Teammates leaving

[hunde2]

DD heard 2 of her teammates went to another gym.She was pretty upset.For the first time I noticed that quite a few girls quit gym or went to another place.I'm not aware of any problems and very happy with the coaching.I guess it probaply happens every year after the competition season that kids are quitting and maybe I've been around now for a while and know more kids at the gym then before.What kind of expirience do you have at your gym?

[Aussie_coach]

That is a fairly normal occurence in gyms. Gymnastics is a very time consuming (and money consuming) sport, kids often move on for reasons of wanting more time for social reasons or study reasons. Going to other gyms does happen, not just because they are unhappy but because the grass seems greener on the other side. They see a gym winning all the titles and feel that taking their child there will do the trick. Honestly in most cases 12 months later that child is rarely still at their new gym.

[Shawn]

At our gym, I haven't noticed anybody leaving for another gym but the teams do get mixed up (to some degree) at this time of year as assessments are done and the girls get placed at their new levels. For example, most of DD's level 2 team moved up to level 3. However, one girl is moving to FL this month, three girls skipped up to L4 (DD included) and two girls are out with injuries (both have broken elbows- one from the monkey bars at school and one from a beam fall). Which means that of the 14 girls, only 8 are still together.

[flippymonkeysmom]

I think it is fairly common at the end of the competition season to see a lot of changes in the gym, especially as you go higher up in levels. We had a few level 6's quit because of the time commitment, school, social, etc. Some girls went to other gyms b/c as Aussie said - the grass looked greener. I have friends with kids in the other gyms in the area and their gyms are going through similar transitions. Once kids get into middle school, very often their priorities change. My dd was very upset for a while because her 2 best friends from gym left (1 quit, 1 switched gyms). Now she is over it and still loves her gym and is doing well. I wonder what next year will bring with her staring middle school.

[Livinatthegym]

Typically, the end of the season is a time for mass exodus. Nobody ever leaves our gym to go to another (we're the only game in town), but girls leave for a lot of reasons.

The last USAG stats I saw showed that in March 2007, there were 20,000+ level 4 girls. There were just under 9000 level 6s. There were around 1600 level 10s and only 97 elites.

You're probably going to see some fairly significant attrition at the end of every season. There will be lots of different reasons for leaving -- time, money, puberty, injury or chronic pain, or just loss of passion for the sport (seems unfathomable when you've got an 8 or 9 year old that's totally into it, but it happens).

At our own gym, Dd1 and her teammate were the last athletes remaining from their level 4 squad. They were both still competing while in high school, so they really did beat the odds.

Once dd2 leaves, there will be just one girl remaining from her level 4 squad.

[flippymonkeysmom]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Livinatthegym or just loss of passion for the sport (seems unfathomable when you've got an 8 or 9 year old that's totally into it, but it happens).

It's funny you say that - another mom and myself were just talking about that last night. When my dd was that age gymnastics was everything to her 24/7. I think she would have slept at the gym if I let her. I remember one time she was really sick with a fever of 104 and was still begging to let me let her go to practice (she didn't) She still loves it, but I can see other things (i.e. friends) starting to play a bigger role in her life. It should be interesting when she starts middle school. From what I have seen that is the age that a lot of girls decide to hang up their grips and call it a day.

[Monkeygirlsmom]

I know of 1 girl at our gym who is leaving!! a few who are moving up tp Level 4 from The preteam!! my girls are not ready and and to be honest thats ok with me as the cost is more costly!! LOL

[Blackie6]

Since my DD is only a L4 we haven't really experienced the friends leaving yet. There were 2 girls who didn't move up to team when we did just because of the financial/time committment. One is still at the gym in a rec class and the other moved onto another sport I think. Right now our team seems to be growing in leaps and bounds because this was the first year our gym competed a L4 team in awhile and they did pretty well making a name for themselves. We are getting girls from other teams and even from other states now. My DD would be very upset to lose any of her friends, and that is only after about 3 yrs at the gym. I can't even imagine how hard it is after 10+ years of gym friendships! I'm sorry for your DD, hopfully she is able to stay in contact w/them even if they aren't in the same gym anymore.

[Panda-girl's Mom]

This is funny you should post this because out of the orginal 7 preteam girls who stared level 4 this year only 3 are left. They were really young between the ages of 5-7 when they started. A few have quit one before she stared competing and the others have gone to another gym. My daughter also quit breifly after the competition and tried out the other gym but she was bored. She is sad and misses the girls but I asked her does she want to do gymnastics or hang out with her friends, she thought about it and decided to stay at her orginal gym. The other gym starts at a higher level and none of the girls are yet on the team there yet, It is also less stressful more laid back and less hours. My daughter missed the intensity of the longer workouts and she really wants to stay on the team and compete in the fall. It is funny since all the girls who left qualified for states and did well at the meets. My daughter along with one of the others who decided to stay did not make it to states. Alot of the older girls who are in Middle school have also quit the team. I am sure there will be a bunch of new girls for my daughter to hang out with next year. Luckily she makes friends easily.

[mygirlflipz]

I think it is fairly common for girls to leave at the end of a season. We seemed to experience it alot at our US gym with girls who were getting older and were wanting to have more time to pursue other interests (cheerleading, focus on academics, boys). Also, the hours and skill requirement increases and some girls just don't want the pressure. There really was not another gym for them to go to in our area, but I have heard about girls switching gyms in bigger cities. The grass always seems greener on the other side.

I laughed when I read this post because this must be common all over the world. Five girls have left my dd's gym in Japan in the last couple of weeks. Most of them are going to pursue other sports interests, but it is hard on the girls that have stayed because they have forged a bond with those girls. In our case, they don't speak English so it is pretty unlikely that my dd will maintain the relationships without the daily contact at the gym.