Then you always have the parent push fast track .... usually compulsory, kid scoring well so the push to move up, kid moves score drops way down, parent doesn't care cause they can say kid did two levels. Usually comes back in the end to backfire, especially on bars. This is where mental blocks appear, pushing a kid before they are ready.
When you see a kid that truly has fast track capabilities they stand out, excel quickly and are able to complete skills with correct form and precision.
My daughter only started gymnastics 2 years ago in January in rec classes. She quickly excelled and was invited to join the Level 3 team by meet season. I now know this is far from typical. She killed Level 3 (scoring 1st and 2nd AA in every meet of the season, and taking 2nd in state!) She even saw a 38.425, and this was within a year of stepping into the gym. Following states she competed at a couple non-sanctioned meets as a Level 4 and then at a sanctioned meet and "scored out of" level 4 with a high 37 AA.
We went into this season expecting that she would be a level 5. One of the coaches sat down with us and said "Look, your daughter would be very successful in Level 5, but there's some fundamentals that I think she can work in Level 4 which will pay off big time in the coming years" (Little things like keeping her feet together on the bars, straight arm kips, and a few other things that as a parent I just never noticed). We are just a month from states and she's corrected just about every one of them. She's working big skills in the gym that far exceed her level (kip/cast/handstands, giants, BHS on the beam, layouts, and just about every day she nails something new and blows me away...). To me her level doesn't even matter. She's currently 9 and I have 9 years until I have to worry about whether she will be able to go to college with it, if that's what she even wants to do. She's already pulled off a 38AA this year and taken 1st AA in every meet (and her greatest competitors are not even the other gyms, of which are the typical big name gyms that SHOULD be, but it's her own team that is giving her a run for her money).
To me though, this doesn't even matter. She comes home from the gym every night with a smile on her face and half the time she pulls out her mat and does MORE. It was a hard pill to swallow that she wasn't going into Level 5 last year but this year has really given me an opportunity to reflect on that. Now she's ready for a "fast track" and I'll allow the coaches to make that decision because they know her best, but if they told me tomorrow that she was going only up to Level 5 next year rather than the Level 7 they have been talking about I honestly wouldn't be upset about it, nor would she. They challenge her in the gym and allow her to perfect every little technique. Allowing her to be successful and competitive will only allow her love of the sport to grow.
My point is, I've learned that a GOOD coach just knows, and you have to trust them. And as long as my daughter still comes home and gymnastics is all she talks about and does and it's with a smile on her face, I won't judge the coaches decisions. The confidence that she carries from it far exceeds any other rewards she will ever gain.
