"Skipping" Level 8

[GetaGrip]

Hey Chalkbucket,

I am 13 years old and a level 7 gymnast. Being a bit old for my level and track, I was wondering how huge the differences between level 8 and 9 are. Here are my opinions:

Bars- You need a release move, which I really want to learn, and a double back, which I'm very disappointed that you can't do in level 8 any more.

Beam- Again, the back tuck has been taken out which is disappointing to me, and you can have a back handspring back handspring which I intended to do in level 8 anyways.

Floor- Added twists and a maybe an extra flip or two.

Vault- Are tsuk's allowed in level 9? Or are yurchenko's more wanted?

Any opinions/skepticism/rants are wanted!!!

-Lauren

 

[CoachTodd]

Hey Chalkbucket,

I am 13 years old and a level 7 gymnast. Being a bit old for my level and track, I was wondering how huge the differences between level 8 and 9 are. Here are my opinions:

Bars- You need a release move, which I really want to learn, and a double back, which I'm very disappointed that you can't do in level 8 any more.

Beam- Again, the back tuck has been taken out which is disappointing to me, and you can have a back handspring back handspring which I intended to do in level 8 anyways.

Floor- Added twists and a maybe an extra flip or two.

Vault- Are tsuk's allowed in level 9? Or are yurchenko's more wanted?

Any opinions/skepticism/rants are wanted!!!

-Lauren

I'm not quite sure where you get the idea that you are old for level 7/8 From what I've seen, you are about average aged for those levels.

For level 9
1. Bars you need 2 bar changes and a release or twisting element. Since any bar change from high to low bar is going to involve a release, this is what I'd make sure I'd focus on.
you need a 'B' dismount. It doesn't have to be a double back. There are plenty to choose from

Beam: I've seen some other coaches do one meet at level 8 then start training the girl for level 9 due to the fact that they weren't allowed to do the tuck on beam.

Floor: Need a 'B' dismount. It's easier to find higher level dance skills for difficulty and connection

Vault: At level 9 and 10, you can do any vault in the code. The values just change.

The main thing you will need to look at is the connection bonus. Bars you have to do 'C' to 'C' to get any bonus and it can't be the same element. They have to be different. Getting the 10 start value would be the tricky part.

 

[gymdog]

It's been unusual to skip L8 in the past due to how competitive this level was and how much was typically competed. In fact I'd say it was even more common to skip L9 (usually after two years of 8 though). But of course things changed so who knows now. There may be more L9s missing a few requirements.

But to me the point at these levels isn't really what number level you're competing, but whether the skills you're doing provide a good base to "add on." Sure someone could do L9 and do the bare minimum and find ways around requirements that aren't really progressive. But that doesn't really further them towards being a good L10. It would be better to do solid L8 skills that are progressive towards higher level ones. Once in L8 there's still a fair amount of flexibility. Many girls do two years of 8 despite having almost all 9 skills simply because it's very competitive to get to regionals and even with the new restrictions you could still compete a fair amount. I don't really agree with the restrictions, but if I had a L8 ready to add difficulty I would just focus on strengthening the connection skills many girls struggle with later on (like FLO FLO on floor) and keep training the other skills from 9 anyway. Most optional training groups are pretty different from compulsory ones and tend to keep doing a lot of skills and drills no matter what "level" they are.

 

[socko]

I agree with the 2 coaches who have already posted...I think you'd be better off in the long run to do a year of Level 8 and uptrain. The transition to 9 seems more difficult from what I've seen this year but the kids who do have the skills and requirements for 9 score well...I guess I wouldn't focus so much one what "level" versus skill progression. You definitely need to have good basics to make successful progression to Level 10 (as one of the coaches already stated).

 

[GetaGrip]

I was talking to my coach, and she told me that no one in my gym has yet done level 8 in one year, so that is going to be my main goal now! To pass off level 8 with the highest allowed skills and move on. I do want to be elite some day, so I'm trying to get past the JO levels as fast as I can. I've gone through 4 in the span of 2 years so far.

 

[Optionals United]

you might be able to pull it off you will have to wrk really hard.if you can do all those skills in your sig then you are already on the right trak for level 9.it will be really hard though. you will have to do a lot of uptraining through the summer and breaks you have in the season!!thats just my input!!!