Parents Skipping to level 5?

[ollieblueeyes]

So tonight my daughter's coach told her if she cleaned up her ROBHS she could bump from the Adv Dev group to the level 5 group. This year all her meets were inhouse where she scored very well. My concern is her comp experience is lacking. She has her kip and cartwheel on beam. What else is needed for Lvl 5? She is loving the up training and I was concerned shenmay be bored doing lvl 4 again.

What is better....a confidence builder season or moving on? She is 10 and in the sport almost 2 yrs. Also...she had a rough time with stage fright that seems to be decreasing with each meet. Thoughts?

 

[vagymmomma]

The coach should know if a gymnast is ready for the next level, so I would definitely predominantly look to them. The kip is the big skill that tends to hold girls back, but there's a lot of skills packed in 5 v 4. Does she have 2 BHS on floor? Since you said she's cleaning up the ROBHS, I would be a little concerned about the double. She also needs a back extension roll, front handspring with rebound. and dive forward roll among other skills for floor. The vault moves to the table, but if she's 10 she shouldn't have too much trouble (some of the younger, smaller girls have a harder time with that transition). On bars, she also needs the baby giant, tap swings, and higher casts. The tap swings and casts are really important building blocks.

I think the answer to your last question depends on your DD. Does she prefer a challenge or to win? How good were her level 4 scores? Again, I would definitely defer to whatever the coach thinks, but if she was getting at least a 35 all around I wouldn't worry too much. Our gym requires a 36 in at least one meet to move to level 5, but I think at 10 with the kip in hand she should be fine even if it was a little lower all around. If she's below 35 she may not have sufficiently mastered some of the level 4 skills. Good luck to you both!

 

[bookworm]

If she's 10, I'd vote for Level 5 as she seems to have the skills.

 

[lhmom]

Well, I would say she also needs a front handspring for the floor routine and be able to do 2 back handsprings as well. But it sounds like she's got the 2 biggest skills though. I can only speak for my daughter's experience. She did 2 years of level 4 (age 6 and 7) and I know the 2nd year gave her a big confidence boost. However, your daughter's coaches may be feeling that at her age (10), it's best to get her moving forward if she's getting the harder skills (like kip and cartwheel on beam). How is she feeling about this? Does it make her anxious at all? If it is, might be good to discuss her stage fright with her coaches. Congrats to her!

 

[GymBee97]

If the coach thinks she is ready then she probably is ready. if she needs a confidence year you will fine that out at the end of the season if your DD needs to repeat the level but with the new levels coming in the old L5 she would be doing will be the new L4 that following year.

Trust your coach and enjoy the ride.

So tonight my daughter's coach told her if she cleaned up her ROBHS she could bump from the Adv Dev group to the level 5 group. This year all her meets were inhouse where she scored very well. My concern is her comp experience is lacking. She has her kip and cartwheel on beam. What else is needed for Lvl 5? She is loving the up training and I was concerned shenmay be bored doing lvl 4 again.

What is better....a confidence builder season or moving on? She is 10 and in the sport almost 2 yrs. Also...she had a rough time with stage fright that seems to be decreasing with each meet. Thoughts?

 

[JessLW]

I would trust the coach. It doesn't sound like you're at a program where they just try and power kids through the levels as quickly as possible, so if the coach thinks she's ready, I'd go with it.

 

[gymmomof1]

I concur with the others about trusting the coaches. She will gain confidence competing no matter what level so since she has the skills why not L5. What does Dd thing about the move to L5?

 

[my4buffaloes]

I would take advantage of the jump and have her do 5 if the coaches think she is ready. She won't get as bored with compulsories this way and will likely stick with the sport longer (and go farther by skipping a level).

 

[bogwoppit]

Sounds like the perfect thing for her. She has had a chance to work on her meet fears in L4 and has her L5 skills on the whole, the kip being the most difficult to get.

 

[ollieblueeyes]

Well, when she told me I asked her how she felt about that and she said 'excited, excited, excited', so I guess she is on board. I mentioned that she may be competing with the lvl 5s in Dec when they start and she looked surprised. I think she handed thought that far ahead. I asked her if she was up for more hours and she told me she would like to 'live at the gym', so again on board I guess.

I think she has her front walkover I think and she most definitely does not have a double BHS. Her BHS is there but 'froggy' her coach calls it. I think her rebound is very good bc she tells me she will the rebound contests all the time. On bars she was working on toe circles (?) last week with one other girl in her group. The rest of her squad are still perfecting FHS and starting Kips.

One concern is that she has yet to get an actual score so I don't know what she would have gotten. They get ribbons based on scores (blue, red, white). She typically scores 3-4 blues each meet and only a few whites over the season, so I would assume she would get good actual scores. I do know that the scoring standards are not necessarily what she may encounter at a regular meet.

Her fears where really under control at the last meet, but I think it's because she has made friends with some of her teammates and felt supported by her team. This is my main concern. Maybe the other girl she was training bars with will move up with her.

I agree she would likely be bored working lvl 4 skills this summer and routines this fall. It probably makes sense to start learning the new lvl 5 skills sooner than rather than later. By meet time she will have made new friendships I suppose. Like I told her last night, her coaches seem to keep an eye on each kid and make decisions based on what is right for the individual rather than a pre-determined timeline. I have heard them tell the kids they will not have them compete anything they can not do well.

Thanks!

 

[Quadqueen]

Sounds like a good move, if she can get RO 2BHS. Just to clarify on what a previous poster said, she does not need a baby giant for L5.

 

[ollieblueeyes]

Good thing too, I am not sure this mamma is ready to watch her baby do giants! I flinch when she does cartwheels on beam.....

So no, I am not one to watch practice!

 

[MeetDirector]

This is yet another example of my on-going theme - trust. In fact, for the OP this may be the first step in developing that trust in the coach. You have to reach a point where you are trusting of the coach's decisions and realize that they are not going to put your daughter out there without having the skills. Level 5 is a big step up from 4; it sounds like she is well on her way. If she has the kip on bars that is huge! Don't worry about anything with the word "giant" in it for level 5; that comes at 6 and beyond.

Good Luck in your journey!

 

[ollieblueeyes]

I think the coaches has DD figured out. She showed me her robhsbhs after practice tonight. Froggy, but there. I asked what her coaches said. She replied....the first one was a celebration......the second was...straighten your legs, straighten your legs!!

Guess she wants lvl 5!!!