Hi everyone,
As some of you know, my younger DD went from Level 4 last year to Level 7 this year. She is in 4th grade and just turned 10. She had most of the level 7 skills a full year before competing them, and got her giant consistently 5 months before first meet. In her first 3 meets, she got a 36.05, 36.5, and a 36.6 aa respectively. She's been in the top third amongst all level 7s at each meet, and between 4-8th in her age group. But I'm starting to notice a trend, and want your input on it:
1) I thought it was pretty rare to go from Level 4 to Level 7. Turns out, very common now. I checked, and 75-80% of the girls in her age groups have done the exact same thing. This represents multiple states and regions...last meet was Ozone, and there were 4 different regions in her age group.
2) these girls(the ones who went from 4-7) are really, really good! I'm seeing the hardest skill set for level 7, especially on beam and floor. I am also seeing some freakishly muscular 8 yr olds.
3) the AA at every meet are much higher than just 2 years ago. I checked, and 2 years ago, the youngest age group's winner had around a 35.00 AA. Now it's 37/38. This is from multiple meets in different states. And from videos I've seen, the quality of routines are much, much better. So it's not over scoring. Also noticed in the past, the youngest girls got the lowest scores, and the middle age group were the strongest competitors. From what I'm seeing, the youngest age group is now the highest scoring.
The reason I'm putting this out there, is, is this trend a positive thing? I know this is for college gymnastics. But soon there are going to be a ton of multi year Level 10s by age 13. There will be a lot more middle school bodies getting pounded by the highest level routines. Between elites, foreign elites, and so many more girls who reach level 10 by 8th grade, the odds of college gymnastics are going to be the same as Olympics.
And what about the atmosphere in the gyms themselves? Our gym is getting younger and younger. We have many girls who are just too young to compete level 3, so they do bronze. I expect we will have a huge group of 8 yr old level 7s in about 2 years. The average age in our gym now is about 8. But the average skill set is about level 6....
The older girls in our gym are quitting, mostly because they feel ancient and out of place amongst so many girls between 5-8. My older DD is done with gym after this year specifically for that reason.
I know Tops has a lot to do with seeing really young girls with high skill sets. My did Tops for 2 years. If she didn't, I don't think she'd even have a chance competing.
Im curious about everyone's opinion on this age trend. It scares me a little. Thoughts?
As some of you know, my younger DD went from Level 4 last year to Level 7 this year. She is in 4th grade and just turned 10. She had most of the level 7 skills a full year before competing them, and got her giant consistently 5 months before first meet. In her first 3 meets, she got a 36.05, 36.5, and a 36.6 aa respectively. She's been in the top third amongst all level 7s at each meet, and between 4-8th in her age group. But I'm starting to notice a trend, and want your input on it:
1) I thought it was pretty rare to go from Level 4 to Level 7. Turns out, very common now. I checked, and 75-80% of the girls in her age groups have done the exact same thing. This represents multiple states and regions...last meet was Ozone, and there were 4 different regions in her age group.
2) these girls(the ones who went from 4-7) are really, really good! I'm seeing the hardest skill set for level 7, especially on beam and floor. I am also seeing some freakishly muscular 8 yr olds.
3) the AA at every meet are much higher than just 2 years ago. I checked, and 2 years ago, the youngest age group's winner had around a 35.00 AA. Now it's 37/38. This is from multiple meets in different states. And from videos I've seen, the quality of routines are much, much better. So it's not over scoring. Also noticed in the past, the youngest girls got the lowest scores, and the middle age group were the strongest competitors. From what I'm seeing, the youngest age group is now the highest scoring.
The reason I'm putting this out there, is, is this trend a positive thing? I know this is for college gymnastics. But soon there are going to be a ton of multi year Level 10s by age 13. There will be a lot more middle school bodies getting pounded by the highest level routines. Between elites, foreign elites, and so many more girls who reach level 10 by 8th grade, the odds of college gymnastics are going to be the same as Olympics.
And what about the atmosphere in the gyms themselves? Our gym is getting younger and younger. We have many girls who are just too young to compete level 3, so they do bronze. I expect we will have a huge group of 8 yr old level 7s in about 2 years. The average age in our gym now is about 8. But the average skill set is about level 6....
The older girls in our gym are quitting, mostly because they feel ancient and out of place amongst so many girls between 5-8. My older DD is done with gym after this year specifically for that reason.
I know Tops has a lot to do with seeing really young girls with high skill sets. My did Tops for 2 years. If she didn't, I don't think she'd even have a chance competing.
Im curious about everyone's opinion on this age trend. It scares me a little. Thoughts?