Update - Level 5 or 6 what would you do?

[lettrich]

So I wrote in about 2 months ago - daughter competed level 5 last year, went to states & scored in mid 34 range. During middle of summer was having trouble with 6 skills - couldnt get fly away, ROBHSBT pass. Now has all skills for 6 - just cannot connect yet on bars. Plan was to compete 2 or 3 level 5 meets until ready for 6. 1st meet yesterday - placed 1st AA on 5. Coach asked her what she wanted to do - excel at 5 or do 6. Problem is if she stays 5 she will have to watch all her friends advance & she wont. Plus new level 5 group has 22-24 girls in it. By Jan their meets would be chaotic. If she stays 5 all year she will no longer be with her friends. So plan is to train 6, compete 2 more level 5 meets & in Jan compete 6. Does this sound reasonable? Also - would you be hesitant to have your daughter on a team with 24 girls? (Versus the 14 on level 6) Thanks! Its hard to figure this stuff out. I am a "planner" in all aspects of my life & this uncertainty is killing me!!

 

[cher062]

I would plan to go the route the coach feels is safest and best for my DD even if it means she doesnt move up with the others and the group is bigger. The Coach is the professional and should know what is best even if we parents wish for a different outcome.

 

[lettrich]

The coach more or less left it up to my daughter. Excel as a 5 or stuggle as a 6 (at least struggle in the beginning) The thing that really gets me is there are 2 or 3 kids who didnt even do 5 that just did one meet for mobility purposes who will now compete 6. Its like they arent pushing my daughter or feel she isnt "good enough" First thing out of their mouth after the meet was "see trust us we knew she would do well" But how is she going to feel when her friends compete 6 & she doesnt? Maybe Im just over thinking it but it frustrates me!!

 

[bribri514]

I know it's soooo so hard but you have to focus on your own DD and not the other kids!! My niece started team gym at the beginning of the summer and was moved right up to 5, because she had almost all the skills from rec, including her kip!! L 5 and L6 bars are the hardest. The kip, flyaway and connections are sooooo important in optional levels. So if one girl on your DD's team got moved up after placing out at one meet, she might have these important bar skills. If her friends were all L 10s, would you want her competing with them so she didn't feel bad? Nope! Because it would be unsafe.

If she gets moved up without the right skills, ESP bar skills, it'll be unsafe and not fun for her. I'd personally have her stay at L 5, just because someone doesn't get moved up doesn't mean the coach thinks they're bad and gymnastics is more than a quick checklist at every level. All the skills are building blocks... except for a couple L 4 skills lol! So if you do not get them you struggle in optionals. Then she'll be stressed out, possibly hurt, not doing well if she gets moved up in the future. You don't want that!

So just take a BIG deep breath and smile and maybe tell your DD those things. Tell her staying at L 5 isn't being held back and school and if your coach is uptraining have her focus really hard on her bars. Then she can move up! Hope this helps.

 

[mariposa]

The coaches sound like they have a good plan, what does your daughter want to do? Does she like winning at meets? Or is she happy either way? Would she compete States as a level 6? Does she want the chance to "rock States"? I would tell her to base the decision on what she thinks is best for her, not to be with friends. Friends in gymnastics are great, but they come and go. My daughter has had and lost many friends and had she worried (or I worried) about keeping her with her friends instead of the level she was better off in, she would have lost them anyway. Just because a kid has her level 6 skills (and connecting the bar routine in level 6 is HUGE) doesn't mean they need to be competing level 6. I would really think about what motivates your daughter.

My daughter is repeating level 5 this year (was solidly in the mid 34s) and having a fabulous season (she repeated level 4, too and her first year was a struggle, 2nd year she rocked). I think it has been great for her confidence and she still uptrains, so she is challenged during workout and not burned out with routines, routines, routines. She has level 6 and 7 skills, but that doesn't mean they are competition ready. I guess I would be concerned if the plan was to do no uptraining if she finishes the season as a level 5 since for my kid, she loves having the best of both worlds, competing at the level she is proficient at and training for the next level still to keep training exciting and fun.

As to the girl scoring out of level 5, some kids do that, if she has all her level 6 skills solid, why not? Don't compare your kid with anyone else, you really can't, they are not the same kid!! Doesn't mean they aren't training your kid as well, just means that all kids move along at their own rate and their "friends" shouldn't be a factor in it. Sure, they are important, having good relationships with teammates is always a good thing, but it creates much more drama than need be when you (or your kid) try to keep up with their friends. Sure, they might be sad about not moving along with their friends, but like I tell my kid, you are on your own journey, we trust your coaches and you will compete whatever level they feel you are best prepared for!

 

[2gymmies]

The key is what makes your dd happy - like someone else said - does she like the thrill of winning and placing and doing well at meets or does that not bother her?!

A side note about friends and moving up. My older dd, now Level 8, did an extra year at level 4 when she was 8 (I wanted her to be level 5 and so did she). She ended up excelling at Level 4 even though her friends all went to 5 (and most struggled). My dd has now gone one year of 5, score out of 6, one year of 7 and now 8. Some of her friends that went to level 5 way back when she repeated are now on their second year of 6 and some are now level 7s so she has basically passed them all!

Who knows how it will work out for your dd, but if you do decide to have her do all Level 5, it doesn't necessarily mean she will always be behind her friends! It could be the confidence booster that will allow her to really be strong this year and going forward!

Ask the coaches what they would do if it were their own kid and then go with your dd's heart and your gut! If she hesitates at all, I'd say be conservative! Good luck!

 

[my4buffaloes]

My dd was a level 5 last year, getting 36 AA at several meets. She almost always placed very well. She had all her level 6 skills at the beginning of the summer and has now had 2 meets in the past few weeks (so had the skills for 3-4 months before competing). She is struggling. As in 33 AA. Her first meet she scored a 7.9 on bars - she hadn't had a 7 in years. Level 6 is very hard - even for someone who did very well at level 5 and had all their 6 skills months before competing. So when the coach says she will struggle at level 6 - she will likely really struggle. If she had another year as a 5 and could nail those skills and uptrain more then her level 6 year would go a lot better.

But there is something to be said for just getting it over with as well. If she struggles through the second half of the season as a 6 would she then move on to level 7 or would she repeat level 6 again? That is something to think about as well.

She will make new friends in the level 5 group. Our gym held 1 girl back and had her repeat level 6 (she had injuries), but the rest of the team were all together the previous year. they have all become great friends and it appears fine for everyone.

 

[Gymmonkeymomma]

My little DD was an "ok" Level 5 (don't remember scores, several years ago) but we chose to let her repeat even though skill wise she was 'on par' with teammates. In retrospect, it was the best thing to do. Second L5 year was another "ok" year, but it gave her time to really work on improving the basics especially on bars. We fortunately/unfortunately didn't have the "friends" issue as the other girls were much older, but she's not the type of kid who would have weighed heavily on that.

 

[AlexsGymmyMom]

I guess it would depend on how her Level 6 skills are when the time comes to comes to actually compete them! If it were me I would leave my DD training with the 6's, compete Level 5 then re-evaluate in January. If at that time she is not ready then she could continue competing L5. Not sure why she would have to choose one or the other right now. a lot of girls at my DD's gym move up in January if they are ready!!

 

[Shane]

As many people have said, this is a decision that needs to be made with the coaches and your DD. If I were the coach, I would incorporate both Level 5 and 6 skills and routines during her practice time. I think having her finish off the Fall season as a Level 5, and then competing a few meets in the Spring as a Level 6 is a great idea. Then, she can get the qualifying score and possibly be able to become a Level 7 by next Spring.

 

[lettrich]

I guess it would depend on how her Level 6 skills are when the time comes to comes to actually compete them! If it were me I would leave my DD training with the 6's, compete Level 5 then re-evaluate in January. If at that time she is not ready then she could continue competing L5. Not sure why she would have to choose one or the other right now. a lot of girls at my DD's gym move up in January if they are ready!!

This sounds good. I just hope she'll get it down by Jan. I dont know why this really bothers me. Sounds silly but level 6 states is only 1 hour away & level 5 states is 9 hours away. I really dont want to drive the 9 hours & spend $400 when she already competed states at this level last year. I also dont want her to be with 20+ level 5's!

 

[cher062]

you need to stop worrying what is going on with the other girls and focus on what is best for your DD. Yes her friends etc are moving up but that should have no impact on your decision for your DD. She can be at the top of L5 and place in events or be so so at L6 and have less of a chance of ribbons etc. The jump to L6 is hard and the judging at that level is much tougher than at L4 and L5 they take off for every little thing and nothing escapes their view. So she will probably score in the lower 30's if her L6 skills aren't really ready. She should be prepared for that as well. Being with her friends might make her happy now but over the course of the year if she isn't placing or winning anything will she be much sadder than if she stays L5 and her friends move up.

If they are leaving it up to you to decide then she can probably compete safely but may not score as high. She also most likely have to repeat L6 then she will be back to where she is now where friends are moving up and she is not. So that will probably end up happening at some point if she is going into L6 with the skills but with weaker skills than her friends.

My DD has had several friends move up and she didn't she was sad for about a week then made new friends at the level she was at and was fine. They get over that alot quicker than not doing well from meet to meet.

 

[Empowered]

What is wrong with repeating and excelling? So you have to drive 9 hours for States... Heck isn't a 9 hour drive worth it if your daughter can walk away from States with a feeling of achievement? To maybe walk away a champion?

What is wrong with being on a big team? My daughter's L5 team had over 30 girls and her L6 team has over 20, and they still excel. There is strength in numbers remember, and there is always someone to lean on.

And as for the friends... In life and gymnastics, sometimes friends move faster than you and sometimes they move slower than you. It doesn't mean they aren't your friends anymore, and like Cher said it gives her a chance to make new friends. In her gymnastics career she is likely to face bigger changes than not being on the same level as her friends. Eventually friends will quit altogether... eventually she may lose a coach... Eventually something will change and if she is going to be successful she will have to learn to adapt.

IMHO this decision should be entirely about your daughter, her skill level and her psyche.

 

[coachmolly]

I wouldn't base the decision on friends, but I would base it on your DD, her personality, and which experience is going to be best for her. A lot of previous posters have mentioned the feeling of winning and excelling, but some kids do much better if they are being pushed. Some kids do not respond to that at all and love being at the front of the pack. Nothing is wrong with either, it's just a matter of personality. As a gymnast, my personal preference was to challenge myself. This doesn't mean I opted to throw skills beyond my ability and perform them very poorly, but if I had the skills for the next level, even if they needed some polishing, that would be my choice. It had nothing to do with friends, it was simply the kind of environment where I really excelled. So is your DD the kind of kid that would really benefit from the boost in self-esteem of scoring big and winning? Or would competing in level 6 light a fire that really helps her excel and, in turn boost her self-esteem?

 

[gymgal]

You know what you want for her. The coach has expressed what he feels is right. Now it is time to talk to your dd and find out what she really wants. She may surprise you in her answer when you truly talk about the pros and cons of each level. If it were my dd, she would want to go to L6 - not because of her friends but because she wants to be challenged. She doesn't care about scores or placing/ribbons. If she (and the coaches) felt like she was beyond one level, she would want to move up even if it meant she would struggle in the next level. But there are many on her team (girls and parents alike) who would much prefer winning at each meet.