Parents Do you have any regrets about competitive gymnastics? Any advice for new gym parents?

[suebee]

DD will be 5 in April. She is currently on preteam at her gym and I am anticipating that she will be asked to join the Level 2/3 team in a few months when they do move-ups.

DD loves gymnastics, more than any other activity she has done. But I have some concerns about having her join the team. I'm worried about the time commitment. It starts out low for Level 2 and 3, but increases a good deal by level 4 and then increases every year after that. Her gym is 20-25 minutes away with no traffic, but 45+ minutes away with traffic, and if she starts team after school (preteam is in early afternoon), we're likely to hit traffic at least one way, and possibly both ways. I have spoken to parents who have kids at the closer gyms and have not heard good things. I also have a special needs child, and that makes taking her to the gym more often more difficult.

Any advice?

 

[Ingwe]

That is someting you will really need to think about and decide if it will work for your family. As yuo stated, as she goes up in levels the time commitment will increase.

We drive an hour each way (with no traffic) right now it is "off" season but once summer comes and all the tourists arrive, I have to add an extra 20 minutes (each way) to our commute.(5 times a week) There are days (like today) that I just don't feel like driving up there, and then sitting for 4 hours but this is the commitment that I made so I do it. For the most part it works for us but if you have any reservations then it's better to head it off now before you, and more importantly your daughter is too heavily invested.

I keep telling myself 3 more years until she get her DL. LOL!

 

[dani4]

I'm also interested in reading the comments, as we haven't even gone into pre-team yet but we're thinking about heading down that route. And our gym is about 15 minutes from our house, but everyone I know who ends up getting competitive goes to the one that's quite a bit further away (only 20 minutes in no traffic, but that's assuming you can go 60 on the highway).

 

[Jen H.]

No regrets here thus far. Gymnastics has changed SO much for my daughter-she has learned to use her powers for good.
Before Gymnastics she was a whirlwind of wiggliness, uncoordinated, insecure, angry, frustrated energy.
I remember crying to a friend the day before signing her up for gym. saying that I just didn't know what to do with her. Wise friend suggested gymnastics and it literally changed her life. She found something that she excelled at, and became proud of herself. She learned to use her body and became coordinated. She burned off her excess of energy and became calmer, and more pleasant to be around. She learned discipline and became a better student.
I would pretty much go to any lengths for her to continue gymnastics as long as she still loves it and it is benefitting her. Seriously, she was off the rails before!

We live about 12 mins from the gym without traffic, 20 mins with.
I say give it a try and see how it works out. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

(I guess if I had to name a regret, it would be that our whole family has sacrificed a lot for gym. We don't buy new clothes very often or eat out, or take vacations-it is a huge financial burden for us and only to increase. BUT, the pay off in what it has done for her is immeasurable in money. I SO wish that gymnastics was not so cost prohibitive and was available to more families).

 

[vagymmomma]

We're in year 5 on team and have absolutely no regrets about competitive gymnastics. My DD lives for gymnastics though and I can't imagine what life would be like without it. I wish I could find something that DS has the same passion for, but I think it's hard to find something that a child truly loves. DD's best friends are on team. The sport gives her long term goals and it teaches time management. It also keeps her healthy and out of trouble. Challenges come in the sport many forms, but that's part of life. We can't fully understand all your circumstances, but I hope your DD finds as much joy in gymnastics as mine has. It makes the commitment really worth it.

 

[2G1B]

At this point it has taken more time than I expected when I realized that all 3 of my kids wanted to do the same sport. I had kind of envisioned it like it was for my brother and me when we both did swim team - able to do practices on the same days. Meets in the same place (even if our age divisions were at different times for the weekend, at least it was only one weekend). The reality is that DD #1 currently goes 3 days per week that neither of the other two have practice. The other two have the other 2 week days; but DD #2 is 1 hour less than DS. Next year I'm almost positive taht between the 3 of them we will end up with all 5 weekdays plus Saturday. I'm hoping not; but I'm preparing for it.

I also didn't realize how expensive it was when they were just doing rec. But, the twins have also done year round swim team and that was even more expensive when I broke it down to the cost per hour. Sports are just expensive.

All in all, despite the time involved (MY time), I'm happy with it. My kids love being in the gym. The days they complain about going are the days that they have to go up there when they don't have practice. They love going when they actually have practice. I think it helps them focus on school because they know that they have to do their school work if they want to go to practice. At this point in time I think that it is overall a good thing for my kids, so no regrets.

I do recommend trying to set up carpooling if possible. We only do it one day per week; but that one day is HUGE!

 

[soccergymmom]

It sounds like you are going to into with your eyes wide open. I agree, it IS a lot of money. And time. And for sure, a family commitment. But the looks on their faces when they are doing good and having fun..and seeing how strong they become.......so worth it. My daughter has been in gymnastics since she was 3. Moved to preteam at 4 years old and to team 5. Right now she is struggling a bit but I still don't regret it at all. She loves it.

 

[LizzieLac]

I think my response will be how to avoid having regrets that you DIDN'T give your DD this opportunity.

My DD did purely rec classes at a "fun gym" that didn't have a team until she was 8. I had no idea that she would be good enough for competitve gymnastics. I thought people that had thoughts like that were delusional. I knew nothing about competitve gymnastics.

When DD outgrew the fun gym we checked out a nearby gym that also had a team, but not because I thought she would ever be good enough for team, but because she liked doing it and was literally too big for the equipment at the other gym.

Within one year she was asked to join their in house team (fun competitions). At this point she began to swim competitively, but was really a beginner at both. Gym then asked her to join Prep Opt team which was a good fit as she was now swimming several days a week and didn't have time for more gym hours than that.

Guess what? She was pretty good from the get go and won Prep Opt Novice States as a 10 year old and eventually decided to quit swimming for gymnastics and move into the JO program. She is now 12 and did levels 5 and 6 this year.

It is her life! But I regret not getting her involved in USAG JO sooner. She it is a little behind age-wise, but she is a hard-worker and has had a good amount of success, but because of the late start I am not sure how far she will get.

You can always scale back, cut back, or undo starting down this path if it becomes too much. Good luck with your decision!

 

[Committed]

DD started level 3 team (never on a preteam), just a couple months after turning 5- and starting kindergarten. She has really done well since starting team. I thought it may be too much, but it's really been great for her. Plus her abilities have really skyrocketed! It's been a very positive experience for us, but it's only been 1year on team!

 

[MaryA]

I can't imagine her NOT being a gymnast. Do I have regrets? I don't know. I regret that I don't see her more, because she really is a nice kid who I enjoy hanging out with, but is she such a nice kid, at least in part, because of her gymnastics? I mean, that's sort of a weird connection to make, but since it is such a big part of who she is, it's sort of hard to separate her from gymnastics and know who she would be now, if that makes any sense. DD came to gym through the YMCA, and part of me regrets that we didn't get her into a more competitive program sooner, but who knows what would have happened then... maybe she would have burned out. Maybe we would have freaked out when we found out about the time committment and financial commitment and not have let her go down the team path if she had started out in a private gym. The Y program allowed us to ease into it a bit and to see that she had a real passion for it.

But certainly, once you're on that path, it is hard to ask her to stop. She may very well decide to stop on her own. If you look at the number of gymnasts at each level, you'll see that numbers drop quickly. But I would say that if you agree to let her start down the competitive path, you should be willing to let her continue as far as she wants to take it, as much as you are able (obviously there would be reasons, including injury or change in finances, where you may need to put your foot down and make her stop). And I would say to make sure that both parents know what is involved timewise and moneywise from the onset. My husband is only very reluctantly "on board" with gymnastics, for both time and money reasons, and it is definitely a point of tension between us that I wish wasn't there. He is supportive of her, and goes to her meets, and wouldn't make her quit, but I know he very much wishes that she was in a less intensive (and expensive) activity, or in an activity with "seasons." Like her having practice every day after school wouldn't be so bad if it was just during (insert seasonal sport here) season, but it is all year round, with extra hours in the summer.

 

[my4buffaloes]

Dd is in her 6th year of competing and aside from the cost I have no regrets. Love the sport and everything about it. While it can be dangerous I feel it is a wonderful sport for everyone. I have completely fallen in love with gymnastics. My younger dd does it now too and both my sons tried it, but it wasn't for them. Who knows if my girls will continue. But at whatever point they quit I will likely start judging it, as I love it that much and want to stay involved. Now if only their gym would put them on the same schedule and not completely opposite ones I would be thrilled.

 

[gymgal]

We have no regrets. We made the decision with open eyes and knew what we were getting into. That doesn't mean that it all goes smoothly, though. We make a lot of sacrifices for gym (and my other 2 dc year round sports).

You are doing the right thing by asking these questions now, before she starts team. This decision really will change your family. it's a huge time and financial commitment, one that I feel you really need to be prepared to accept for the next 12 years because once you go down this path, it is unfair to not let her pursue it fully if she chooses - barring unexpected disasters, of choose. It is important to look at all the things (distance, money, impact on other children, etc) and make an informed decision that's right for the whole family, not just dd. Many parents starting out on team don't realize the increased expenses, which is not just tuition, but meet fees, coach fees, equipment, clothing, Dr visits, travel expenses. Basically take the tuition and double it. That's what you will be paying each year, and obviously each year, as hours increase, so does tuition.

 

[gymmiemom]

This has been my 7 year old DD's first year competing and she began gymnastics exactly 1 year ago. I have ZERO regrets at this point. We have went from having a daughter who was unhappy in school (struggling socially and academically), bouncing of the walls at home, who became frustrated very easily over the simplest tasks to a 100% happy child, who is thriving in school, at home, and just in general.

It is a huge time commitment. She is at the gym 12 hours a week. Like other's have said the financial aspect has been big. Between tuition, meet fees, coach fees, leos, warm ups, etc it has taken some rearranging in our budget. It's also caused some scheduling issues because I have 3 other children involved in various activitites. Thank goodness we live in a small town where everyone lends a hand if needed. We have had to leave DS here with friends so he can go to his basketball/soccer/football games because DH is working and I have to take DD to a meet. But thankfully we have that option.

Gymnastics has done so much for her, I can't even begin to describe it. It's given her an outlet for her energy, taught her that if she works hard enough she will eventually get a skill, it's given her a HUGE amount of self confidence learning what she is capable of, taught her some rough lessons and how to handle them, and most importantly in my view given her a place where she feels she belongs. She has found other little girls with the same interests as her and that are as passionate about it as she is.

Good luck with your decision!

 

[Krystan]

Guess what? She was pretty good from the get go and won Prep Opt Novice States as a 10 year old and eventually decided to quit swimming for gymnastics and move into the JO program. She is now 12 and did levels 5 and 6 this year.

It is her life! But I regret not getting her involved in USAG JO sooner. She it is a little behind age-wise, but she is a hard-worker and has had a good amount of success, but because of the late start I am not sure how far she will get.

You can always scale back, cut back, or undo starting down this path if it becomes too much. Good luck with your decision!

We have a very similar situation here, and I agree with your advice! I also regret not starting dd sooner (she was 9 and will be 12 next week - L5). It really is a sport that is much better to get involved in at a young age. Every time I see a post that says, "Don't worry, she's so young, there's still time," I think, "Yes, but... don't wait too long."

I'll join the band wagon and say that gymnastics has been wonderful for dd. The severe anxiety that prevented her taking a gym classes younger than 9 is virtually gone after three years of gymnastics, 2 of them as a competitor. She has so much more self-confidence, knows how to handle her emotions better, has learned how to work hard, and not give up. School work is very easy for her, so finding a challenging activity for her that she really needs to work at has built up her self-discipline and sense of responsibility. I can't say enough wonderful things about what it's done for her. So no regrets here except about not starting sooner.

My advice would be to just continue on, as long as your dd loves it and the drive and money are not too much for you. Hopefully there are less "involved" options for you nearby (PrepOp for example) if it gets to be too much. It might even be worth checking out the gyms closer to home. I know you heard a few negative things, but maybe check them out yourself to be sure?

 

[gymmomtoo]

While I would wish so e things were different like we had more money, more time and fewer injuries, if I had it to do over, I would still let both girls do team gymnastics. They had grown so much in so many ways. I can't regret that at all

 

[Fliptwisttumble]

As a family we have few regrets. DD is 8, competing L7 this spring. She's in the gym 16 hours a week and loves every minute of it. But life does revolve sound gymnastics. Plans out with friends (hers and ours). Family birthday parties, vacations, are all vetted first through her gym schedule.

But as others have mentioned, her friends are gym friends. And they are great kids. She's an only child and it has given her real time to bond with some girls. One of the coaches told me a year or so ago that it is a real sisterhood at the gym, and I don't disagree. It's a wonderful thing for our daughter.

it's had benefits like teaching her time management, focus, determination, courage that she wouldn't have learned otherwise (where else do you have to overcome these sorts of fears?). And as Mary mentioned above, I think it has contributed to her being a good person.

Yes there are days I just don't want to go. But I have come to love and respect the sport, and also couldn't imagine our lives differently. I hope she continues to love it for a long long time. We'll continue to support her in this endeavor for as long as she does.

 

[suebee]

Thank you, everyone!

I wish I had a crystal ball, lol. It would make things a lot easier. It would be easier for me to decide what to do about gym for dd if I knew where this would go. If I knew she'd only do gym for 2 more years and then quit, I'd sign up her at the gym that's 5 minutes down the street from my house. I haven't been there to check it out, but I've not heard great things about them from parents who have had kids there. I haven't heard terrible things either, but I think they have few optional gymnasts, and it seems that their optional gymnasts also coach the younger compulsory and pre-team gymnasts, and the parents I've spoken to haven't been too impressed with that arrangement. I think it would probably be fine for a kid who wanted to do gym for a few years, but probably would not be great at building a foundation for a kid who might want to do gym longer term. Her current gym has very strong optional gymnasts, and if I knew she'd end up in gym that long, I'd probably leave her in her current gym, knowing that the foundation she's getting now would serve her well later on.

Right now, I have my parents to help me out with rides for dd to gym. But they're elderly, and I don't know that I'll be able to count on them in a few years. I don't know of anyone at her level at her gym who lives near us for carpooling, but I also don't know if that might change in a few years. Who knows? Carpooling would make things more doable, for sure.

And I don't know what will happen with my special needs child. Right now, he needs a lot of my time, and we already revolve a lot of stuff around him. If dd goes to gym more and more but doesn't need me there (meaning I can have my parents take her at least some of the time), that might work out and give me more time to focus on my special needs child would worrying that dd is feeling ignored. But on the other hand, if I end up needing to take her to all her practices myself and needing to bring my special needs child with me too to all those practices - well, that might not be doable long term. But who knows what things will be like for him in a few years? (That crystal ball would be really helpful!)

I don't know how much natural talent dd has at gymnastics, but what I do know is that I have not seen her as enthusiastic about anything else as she is about gymnastics. She's taken (or takes) dance, tennis, swimming, soccer, taekwondo, piano. She likes a lot of those things and is happy to go, but I haven't seen her want to practice any of those things at home. I don't see her talking about how she'll be able to do more when she's bigger. I hate to not give her the chance to pursue what seems to be her love right now, especially when I don't know I can be sure that I can allow her to continue as the years go on.

Thanks again, everyone.

 

[Bajanswife]

It shocks me how much money I have spent on this sport, and sometimes I do ask myself if it has been worth it? We just can't seem to quit, though - DD is still really enjoying it and progressing well without injuries.

 

[bookworm]

Do I have any regrets? Hmmm...not really. Oh sure I wish we had more time and money, and less injuries but on the whole, it's been a great ride! She's loving college gymnastics, as she says, "even more than I thought possible"...so it was worth the 250,000 milesI put on the car in all the years of carting her around

 

[GymBee97]

We have no regrets as this is really a passion for my DD. It does however have a huge impact on the whole family as they move up the ranks. As you said Time is a big one - You must go to the practices and meets and really choose them over all other activities (including things like friends B-day parties) You have to be willing to work other childrens activities around the gym schedule. Your money tree needs to be ready to bloom - yes this sport becomes very expensive as they move up the levels.
20 - 25 min drive for my area is about average so the question is are you willing to do that drive as she moves up the ranks 3 - 5 days a week?

As for the closer gyms not saying that what you hear isn't true but don't go 100% by what others say about the gym especially if they were there and left in anger. If you want to consider going closer to make it easier for you then go and visit the gym do a trial class and see for yourself what it is like. Remember all gyms are different and what works at one gym for one family may not work for another. What program is the best thing since sliced cheese for one family may be the worst experience for another.

It sounds like the time commitment and drive worries you (and it should) for the team track. You may want to look into the Excell program (formerly Prep-op) to see what they have to offer. It's a Team program that in most areas around me and from what I have seen usually requires less time commitment, so its cheaper. Has competition like the JO program does but usually they don't do as many.

In the end Team Gymnastics really is a way of life and the whole family and the family schedule and finances will be affected!
Can't tell you what is best for you and yours but it is something you and your family really have to think about the impact to the whole family and your lifestyle as you move forward.

Since both my Son and DD did this sport and are part of team We didn't have too many conflicts so for our family it was a doable thing. I know of many other families as they moved up in the ranks had their child quit either due to time commitments on the family or financial issues.

You said your DD is only 5yo and still in Pre-team so don't worry so much if a gym has an optional program that is way down the road and alot can change in that time. So go and see for yourself 5 min away gym has to offer for the here and now. You may find its a great fit for everyone and if she gets to the optional levels then you can re-consider your options.