WAG 5 year old level 3?

[Pineapple_Lump]

Parents tend to look at a their own child and see what the child can do. Coaches tend to look at a child and see what they can't do. I have a parent who can see their child's wonderful competition results and tumbling skills, I see a child who trains poorly, fails to make corrections and is missing important foundation skills on bars. Neither side is wrong, we just see different attributes to what parents see.

 

[munchkin3]

Couple of things.....
Minimum age to compete L3 is.....'must have reached their 6th birthday'
training L3 would be after mastering L2.....Levels 1 &2 are designed to focus on basic positions, tightness, and form. VERY IMPORTANT....
this takes time.......plus, for safety reasons, USAG has these age limits.

take a deeeep breath. She will get there. She is clearly capable. she just needs to continue what she is doing. Dont rush it. She should be having FUN right now and learning to love the discipline.

 

[LJL07]

One thing I realized with my 5 y/o competing level 2 this year is that motor motor development is a HUGE factor in readiness for a level. My daughter can do all of the skills very well but had difficulty with the coordination that the beam and floor routines require, resulting in lower scores. She was definitely the youngest at the level 2 meets, as most girls were 7+, and many were scoring >9.5 on every level..simply because of motor development (I'm a pediatric physical therapist so to me, the difference is obviously developmental...of course, I am sure there are exceptions here and there) She is moving to level 3, but I would not be the least bit surprised if she stayed at level three 2 years for this exact reason.

All that to say...even if she is ready skill wise for level three, many other factors play a part in readiness that is simply age/development related.

Yes, to all of this. Minimum age requirement for level 3 aside, they just aren't developmentally ready for it at 5 years old. Not even the super talents. Thus usag has the minimum age requirement. My 5 year old had pretty good bhs for her age last year and competed level 1. It was good for her. To be perfectly honest, the kids are getting pushed fast younger and younger now. There are more talented 5 year olds out there doing bhs in this country than you can even imagine.

 

[LJL07]

Judging from your video, I'll bet she is going to be a great little gymnast though! She's still got plenty of time.

 

[Natasha]

Age aside. Most gyms if you are in a level you compete that level. So if she is not ready to compete, she really isn't ready for the level.

Our gym the kids uptrain. So L2 would be competeing L2 and uptraining l3/4 skills.

Many gyms have a very structured recreational program with level 1, 2, 3, 4 developmental classes. There are specific skills for each level and check off sheets for those skills and they test the gymnasts throughout the semester and move them to the next level when they are ready. This structured rec progam has nothing to do with competing or learning routines, it is simply skill based. It is concerned with safe form but not the type of perfect form expected of competition team girls. So for instance, former gym has several hundred rec kids who are in level 1, 2,3,or 4 class but are not competing or training to compete.

 

[Deleted member 18037]

Many gyms have a very structured recreational program with level 1, 2, 3, 4 developmental classes. There are specific skills for each level and check off sheets for those skills and they test the gymnasts throughout the semester and move them to the next level when they are ready. This structured rec progam has nothing to do with competing or learning routines, it is simply skill based. It is concerned with safe form but not the type of perfect form expected of competition team girls. So for instance, former gym has several hundred rec kids who are in level 1, 2,3,or 4 class but are not competing or training to compete.

If you look at the posts of this OP she is not in rec land, she knows what she is talking about. She has a 5 yr old landing BHS

 

[Natasha]

If you look at the posts of this OP she is not in rec land, she knows what she is talking about. She has a 5 yr old landing BHS

The OP asked about getting her dd in a Level 3 class, then stated she didn't think she was ready to compete L3 but said she thought she was ready for L3 class. The terminology she is using is confusing and is not common terminology used to be asking about a L3 team but is common terminology for a developmental program at a gym which may or may not lead to possibility of team. A five year old with a backhandspring is unusual and impressive, but does not necessarily mean that her mother understands the ins and outs of how the different paths work at her gym or even what paths are available. .
To the OP- people here could be more helpful if you described what training your child is currently receiving- hours per week, type of class/preteam, etc as well as what you are interested in as far as training.

 

[bogwoppit]

If you look at the posts of this OP she is not in rec land, she knows what she is talking about. She has a 5 yr old landing BHS

Both my girls could BHS at 5 and were in rec. Gyms often call rec by levels.

I agree we need more info. Is dd in a gym program?

 

[gymbeam]

Both my girls could BHS at 5 and were in rec. Gyms often call rec by levels.

I agree we need more info. Is dd in a gym program?

Looks like she's in a good program! She has an Instagram with lots of video and from the looks of the conditioning and progressions she's working I get the impression that she's in good hands. Since communication can be very limited at a lot of gyms and contact with team coaches even more scarce at the developmental stage, I'm guessing OP is probably feeling like many new moms do when they can see their child has a special something but no one has yet acknowledged it.

So OP, if you return, I think it will all fall in to place given a little more time! She appears happy and engaged in the videos and coaches seem to be working appropriate basics with her given her age. Even if they haven't given you a specific plan yet, I guarantee she's on their radar. Sit back and enjoy the ride!

 

[vans2]

Some gyms even have lvl 2.

Just pick a few gyms in your area and see if they will "evaluate" her. Usually it is free and they will tell you where she needs to be placed based on their program and the JO rules.