What is the ideal age for optionals?

[twoofthem]

A little background. I have a 6yo level 4 who has a fair amount of talent, she has been doing gymnastics for less than a year and a half, she is a determined little child and knows what she wants and what she needs to do to get it. She loves to win but loves more the challenge of winning, the striving to get ahead of the person ahead of her, she *loves* when people are “betterâ€￾-the push if you will. She wants what she wants and will work hard to get what ever goal she puts in front of herself.. (I wish my lvl 7 would borrow some of this, lol). She had a discussion with her coach last week and let her know that she has zero intention of doing lvl 5, she plans on lvl 6 and what does she need to do-her words. Her coach is just fine with her skipping lvl 5, we are at a gym that doesn’t often skip children but it does happen. She told my dd she will compete as a lvl 5 in May to score out (she will be 7 end of April) and she will need to have certain skills beforehand. She has her flyaway, she can go over the table (her 1st meet she scored a 9.5 on vault), she has made her kip on low bar, has her round off back handspring back tuck on tramp, can jump from low bar to high bar, baby giant, giant on strap bar, so she is well on her way to lvl 6 skills. She corners coaches and convinces them to teach/spot her for what ever skill she wants to learn when ever she gets a chance.



I am undecided. I have a 12yo lvl 7 who started late (9), who also is very talented and doing well/holding her own. If all goes well she will be a lvl 10 in a few years at about 15 (her coach feels she is fully capable of one year at each lvl). To me that seems a good age to be in that spot.. but I don’t know. Seems even a 'late' start and a year per level is working just fine for her. It has been said to me I should “fast trackâ€￾ my 6yo.. but why? We are a good gym, a team of a 100+, just signed two for full rides so I trust where they will end up. BUT how do you figure out the line of a child needing more challenge/bigger skills vs taking it slow. I don’t want her to get board which was an issue earlier in the year nor do I want to push her little body more than it needs to. To add to that she is already in physical therapy for her continued sprained ankle...,she has broken a foot at gymnastics too.

How do I figure out the best course for her..???

 

[Aussie_coach]

The ideal age will vary depending on the child's goals. If elite is the goal and evtually representing her country internationally then you want to hit level 10 by 10 or 11 years old.

If college gymnastics is the goal then the best chances of a scholarship will be if they are a good level 10 by 10th grade.

If their goal is to hit the top levels in gym and compete at nationals before college then level 10 by 11th or 12th grade.

If their goal is just to be a great optionals competitor then they can be level 7-10 at 30 or any age which works for them

 

[twoofthem]

I don’t know what her goal is.. she is 6.. how can any one know what her goal is at this point. This is *her* sport, her doing, my job is to support her today. At this point she just wants more.. she wants to skip lvl 5, the question is to let her or hold her back..? Is it worth getting to optional quicker?

 

[gymgal]

Whoa - if you are already dealing with injuries at this young age, I would certainly be taking a slower path and not rush it. Higher level skills bring higher risk and if her body is not ready for it, then she is just going to enter the revolving door of injuries.

It is highly unusual to skip level 5. Gyms that skip tend to do it at 6. Level 6 is known to be much more difficult in terms of skill and judging. To go from 4 to 6 will be a huge jump! Level 5 really helps the girls get comfortable with their kips, vaulting, and tumbling. It allows a year to work out those kinks like bent arms, split legs, height/split requirements etc. If you go into L6 with these, you will see the scores plummet. But she definitely is on her way to getting the skills she needs. I think it also depends on when she would compete 6. If it's sept., that's only 9 months away. that's not a lot of time to gain and polish those skills. but if it's next Jan, then that's a different story.

I wish you luck in this decision. I'm sure the coaches will jump in on their opinions too.

 

[JessLW]

Sounds like you have a very talented and determined daughter!

I think in your position I would take it one step at a time and try and leave the decisions about what level to compete and when up to her coaches. Let her work toward 6 if her coach is agreeable, but keep 5 an option, even if only in the back of your minds. If you trust her coaches then I would trust them to pace her properly for her age. Like you said, she's just 6 and a lot could happen. Be conscientious of injuries and burnout and don't hesitate to pull the plug if you feel like she can't handle it, but otherwise wait and see at this point. Like you said, she's 6. No big decisions really need to be made right away.

I would also sit down and have this discussion with her coach and see what they think. Do they have big goals for her? What do they hope to accomplish by fast tracking her? Is it just because she is expressing interest? Or do they also think she could go very far in this sport. It would be good to make sure you're all on the same page here!

It does sound to me like you have a good head on your shoulders and are definitely aware of the pitfalls that come with intense training at an early age. I am sure you and and your DD's coaches will do right by her!

 

[Quadqueen]

sounds like your daughter has a lot of talent! I have never heard of skipping Level 5. As was previously mentioned, it would be a huge jump from 4 to 6. Then again, we don't skip levels at our gym.

I know you said your daughter has approached her coach about skipping L5. She is just 6 though. Not to discredit her determination, but are you and her coaches going to completely agree with whatever a 6 year old wants? How does she really know what she "wants" at that age?? Just food for thought. I'm sure the coaches will do what is best for her. I would be cautious after she suffered those injuries, though.

 

[vagymmomma]

It seems like you have a very talented and motivated child, but her injury history would make me a little nervous. It's one thing to have the skills (and you didn't mention her casts or high bar kip which are huge in 5/6), but my biggest worry with optionals would be the additional hours. Our optionals train a "light" 16 - 20 hours a week, but I know a lot of other gyms practice 20 -30 hours a week. That's an awful lot for a 7 year old.

I was also a little confused about her 9.5 on vault. If she's doing level 4, how did she get scored going over the table (or is the score for the L4 flat back, but she's making it over the table???)? We have a level 5 that got a 9.9 on L4 vault (a couple times), but she's getting low 8s on the table -- it's a big difference.

Good luck -- my advice would be not to run too fast. The fundamental skills (done correctly) are so important and shouldn't be rushed.

 

[gymmomtoo]

She's 6 and doesn't have grand plans, I'd just take it as it comes. I will warn you that skipping level 5 and going to 6 will be a HUGE jump from level 4. Kids who did great in level 5 often find level 6 scoring to be very difficult, so she needs to be prepared for that.

 

[bookworm]

or do I want to push her little body more than it needs to. To add to that she is already in physical therapy for her continued sprained ankle...,she has broken a foot at gymnastics too.
[/B]
How do I figure out the best course for her..???

You have 2 issues here: first off, she needs to let her foot heal completely before any mad push is on to skip levels ...and after she's all healed , see how she does.

The second issue of the "best course for her" is , I think, best figured out by her coaches. This is what you are paying them for. If they feel like skipping levels will benefit her, then go for it. My oldest did one meet at level 5, level 6 and level 7 and then did a season at Level 8 (she was 8 yo at the time) , and did well so it does happen. But this was also advised by her coaches so I was just like "oh ok this is what you want her to do?" . If she hadn't done well, I probably would have been skeptical but it all worked out for her. That said , her training group for much of her young life was the teenage crowd because they are the ones that are usually in the upper levels but they were great with her too ( no inappropriate discussions or comments that she or we were ever aware of) and they did include her in everything.

 

[LizzieLac]

I don't have issues with skipping levels - I think it works for lots of kids. However, I would say that at 6, she has plenty of time to skip a level down the road, esp. after her injuries are healed. So, maybe you wait and try to score out of 6 and go to 7 after a year of doing level 5.

I can tell you that all of our level 4s are "feeling" the jump to level 5. We had 6 or 7 girls who always scored over 9 on everything, almost always 36+ and 37+ AA. At the first couple of level 5 meets there are lots of 7s and 8s. The judging is also harder.

 

[GymGirl's Mom]

To echo what others have said- my #1 issue for my DD if she were in the same position (she is not- she is an 8 year old L4 with some L5 skills- not a phenom by any means) would be to have her get 100% healed. She is so young, has so much time- getting her back to 100% health wise would be of top notch priority. My DD has all kinds of dreams, wishes, and aspirations in all areas of her life. My job as a mom is to hear her, and help her, and to make sure that she has what she needs to be successful at whatever she chooses- sometimes that means stepping in and guiding her down a different path than she would choose. I would be very concerned about her training until she has the all clear from an ortho doctor. If her goal is elite- she can get there- even on a slower path than Level 6 at 7 years old. DD's gym has girls that skip levels- even some L4 to L6 skippers that have been very successful- it can be done and doesn't have to mean that the level jump leads to low scores- there are many girls at DD's gym who prove that wrong. I guess my big fear would be her current state of health- getting her foot/ankle 100% healed. Then think about skipping levels.

 

[Tumblequeensmom]

I'm agreeing w/what everyone has said. Your coach should definitely be the one to consult, and it sounds like your DD is taking the bull by the horns, so to speak, in communicating what she wants! Good for her!!!

She IS so young... what I have seen in my own limited experience with my DD, particularly one of her old gyms, is that they bump up these young ones so darned fast and half of them burn out by the end of the season... OR they suffer some pretty serious injuries. To me, it's just not worth it. When they're that young, i would think that slow and steady wins the race!

Also, here in my area, IF the kids skip a level, it's usually L6 to get straight to 7 from 5. Level 5 builds such a strong foundation.

 

[twoofthem]

As far as her injuries.. yes, we are talking it very slowly and it was her coach who insisted she got in and get PT, which the Dr also felt was a good plan. She has PT 3xs a week at this point. She had been doing zero gymnastics because they are taking it seriously because if not, it will be the end of gymnastics for her. She has very weak ankles and our goal is to get them strong with an understanding that as long as she remains in this sport she will have to do things to maintain the strength she gains. My dd didn’t come up with the idea of skipping on her own, this was stuff that she has over heard and/or has been brought to the table before, from her coach, so it isn’t simply child driven. There was just never a solid choice made, because honestly I was just going to let her do lvl 5. I think she sees the option and is ready do pounce on it. Which is fine, I will support this as long as the benefit is worth it. She has no clue what she wants other than to learn the next skill—I worry about burn out but I also worry about boredom.

As far as her vault, the 9.5 was the lvl 4 vault. She can and has vaulted a lvl 6 vault.. last year before she was a lvl 4. She would often jump in to my other dd’s practice to work on skills. I do understand this is a huge leap but her coach feels it’s a leap she can make and do well with. Her skills are solid, her basics are solid and this gyms doesn’t push kids through so I value that. BUT I still fall back on is it worth it.. I've even allowed her to do a private once a week so she can work just the "fun stuff" and let the lvl 4 stuff stay at practice. This way if she insists on doing bigger skills, she is at least going to learn them correctly/safely and not trying stuff on her own (which, of course, hasn't always worked, lol).

 

[gym law mom]

The thing is she will end up being "bored" at some level. I think she has to understand that as much as she likes learning L6 skills, at some point she just can't keep trying new and bigger skills to be happy in the gym. The skills past L6 can take a long time and many, many drills to master. I really do understand that at age 6, she just wants to do more and more.

My other concern would be what someone else mentioned. Move along quickly and suddenly she's with teammates that are 4-5 years older and the ones from this year's L4 team are in their own group. This can put a little one in a limbo situation.

I would wait until she's discharged from PT and shows she will do the ankle exercises at home without complaints before committing to any level skipping.

 

[VaultDiva]

Just remember that gymnasts are like lightbulbs---The ones that shine the brightest burn out the fastest.

 

[Gymmonkeymomma]

My other concern would be what someone else mentioned. Move along quickly and suddenly she's with teammates that are 4-5 years older and the ones from this year's L4 team are in their own group. This can put a little one in a limbo situation.

This is a great point, something which Little Monkey experienced. She was not fast tracked by any means, in fact she repeated L5. The girls closer to her age quit by her first L5 year, and the new kids coming in her age were several levels behind. So, by the time she started optionals, she was with 9 turning 10 training with girls who were 13-17. Aside from the teen drama that she was exposed to, she was either picked on or treated like a baby. Meanwhile, she watched her friends (the ones her age) training together and having fun during practices. It was not a happy time!

 

[Deleted member D3987]

she's 6. needs a reminder to brush her teeth. not plan when she'll enter optionals.

 

[Clover]

Is this always the case?

Just remember that gymnasts are like lightbulbs---The ones that shine the brightest burn out the fastest.

I see a lot of posts talking about the young, talented gymnasts burning out or getting surpassed by others. As the mother of a young, talented gymnast what can I do to prevent this?

 

[bookworm]

I see a lot of posts talking about the young, talented gymnasts burning out or getting surpassed by others. As the mother of a young, talented gymnast what can I do to prevent this?

I don't think this is always the case and I will speak from my own experience as my daughter was one of the "young, talented gymnasts who shined the brightest" but she has not burned out or quit; in fact, she just signed her NLI last month for a full gymnastics scholarship to a Big 10 school so...how did that happen? Well, number 1, she was never pushed and it all came rather naturally to her and number 2, it was always HER decision on what to do with her gymnastics (with input from her coaches as well) . I think a lot of the "brightest that burn out the fastest" are kids with "Crazy Gym Moms" (or Dads) who push, push , push, ...privates up the ying yang..in the gym 35 hours a week as a compulsory (which when you start upping the hours, ups your risk for injury and when they get injured some never come back) and let's not forget to work out when we get home...never letting them have a minute off from gym ....you get the picture..THOSE are the kids who leave the sport and frankly, I don't blame them.

So Clover, to answer your question, what you can do to prevent this is to trust your gut and know what's right for your kid...moderation is key too and I always kept my daughter in regular school (not that's there's anything wrong with homeschooling but I didn't want her to feel like she had to give up HER sense of normalcy to be a gymnast) as that gave her a different group of friends that weren't gym related. I also had her do things that were important to her (Father/Daughter Dance; Prom etc) and yes, she did miss the Friday night practice to do so but you need to think of the big picture. For the bulk of the time she would regulate her activities ("I can't go to XX because it's the night before Regionals). I guess if I had to sum up her journey in gymnastics , I would use the word balance...it wasn't easy but it can be done.

 

[Clover]

Thank you!

Thank you so much bookworm! I see so many posts basically discounting young talent that it is nice to see someone for whom it turned out positive.