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Hi,
I am new here and have a question about team size. My 7 yr old DD is level 3 and there a 15 girls on the team. They practice 4 hours a week with 2 coaches. This sounds arrogant (sorry), but DD is without a doubt the best on the team. She has placed first out of her team in 3 out of 4 meets, and is typically in the top ten ( the meets usually have between 35-50 girls). Half of her team is doing poorly- they place consistently in the bottom third. The parents can't be enjoying that. At one meet, a mom from another gym said our team is too big and we take anyone, and that's why alot of our girls score so low.
When the moms asked the head coach about the constant low scores, she blew it off, saying level 3 doesn't matter and that there is no correlation between scoring at level 3 and 4. So if they do terrible at 3, they could do great at 4.
I found out recently from the head coach that all the level 3's will be moving up to 4, some level 4's will be repeating, some prep bronzes will be on 4, and some level 2's will skip to 4. There are 2 coaches for 4 an they practice 6-8 hours per week. This means there will probably be more than 20 kids on 4 next year! There is also no plans to add a coach.
I am trying to trust the coaches decision, but level 4 this year is like 8 girls and they are doing fabulous. I am wondering if this many kids will reduce progression?
What are your thoughts?
A
15 kids with two coaches sounds like a great ratio. There are so many reasons why some kids don't do as well as others. As your DD is doing so well I really wouldn't worry about anything until the new levels are given and training begins.
The L4's that now have two coaches for 8 kids are very lucky, it is rare to hear of groups so small.
IMO, I think that the coaches are correct in saying that how they do in level 3 is not an indicator of how they will do in the higher levels. In fact, there are many gyms who do not start girls competing until level 5. At DD's gym, they start at 4 but see that level as an opportunity for the girls to get a feel for competing and getting their form corrected. As for the numbers, I think as long as the coaches are efficient with the time they have, the girls will get the training that they need. DD's level 4 team this year had 15 girls, but often they were "split" up between 2 coaches (first year 4's with one, 2nd yr. girls with the other) and they practice 9 hours a week. Hope this helps!
Our preteam, which is considered level 3, has 5 girls with 1 coach, and the level 4's have 10 girls with 2 coaches. Level 5 has 8 girls with 1 coach, (although they do have other coaches helping out I notice) higher than that I'm not sure. My son has recently started training with the boys team and there is one coach with 9 boys and they are all at different levels. They do have another coach which helps one out of the three days. In our gym it's invite only or they've been referred (like we were) and evaluated. I think a big factor for team is not just the child's ability but the parents commitment and financial capability. We know it's not cheap! I have met several parents whose kids are really good but they've decided to stay in regular classes versus going on team, when invited, due to the time and cost necessary. One parent, whose dd is doing level 6 skills, is in an intermediate class with my 8 year old dd and her mom told me she just can't commit to bringing her daughter for 9 hours a week.
I agree with the previous posters who said 15 is not too many....25+ for 2 coaches would be pushing it. I don't know that I necessarily agree with moving someone to Level 4 who is doing poorly in Level 3. True, they could do fabulously in 4, but if they can't handle 3, which is very basic, 4 is going to be a huge jump for them.
In dds gym, the 3s do not compete, and are not considered a team, per se. There are rec levels 1-3 and developmental levels 1-3. When a child has gone through the level 3 devo for a season, they are more than prepared for level 4. The current years level 4 team consists of several 2nd year level 4s that were not "up to par" to move to level 5, however all of the first year level 4s that went through the devo level are ready to move up to 5 in a couple months. Our devo levels are through invitation only, and they hold try-outs annually and by a referral from a rec teacher only. The devo groups are limited to 8 children, Some of the kiddos spend 3 years in the devo levels before going to 4, others go to 4 after one year or less. Our devo girls go between 3 to 4 hours/week depending on level and the ratio of coaches is in line with your experience. I would imagine that, although some children seem more adept then others, if they are already having meets at level 3, is doesn't really matter if they are placing in the bottom at this age/skill level. If the coach decides to move them all up, they probably have a good reason.
Level 4 is a sink or swim level, and many girls do not go any further in gymnastics. As far as placements, you cannot control who you're competing against, and someone has to come in last- on occasion, even the "best" gymmie will have an off day and place much lower than usual. This has been my dds first year competing and she definitely has talent. She stood on the podium in a 1-3rd place all around at every meet with the exception of her 1st meet- which she took 5th out of 23 in her age group. She also took 1st on bars at every meet she has been in with the exception of 1 meet that she took 2nd. That is all well and good, but we NEVER focus on placements or scores. The only time we got excited over placement was at fall states where she took 1st which resulted in her being the child division bar champ and having her name on a banner in the gym.
I think focusing on placements is counter-productive until the higher optional levels when stuff like that matters to college recruiters and the like. Who cares what place your dd comes in, as long as she is doing HER best, she does not need to be THE best. And as far as worrying about other people's children- that is a bad habit you should break yourself of now before you make yourself, and your dd, crazy.
At this level, a lot depends upon age, experience, maturity, and basic balance. Improvement in the latter three will go a long way in how girls do at the next level.
It's great that your dd is doing well at this level but don't discount her teammates who aren't doing so well this year. Performance at one level (particularly the beginner levels) is not an indicator of success at the next level. Girls will find certain skills harder/easier than others at different levels.
As for team size: it is unlikely that all of these girls will go to L4. Moving, lack of interest, finances.... Girls drop out. But even if it stayed at 20 with two coaches, it would be fine as long as the coaches feel comfortable handling this size and set up circuits to keep the girls working.
At my DD's gym, 3 is considered "pre-team," but the coaches will still have girls repeat Level 3 or Level 4 if they don't think they're ready for the next level (as they do for the higher levels too). I know there are different schools of thought on this, but that's what they do at our gym. That being said, the higher up in the levels they go at our gym, the more likely they are to repeat a level.
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