WAG Gym has two JO comp training paths?

[Orangesoda]

My 14 YO just thanked me for making him go to gym on ALL those days when he didn't FEEL like it.

Another gym in my area had an 8YO make the national Tops team. She also competed Level 3 at a meet a few weeks ago and came in 5th....two different things.

I think this is what I'm wrestling with most. How much freedom does one offer a five year old to dictate their own schedule? I don't want to be the mom who pushes her kids into what I would have them do...ahem, like my mom did to me. Yikes! But I don't want her to squander an opportunity to participate in something she would later enjoy because I'm surrendering to the fickle desires of a typical 5yr old.

I'm still thinking a lot about a plan, but right now I'm leaning towards dropping to one hour a week of regular class and then a private every other week scheduled at a time that better fits with the family schedule. Thoughts anyone?

 

[Orangesoda]

Ditto what Gymsanity said. You already get gym mother-of-the year kudos for what you are currently doing! That is seriously above and beyond.

The overarching answer to your original question is that most gyms have two to three different "streams" for their gymnasts. This typically takes the form of a fast-track stream for girls who pick up skills quickly and have the magical combination of strength, flexibility and mental fortitude; a second track for girls who love the sport and are committed to JO hours but may be missing one or all of the aforementioned characteristics; and a third more recreational track (Xcel) for girls who may be missing one or all of the characteristics and don't want to put in JO-level hours

The streaming can be tacit (there is no declaration of an A-stream or a B-stream) but girls are grouped according to the characteristics listed above, with no explanation to gymnasts or parents and even though everyone knows the truth of the matter. Or the streaming can be blatantly out there: gym literature states it, coaches talk about it, etc.

My experience is that at most club gyms, there is mobility (upward and downward!) among the groups. So that is why I personally prefer the former streaming strategy (tacit), because it leads to less mental anguish for the gymnast and less odious CGP (that stands for Crazy Gym Parent) strategizing, gossiping, and otherwise undesirable behaviors. It's like mainstreaming in public school classrooms. Everyone knows what the deal is, but there is the appearance of potential equality (for what that is worth).

Your DD is very young. If you temporarily reduce her hours in the gym to 1 hour per week, it will not affect much, long-term. If, in a couple weeks or months, she is begging you for more time in the gym, you will have your answer as to whether you need to go back to those superhuman efforts to support your girl in her chosen sport.

Fantastic and helpful response. Thanks so much.

 

[BachFlyer]

Our personal experience is that you dont hvae to be "all in" at 5 to be successful. My dd started at 6 1/2 in rec. At 7 1/2 joined pre-team/TOPs. Made national testing at 9, and made B team at 10. At 13 she will be a 2nd year level 10. She started late, what she lacked in time she made up for with age...ie by the time she started with TOPs she was more coordinated, focused and emotionally ready. For Rec, she trained 2 hrs a week. TOPs she was training 4 days a week, 16 hours. Now at L10 it is 23 hours. I would say the biggest hurdle is time management, not a late start.

 

[my4buffaloes]

I remember those years! 4 kids in 6 years (1 special needs). It was all I could do to drop my dd off on time at the closest gym to my house. yes that is how I picked which gym to go to. Seriously - it was all I could handle. We are no longer at that gym, but we did stay longer than I would have liked because of our family situation. We have been at our current gym over 4 years and sometimes I regret not starting her there, but at that time I just couldn't make the drive or commitment. I don't think we would have lasted in the sport.

I also made my youngest wait until she was 6 before ever trying gymnastics. So to drop a 5 year old to 1 hour a week is not the end of the world. Both of my girls are doing great in gymnastics. Everyone has a different path. You have a long commute and your kids are little. Do what you can and don't worry about the rest. It will work out in the end.

 

[wallinbl]

My question: why two paths? Wouldn't a gym want all competitive gymnasts doing TOPS training? Wouldn't the gymnasts training tops level 3 WAY out score those training level 3 without TOPS? What am I missing?

Our gym has multiple paths, the idea being to allow kids to stay in gymnastics as long as they want to, even if they're not going to progress through the JO levels. There are girls on a more aggressive JO path, a less aggressive JO path, and girls that leave JO and go over to Xcel. There are girls that are junior/senior year in high school that have been there since preschool that are in Xcel and competing skills around level 6 or so. Other gyms in the area probably would have dropped them or had them endlessly repeat compulsories. Ours lets them keep progressing at their own rate and stay in the sport, in part because we're fortunate enough to have enough coaches to provide for it.

Some gyms in the area will push girls out, but I think a lot of that is just not having the facility and staff to handle multiple paths, and having to choose one path in order to provide quality to the path they choose to support.

 

[Ginger]

"I'm still thinking a lot about a plan, but right now I'm leaning towards dropping to one hour a week of regular class and then a private every other week scheduled at a time that better fits with the family schedule. Thoughts anyone?"

Consider yourself lucky to have a coach who understands you situation and encourages you to go down to one hour.

For the private lesson... I wouldn't expect much of it. It will be fun and I am sure your little girl will love it, but I don't think it will effect her longer-term progress. She won't have strength etc to work on more advanced skills during these privates. I may be wrong and if I am, hopefully the coaches here will correct me. What I am trying to say - it just may be a waste of money (and believe me, there will be enough craziness to pay for as you daughter progresses, so better save for later).