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Anonymous (938b)
My daughter’s gym is not a destination gym like TCT or WCC, but it is getting to be nationally known and has regular Nastia Liukin qualifiers, national team members, elites, etc. As a parent who’s been there for a while now, I’m realizing that the compulsory program is a total mess.
They do a great job with 2-3 girls every year who walk in out of nowhere, skip rec or preteam and are sent straight to team. But those are the kinds of talents who would be fast tracked or elite-pathed at any gym in the country.
They also do a great job with girls who come in after level 3 or 4 from other gyms with mediocre scores and polish them up for solid optionals careers. Recently, though, the vast majority of optionals girls come from other gyms.
I’m noticing that the homegrown kids who come from preteam to level 3/4 consistently repeat 3 and/or 4. They struggle to acquire skills in time for the season, and there isn’t uptraining for repeat seasons so little progress is made along the way during year 2 en route to the next level.
Each year the coaches try to correct what they’re doing based on the previous year’s pace and results and it only seems to make things worse, not better. It seems like flexibility of thinking and group size are issues. I notice that the coaches get locked into one set of ways to teach or drill new skills for the season and that groups are too big to catch problems and adjust drills and progressions when they’re not working.
What’s an actual good compulsory program? One that moves the majority of athletes forward? One focused on creating the best possible optionals? One focused on absolute perfection of shapes over skills?
It’s too late for my daughter to switch, but I’m curious what we should have been looking for when she was younger.
They do a great job with 2-3 girls every year who walk in out of nowhere, skip rec or preteam and are sent straight to team. But those are the kinds of talents who would be fast tracked or elite-pathed at any gym in the country.
They also do a great job with girls who come in after level 3 or 4 from other gyms with mediocre scores and polish them up for solid optionals careers. Recently, though, the vast majority of optionals girls come from other gyms.
I’m noticing that the homegrown kids who come from preteam to level 3/4 consistently repeat 3 and/or 4. They struggle to acquire skills in time for the season, and there isn’t uptraining for repeat seasons so little progress is made along the way during year 2 en route to the next level.
Each year the coaches try to correct what they’re doing based on the previous year’s pace and results and it only seems to make things worse, not better. It seems like flexibility of thinking and group size are issues. I notice that the coaches get locked into one set of ways to teach or drill new skills for the season and that groups are too big to catch problems and adjust drills and progressions when they’re not working.
What’s an actual good compulsory program? One that moves the majority of athletes forward? One focused on creating the best possible optionals? One focused on absolute perfection of shapes over skills?
It’s too late for my daughter to switch, but I’m curious what we should have been looking for when she was younger.