8. Maybe hc is struggling to make a team. after all, having 1 level 7 and 3 level 8s doesn't make as much sense as 4 lv8s. There is alot of gymnasts who quit when it comes to ops. Way more money involved and way more time etc. and some kids and some parents don't want to do that. Level 8 introduces "real gymnastics". It is the best JO level.Trust your head coach and look at the skills your dd is trying to get. Then you'll know.

 

[gymdog]

How much conditioning does your gym do? It is POSSIBLE to do this, but the kid has to be talented, have trained ahead, and be in a very "tight" program as far as prep for body strength and awareness goes. Here are the red flags to me: a child who cannot climb the rope or balance in a handstand for at least 30 seconds being considered to skip to level 8 (without essential skills which will demand that exact kind of ability). To me that does not suggest the kind of program that could successfully pull this off. BUT I can only go off the information given and it is really impossible to say without knowing the gymnast in question.

However, my suggestion would be any child considered for level 7 should be close to giants (at least able to do them on strap bar, strong enough to do them) or have a clear hip handstand, so certainly any child considered for SKIPPING level 7 to level 8 should be able to do a decent giant, without spot, on the full bar set, into a flyaway. Otherwise I do not really see why they have been moved to level 8 when they haven't even mastered, much less exhausted, the set of competitive skills at level 7.

For example in another thread I gave the example of how I went to a gym when I was little, before I had done preteam or anything, and they put me on their level 5 team with no kips or RO BHS. If you look at sheer physical ability, it would have been in the realm of possibility for me to get those skills in a few months (I later learned a kip within a couple weeks of training it). At that particular gym? Not a chance. Program was not strong enough, period. I ended up leaving after a week of dangerous training. And being pushed to do a kip when you haven't before is a lot less dangerous than being pushed to do a yurchenko that you haven't had the necessary training and drill time on.

 

[MamaofEnS]

My DD's gym has some gymnasts who skip levels, or score out of them is a better way to say that. It has more to do with the skills they have than what the score was at the previous level. Regarding L7, we had two girls who scored out of it during the first meet at pre-season. Why? The first one wasn't ready to go 6/7 (fall/winter), but by the winter of the following year, she had all her 8 skills. The other gymnast came from another gym, and so she also had all of her L8 skills by winter. However, our gym has also had issues with gymnasts repeating levels, especially gymnasts that had previously scored out of lower levels. All gyms have different policies.