WAG College Camps versus Full Time Gymnastics Camps

[Max]

My daughter went to camp and came home with her kip, granted she was already close but it was a grand moment the day it happened. She was so excited she had one of her friends video it and sent it to me! She was at a college camp and had a blast. She also is now close with one of the girls from the college team which is such a good friend and mentor to bring out of the camp with her.

 

[mpkbt]

My opinion....horse, tennis, dance, crafts or anything but gymnastics at the lower levels. Definitely college at the upper optionals. Not only does it get them in front of college coaches but it reminds them of the reward of college gymnastics. Lets face it....level 10 is hard and discouraging at times, they need to see the joy right around the corner. They start to see that college gymnastics is WAY different then club and the coaches coach differently too. At the upper levels it is rarely about getting a ton of new skills and more about remembering what they loved about the sport to begin with.

 

[poodlemomma]

This will be my DD's first camp and it is a college camp. I never really thought there would be that much of a difference between the camps. I never figured she would pick up tons of new skills in just a couple of days. My goal with her going to this camp is for her to have fun and get her more excited about the sport. I wanted her to have role models doing the big skills and could relate to it more. Sounds like that is what you all are saying it what the college camps are about. She is going with one of her friends from her gym.

 

[kitkat]

My dd has done both. She liked both at the time she was doing them. They both have their advantages and disadvantages. Woodward gives you the whole package - gym plus camp style. The only thing with Commercial gyms - if you are not there with your coach or if your gymnast is not disciplined to do gym - they can get easily distracted. And honestly $1100 is a lot for a gym camp if your not going to do gym.
The university type - was great - very structured - lots of gym - but doesn't give you the variety Woodward gives. If you want to work specifically on a certain apparatus you really can't cause they have you scheduled every minute of the day. Which again is great if again you are not disciplined.

This year I took a different approach. Last year I spent $1300 on a gym camp - between the flight and the camp. I asked my dd if she wanted to take one on one privates for the week. Which is jumped at. So she did 3 hours a day every day for a week. She got so much done it was amazing. In my opinion more then what she got at Woodward or Chicago. There is no downtime on one-on-one. I would totally do this again....and it didn't cost me $1300.

I will take her back to a camp again - come scout time...she wants to go to a good university But for now - this was perfect.

 

[ollieblueeyes]

This is my DD exp exactly. She had an awesome time at a uni camp. Her fire was re-ignited....had a blast, saw a glimpse of what big 10 gym is about and loved every minute.

 

[LinnieC]

My daughter just completed her first year of competitive gymnastics... so this is all new to us. She will be going to Flip Fest next month and she is extremely excited. It is more for the experience with gymnastics thrown in there than for solely the gymnastics training. She is going with a friend which is what she is the most excited about, I think. I want her to have fun and if she learns new skills, awesome! If not, that's fine too as long as she is having fun creating memories she will never forget.

 

[nic1674]

My DD has been to both Gator camp and IGC. She loved IGC as far as a summer fun camp goes. She said the down side to IGC is they spot you on everything even skills she's had for over a year. She said at Gator camp they pretty much let her try anything and if she wanted a spot she just asked. She got her full on floor at Gator camp and her yurchanko at Gator camp. Unfortunately she did not get any new skills at IGC. She's a level 7.

 

[beachgirl]

My DD went to both Woodward West and UCLA this summer. She loved both of them. She did the day camper option at UCLA, so I got the feedback from her and her friends daily. I wasn't happy that the optional girls had groups that were half the size of the compulsory girls and had a better gym. I was worried that she would want to go back next year and unless she is an optional by then I would have to say no. I was going to push for Woodward because at least she was getting a whole camp experience. Yesterday her coach announced at the end of practice that nobody was allowed to go to camp next year because everyone is coming back with their skills worse than when they went. We hope she changes her mind because all of the girls had a lot of fun.