Getting good at gymnastics is not complicated.
Psychological preparation -> Physical preparation -> Technical preparation.
Kids improve steadily.
But in Women’s Artistic Gymnastics we see many girls “stall” progress at about age-14.
Why?
Physical changes to the body, for sure. But an even more important problem, I think, is that gymnasts age-14 start to suffer from chronic pain.
What can we do about it?
From a good overview article by Dr. Anthony Luke:
Prevention is the best medicine
Many sports injuries are preventable. Proper training is one of the most important keys to preventing injury in young athletes. Adequate adult supervision along with properly educated coaches and referees can help ensure children learn the proper techniques and rules for optimal play and safety. More specifically, setting appropriate limits for the amount of training is necessary to prevent burnout and overuse injuries –and to allow enough time for recovery of nutrition, fluids and energy. The playing environment should be safe …
tumbling on trampoline reduces the chance of overuse injury
Look and Listen
Parents and coaches should be especially careful when managing sports injuries in young athletes. If the child complains of pain, swelling, or disability with no injury – or constitutional symptoms, such as pain at night, fever or weight loss – these should be considered warning signs to promptly seek medical attention. Early medical care can often help avoid complications from an injury that can hinder a child’s ability to have fun and enjoy sports. …
I see many gymnastics coaches ignoring reports of pain from kids. This is very risky, long term. If your gymnast (later) cannot compete due to injury, you LOSE.
Why do children get different injuries than adults?
Young athletes get different injuries than adults mainly due to the growing process. Growth refers to an increase in size, either of the body as a whole or of its parts. Growth and maturation make a young person’s anatomy and physiology different and are controlled by timed hormonal changes. … With kids now starting some sports activities as young as three years old, parents and coaches should pay close attention to growth spurts, in order to modify training appropriately.
Puberty is the period where the most growth and maturation occurs. Puberty typically starts by 13 years of age in girls and before 14 years of age in boys. Girls may grow as much as 8 cm per year, while boys may increase by around 12 cm. These values can be useful to help identify the peak growth spurt in children. …
Knol – Pediatric Sports Injuries
Gymnastics Coaching.com 