Clear and ongoing pre-competitive testing benefits gymnasts, parents and coaches
Testing is as important at the pre-competitive level as it is for more elite athletes. But getting a clear picture of a child’s progress at ages four or five is often better done with testing done throughout the year.
Standardized tests, not subjective results
Everyone knows how important it is to evaluate athletes – even the young ones. But at this level, those evaluations need to be balanced with the emotional needs of your students (and their parents).
There’s always a place for remarks and feedback in evaluation, but your tests should be able to provide parents with a clear and fair picture of how their child is doing. That means providing standardized and universal results that go beyond a coach’s or instructor’s opinion.
Year-end evaluations and scorecards don’t have to be pass/fail to achieve this balance. For example, providing a skills ranking from one-to-10 is a great way to let everyone know where a child is at but spare comments or other feedback that may confuse the issue.
Of course, these tests do have some standard sections that can be marked off with a scoring system that is basic and easy to use. Each basic skill can be evaluated using these tools with group testing sheets, an evaluation guide, sticker sheets to record the individual’s accomplishment on their performance of that skill.
For example, is the child mastering certain body positions that will allow them to move on to certain skills. But some areas of evaluation, like skills such as cartwheels or somersaults, are harder to evaluate.
Make sure you have clear, universal guidelines so that scores are consistent from coach to coach and from class to class.
Benefits for parents
Parents always want to know they are getting something for their money and that their children are getting the most possible from their time and effort. Certificates, awards and evaluations are a great way to let families know how much their little athletes have achieved.
Often parents of pre-competitive athletes might be looking for big results. A major skill learned, or new level reached. But for the littlest gymnasts, it might take a while to reach these big goals – and they may not be the best goals to have in mind to begin with.
By doing your pre-competitive testing throughout your program, you will be able to give parents a real evolving picture of the progress their child has made. And every accomplishments, while it may not have seemed like that “big a deal” before, will now be able to be seen as what it really is: the pay off for a lot of hard work and something to truly be proud of!
Here’s a useful tip: Try combining fitness, flexibility and form into one test.
Benefits for coaches and administrators
Pre-competitive testing is as much a tool to see how you’re doing as it is to keep track of your students’ progress. By having standard testing, you will be able to see where your lessons are succeeding, and where they’re not.
Have all the children struggled in a single skill area? If so, it might be time to adjust the program. And if you test throughout your program, you won’t have to wait until the final weeks of class to make the necessary adjustments and get everyone back on track.
The benefits are much the same for administrators – you can have a clear and always evolving picture of the results being achieved in the gym.
Pre-competitive testing is about more than grading little boys and girls. It is about helping them grow into the sport and into their love of it. Use it properly and you will see benefits that extend far beyond the walls of your gym.
From Darlene “The Bean”
