WAG Will I ever understand deductions and scoring?

[Deleted member 14190]

I know I shouldn't focus on scores however, it baffles the heck out of me. This is DDs first competitive season on level 1 so I really need to chill, I know. But after today's meet I'm so lost. She did great. Her beam was beautiful and she got a 9.30. The girl after her wobbled and almost fell off but saved it and finished. She got a 9.350. What am I missing? And DD wants to know why her floor score was so low, 9.100, but I told her she needs to ask the coach. So many routines (her and other girls) look amazing to me but yet the scores are low. And then I notice some routines with little mess ups and the scores are high. Not sure I'll ever understand.

in order to keep your sanity, don't try and figure it out, it will only drive you more insane!

 

[Georgiapeach]

I am so glad I found this site. Yall have given great advice and I think I'll video the meets, find her a list of deductions and leave it to her. At the beginning of the season the gym owner had a "new parent" meeting. She said the best gymnasts are the ones whose parents drop them off at the gym and leave, and leave the coaching to the coaches. She recommended asking how practice went and leave it at that.

 

[bogwoppit]

AT your dd's age I would definitely not give her a sheet of the deductions. Just let her be to enjoy her gymnastics. If you hand her a deduction sheet it will just seem like you are dissatisfied with her progress. She is L1, it should be fun.

Your coach is right about leaving coaching to the coaches. Parents can knock the joy right out of gym with just a few words.

 

[profmom]

When the coaches want them to start learning about deductions, you can trust that they'll teach them!

As you watch meets, you'll get a better feel for it, but even then, there's significant variation from meet to meet. I'm pretty good now at playing guess the score, but I've been at it for a while. The acquisition of this knowledge over the years, however, will hopefully lead you to a place with an advanced gymnast where you have an excellent idea of what score is going to be flashed before it goes up but very little investment in what that number is except insofar as it reflects your child's performance relative to what you know s/he can do.

 

[vagymmomma]

Again, no expert here. But it seems a clean lesser skill will beat a harder not so clean score, when a level is has optionals.

Again, there is so much. Compulsories, they are looking for very specific skills.

Level 1 don't stress, JMO Level 1 and 2 are more about just getting used to competing when it come to meets.

You'll definitely learn more over time, and I certainly wouldn't highlight deductions for your DD. The kids know what's good. I was amazed how very early on mine could watch videos of her meets and tell me what she was doing wrong. Much better for her to tell me than vice versa.

Also, it is generally sage advice that clean is better than more difficult messy routines, but L8 and above will have "not up to level" deductions that will encourage a little more difficulty. Also, take scoring wisdom from other parents with a grain of salt. I was definitely misled by parents

 

[Georgiapeach]

You'll definitely learn more over time, and I certainly wouldn't highlight deductions for your DD. The kids know what's good. I was amazed how very early on mine could watch videos of her meets and tell me what she was doing wrong. Much better for her to tell me than vice versa.

Also, it is generally sage advice that clean is better than more difficult messy routines, but L8 and above will have "not up to level" deductions that will encourage a little more difficulty. Also, take scoring wisdom from other parents with a grain of salt. I was definitely misled by parents

Some have said let her see deductions, some say don't. Maybe I should keep doing what I'm doing and that's keeping gym talk to a minimum at home. Out of 4 meets she's gotten 2 36+ and 2 37+ AAs. She has great coaches for each event and she's happy. And yes, I've already been mislead by other more experienced gym parents, all with good intentions. Another thing that's funny is what I thought would be her best events are her worst and what I thought would be her worst are her best. She is not fond of beam but always does so well on it. Gymnastics is def not black and white!

 

[Along4theRide]

Vault! Vault scores can seem so random sometimes! I'm starting to get a better feel for vault deductions, and have gotten better at seeing the subtle differences ... But sometimes it feels like a roll of the dice. ;-) Clearly, I'm still learning!

 

[proud-gym-mom]

There is a great app from USA Gymnastics with video, drawings and all the various deductions listed. It's $30 and I think only for iPad but I found it well worth it. It has all the compulsory levels (1-5) and I really like it so I can understand more about the current level she's at and what it's supposed to look like and also so that I can understand what she's going to be working on at the next level. They also sell a DVD which is good as well and breaks the routines down to all the required elements and what they're supposed to look like. I've let dd watch it over the years at different levels too so she could see what something is supposed to look like. I know I'm a visual learner and while I'm not trying to be a coach or judge I find that I really like to understand more about the technical aspects of this sport.

 

[Georgiapeach]

Vault! Vault scores can seem so random sometimes! I'm starting to get a better feel for vault deductions, and have gotten better at seeing the subtle differences ... But sometimes it feels like a roll of the dice. ;-) Clearly, I'm still learning!

Oh my gosh you aren't kidding! The level 1 vault is the simplest thing on earth! The do a straight jump from the spring board, land on the mat, then on the mat they go into a handstand then flat back. That's it. And some girls score like an 8 something and some 9.6! They ALL look the same at this level. That cracks me up!

 

[Georgiapeach]

There is a great app from USA Gymnastics with video, drawings and all the various deductions listed. It's $30 and I think only for iPad but I found it well worth it. It has all the compulsory levels (1-5) and I really like it so I can understand more about the current level she's at and what it's supposed to look like and also so that I can understand what she's going to be working on at the next level. They also sell a DVD which is good as well and breaks the routines down to all the required elements and what they're supposed to look like. I've let dd watch it over the years at different levels too so she could see what something is supposed to look like. I know I'm a visual learner and while I'm not trying to be a coach or judge I find that I really like to understand more about the technical aspects of this sport.

I will have to look into that. We are very visual learners as well!!

 

[Iwannabemargo]

with all thing, years and years of experience alters your view and perspective on many things in gym, from what you think of routines, to what you think of your gym and gymnastics itself.

I am now in my 8th year of competitive gymnastics from 2 children and on our 3rd gym and my view of things now is very different to when we started all those years ago. Just sit back and enjoy the ride. Make the best decisions you can, with the info available at the time and try to enjoy it.

 

[Deleted member 18037]

Oh my gosh you aren't kidding! The level 1 vault is the simplest thing on earth! The do a straight jump from the spring board, land on the mat, then on the mat they go into a handstand then flat back. That's it. And some girls score like an 8 something and some 9.6! They ALL look the same at this level. That cracks me up!

There is a lot more to vault then you think. The run counts, arm movements or lack of, the jump and then what's going on the mat. I was shocked to find they got a deduction for not doing arm circles at the end of their run.

I think I understand vault the least.

 

[SurpriseGymMom]

My 10yo DD is in L5 and her coaches tell the girls exactly what their deductions are and how to work on fixing/eliminating them. Like if a girl has a hard time keeping the 2sec handstand on beam, they tell her "that's a xx deduction that you could improve on". I think that's perfectly appropriate at her level.
Generally I don't think I would be too "hard" on it at L1-L3 BUT your DD is slightly older so if she is interested in knowing, I would have HER ask her coach what her big deductions are and how she can fix them. It shouldn't come from you.

 

[Deleted member 18037]

My 10yo DD is in L5 and her coaches tell the girls exactly what their deductions are and how to work on fixing/eliminating them. Like if a girl has a hard time keeping the 2sec handstand on beam, they tell her "that's a xx deduction that you could improve on". I think that's perfectly appropriate at her level.
Generally I don't think I would be too "hard" on it at L1-L3 BUT your DD is slightly older so if she is interested in knowing, I would have HER ask her coach what her big deductions are and how she can fix them. It shouldn't come from you.

This, as they compete more and go up levels the coaches will tell them. Really Level 1 and 2 are truly about just getting them comfortable with meets.

 

[Georgiapeach]

This, as they compete more and go up levels the coaches will tell them. Really Level 1 and 2 are truly about just getting them comfortable with meets.

I totally understand this. I think with DD she knows she is the oldest. There is another 11 year old on her team. She is the smallest, although the oldest. And she knows all these girls have at least 3 years in gym and she has one so I think for her she feels like she needs to "catch on" fast. Her coach mentioned early in the season that she MAY be able to skip level 2 and go into 3, which I wish she would've never brought up in front of her. She really wants to be around more girls closer to her age. I think that's why she's focused so much on scores and deductions. She wants to prove herself in hopes of skipping a level. I've told her not to get her hopes up but it's kind of hard since she overheard her coach tell me. We will see. It's all fun right now. I just want it to stay that way!

 

[Natasha]

Honestly, since she is scoring 36-37's she is showing great competence at L1. Improving a couple of tenths is not going to at all prepare her to skip to L3, however her up training and listening to her coach will.

 

[mimi]

My dd is level 8 and I still don't have a good grasp of deductions and I am glad I don't! I just try to be her biggest cheerleader and supporter. The last thing she needs to hear from me is what she is doing wrong/needs to do better. She puts enough pressure on herself and I am happy just to be her soft place to fall. At level 1 just sit back and enjoy it. Gymnastics gets more and more stressful and scary as you move through the levels (for both the gymnast and parent!) so just try to enjoy the fun time now.

 

[Deleted member 18037]

Honestly, since she is scoring 36-37's she is showing great competence at L1. Improving a couple of tenths is not going to at all prepare her to skip to L3, however her up training and listening to her coach will.

At these levels its not about the scores to move up, totally up to the coach.

 

[Georgiapeach]

Thanks everyone. When she started I never imagined either one of us enjoying it this much. It started as a 1 day a week, 50 minutes of flipping on the floor and swinging from a bar. It just all escalated so quickly and I think we were both a little surprised and trying to take it all in and understand it all. We just need to sit back and enjoy the ride.

 

[sshreed]

My kiddo had a 9.0 vault last week and an 8.425 vault this week. Judges are different every week! She placed 9th last week 6th this week. Look at the overall scoring for the whole meet.