Any Gymnastics Parents Out There? Need some advise...

[Anonymous]

DD loves gymnastics and now Level 6 at her gym. She really did very well the first few years she competed, but I haven't noticed skills improving over the past year. In fact, she's now has a fear of doing some skills that she did very well last year. I'm wondering if it's worth all the time and money to continue in this sport if we don't see an improvement this year. She does have interest in other sports, so if she stops doing gymnastics, she's have more time for other sports which she may be able to do longer in life. Should I have her stick with it, or move on to other sports she's expressed interest in?

[Anonymous]

Don’t let her stop one without picking up another. Rearrange her schedule to do 2 at the same time until she takes off with another one or you risk atrophy.

[Anonymous]

It is very common to suddenly get a mental block. I am a former gymnast who at level 6 suddenly had a fear of going backwards. Its like a switch flips and you can do it one time, then your body totally forget how to do it again. I would have her stick with it to get past any blocks. It takes time and then one day it all clicks again. How old is your DD? As she gets to a higher level it takes longer to see huge progress since the skills are harder and take longer to achieve. I think this is also the time that you ask her if she wants to keep going or try other sports. By level 6, gymnastics was all I was doing and to really see improvements she will need to spend more time in the gym.

[Anonymous]

Gymnastics is so dangerous that I would not keep a child in it who second guessed themselves or developed a sense of fear.

[Anonymous]

Lol, my DD did gymnastics for ten years. Fear, and conquering that fear, is part of the process but you shouldn’t let it drag on too long. My DD refused to quit even when I begged. Eventually, the gym wanted more time than she was willing to give and she stopped. Within a week she was telling me she should have quit years ago. Ultimately, the decision is your DD’s to make. But yes, you have been wasting time and money paying the rent on some guy’s giant foam pit. Your DD may need the hours for academics as she moves up in school, so I wouldn’t fill her schedule with something new right now. Well, maybe get her programming if you were smart.

[Anonymous]

It's a mental block!

I vote that if she is happy, encourage her to keep at it. You may not see improvements, but her coach might, and her scores this coming meet season might show you that she IS improving.

But if she's very stressed out, you could certainly begin by having a chat with a coach.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Gymnastics is so dangerous that I would not keep a child in it who second guessed themselves or developed a sense of fear.

I’m guessing you have never done gymnastics. This is part of the whole learning process.

[Anonymous]

Daughter loved gymnastics. athletic girls can be good at many sports. My kid played 4 years of college soccer and loved a great deal about that sport over the years. But, even today she will say that she would have liked to really have stuck with gymnastics.

The real downside is that to be good at gymnastics you must be with a gym that produces good gymnasts- like potential national team kids. We happened to live near one so that was a possibility but she went soccer instead. Personally, I think the question with gymnastics is the same now as it was then - can your daughter spend the time and effort to potentially become a top level kid, and genetically is she built to do that? If not - then it is a much easier decision to focus on learning and having fun (with a parent eye that she could decide to move on). It is not a high school sport. Although - diving is a good transition.

[Anonymous]

My son is a L7 gymnast and he has been through some of this. If she has a good coach who understands fears and can be patient with your DD as she works through it, I don't think this is a reason to quit if she wants to continue.

If she is asking to quit? If she is, I'd consider whether she's ready to move on. Diving and track are sports that gymnasts can often transition into pretty easily; cheerleading and acro-dance are others. My son does rock-climbing sometimes and is often asked to join their competitive team. So there are a lot of options.

Personally, given the cost and commitment (which only increase), I wouldn't push her to stay if she doesn't want to and is actively interested in doing something else. My son isn't one of those kids who LOVES gymnastics, but he is very good at it and has zero interest in any other sports, so we're sticking with it for now.

Last thought -- does your gym have the option to switch to Xcel w/fewer hours? That could be a good option that would free up some time to try new things without the pressure and hours of JO.

[Anonymous]

I agree with 8:32, the most important factors are two you don't mention - child's love of gymnastics and the ability of the coach to get kids through fear, which as others have pointed out above is common as kids advance in levels and get older and more cognizant of danger.

For my DD, fear killed the love and the coach's style didn't mesh with my daughter's. So she quit, and honestly, it was a great decision. Gymnastics can eat your time, money, and life. Your child has to love it to give up so much else.

[Anonymous]

Could it be the coach/gym she's at? Maybe it's time to switch gyms.

My DD hit a block at around level 7 and I didn't see her improving for about a year. Same skills and not even perfecting some of those.

A friend suggested she go try classes at a few other gyms and within a few weeks she found a coach she was clicking with more and we moved.

If she's still enjoying it and wants to be an active gymnast, I say explore changing gyms. If she's just doing it half-heartedly, then yes, maybe it's time to leave for another sport.

[Anonymous]

My question for you is why is she doing gymnastics? Is it because she enjoys it? Or are you hoping for her to competitive/get a scholarship/etc?

My daughter has been doing it for 6 years and loves it. She's good but not amazing. But it makes her strong and gives her self-confidence. And she loves being challenged. She'll hit blocks too - and regress. There are certain skills that take forever to learn it seems.

We keep it up as she loves her coach and her teammates. I don't worry so much about improvement as long as she's having fun. Maybe try switching to Xcel which is lower key? My daughter does that as she likes not having to do compulsorys. Again...depends on your goal.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Some great advise so far. DD is 13 and simply just loves everything about the sport, and never complains about going to practice. She enjoys her team, coaches, workout, everything! My opinion is that she'll never compete in college because she's good, but not great. We keep her in it for the love of the sport. Recently, she has been upset after practice due to her new fear of certain skills. I don't think we would move her to another gym as there aren't any others nearby and I'm not spending any more time in the car commuting since she does need time to do HW and study. We've started her in another sport on her days off from gym which she seems to really enjoy. Honestly, gymnastics has given her so much strength and confidence, it's been worth it so far. But my fear is as they get older, they need more time for schoolwork, so not sure if I should push more towards this other sport or let her make that decision on her own.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Some great advise so far. DD is 13 and simply just loves everything about the sport, and never complains about going to practice. She enjoys her team, coaches, workout, everything! My opinion is that she'll never compete in college because she's good, but not great. We keep her in it for the love of the sport. Recently, she has been upset after practice due to her new fear of certain skills. I don't think we would move her to another gym as there aren't any others nearby and I'm not spending any more time in the car commuting since she does need time to do HW and study. We've started her in another sport on her days off from gym which she seems to really enjoy. Honestly, gymnastics has given her so much strength and confidence, it's been worth it so far. But my fear is as they get older, they need more time for schoolwork, so not sure if I should push more towards this other sport or let her make that decision on her own.

Love of the sport is absolutely the best reason to stick with it. I think you will be fine letting her make her decision on her own. (Though I will concur, at age 13, Xcel might be a great choice.)

[Anonymous]

Just to quickly touch on the point of losing skills - it's not uncommon to have issues at around age 13, because she's likely hitting puberty and growing. Even if she's just grown half an inch in height, or her hips have grown a bit will cause all kinds of issues with gymnastics, because gymnasts' movements are so precise.

Listen to your daughter - if she wants to continue, let her continue, and if she wants to change sports, let her. I stopped competing at age 14 and tried out several different sports. I'm glad I did, and I'm also happy to be able to do gymnastics again as an adult.