What is the average progression to become an elite?

[coxmaryellen70]

My daughter is a level 6 and is nine years old. She absolutely loves gymnastics and will move up to level 7 next season. Her best AA as a level 6 is 36.9. I don't know much about gymnastics, and just enjoy watching her have fun. I was reading her journal the other night and she wrote about how she wants to be an elite. What is the normal progression to accomplish this typically? We encourage her to follow her dreams, and she is a very determined kid. Is her dream feasible or is she too old?
Thanks!

 

[gymjoy]

Those are not easy question.
First, I would just allow her to dream her dreams. Some girls learn earlier that they will not be able to make elite level. Some figure it out later. Just be there to support her whatever happens with gymnastics.
Now, I do not know if there is a normal progression for becoming an elite. Scores in JO do not always correlate with who is a successful elite gymnast. Solid basic skills and determination are important qualities though.
Some girls make elite at a younger age by skipping many levels, but never have a highly successful elite career. There are also examples of girls who make elite at older ages and are very successful. And there is everything in between.
Most important is being in a place where she would even have the opportunity to try for elite. Not every gym can or will pursue elite for their gymnast. It is difficult, time consuming, and expensive.

I hope this made sense. I have had some experience with my dd and the elite dream. The reality is pretty tough. She still holds on to her dream to make elite. It is just a hard, hard path.

 

[gymdog]

It's not necessarily a matter of being too old, but if a kid is not in an elite program training with an eye towards that stream, it's pretty unlikely they'll become elite. Even most gyms with high level programs aim to have kids progress to JO level 10 and NCAA gymnastics. If her AAs in L6 are near the 37s it sounds like she physically has the ability to progress in gymnastics (at least at this point) and should keep trying hard. But even among kids who are "elite tracked" and train in that system, a pretty significant portion that stay in gymnastics end up back in the JO system training as L10s (even those who make and compete as elites or in pre-elite often "drop back" to L10 to make their goal getting a scholarship).

Basically the short version it depends on if she is in a program with the capacity to train elites (and they are willing to specifically select her for that). Otherwise I think that JO L10 (esp under the system intended to start in 2013) is pretty high level, competitive gymnastics, and NCAA is a very fulfilling and motivating gymnastics program too, so basically as the kids get older and have a more realistic view of their training and gymnastics (a sense of the possible) their expectations often adjust. There are probably a lot of 6 year old L4s who would tell you they want to go to the Olympics, and virtually no 16 year old L10s who would. And I don't think there's anything wrong with that - they are still fulfilling their goals and their dreams to be good at gymnastics, they just have a better understanding of the reality of the situation.

 

[coxmaryellen70]

Thanks for the response. She is only nine years old, and it's really pointless for me to think about it. I'm just going to enjoy watching her glow as she participates in a sport she adores. It gives her self-confidence in all areas of her life, and the work ethic carries over into her academics. What more could you ask for? I never liked gymnastics myself but anything that makes my kid this happy is awesome!
Thanks!