relocating?

[lagymmom]

Hi--I posted this in the parents forum, but haven't had any response, so I thought I would try here. Has anyone ever had to relocate because there was no place for their child to train? I would love to hear about your experiences with this and how you handled it with your child/children. Thanks!

lagymmom

[hunde2]

We relocated a few years ago.Gym was not the real reason we relocated.We wanted to be closer to a bigger city and there where better jobs too.It was only 40 miles away.The gym she was before trained only up to a certain Level and she progressed pretty quick.The only reason I would move is if my child was very talented and already competing in a high Level.

[gymdog]

I haven't known anyone who relocated at the JO level, but I do know some people who drove an hour or more to a gym. If a gym closed and a lot of parents are experiencing this problem, maybe they could try outlets like petitioning the YMCA for a gymnastics or starting a nonprofit one (there are a few models for that).

[flippymonkeysmom]

I've only heard of people moving if their children were ready to train elite. I would never move for gymnastics - but then again my dd isn't ever going to be an elite gymnast.

[mariposamama]

Quote:
Originally Posted by flippymonkeysmom I've only heard of people moving if their children were ready to train elite. I would never move for gymnastics - but then again my dd isn't ever going to be an elite gymnast.

exactly what i was going to post. i think it is uncommon at lower levels. i definitely would check out gyms if we had to move anyway, since i really hate driving. LOL.

[ZJsMom]

Some gyms really discourage moving just for a kids' gymnastics, even if the goal is elite. Of course, some elite gyms do collect gymnasts from all over the country. The problem with moving just for gymnastics is that it puts a lot of stain on the family and pressure on the gymnast. What if she is injured or burnt out 6 months later? It's hard for her to say she wants to quit when the whole family moved to further her gymnastics career.

[lagymmom]

Thanks for your thoughts on this. I guess I should explain why I asked. We already drive an hour to a gym (really small gym) once a week. In our small town, there is no gymnastics at all. The gym we go to does not train in the JO levels after L2. They only do prep-op. I wouldn't even be considering this if I didn't think she had amazing potential to go far. I realize that there are many kids with amazing talent out there, but if she doesn't even get the opportunity, how will we know? I'm not saying that we are going to do this, I really just wondered if anyone had ever had to deal with something like this. I really hate being put in this situation because I feel like she might one day wonder why we didn't give her the chance to go somewhere with gymnastics. Also, I think about my boys, and if they had some incredible gift/talent, would we do everything we could to help them succeed (even if it meant moving)? I really don't know what to do. We can totally give up gymnastics (because I can't imagine paying that much money just to do prep-op), or we try to move to where she can actually train. The closest places are about a 3 hour drive away from our home now, so there would be no commuting----we would definitely have to move. So maybe this little bit of info will help some of you understand where I'm coming from. Thanks again!

lagymmom

[mariposamama]

wow. that is a hard situation. my DD loves gym. her coach says she is a natural, but i don't see her as an amazing talent or anything. she is in the top half of her class, the youngest of the top half and is just about the same as those girls. i don't even consider elite in her future. i know she loves gym, but i don't think elite is an option for us. luckily, i don't think she is a future elite either.

i don't think i would move JUST for gymnastics at this age. if there were other reasons that would support a move and would be beneficial overall for the whole family, then i would definitely consider it. especially since i absolutely hate to drive in traffic, etc, on a regular basis. LOL. i can't imagine driving an hour for gym and think the parents that do are pretty amazing! we are 10 minutes from our gym. BUT, we live in a huge city and have all the disadvantages (and advantages) that can bring.

so basically, i don't think i would move at my DDs age/level (she is 5.5 years old, moving to L4 in march) just because of gymnastics. but i also do not consider her a future elite, so that makes a big difference. and the fact that we are not in the situation makes it impossible to truly know what i would do.

do you have the possibility of moving? job opportunities in the bigger town, etc? if so, and the rest of the family is up for it, then i guess it would be worth it. i totally wanted to live in a small town, far from the city, but we got stuck here in a big city. now that we homeschool and DD is in activities (which i never would have imagined we would be doing) i am glad we are in a big city with lots of resources. there is always a trade off to being in a small town vs. big city. i hate some of the things about where we live, but have learned to just appreciate the positives.

good luck! it is a hard position to be in. we want our kids dreams to come true and for them to have the chance and sometimes that is hard to do.

[bogwoppit]

We briefly, or literally momentarily, went through this. Our gym is 40 mins away, we only have girls up to about level 7/8, no one trains more than 11 hours a week, there are no develpoment classes, only a few six to eight year olds get to train over two hours week.

When my oldest was 6 she showed a lot of promise and we did talk about moving to a bigger town with a real gym. We very quickly decided against it, we did not want to live the "elite family" lifestyle. We wanted more for our family.

Oldest DD is now 11 and one of the best in her club, that's funny isn't it. She has also been injured for over a year on and off. Both my girls are very happy in their gym. My 8 year old is also one of the best her age in our small club, but she is nothing compared to many of the 5/6 year olds on this board.

All that to say we decided gym will be for fun, the stats show that very few ever "make it", tons of girls burn out or quit before they reach even level 6. Our girls are succesful gymnasts on their own terms based on our family lifestyle.

The decision to move would change everyones life. It just wasn't worth it to us. Think very hard before you do change your lives completely.

[gymdog]

Quote:
Originally Posted by lagymmom Thanks for your thoughts on this. I guess I should explain why I asked. We already drive an hour to a gym (really small gym) once a week. In our small town, there is no gymnastics at all. The gym we go to does not train in the JO levels after L2. They only do prep-op. I wouldn't even be considering this if I didn't think she had amazing potential to go far. I realize that there are many kids with amazing talent out there, but if she doesn't even get the opportunity, how will we know? I'm not saying that we are going to do this, I really just wondered if anyone had ever had to deal with something like this. I really hate being put in this situation because I feel like she might one day wonder why we didn't give her the chance to go somewhere with gymnastics. Also, I think about my boys, and if they had some incredible gift/talent, would we do everything we could to help them succeed (even if it meant moving)? I really don't know what to do. We can totally give up gymnastics (because I can't imagine paying that much money just to do prep-op), or we try to move to where she can actually train. The closest places are about a 3 hour drive away from our home now, so there would be no commuting----we would definitely have to move. So maybe this little bit of info will help some of you understand where I'm coming from. Thanks again! lagymmom

Hey lagymmom. That is a difficult situation. There are a few options short of moving in my experience. I will cover all the ones I know and maybe you can investigate some of these:

-Is there a high school in the area with a program? They may have equipment and a coach who knows about gymnastics (or maybe not lol). If there is one anywhere within your radius, perhaps this person would be willing to work with your dd. It is unusual but not unheard of. Also if there is a university anywhere in the area with either an NCAA or club team, there might be an opportunity there. Universities that maintain gym facilities usually have small youth programs, and some club teams (NAIGC) open their practices to members of the community (including youth), and there might be an older experienced gymnast who could work with her.

Harder, but possible:

-nonprofit, parent owned, parent operated gyms. There are definitely examples of this and from what I've been hearing over the last few years, it's a growing trend (a very small growing trend, but nonetheless). There must be others in communities within an hour of you interested in gymnastics at various levels too. Like any nonprofit, you would have to get initial funding before tuition could take over, but proving the marginal benefit to society of such a program in a time of growing obesity and inactivity concerns wouldn't be too bad. If there is a YMCA in the area, perhaps interested parties could approach them. There are many YMCA gymnastics teams. Here are some links to such nonprofit gyms, perhaps you could contact them and see if they can advise you on the feasibility of such a task in your area:

http://www.kokokahigymnastics.com/index.html

http://www.spiralsgymnastics.org/AboutUs.html

http://www.teamcentral.org/id17.htm

Some areas have gyms as part of their county parks and recreation services. These gyms sometimes have to trade off; the county may limit the hours the team can practice for instance, but some have successful optional teams. Perhaps there is a possibility of this.

I wouldn't move until push comes to shove and you're out of options though (and she's exhausted the current gym). There is a chance your current gym could attract new coaching and expand their program, for instance. If there are other parents facing this dilemma, maybe they can get together and push for that. Perhaps the program has just existed as it is because there's been a presumed lack of interest in expanded programs. Or maybe no one currently wants to work the JO optional track, but if you express interest, perhaps they may be willing to do that for your dd when the time comes. But gymnastics is a very fickle sport...if the benefits of moving for your entire family work out, then I think it's reasonable to seriously consider it. But if apart from this issue, everything is good now and you really like where you live, I think it would be difficult to in good faith suggest anything other than the sheer numbers: it is a low percentage that even makes it through the compulsory levels, probably 10% or less of girls who start competitive, although I don't know offhand. So while I think you could start making plans for this being a possibility in the future, I would wait until you hit the wall before you really do it.

As far as never knowing, I see a direct correlation in time spent in gymnastics and disappointment when it ends prematurely due to circumstances not working out...the longer you're in this the more disappointment it's going to be if it's a strain on the family and doesn't work out. Right now her attention could probably be diverted to another activity that she can be just as promising in if she's generally athletic. 25 hours a week of training down the road, when you're in middle and high school and haven't tried other sports, this gets harder. That doesn't mean it isn't worth it, but it's something to consider.