Enjoying Quiet Time

[Blake's mum]

Hi all from Australia

Blake(6) has been enjoying the holidays with only training 2 hours a week during school holidays

The new school term starts next week with Blake being asked to train 8 hours a week just wondering if he will cope. He loves his gym and competes Level 1 again this year because he is only a little boy and his coach believes another year at this level will be more benefical instead of putting him out of his age bracket with kids physically bigger then him.. Have full faith in his coach that this is the right thing to doing considering Blake is no taller than a 3 year old. But is physically strong.

Only time will tell if 8 hrs is too much if it is i will discuss it with his coach to cut back.

Our gym has decided to add Dance to the training by a professional dance teacher do other clubs do this (it is included in the 8 hrs a week training)

Till next time...

[Aussie_coach]

Hi, how are you? I am from Australia too!

8 hours a week is a lot for a level 1 MAG gymnast. It is often the number of hours used for level 1 gymnasts who are being selected to be placed in elite training programs. But if your son is doing a second year at level 1 then it is doubtful that this is their goal for him. In those cases they generally will try to accelerate him faster through the levels.

However, whether or not 8 hours is too much for a 6 year old boy, depends very much on the child. Once he starts the high level hours you may see some initial problems of tiredness but try not to judge these too much. It will take him a little while to adjust to the new routine. But after a month or two ask yourself these questions.
Is he enjoying his training?
Is he always willing and happy to go along to training and doesn;t like to miss it?
Does he talk about gymnastics happily and enjoy practising at home?
Does he seem tired and listless on non gymnastics days?

That evaluation will give you a good indication of whether he can cope with the hours. If he can't talk to your coach about him doing less hours a building up as he gets older. Most level 1 boys are training around 2 hours a week so he will still do well in competition.

Professional dance training is not common in MAG programs. Many boys despise being told they have to dance and as a result gyms that want to include it often disguise it as other parts of their training. But that is not to say it isn't a great idea. Dance would be a great way to gain an edge in gymnastics competition.