WAG Gym loyalty???

[AmarisDad]

Hello Chalkbucket I am new to the board and gymnastics. DD has fallen in love the sport and doing well. I need to be able to support her 100% and to do so I will need a lot of help and questions answered.

DD is just turned 5 yrs old and recently been placed on Level 2 to start the summer. My question falls on her training. DD has been taking private lessons outside of her Team gym but she also takes privates with her team coach. She loves the coaches from both gyms. The private lessons aren't a constant thing from the outside gym due to availability. They started more as time fillers between practices or on the other side of town with nothing to do.

Should we stop the privates with the outside gym ? Are gyms afraid that kids will switch gyms or is it a coaching thing ?

I think it will be odd to see the outside gym at competitions which I know will happen .....

 

[kayjaybe]

Most gyms will not want you doing privates outside the home gym.

How many hours is she practicing with her L2 group and how much time is spent on privates in a week.

Gymnastics is a long haul and you don't want to burn her out or waste your money on privates when not really necessary.

 

[MeetDirector]

AmarisDad -

My daughter has been in this sport since she was 4; she has graduated finishing her career as a level 10. My advice to you for your daughter at this very young age is to let her have fun. At these young ages, the fun factor has to be high while not burning her out. Keep a variety of activities on the menu for her. Really, don't worry about private lessons at this point; her brain is really still learning how to control her body and that is going to come through play. Too much can do damage; definitely no back-bends or walkovers at that age.

Enjoy the ride that you have begun; it can be a long one so don't rush things.

 

[AmarisDad]

She will be doing 7 hours a week with her home gym. At the most she will do 8 or 9 hrs a week depending if she does a private.

 

[Deleted member 17723]

Honestly I would wait on the privates. Once she gets a little older, if she is STRUGGLING with a skill or right before a big meet really needs it, go for it. However, personally I wouldn't suggest doing them just to get good. That will come with time. Your journey has just started, and. I would hate to see your little one burn out.

 

[wallinbl]

Agree with others on too early for privates.

Coaches don't want you going outside because each coach has their own philosophy/technique/skill progression preferences. Would you have multiple teaching pros making differing changes to your golf swing? No, because the result would be a mess.

 

[AmarisDad]

I definitely need to slow her down then she has already done her back bend, back walkover and BHS without a spot ...... I did a lot of YouTube searches to learn what some of the things she was learning called and to see what kids were doing at pre team, level 1 and level 2.
I came across a video of a little girl Conner McLain I think??? I'm sure you guys have seen these videos of young kids they were kinda old. That's what my DD reminds me of but definitely more playful..

 

[munchkin3]

Once you are on the TEAM, then you are on only one TEAM with one set of coaches. Period.
It would be unfair to the team, unfair to the coaches, and would ultimately undermine your DD progress in the sport.

You want her talent to be honed and crafted wisely. too many fingers in the pot will ruin the cake.

 

[munchkin3]

I will give you a personal story with one of those 4 year old sensations. She was doing all kinds of stuff at the age of 4 and 5, over youtube (solo, with no other kids). She arrived at our gym as a 5 yo L3 with very poor control of her higher skills, and riddled with fears and super shy. She was clearly VERY talented.....she often came into practice saying her mom was forcing her to go everyday. Some days she would refuse to work certain skills, or entire portions of the practice, and she would cry often. She never scored very high at meets because of the pressure she was under.....of course, she is a 'SENSATION" and 'FANTASTIC' etc. etc.......

Finally after a few months, her coach caught on and told her mom to back off on the practice, and not to bring her that much for the summer. She also would eliminate the skills that were scaring her. Coach would just tell her, 'dont worry, just forget about it, dont do them at all.' (removed the pressure)
She is now doing very well and hopefully will be able to move from L4 to 5 quickly, as long as she can handle the pressure. Her personality is not very laid back.

Would the outcome have been ANY different had she been a happy 5 YO in rec class, or maybe on pre-team where she could have enjoyed practice with all the other girls?
Would she love gym any more or less? would her skills and her body have had time to mature???

don't rush it.......
sorry if I sounded too negative before!

 

[munchkin3]

PS she is almost 7 now

 

[AmarisDad]

Everyone's advice is great and as I have always done I take all of your advice and add it to my tool box for use and informational purposes.

As far as my daughters personality goes she is far from quiet or shy. She is very competitive and it's nothing I have forced upon her. Nobody has never recommend I not allow her to do privates. They said it was up to me. I figured what harm could 1 or 2 extra lessons hurt. Obviously she has progressed and very quickly. I'm just trying to keep up with her. She doesn't like to miss practice or show up late. She want to be the first in line in the gym and last to leave. She does the normal flip around the house just like any other child that loves gymnastics but she also enjoys getting stronger and working out. That part is my fault because of my military background and I am a amateur bodybuilder.

After reading everyone's advice I think I will end the privates. I only want to keep my DD healthy, happy, and successful in this sport until she falls in love with something else if she ever does.

 

[Sasha]

You sound like a great Dad who is excited to support your talented daughter. Sounds like she is one who is perhaps naturally strong and coordinated, enjoys conditioning, has mature focus for her age, and will therefore pick up skills quickly and has great potential in the sport.

As a parent of similar children, one thing I've learned from the coahces on CB and from observing different gyms, Youtube vidoes, going to meets, and other people's stories is...

Be cautious of the training she is receiving at the age of (just turned) 5 if it is progressing very quickly . Even if she is a true phenom and plenty strong, her newly-5 year old body is probably not yet proportioned for skills such as the back handspring. It is almost a given that she will be doing it technically incorrect, which could be a safety concern, but is also likely to slow her learning down as she has to 're-learn' a skill later that her muscle memory encoded wrong. A lot of 4 and 5 year olds CAN be taught to do back walkovers and to throw themselves backward to approximate a back handspring, especially on a tramp/tumble track. They are flexible little things who are low to the ground and it's even tempting as a parent to spot them at home since they don't weigh very much. This doesn't mean they should be executing these skills yet. Age 5 training should focus on basics, a reasonable amount of conditioning (rope climbing, jumping, etc), and drills that emphasize FORM and SHAPES that will lead to the bigger skills as they mature. If they have been doing lots and lots of these drills, when they finally do the BHS, it looks amazing. Look at the videos of these 4 and 5 year olds doing BHS and (yikes) back tucks vs videos of older, more polished gymnasts, and the execution will be night and day. Also 'Cheer' gyms will often teach improper/poor form, often too early, in the name of getting more skills sooner.

You may know all of that already from all your CB research, but just restating as it was invaluable to me personally to realize this difference in skill-acquisition pace vs quality.

Your daughter sounds amazing, and I know you'll make sure she is in a safe and quality program

 

[Deleted member 17723]

Everyone's advice is great and as I have always done I take all of your advice and add it to my tool box for use and informational purposes.

As far as my daughters personality goes she is far from quiet or shy. She is very competitive and it's nothing I have forced upon her. Nobody has never recommend I not allow her to do privates. They said it was up to me. I figured what harm could 1 or 2 extra lessons hurt. Obviously she has progressed and very quickly. I'm just trying to keep up with her. She doesn't like to miss practice or show up late. She want to be the first in line in the gym and last to leave. She does the normal flip around the house just like any other child that loves gymnastics but she also enjoys getting stronger and working out. That part is my fault because of my military background and I am a amateur bodybuilder.

After reading everyone's advice I think I will end the privates. I only want to keep my DD healthy, happy, and successful in this sport until she falls in love with something else if she ever does.

Your daughter sounds a lot like me. I love being at meets, being early and leaving late from practice, etc. However, I have done fine without a single private lesson. I am the vault, beam and floor state champion. I never had a private. Let her enjoy it while she can.

 

[UnoMas]

I would advise you to stop the privates at the other gym. No gym that I have ever been to would look kindly on that, and I've had kids in the sport for 8 years. The gym world is very small and in the end, for many reasons, you should stick with the team gym only. She's getting plenty of hours for her age and level, but if privates are something she and you want to do, it will be better for everyone to do them at her team gym. Sounds like she is very happy with her gymnastics and always wants more, and that's exactly how it should be right now!

 

[AmarisDad]

@Sasha Thank you !! Skill acquisition vs quality ... I like that and I am definitely more on the quality side. Especially after the experience at our very first gym. Won't throw any gym names under the bus sorry. Our current gym pays so much more attention to detail to teaching form posture and terminology to the gymnast.

 

[MeetDirector]

@Sasha Thank you !! Skill acquisition vs quality ... I like that and I am definitely more on the quality side. Especially after the experience at our very first gym. Won't throw any gym names under the bus sorry. Our current gym pays so much more attention to detail to teaching form posture and terminology to the gymnast.

Your current gym is focusing on exactly the right things for her age. Sit back and go along for the ride. Warning though - it will get bumpy ahead; however, the foundation they build now will set her up for success in the future.

One additional word of advice - don't rush into competitions. Frankly, competitions at levels before level 4 are not extremely valuable. There is a reason that USAG says the first mandatory level is level 4 - it is the foundational level. Before the age of 7 these young athletes need to be focusing on the fundamentals and not worrying themselves with competing skills that in fact may not lead anywhere in the world of gymnastics (mill circle).