Thinking of leaving our gym.

[gymgirl303]

Hello,

I'm wanting our daughter to leave the current gym at the end of the season. She is a level 5 and seems to be struggling on vault and beam. She does ok on floor and bars (bars is her strongest)

I talked to the owner and basically he told me that she was moved from rec league to level 5 because she is so strong on bars. She has a fear of the CW on the beam, but there is NO coaching or helping. They say, when she gets it she will.

When talking to the owner, he said, if your daughter is ok with the low score on beam, then that's fine and he said, if she's ok with being in last place, then she's ok. He also said the level 4's that will move up next year, wil probably beat her on beam, will she be ok with that!!

This gym does NOT work on the details of routines at all. They said they don't work on that stuff because they don't want to make our girls look like robots. Our floor scores always show that we dont get into detail. We always get low scores and other teams get high scores. I asked about it last year and the owner said, there's a couple moves we dont' do that would up the score, we don't worry about it. I've been reading up on this and from the best of my knowledge, it says the artistic and details are such an important part of the girls future in gymnastics. Does anyone agree with this.

The coaches at the gym are not approachable. They tell us they would rather NOT talk to any parents. If we have a problem, the owner will talk to us though. They don't cheer the girls on if they win and they don't acknowledge any wins etc..

The beam coach we have just stands there and doesn't interact with the girls. My daughter says she's mean. I dont' mind strict, but I told the owner when I see a coach just standing in the same place the entire rotation with her arms crossed, as a parent, it makes me wonder if they are getting the most from this. He said, I might not want to stay and watch every practice and then I might notice something.

Just to clarify, I have no problems with the owner, so it's not like we dont get along etc..

Now, sorry for this long message. I have checked out a couple gyms. The one is very small and seems to have good coaches. The owner is awesome and has more interaction with me in the last two weeks, then my DD current gym has in the last 8 years.. seriously. The possible new coach told me they usually keep a girl on a level for two years so by the second year they have the routine and details down.. They don't do up training. At DD current gym, they up train. IS not uptraining an issue?

I want to look at one other gym. The only issue is they don't allow parents to watch, but only once a month on a certain day. Is this a concern from anyone? I know people that go there and LOVE It.

After I told my daughter what the owner said, she was taken back. I wanted to be honest with her because she keeps telling me she's getting no help. She now wants to leave the gym. She says, I want someone that will really work with me.

I understand she needs to get over fear (CW on beam) herself.. but, if she notices nobody helping her, is that normal ? I said, do they give you any tips? NO.. just says, keep trying.

I was at the gym the other day.. A mom that I dont' know was talking to me about her level 7 daughter. A lot of the times, the level 7 and up dont' have any coaches with them during practice. Is it normal to have these girls practice alone?

Let me know if any of you think I'm being reasonable for wanting to change gyms. Sorry for the long message.. Changing gyms after 8 years is such a big deal. I can't believe I feel bad about it.

Thanks You,
Sincerely gymgirl303's mommy

 

[Billy]

I'm sorry to hear of your troubles with the gym but I do think your instincts are right on. It sounds like your gym is very sloppy with teaching the routine and incredibly lax in the actual coaching of skills, too. I would be very worried and I would definitely leave. It's not right and it doesn't sound safe, either.

As for your gym choices, even though you cannot watch often, the second gym sounds like the better choice. It's odd for me to suggest that because I watched all of my daughter's practices up until last summer. But, what I discovered last summer was that when your child is with a gym where you and she are completely comfortable and trusting of the coaches, it's not hard to feel comfortable leaving her alone with them to practice. It's hard to imagine but it's true! You may also find that you can still arrive a little early to pick her up and thus get to watch the last few minutes of practice sometimes.

I would not suggest the other gym for two reasons. 1) I think uptraining is very important. This is a progressive sport and they should be learning and progressing steadily, even if they're not yet competing the new skills. 2) I don't believe a gym should require two years at each level. Even though this is a team sport in some ways, gymnastics is still very individualized. One girl might need/want two years at a given level whereas another girl might need three. And yet another girl might be ready to score out and keep progressing. I don't believe in rules that might hold girls back when they're ready to move on.

 

[gymnut1]

Just a few quick ideas

I think your dd needs some coaching input to keep that cartwheel on. 'Keep trying' is not really achieving anything.

All gymnasts should have a coach with them or supervising them at all times on the floor.

Not uptraining can be an issue for 2 reasons. Firstly if a child repeats a level and does not uptrain then they can become terribly bored repeating routines endlessly and lose interest. Secondly without uptraining it can be hard to get the skills needed for the next level in time between seasons. The best gyms will have a balance of attention to detail in current level AND uptraining to continue progress and interest.

Good luck with your decision.

 

[bogwoppit]

Gymnasts should always have a coach with them, no matter what the level.

YOur child will not just get over her fear if she is not being helped in the gym.

A "good" coach would not remain in one spot with her arms folded for a whole rotation. I would expect to see her spotting and correcting body shapes. Even if she doesn't spot on beam, not all coaches do, then I would expect her to be setting up drills for the gymnasts to work on the skills they need or need to fix.

Watching all the time is not necessary if you can cope with that. NOt all gyms do have parent viewing, we have a whole thread on why that might be the case. Once a month is planty to see improvements being made.

Going to meets unprepared is not very emitionally beneficial to gymnasts, knowing you cannot possible do well is not a good thing. Sadly compusories are ALL about sweating the small stuff as every move counts for something. Tis is not optionals where it really is about skills.

As to the uptraining, that is a challenge for me, in the ideal world uptraining would be mixed in with this seasons routines. I agree with gymnut1 that this could get very boring, especially if they have to compete two years at each level.

I agree with Shawn in that mandating that every gymnast must do two years at each level that some kids are being held back for no reason other than conformity.

 

[Claire]

You should probably consider switching gyms because
1. They don't focus on perfecting skills. If your daughter learns them wrong, she will either get low scores or have to relearn them at some point, which is much harder then learning them right the first time.
2. The coaches are not helping her learn the skills she is struggling in, but just telling her to keep trying. Sadly, some coaches really aren't that good at coaching a child who is struggling. They may know how a skill is supposed to look, but do not how to help a child get the skill.
3. Her coaches do not encourage you to talk to them. Your child's coaches should be available to answer your questions.
4. If the L7s are truly practicing without supervision, that is very dangerous.

As for the one gym you looked into, I agree with what others have said. Uptraing is so important. You want to find a balance of perfecting skills and uptraining. I also don't agree with 2 years at each level reagrdless. Maybe you could inquire to that gym why they require two years and don't uptrain? Maybe that gym owner was trying to sell you on the fact that his/her gym does perfect skills?

Good luck to you! Changing gyms is VERY hard. Think of how many hours our gymmies spend there. It is like a second home to them. We changed gyms after 2 years and it was extremely hard; 8 years would be even harder. Even if your daughter is okay with the move, it might still be pretty stressful for her even if she likes the new gym. But in time it will all work out. You are a good parent to do what is best for your child!

 

[cathiann]

I would definitely be looking for another gym--since the coaches at your current place aren't responsive to parents at all and aren't helping your daughter by actually coaching her either.

I am not in favor of a gym that mandates two years for each gymnast--that makes no sense as some girls are ready to move after one, and others might need 3 yrs at a level! And not uptraining is just asking for boredom (of course maybe that first year the girls do poorly as they haven't uptrained--that's why they do 2 yrs!). I'd definitely look more into the 3rd gym--not being able to watch all the time wouldn't be a huge deal for me (although I do like that we can watch at our gym)--it's just less important than the other factors you've mentioned.

 

[coachmolly]

My suggestion would be to get out! I suffered from terrible beam fears from very early on as a gymnast and my coaches did nothing to help. I got terrible scores on beam and just tried to deal with it. I kept going, learning new skills, and being terrified of those skills. The fear destroyed me and by the time I got to a decent gym at the age of 14, I was too broken apart for anything to really be fixed. If she has a fear issue, it needs to be taken care of now.
Also, learning good form early on is essential. That's another thing that gets harder to fix as a gymnast progresses. If you stay at the current gym until she's a level 7 and then leave, there will be more for a new gym to have to go back and fix. Sometimes this can lead to a gymnast being pushed back to a previous level which is not fun. It's better to get everything fixed early on and progression later will be easier.
As for the new gym, I would look into the gym that only allows parents to watch one day a month. If you say you know people who love it, it's worth looking into. I think uptraining is really important to keep a gymnast progressing and interested, working only level 5 skills for 2 years would be really boring for most kids. A little variety is needed and will help them make the transition to the next level a little easier. I also don't agree with making a blanket statement that everyone will compete 2 years at a level. Girls progress very differently and placing that kind of limitation isn't really productive. I know lots of girls that spend at least 2 years at a compulsory level, but plenty who do just fine with 1. It's such an individual thing and I would prefer to work with a gym that acknowledge each gymnast as an individual and dealt with them on a personal basis.

 

[Flippers Mom]

We've been through the gym changing thing lately. It is a very difficult decision. Flipper begged for several years to change and we finally gave in about 7 months ago. She had been at the first gym for 7 years and we loved the coaches and owner, Flipper just wasn't getting the caliber of coaching she needed, she was the only optional and always competed alone. We now wish we had made the leap when she started asking. Our kids KNOW what they need and if they aren't getting it.

As others have said, kids should never be left to practice without a coach. On the mean coach front - Flipper says that one of her new coaches is "mean", but then adds that she is mean so that the girls will get better. When we talk about it, she indicates that a better description would be strict. Her coaches are constantly correcting positions, where the arms are, telling them to tuck their bottom in. . . the coaching never stops and that is how they get better. Even at meets, the coaches are giving tips and hints to help the girls compete well.

Most gyms will allow gymnasts to attend a trial class. That might give you a chance to pick the gym that fits best for you. Best of luck as you make this decision!

 

[mygymnastrocks]

Thanks so much for your input. It such a tough decision, but one we must make now. I know once we leave, I will say, why did we wait so long.

Our current gym, a lot of the older, higher level girls are by themselves a lot and I always wondered why!! I see that's not really a good thing!!!

With our level 5 girls, they will have one coach on beam with them and she will be coaching another group of higher level girls on the set across from our girls. How can someone coach all these at one time....

My DD will be going to a trial class at both gyms soon. I will update on how it went. The first tryout is this week.

As for the first gym, with the NO uptraining, I think the coaches want the level routine perfected and don't want to work on new stuff. Do you think it's ok to ask why they do know uptraining? I don't want to come across as a no it all....just want to be an informed parent.

Thanks again for all of your support. I never realized what a tough decision this would be.

 

[bogwoppit]

How old is your DD?

 

[gymdog]

Sorry - just quickly reading and replying, have missed some details.

This is a big generalization, but my opinion is that bars is the hardest event in L5 (all the levels you could perhaps argue, maybe...depends). If she has the ability and is doing the work to progress to a L5 level on bars, I would tend to think she is capable of learning the floor and beam skills. I would go for a tryout at the gyms you are considering and then make your choice.

 

[Optionals United]

i thinnk it is a good idea to move because it sounds like you nor your dd aree happy!

 

[mygymnastrocks]

Well, hopefully we will make the right decision !!! We will be at another gym tomorrow actually working out with them. My daughter is so excited. Sorry for the postings with different user names. I opened one for my daughter (her friends are joining CB) and didn't realize I posted with her screen and my screen name

 

[mygymnastrocks]

My daughter is 10 yrs old. Level 5 bars is her best and she's usually 1st place at meets...

 

[gymnut1]

Your dd sounds raring to go. Hope she has a good try out. You would have to ask Bog but I think she needs to be 13 to be a member here. She'll have to read over your shoulder!

 

[bogwoppit]

Glad she gets to try out and new gym, I am sure she'll love it. Make sure you ask the big questions!

Yes gymnasts do have to be 13 to be here.

 

[mygymnastrocks]

Yes, I didn't realize the mess I caused by giving her her own account. There was no intent to cause harm.. My husband didn't want her reading all of this stuff about the gym I was writing....... I'm trying to figure out how to take her off CB..

Should have a nice update by tonight !!!! Will keep all of you posted.. Thanks again for all of your support, it's appreciated.