Whats it take to make team?

[Panda-girl's Mom]

My daughter was in the preschool class and she justed turned 5 she was invited to the supertots then the girls were invited to the preteam the next year and this year she was put on team when she was 7. The owner taught the preschool class and supertots so I quess that is how she recruits younger girls. I thought she would do a devo class but was put on the team as a level 4. She was always naturally skilled she taught herself a cartwheel when she was 4. I had 2 separate tumbling teachers tell me when she was four that she was a natural. There are other girls who got on the team who had to go through all four levels and devo class before invited on. I would talk to the owner but if she is only 7 and not ready I would not push it. The kids on my daughters team that are older 9 and 10 and went the longer route did much better at the meets. My daughter struggled to get her skills and did avergage at the meets. If your daughter does not have the skills and gets put on the team before she is ready when she competes at meets againest girls who really good she may become upset and discouraged. I was amazed at how good some of these girls were at the meets it really intimidated my daughter. The postive side is if your daughter gets placed on the team she may become more motivated and become a better gymnast, so I would not wait until she gets picked I would approach the owner and discuss your daughters progress with her.

[melmonette]

Our move up to team was similar to Panda girl's mom... my daughter started right when she turned 5 and she had to start in the tumblebugs class for 3-5 year olds. She was bumped up into an invite only advanced tumblebugs 1 month later... This is the path to team so it is easier to start in the preschool route than the regular rec routes of level 1-2 but you had to be 6-8 to be in that class...
After you pass out of advanced tumblebugs, you were bumped to the first level miniteam which met 2 times a week and then after that the 2nd miniteam which met 2 times a week for a total of 3 hours... After this, you were invited to team... The girls on rec level 1-2 would be stuck there much longer before moving to rec level 3-4 and the hours never increase. Only 1 hour a week for both those levels and then when spring time would come around... All the miniteam 2 would be bumped to level 4 and only select girls from 3-4 would and the others well would be stuck in 3-4 till they move their teams up again the following spring. So I guess we were lucky that we were in the preschool age group for moving up than in the rec group from the get go... Move ups seemed easier... And in our gym, the older girls seemed to do better too.

[Rainee100]

You should just be frank with the coach and let them know that your daughter is interested in trying out for the team. Some kids will get picked based on their natural talent and others will be overlooked. I have two daughters in level 4+5 and my younger, who is the level 5, was invited after a year or two of class. She's now 9 and training for level 6. My other daughter is now 12 and was the original one to start gymnastics yet was never invited to team. She eventually quit when she was 7 or 8. One day at the age of 10, she said she wanted to be on the team after watching her little sister compete. I talked to the coach and she said she'd let her train with the team during summer, and if she'd be evaluated at the end of the summer, but no promises! She worked her tail off and made it. She's also scoring at the top of her team. The gym owner came up to me once and said "I'd much rather train a kid with her great attitude, than someone who's all talent and unwilling to work. " I watched another talented kid get overlooked for a few years, because the mother was always complaining about the cost of class. It's really expensive to compete and the club knew there would be problems if she was already giving them a hassle about the class price. It could be anything. If she wants to compete, don't beat around the bush. The coaches will want to know that you're dedicated too. If that gym won't put her in the program, find one that will. Good luck!