Parents Pre school to Pre team?

DON'T LURK... Join The Discussion!

Members see FEWER ads

Jaclyn

Coach
Proud Parent
HI there. Im new here! Just wanted to see if anyone has had experience going from the pre school class onto pre team around age 3/4. The levels have changed in recent years, so it seems like level 1 is competed now, and when I coached it wasnt as common. Just looking for anyone else that had experience with their daughters and the new levels :) Thanks!
 
Was there something specific that you wanted to know about? I think people might not have answered because they're not really sure what you're asking.

If you're wondering about the adjustment from toddler classes to pre-team, then yes, it generally takes some adjusting. Make sure they're not hungry when you send them in!
If you're wondering if other have young kids or kids that started young, then yes, we're around. Yes, some young kids are on a lot of hours.
The decision as to which level to start competing at seems to vary between gyms.
 
Was your question about progressing through the levels? Comparisons of old to new levels? Or just about young gymnasts and when they started at what level? Or are you asking if it's unusual? I'm not quite sure the question but my DD started very young & I'm glad to tell you about our experience but I don't know if that's what you're wanting?
 
My DD started in a Mommy & Me class at 2 1/2 & started on the 3-5 year preteam shortly after. By 4, she was moved to the 5-7 year old preteam. And by 4 1/2 was moved to train level 3 (new 2). She started competing right after her 5th birthday.
She competed new 3 (old 4) right after she turned 6 & is training new 4 (old 5) and will turn 7 two weeks prior to their first meet. She is & has been the youngest on ours or any team we have competed with. When she started on 3, she went 6 hours, the next year 9 hours & this year is 12 hours per week plus TOPS. We have nothing to do with pushing her and we know very little about gymnastics. She is very serious and has been since she started, it's more of being just driven to get it right all the time. It's not the usual way things go, but she's kind of been an exception since she started. That's not to say next year she may want to quit or 2 years or 3, but right now, she would rather live there than at home. Lol. But we are being realistic and do understand the burn out rate for kids like her, unfortunately, if we tried to hold her back a level she would get bored with it. It's a fine line.

I probably have given you way more information than you asked for!!
 
The very youngest girl we have on our pre-team is 4 1/2, and she is exceptionally strong.... Generally they HAVE to be 5. We do not compete until L3.
I know nothing about L1 or 2 but I would assume there will be an adjustment because regardless of the difficulty of the level, the girls would still be expected to learn routines, listen very well, focus and work hard.
I coach plenty of little ones and I would say that the vast majority of them would not by any means be ready for more serious gymnastics than rec classes. Even the aforementioned 4 1/2yo who is by comparison very focused has tons of trouble with attention span etc in pre-team...
 
Thanks for everyone's replies! Sorry I havent responded sooner, I just had the chance to get on the computer. Sorry my post wasnt very clear. I guess I am looking for anyone with advice/experience with their dds being put on preteam around age 3 and how their experience was with their age, attention span and dealing with hours? My daughter currently attends the mommy and me class and the coach has talked to us about their 3yr old program which is a "pre team" for those girls who turn 4 the next following year to compete level 1. My dd has a small attention span for example warm up, but has no problem the rest of the class.
 
HI there. Im new here! Just wanted to see if anyone has had experience going from the pre school class onto pre team around age 3/4. The levels have changed in recent years, so it seems like level 1 is competed now, and when I coached it wasnt as common. Just looking for anyone else that had experience with their daughters and the new levels :) Thanks!
My youngest DD did pre-team when she was 3. She just moved to JO3 team and started competing this season (she just turned 6). But at 3 it is like Pre-Pre-Pre team, does that make sense?
 
Since your gym apparently competes levels 1 and 2 (which many do not), your 'pre-team' sounds equivalent to what some other gyms call 'developmental' or 'Devo'. There are quite a few of those classes around where we live that do start at age 4, with perhaps some 3 year olds who are more mature (physically and emotionally).

Around here, girls (and boys) are selected for those classes as much for their emotional maturity as for any early physical talent or traits. There are just some kids who are ready to work a little harder in a more structured way at an early age, while others will melt down and just not have fun with the same kinds of drills that Devo/pre-team requires.

I think most people will recommend to give it a try, and a little time (a few weeks perhaps) to see if your daughter really likes the style of teaching. There will likely be a little more conditioning and form drills (as opposed to just happy obstacle courses and whatnot of rec preschool classes), more 'corrections' when the right shape isn't held or a direction isn't followed, and less tolerance for goofing around. If she starts to lose focus more than a little in class, starts not wanting to go more than before, crying, fussing, etc, then maybe it's not the right time yet and a regular pre-school class would be better for now. But if she loves it, then you know she's in the right place. Each teacher and program will have their own expectations for what level of behavior is acceptable, and how much 'wiggle room' is allowed, so keeping close in contact with your coach about her expectations is key to success.

Good luck and welcome!
 
Gosh! She's so cute! I have a 4-year-old in a pre-team group of 4-6 year olds. My DD started last year at 3 in an hour rec class mostly because her big sister was having team practice at the same time and I was tired of keeping her corralled. The pre-team classes are about 1.5 hours long twice per week. She has done well, but I think the extra year helped. I'm not sure she could have made it at 3, and I think she is pretty good with focus and following directions. We live in an area where levels 1&2 are competed seriously. I think it's silly, but no one asked my opinion. I think the 4 year olds could reasonably do the level 1 routines. Now as far as doing it at a meet, I'm not sure. I would think small, "fun" meets. I thought the big meets were daunting to my 6 year old, but she got used to them.
 
Thank you for the responses and thank you for the warm welcome! That helped me a lot!! Yes Levels 1 and 2 are competed here seriously. At our gym you have to have an AA of 36 to move up a level. The mommy and me classes ages (18mo-3yrs) are 55 minutes and the pre-team (3 years when selected) is 1.5 hours 2x a week. There is a 3-4 year old rec class as well, so if my dd didnt seem to like the pre team we can switch back down to that as well. She seems to really enjoy it so we will see how this goes in the coming months! :) And as for now we will enjoy the last of the mommy classes before the transition :) Thanks everyone!
 
Thanks for everyone's replies! Sorry I havent responded sooner, I just had the chance to get on the computer. Sorry my post wasnt very clear. I guess I am looking for anyone with advice/experience with their dds being put on preteam around age 3 and how their experience was with their age, attention span and dealing with hours? My daughter currently attends the mommy and me class and the coach has talked to us about their 3yr old program which is a "pre team" for those girls who turn 4 the next following year to compete level 1. My dd has a small attention span for example warm up, but has no problem the rest of the class.
It's not how we do it here. It seems too much to soon to me, but I thought the same thing about 4yos doing T-ball and soccer. Going from Mommy and me to pre-team sounds crazy. At 3yo the biggest thing my kids were learning in gymnastics was to go to class w/o Mommy, real instruction came later.
 
Yes SCE that was my thoughts too. She seems so small yet, but our coach explained that she doesnt seem ready to "break away" just yet. In a few months she said they will transfer her into the 3/4 rec class (When she is still 2) to adjust to going alone and after that, right before she turns 3, if she is still progressing they will put her on the 3yr old pre team. My dd really seems to like her, so we will see how it goes. If it doesnt work out she can always go back to the 3/4 class. I believe their plan is to work level 1 skills for a year with her in pre team so by the time she is 4 she can compete level 1. I just wasnt sure how common that is now with the new levels ect since Ive been out of the gymnastics loop for a few years.
 
In my gym levels 1 and 2 are basically pre-team, but they aren't called that (they compete just once or twice per season at local meets as far as I can tell)... and what they call "pre-team" is a developmental class for 4-5 year olds before they do level 1. there is also a developmental class for 3 year olds, but they only meet 45 minutes per week (the 4-5 year olds meet for 1 hour per week). And it seems that they are pretty strict about not letting anyone younger than 5 in level 1. My older daughter is 5 1/2 and has been in the pre-team class for a year.. I don't see her moving up to level 1 anytime soon but she is progressing and it will probably happen someday if she keeps going. I'm actually really impressed with how she is doing now- her current coach focuses more on body shaping and conditioning than in the past and it is making a huge difference.

My younger DD is 3 1/2 and has been in the 3 year old class since she was 2 1/2 (by a coach's recommendation). She is more athletic than her big sister, and more driven and focused and all of that. She gets everything and if she doesn't get it she practices at home until she does. She has always been verbally and cognitively advanced for her age so she can handle a lot of stuff that most 3 year olds can't. She would probably do fine with a more intense program that met about 3 hours per week, but it's not really necessary. I sometimes have to remind myself to have patience, because my natural inclination is to want to see my kids get recognized and move up, but I know that's not necessarily best for them and it is definitely not best for my pocketbook.
 
  • Like
Reactions: sce
It is hard for me to wrap my mind around 3 year olds on pre-team and 4 year olds competing, but DD didn't walk into the gym until after she was 4. Therefore, I have no advise.

I just have to say though; your daughter is ABSOLUTELY ADORABLE!
 
Also, whichever direction you choose, please make sure she is not doing bridges and arching skills until she is 5yo. The young developing spine is not ready for those skills.
 
Thank you Clover!! lol! SCE, they dont do "bridges" at our gym this young but they work on rolling on the octagon mats in her class for fun :) and QuadQueen her class now is a mixture of both tunnels, jumping through hoops and singing songs. The coach also takes them one on one (if they want to) and works on the beam and bars. She said in the 3yr old pre team they would take away the tunnels and songs, but still make the class fun but work on fundamentals. The rec 3-4yr old class does not have tunnels/hoops ect either, so either way after the mommy class it is basically a recreational class. One is just labeled "pre team" and is invitation only and the other is not :)
 

New Posts

DON'T LURK... Join The Discussion!

Members see FEWER ads

Gymnaverse :: Recent Activity

College Gym News

New Posts

Back