MAG Gyms with Men's Programs in Northern VA

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Men's Artistic Gymnastics

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Proud Parent
We are hunting for a new gym for my ds in northern Virginia. I have found numerous threads about the nature and coaching and facilities for women's program's in this area but nothing on the men's side. We are currently looking at Capital or GMS. Both are about half an hour drive; an hour with traffic. We would be going in the reverse-flow direction, but that means less than it used to here.

I would appreciate any thoughts or experiences you have with either gym or any other suggestions for other places to consider. Ds is 6 and was happily doing 6 hours a week of pre-team at the old gym. He loves being in the gym. He loves doing gymnastics and he works really hard at it. He will pick extra time at the gym over almost any other reward (OK except playing plants v zombies 2 with me! I did say almost ;))

Thanks.
 
Both are great gyms but I'm not sure how you could be a half hour from both whole still going in the reverse of traffic. Can you give a little more idea of where you'd be located? I recommend comparing all the costs and trying practices at both gyms.
 
Both are great gyms but I'm not sure how you could be a half hour from both whole still going in the reverse of traffic. Can you give a little more idea of where you'd be located? I recommend comparing all the costs and trying practices at both gyms.

I figure practice will be in the evening and we would head north to Capital or nw to GSM. Back roads in both cases so I don't need to tackle I95. Good suggestion about comparing the total costs. We are planning on visiting both gyms in the next week or so. I'm just looking for experiences and impressions and things to look for specific to the boys program on our visits.
 
I don't really know the gyms at all, but Capital did very well at compulsory regionals. Their guys are really clean.

http://www.meetscoresonline.com/Results/15861 you can poke around and look at L5-L6 results to see what gyms stand out if you want a training program focused on producing guys who can score well. I would, of course, advise you strongly that that is only one small part of the picture!
 
Profmom, Thanks.

I'm not concerned about competition results. If ds wants that fine, if not fine. I am looking for a gym that has a healthy attitude toward safety and will help my son go as far as he wants and encourage longevity by nurturing his love of the sport. Encouraging self discipline, perseverance and good team support are also more important to me. I think these will be present at all of the gyms in the area with variations in focus and commitment.

I was looking over the list and found several other programs close to me that were not on my radar. Youth Sports in Woodbridge (about a 20 minute drive) they have up to level7 boys. Any thoughts about a program like this, that may be good but he may out-grow after a few years?

Also, does Gymnastics World actually have a boys team? If so, does anyone know what they are like? When I looked 3 years ago, they didn't have anything for boys older than 5 years old. There are no details on their web site.

It seems there are a ton of options if we don't mind going a bit further (like an hour drive) Any thoughts on whether this would be practical? or ways to make it sustainable?

Thank you all for sharing your thoughts and putting up with all my questions.
 
If you are looking for a new gym and are on Chalkbucket, then my guess is that you do care what kind of competitive program they have. It would be a shame to get him into a 'happy fun' program that goes nowhere. Especially after he builds roots and does not want to change gyms, but has outgrown it.....Find a gym with a good competitive program. It will possibly save you from a switch 3 or 4 years down the road.
Of course, intensity, hours and happiness of the kids are all part of picking one, all i'm saying is to try and pick the right one for you son, keeping in mind that he probably will want to be competitive...(and win!).
good luck!
 
Profmom, Thanks.

I'm not concerned about competition results. If ds wants that fine, if not fine. I am looking for a gym that has a healthy attitude toward safety and will help my son go as far as he wants and encourage longevity by nurturing his love of the sport. Encouraging self discipline, perseverance and good team support are also more important to me.

All else being equal, if you can find a gym that's competing home-grown guys up through level 10 and placing some of them in college, these fine things you're seeking are more likely than not to be at that gym. :) And as Wheezy says, it's best to try to pick a gym at the outset that will have room for whatever your son dreams of doing than to have to make a hard decision about switching later on. You are very fortunate to be in an area where you have some options. Good luck finding the one that's best for your son!
 
Wheezy, I've no doubt he will want to compete and win. He practices his salute in the mirror when he's supposed to be brushing his teeth. :rolleyes:

I am concerned about his feeling uprooted if he outgrows a gym and I think he could outgrow some of the programs quickly. He also struggles with changes. I think you all have given good advice about finding a program with room to grow. I worry about him being pushed too much though and loosing the enjoyment because others want to see him go far fast. I guess it is just something I'll have to watch out for.

His previous gym, which shall remain nameless, was one like you describe profmom, but they are more interested in performance and $$ than in safety, despite much lip-service to the contrary. When the accident-waiting-to-happen that we had been trying to get them to address for two months very nearly did happen to our son and they still insisted it wasn't a problem, we decided to leave. I had no idea at that moment if there were other options around us. We are very fortunate to have a lot to choose from, but it is also a bit overwhelming.

Thanks for all your help and for letting me think out loud a bit too. :)
 
Both of the gyms you mentioned have coaches who are capable of coaching through level 10. Gymnastics World does have a team. They had good compulsories. I don't know much about their coach though, but he seems competent. It's a pretty small gym so that could be limiting but I don't really know.

Like I said, I strongly recommend that you try practices and see which coaches and training situations you like the best. They are very different. Many gyms in Northern VA have capable coaches but some of these boys teams are newer and haven't had a chance to get many level 9s and 10s.
 
I totally sympathize coming out of a gym with safety issues, and especially the feeling of being important because i PAY! I am sure that once you try out 2 or 3 gyms and speak with his coaches, you will find the right place place for him.
Good luck!
 
If you're looking at Youth Sports, you should look at Apollo as well (they're pretty close to one another). Apollo has a number of optional boys (including L10s) and have a large boys gymnastics home meet. Capital's boys program is also widely known. DD has a really good friend at GMS and I know the girls program is very good, but I don't know much about the boys program there. A couple other NOVA gyms have boys teams, but they only go up to L7. Feel free to send me a PM if you have questions on distance (traffic can be a deal breaker on gyms).

I definitely echo visiting them all. Every gym has their quirks.
 

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