Parents Why does our gym...

[LJL07]

I thought it was because they got to do more interesting routines and tailor skills early on while the girls perfect the compulsory skills. It is stiffeling to do the same routines year after year after year I am sure.

They do different routines for each compulsory level. I think it was intended to follow a certain skill progression so they will have the right form/technique when they reach optionals. There is a lot of latitude in xcel, so they aren’t getting the same progression and the judging tends to be more lenient.

 

[Peachy88]

They do different routines for each compulsory level. I think it was intended to follow a certain skill progression so they will have the right form/technique when they reach optionals. There is a lot of latitude in xcel, so they aren’t getting the same progression and the judging tends to be more lenient.

See my response to previous poster. I wasn't clear.

 

[LJL07]

If your daughter is 5, she can’t do level 4 until she is 7. I have been involved with this sport enough years now where I truly believe that rushing them through skills even if they are very physically talented backfires in the long run.

 

[Peachy88]

If your daughter is 5, she can’t do level 4 until she is 7. I have been involved with this sport enough years now where I truly believe that rushing them through skills even if they are very physically talented backfires in the long run.

She is 6 now and will be 7 this summer.

 

[Deleted member 18037]

I was meaning for the coaches.

Actually while there are no set routines in Xcel, many gyms do set routines in their gym.

It’s not unusual at all to see all the kids from the same gym doing the same routine on each event at an Xcel meet. Including the same music. Especially at lower levels where the kids tend to be younger.

It’s easier for the coaches, to do corrections, teach make sure the kids are doing the routine correctly and not missing anything.

And all music gets old when listened to repeatedly. I’ve sat at enough Xcel meets where 15 kids from the same gym do the same routine /music on floor. Heck even been to a few where if it’s the music of the moment, multiple gyms all doing the same piece. It can get on your nerves too. So the coaches are listening to that for a season or 2 as well.

Coaches can’t keep track of the individual routines of dozens of kids, especially younger ones

 

[Sk8ermaiden]

We had over 20 in Bronze and again in Silver. It was the same music for everyone. Though at least it wasn't the same for every kid in the meet!

The level comparison chart is decent, but I'd balk a bit at level 3 -> gold...The ONLY thing I can think of is that you do not need a kip for gold, but the rest of the requirements fall squarely into 4-6 territory. To the person who asked, there are minimum ages in Xcel. I think they're fairly similar to JO age requirements.

 

[mls529]

Yes, there are age limits for Xcel. Age 5 for Bronze, 6 for Silver and 7 for Gold, so fairly similar to JO.

 

[sewgood]

I must agree that I wouldn’t be super thrilled to pay all that money for what sounds like a lot of standing around. I do agree at that age a good environment and supportive coaches are very important, but i think you can have a mix of that and a productive practice as well. Our gym has wonderful, supportive coaches and there is little to zero downtime ever....they are always working on stations and depending on the coach, she is either at one station correcting or generally watching/correcting them all. The only exception I can think of is when they are doing skill or physical abilities testing and routine verification.

Same here. I would be really upset at spending so much money for my kid to stand around. She can stand around at home for free!

 

[John]

Just to add something that needs to be thought about. When you workout, gymnastics, sprinting, or other explosive sports, you must be cognitive of the goal. In gymnastics that goal is controlled explosive power. This goal is unattainable if you train your gymnasts like a long distance runner. The training must be short explosive controlled exercise. Think about bars and side stations. The goal is to complete a beautiful complete routine and to do this takes many things, shapes, power, control, body position, and many others. If during training the athlete moves and exerts themselves constantly for a 45-minute rotation it is likely that the athlete will be overtrained. I can see them being too fatigued to complete a bar routine. The best coaches understand the amount of exertion that each athlete should give to achieve their maximum benefit. So do not focus on the rest or standing around, rest is needed. Instead, focus on what is being done and how thought out it is to determine if each athlete is getting the correct amount of training.

 

[Peachy88]

Also, what would you do if you knew for a fact that they were telling the kids to do three things incorrectly? They learned the routines wrong I guess and are not interested in fixing it? Let your six year old get the deduction? Have her show them the proper indication from her usag app? Just do it correctly at the meet?

 

[M2Abi]

Ignore it and try not to think about it. It won't matter at all when you're at your new gym.

 

[Peachy88]

Ignore it and try not to think about it. It won't matter at all when you're at your new gym.

Thanks!

 

[duyetanh]

Also, what would you do if you knew for a fact that they were telling the kids to do three things incorrectly? They learned the routines wrong I guess and are not interested in fixing it? Let your six year old get the deduction? Have her show them the proper indication from her usag app? Just do it correctly at the meet?

Wait a minute. Wasn’t this the gym where you had the privates to learn the routines? Or am I thinking of someone else? How do you know they are wrong? Different coaches interpret things differently. Is this a blatant wrong, like a cartwheel instead of a round off, or is it a nuance?

 

[raenndrops]

I know. My daughter does JO and we really have no dog in this fight, but I feel badly for the girls whose gyms treat Xcel as it was intended, but then have to compete against girls training 20 hours a week.

They dont HAVE to compete against high hour gyms. They can choose smaller meets that the high hour clubs skip.

 

[raenndrops]

They do different routines for each compulsory level. I think it was intended to follow a certain skill progression so they will have the right form/technique when they reach optionals. There is a lot of latitude in xcel, so they aren’t getting the same progression and the judging tends to be more lenient.

Why do people say the judging tends to be more lenient?
The requirements may be more lenient (like not requiring 180º split on a leap/jump at Platinum while it is required at L6+), but trust me... the judging is NOT!

 

[Peachy88]

Wait a minute. Wasn’t this the gym where you had the privates to learn the routines? Or am I thinking of someone else? How do you know they are wrong? Different coaches interpret things differently. Is this a blatant wrong, like a cartwheel instead of a round off, or is it a nuance?

Like the Levels 3s were taught to fall to the side not the corner behind them. They also do an extra hop into the pose after the straight jump and the last one is hard to explain... The judge who did our home meet said there were a lot of text errors the entire team had, but the coaches aren't changing anything...? We have three meets, I will try to ignore...

 

[Deleted member 18037]

Why do people say the judging tends to be more lenient?
The requirements may be more lenient (like not requiring 180º split on a leap/jump at Platinum while it is required at L6+), but trust me... the judging is NOT!

Yep.

 

[LJL07]

Why do people say the judging tends to be more lenient?
The requirements may be more lenient (like not requiring 180º split on a leap/jump at Platinum while it is required at L6+), but trust me... the judging is NOT!

I could be confusing more lenient requirements with more lenient scoring. The scores at the xcel meets are always skewed higher over here compared to JO. But that could be due to requirements not judging.

 

[gymdog]

Like the Levels 3s were taught to fall to the side not the corner behind them. They also do an extra hop into the pose after the straight jump and the last one is hard to explain... The judge who did our home meet said there were a lot of text errors the entire team had, but the coaches aren't changing anything...? We have three meets, I will try to ignore...

It's not a big deal. I would advise you DO NOT say or do anything about this. Obviously if there's a toxic environment to your DD I would recommend you just get out now. But as far as text errors that is definitely not worth it, won't look good for you, just not worth it.

 

[Peachy88]

It's not a big deal. I would advise you DO NOT say or do anything about this. Obviously if there's a toxic environment to your DD I would recommend you just get out now. But as far as text errors that is definitely not worth it, won't look good for you, just not worth it.

Out of curiosity what would the deduction be? We compete in Chicago where girls regularly get high 37s and even 38s and the sessions can be huge. Sometimes even a 9.4 won’t place!