WAG Xcel program question

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Lynn

Proud Parent
Our gym has never promoted this program. Quite the opposite actually. It has been looked at as a program for cast offs. The kids the coaches are tired of dealing with whether it be fear issues or injuries.

I would like to hear experiences from parents, former or current kids in the program and coaches.

Due to school, we have thought about going this route but if this is what the program is about, I'm not sure it's a good fit for my DD. TIA
 
It really depends on where you are located and how the gyms around you treat it. Certain parts of the country do view it as a cast-away - not good enough, too old, too many fears - you name it. But other parts of the country have excellent programs that allow girls to go back/forth between jo and xcel based on their needs. Some use xcel instead of jo compulsory, then transition their girls to optional.

There have been a lot of topics about xcel on here that are worth reading through. You may want to list where you are, region wise too to get a better answer.
 
@gymgal what is the best way to search current threads regarding this question? There are a few that popped up at the bottom but the most current is from 2013.
 
In my dd's gym (region 8) they treat Xcel pretty much as USAG intended it to be treated. It's a lower-hours, lower-cost, and lower-commitment alternative to JO and includes primarily girls who are older, who want to do gymnastics without practically living in the gym, and/or whose parents can't afford the extra ~$150/month for the JO program.

The Xcel track is taken seriously though. The Bronze girls only practice for 4 hours a week, but the coaches are definitely not treating them as cast offs at all. My dd likes me to watch during the 2 practices a month parents are allowed to stay for and I've noticed that the Xcel coaches are very similar in style to the JO coaches and take their job seriously.

Another thing to consider is mobility between Xcel and JO if she switches over. From what I understand, many gyms do not allow any movement from Xcel over to JO, regardless of the circumstances. My dd's gym does allow it in some cases, but I don't think there's much movement between the two "tracks" even in dd's gym.

It sounds as though your dd's gym doesn't take Xcel very seriously and if she wants to be in a serious program then that gym's Xcel program will likely not be a good fit for her. I think, if you're very interested in finding a lower-hours alternative for your dd, it would be worth checking out other gyms in your area (if there are any) to see how they view/treat the Xcel program.
 
There are plenty of gyms in Region 5 that take Xcel seriously.
We have an "official" Regional Meet as of this season (in previous years, anyone could go to the regional invitational meet … and it wasn't planned very far in advance).
If your gym is using it as a place to house girls who are "above rec" but not worth the coaches time, I would see about another gym.

Good luck.
 
In my dd's gym (region 8) they treat Xcel pretty much as USAG intended it to be treated. It's a lower-hours, lower-cost, and lower-commitment alternative to JO and includes primarily girls who are older, who want to do gymnastics without practically living in the gym, and/or whose parents can't afford the extra ~$150/month for the JO program.

The Xcel track is taken seriously though. The Bronze girls only practice for 4 hours a week, but the coaches are definitely not treating them as cast offs at all. My dd likes me to watch during the 2 practices a month parents are allowed to stay for and I've noticed that the Xcel coaches are very similar in style to the JO coaches and take their job seriously.

Another thing to consider is mobility between Xcel and JO if she switches over. From what I understand, many gyms do not allow any movement from Xcel over to JO, regardless of the circumstances. My dd's gym does allow it in some cases, but I don't think there's much movement between the two "tracks" even in dd's gym.

It sounds as though your dd's gym doesn't take Xcel very seriously and if she wants to be in a serious program then that gym's Xcel program will likely not be a good fit for her. I think, if you're very interested in finding a lower-hours alternative for your dd, it would be worth checking out other gyms in your area (if there are any) to see how they view/treat the Xcel program.

Really? Only $150 a month for JO? We charge more than that for Rec Gymnastics. And we are not one of the expensive clubs.
 
There are plenty of gyms in Region 5 that take Xcel seriously.
We have an "official" Regional Meet as of this season (in previous years, anyone could go to the regional invitational meet … and it wasn't planned very far in advance).
If your gym is using it as a place to house girls who are "above rec" but not worth the coaches time, I would see about another gym.

Good luck.

Agree with this! Xcel can be a great way to compete with a little more flexibility but if your gym is using it as a cast away program and not taking it seriously, it might not be the program for her if she wants to stay at this gym. You could always visit some other gyms in your area and see how their Xcel programs work. You can check mymeetscores.com to see who the top scoring Xcel teams in your area are. Best of luck! My dd competes Xcel and loves it but it's a lot different from the way your gym does it.
 
There's movement between the two tracks at DDs current gym, but if you started in Xcel you really need prove yourself to be a well rounded gymnast with good form to move into JO (basically show them that they tracked you wrong on initial analysis or develop skills very quickly in spite of starting late - we have had many girls who have done both). If you started in JO and chose to move to Xcel for lower hours for whatever reason, it's usually easy to just say you want to switch back to JO.

Our Xcel program is lower hours w/ less serious coaching (i.e not as much conditioning and focus on perfect form) and standards (ex. more flexible routine requirements) than our JO program - which I think is what the USAG intended, however, many will debate this. It is less expensive too cause less travel meets and meets overal.

Our XCel program is perfect for ex-JO girls looking to cut back hours, or girls who like gymnastics, but don't want their whole life to revolve around the sport and/or want to do other things. Most of our Xcels are in Xcel by choice, but the girls who DO want to be serious gymnasts but aren't skilled enough to make our gym's JO team often find themselves very frustrated in our program (not enough hours, more laid back training). Those families will often start looking at other local gyms who either offer more intense XCel training, or will make their child a JO when we won't. My only issue is that I wish our gym was a little more upfront w/ "new to team" parents about the differences between the two tracks - we had a couple families who were quite upset upon finding out what Xcel vs. JO was when their kid was already committed to XCel team for the season.
 
Really? Only $150 a month for JO? We charge more than that for Rec Gymnastics. And we are not one of the expensive clubs.

"Extra ~$150/month" compared to Xcel not "only $150 a month" :) And that's just for Levels 3/4/5. Once you're talking about Level 6-10 it's well over $200/month more than the most expensive Xcel option.
 
As we are fairly new to this gym (job transfer) I had to do a little more digging for info. Here's what I found.

The gym has always used the program as a cast off team. Girls who have ability and talent but not girls the head coach wants to work with. Girls move from JO to xcel for that exact reason. The program is run by a college student with minimal gymnastics background.

Here's an example that might explain more of what I found out.

A gymnast who was a former AA state champ moved up. Over the summer was injured which took her out for the season. Obviously she is now a full season behind the others. Their resolution to this is to move her from JO to xcel before seeing where she stands now that she's back from injury. IMO I believe they just don't want to work with her and focus on the girls who are caught up.

To respond to another post, unfortunately there isn't another competitive gym closer than an hr away. The other gyms around her are more fun times (they do compete but girls learn skills only to get by on). Kind of stuck! Ugh!
 
It really depends on the gym and their philosophy. Our gym has different coaches for Bronze through gold, but the Platinum girls train with level 6s. They are "treated" like JO team.

We also allow some movement between the programs but it really depends on the gymnast and the situation. My DD was a level 7, broke two bones in her leg, and basically lost a year. She then also needed to have surgery this past November so the decision was made that she would do platinum this year (our coaches are a little more flexible on what skills they expect vs. what they require for JO optionals).

It was all around a very successful year for her. Got her skills back, and when she was ready to compete did very well, but the competition was tough. So it was a fulfilling experience for her.

She plans to go back to level 7 next year, but the option of doing Diamond is there as well.

I guess I would ask what level JO or Xcel would your DD be? That might have some bearing on the decision you make. Good luck!
 
It really depends on the gym and their philosophy. Our gym has different coaches for Bronze through gold, but the Platinum girls train with level 6s. They are "treated" like JO team.

We also allow some movement between the programs but it really depends on the gymnast and the situation. My DD was a level 7, broke two bones in her leg, and basically lost a year. She then also needed to have surgery this past November so the decision was made that she would do platinum this year (our coaches are a little more flexible on what skills they expect vs. what they require for JO optionals).

It was all around a very successful year for her. Got her skills back, and when she was ready to compete did very well, but the competition was tough. So it was a fulfilling experience for her.

She plans to go back to level 7 next year, but the option of doing Diamond is there as well.

I guess I would ask what level JO or Xcel would your DD be? That might have some bearing on the decision you make. Good luck!

Current 7 or xcel platinum would be the switch
 
Clearly it will be different for each gym, and at your gym it doesn't sound like a great program. For my DD, the switch from a more intense gym that didn't offer an Xcel option to the local Y which has both has been fantastic. JO and Xcel train together with the same coaches and the same expectations when they are in practice, but the Xcel group has a lower hours per week requirement. They compete in fewer meets mostly because not everyone around here has an Xcel team. But when they do compete it is often in the same meet as the JOs so the same judges etc. Since the routine requirements are less rigorous they get to use the skills they are best at for their routines. Since DD couldn't meet the move up requirements at her previous gym and would have been forced to do another year as an L4, being able to customize her routine to her skills and tastes was heaven. And the increased flexibility has meant that she could juggle school, musical theater, choir and gymnastics. We don't see any difference in the level of respect, time or attention that the Xcel girls get so it is really the best possible choice for us.
 
My DD was sent to Xcel in her current gym after she had a back injury although there is no lack of mobility between the two. I expect she will finish her gym career in Xcel because neither we nor her physical therapist have any interest in her ever doing a proper bridge or BWO again. That's just her body. No it does not have the prestige of the girls doing JO, but she's just a swimmer who adores gymnastics and wants to go 9 hours a week and continue to add skills.
 

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