Parents Open Gym - Let Them Play, Or Structured?

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Wes Laney

Proud Parent
Hello,

My wife and I are new to the scene. We have 3 boys, and are enrolling 2 of them this week. They're 6 & 4.

What kind of structure do you guide your kids with during open gym? I'm used to incremental, and periodized approaches to sports. Letting my kids run around the gym sounds like it has bennefits, but IMO is too random.

Should I expect their coaches to provide us a prescription of skills / drills?

Are there resources out there for what to do during open gym?

So far, I've found two resources. A level one book for boys (Rita Brown), and a BSAP kit from USA Gymnastics. Both of these sound decent, but I don't want to get too far from what the gym is coaching.

Thanks,

Wes
 
For us, practice is for structure, and open gym is for fun. We don't guide them at all. They will sometimes set their own goals for open gym and ask a coach to help, but just as often they simply run amok. Some gyms, like my YDDs will have lots of coaching available, and some like our old gym is safety supervision only.
 
At their ages I would let them enjoy their time in the gym without instruction. They will have plenty of structure in their gym classes and at school. They will still learn about the way their bodies can move through free play on the gym equipment.
 
Open gym is for playtime. It is an indoor playground. If you want a structured and progressive approach to learning gymnastics, you have to enroll in a class with a trained, USAG safety certified instructor. They should be grouped with peers their own age because a 6 year old will generally learn basic skills like a cartwheel much faster than a 3 year old because the 9 year has much better developed visual and spatial skills, and usually better strength too.
 
Okay. Makese things more clear. Thank you all. They're registered and will start Thursday. We'll see if they like it!

At this point it's going to be a 1 hour class, with 90 minutes of optional open gym. If they want to do more, how are other parents enabling this? What is typical? More time at home, more practices per week, private? I've heard 9 hours per week for level 4, and 15 hours per week for 9 ... yikes ... hoping not all of this is class time. Any perspective on what we're stepping into would be nice!

Thank you,

Wes
 
Most kids, even olympians, begin their gym journeys in classes just like the ones you have signed up your boys for. From those classes kids get moved into more advanced groups over time and kids with talent, and with parents who can commit money and time, can choose to join team and compete.

It is best to allow the kids to progress under their coaches guidance and avoid "coaching" them at home.

But as a fit family there are so many things you can do with your boys to help them along the way. Running, jumping, swinging on the monkey bars in the park, biking, swimming. These are all fun things to do together that will make them happier, stronger and fitter.

At L4 competitive team I would say 9 hours a week training in the gym is about the norm. Lower levels less and higher levels much more. But many kids enjoy gym and never participate in team or for long hours, it is all about what works for you.
 
Okay. Makese things more clear. Thank you all. They're registered and will start Thursday. We'll see if they like it!

At this point it's going to be a 1 hour class, with 90 minutes of optional open gym. If they want to do more, how are other parents enabling this? What is typical? More time at home, more practices per week, private? I've heard 9 hours per week for level 4, and 15 hours per week for 9 ... yikes ... hoping not all of this is class time. Any perspective on what we're stepping into would be nice!

Thank you,

Wes

Most gyms offer more than one class per week. I would encourage you to do two classes a week if possible, because they will progress faster with more exposure. Two hour long classes a week is enough to start though.

As they move through the levels, the time does go up, but you won't notice it as much by then (well, your wallet might :)). The reason the instruction hours are so high compared to other sports is that gymnasts must develop a skill set on each apparatus - practice their current routines and drills for harder ones. They also have to develop more strength and flexibility to get the harder moves. Boys have six different apparatus they have to develop skills and routines on.
 
My son did 5 hours per week as a level 4. This PST year he did 12 hours per week as a level 5; but we changed gyms and he is repeating level 5 and dropping to 9 hours. He will do 12 hours as a 6 and I think the optionals boys are around 20 hours.

For us, he did 1 hour per week until he moved to preteam, which was 3 hours per week.
 
My DS did 1 hour a week at 4 & 5, moved to preteam at 6 and went 2x a week for a total of three hours. At 6/7 he started team and L5 went 6-9 hours, moved to L6 at 8 and went 9-12 hours. His hours were always less than he wanted- he loves summer when he can live at the gym. I also kept him involved in other activities. Good luck with everything!
 
I have 2 sons, one of whom is still in gymnastics and loving every moment of it :) The other liked the recreational aspect of learning a few tricks at first, but ultimately lacked the drive for the harder conditioning & stretching it took once at a competitive level.

If they are just starting out, see if they like the 1x week class, and let them just play however they want in open gym. Sometimes they might practice something taught in the class on their own, but they will probably mostly run around and play at those ages.

If they do really like the class, and are at least average for their ages at listening/focusing, talk to the coaches about what the path is at your gym to join the boys team. There is likely a special 'developmental' class, separate from the recreational class, that may meet more often, and focus more on strength and skill development. Usually they would be able to try the class to see if they like the format (not all kids do, as it is more structured/strict, more conditioning, etc. than the recreational classes). Kids in a developmental classes will progress faster toward higher level skills as they practice more often and build the required strength faster. In some gyms, not all boys may be invited to this team-track class depending on their current talent/strength/attention span, while other gyms might invite any interested boy to try. Our gym, for example, is very strict on the attention/focus requirement for invitation. Others differ widely!

I've seen more than one boy your sons' ages NOT like the style of developmental classes, however, and go back to taking the more 'fun-focused' recreational classes. That is totally normal and OK. Keeping it fun will keep them loving it, and they might choose to move on to more structure when they are ready (or not). No real rush with the boys. We have plenty of boys starting at age 8+ and doing very well. The only exception to the 'no rush' rule, in my observance, is if your son isn't too flexible as a youngster, it will be harder to increase flexibility once over the age of 7 or so (give or take). So the developmental classes that include stretching will keep young ones on track to gain or maintain flexibility. A boy who is pretty inflexible and hasn't done much regular stretching will have to work extra extra hard if he starts a little later on a team track.

Above all, don't 'push' them to practice at home. Just enable opportunities in safe environments to let them spontaneously headstand/handstand, forward roll, climb on monkey bars, etc. We ultimately bought a fold-up tumbling mat to cushion our hard floors for rainy-day play and it is still well used.

Enjoy! Gymnastics is spectacular for boys' athleticism!
 
Hello,

My wife and I are new to the scene. We have 3 boys, and are enrolling 2 of them this week. They're 6 & 4.

What kind of structure do you guide your kids with during open gym? I'm used to incremental, and periodized approaches to sports. Letting my kids run around the gym sounds like it has bennefits, but IMO is too random.

Should I expect their coaches to provide us a prescription of skills / drills?

Are there resources out there for what to do during open gym?

So far, I've found two resources. A level one book for boys (Rita Brown), and a BSAP kit from USA Gymnastics. Both of these sound decent, but I don't want to get too far from what the gym is coaching.

Thanks,

Wes

if the open gym is not structured and firmly supervised, do NOT go. they'll get hurt.
 
how do you interpret that?

he says his boys are 4 & 6. he says he doesn't know jack about gymnastics.

so then, if he takes them he better make damned sure that the open gym is structured and firmly supervised. furthermore, he should stay with them at all times because most open gyms have older kids.

i don't see what this has to do with my other post.
 
btw, some open gyms are worse than trampoline parks. you don't know who i am. i get around. i know of what i speak.

not all open gyms are equal. caveat emptor....
 
Hello,

My wife and I are new to the scene. We have 3 boys, and are enrolling 2 of them this week. They're 6 & 4.

What kind of structure do you guide your kids with during open gym? I'm used to incremental, and periodized approaches to sports. Letting my kids run around the gym sounds like it has bennefits, but IMO is too random.

Should I expect their coaches to provide us a prescription of skills / drills?

Are there resources out there for what to do during open gym?

So far, I've found two resources. A level one book for boys (Rita Brown), and a BSAP kit from USA Gymnastics. Both of these sound decent, but I don't want to get too far from what the gym is coaching.

Thanks,

Wes

moreover Wes, if you bought those resources to coach your kids, quite frankly, don't do it. you could hurt your own kids.

they shouldn't be allowed to play. and this includes trampolines. gymnastics apparatus and trampolines are not toys. treat them as such and they'll suffer injuries that you'll regret.

depending on where you live, look for a structured and supervised open gym for 4-6 year olds. many gyms have just that. only for kids under 7. then they have open gym times for older kids at other times.
 
btw, some open gyms are worse than trampoline parks. you don't know who i am. i get around. i know of what i speak.

not all open gyms are equal. caveat emptor....
I know that not all open gyms are equal. We tried another open gym before settling on the one we go to now. Not only are the day and times better, but the supervision is much better.
When we go to one, it is well supervised, for the most part. With young ones, the parents are supposed to be there to keep their children from crashing into or cutting off someone else.
I am there the whole time... During the first half (wild heathen crowd control time), I guard the tumble track and get the little ones to go one at a time.
During the second half (only team gymnasts and cheerleaders), I offer more guidance to my gymmies, just like in practice. We do take advantage of the tumbletrack and the pit and the inground trampoline. We got instruction on the trampoline before either girl used it and they started very basic.

It just seemed like you were telling one parent to go to any open gym because NOBODY cares - not to any WELL-SUPERVISED open gym, but ANY! But you were specific about the danger of getting hurt at an open gym for the father.
 
gotcha. you know i answer posts inclusively.

my point of the other post was that experienced kids should be able to go to whatever open gyms they want to go to. in some areas, the kids go in groups and rotate week ends at each other's gym. it's a beautiful thing really. :)

and the way it should be. life is too short for all the egos that are in our industry.
 
gotcha. you know i answer posts inclusively.

my point of the other post was that experienced kids should be able to go to whatever open gyms they want to go to. in some areas, the kids go in groups and rotate week ends at each other's gym. it's a beautiful thing really. :)

and the way it should be. life is too short for all the egos that are in our industry.

Ok. Now that, I completely understand!!!! I wish ALL club owners were like that. Our coach gives a list... not because we compete against any of them, but because of what she has heard about their supervision practices (40+ kids and only 2 teenagers supervising = NO WAY).
Thank you for clarifying ;)
 

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