Parents When did you “know”?

[Puff]

I love all of what you wrote, but especially "she started advocating for herself". That is such a crucial skill to be proud of, that should be part the process. I feel like there's a less than 20% success rate when parents advocate for the kid (unless it means changing gyms but that can add a new layer of trauma), but maybe up to a 50% success rate when the kid advocates for themselves. Sadly, with a lot of coaches there is no advocating, it's my way or the highway. And sometimes the advocating just isn't well-reasoned, but the discussion itself can have value. I guess maybe it's because my daughter is older and a little bit known, but she has a coach on staff now that regularly asks her opinion of where they are at, the amount of numbers, what drills are helping, etc. It's been kind of shocking, incredibly refreshing, and also a feeling of well yeah of course she should be a participant in the decisions being made about her training.

 

[NYCMom]

I'm going to answer the question differently because my daughter graduated high school as a second year level 9.

By middle school it was clear she had neither the skill progression or timeline for a path to college gymnastics. But she loved what she was doing and set herself a goal of competing through the end of high school. I knew she would make that goal when she kept going even after ALL her peers had retired, when she built skills laterally when she wasn't making vertical growth, when she worked through/around mental blocks, when she maturely accepted repeating levels as necessary, and when she started advocating for herself with her coaches. She added a high school sport which helped build her strengths differently - funnily enough improving her gymnastics and helping keep her mostly free from injury - but gymnastics was still her primary sport and prioritized when their were conflicts. I was so proud of her being recognized as a graduating senior at her gym, states, and regionals because I knew that she had met her goal and that she felt satisfied with making the most of her gymnastics experience that she could.

I wanted to bring this perspective because success will look different for each athlete, and it is fulfilling as a parent to see the turning points towards a goal actually be important life skills.

I love this SO much!!! Congratulations to your daughter for accomplishing her goal.