Parents Looking for a gym for a 7yr old in San Diego

[Rebsmom]

Hello all
We are relocating from Des Moines, IA to San Diego this summer. My daughter (7) is relatively new to gymnastics (been at it about 9 months) but loves it and is picking things up quickly. She's pretty much mastered her level 1 skills FWIW, so prob level 1 moving into 2 this fall. In Des Moines she's been at a couple of gyms, most recently Chow's. I have looked at the following in SD but would love any parent feedback: SD United, SD gymnastics (Mission Valley), Gemstone and the YMCA.

My daughter is exceptionally focused and while we don't want her in an aggressive place or one that takes all the fun out of gym she is certainly looking for a place that takes things seriously. One of the gyms she was at here in Iowa had to share space with a "ninja" class and she was furious...

Any recommendations would be much appreciated!

 

[raenndrops]

I don't live in California, but I can tell you that the Rancho Family YMCA and the Mission Valley YMCA both have team programs and compete at YMCA Nationals each year and do well. I know they also compete USAG "regular" meets, including State and, if they qualify, Regional meets.
Good Luck on your search.

 

[Rebsmom]

I don't live in California, but I can tell you that the Rancho Family YMCA and the Mission Valley YMCA both have team programs and compete at YMCA Nationals each year and do well. I know they also compete USAG "regular" meets, including State and, if they qualify, Regional meets.
Good Luck on your search.

Thank you so much this is really helpful

 

[raenndrops]

Thank you so much this is really helpful

Glad I could help. I really like my YMCA program. Our team has gone to Y Nationals every year since 2011 ... at least every year it was offered.

 

[josie55]

I don’t live in San Diego but the ones from that area that we’ve heard of that are known and competitive are SCEGA and Coastal. Neither are in San Diego proper but I think both are in the vicinity.

 

[SweetD]

Champion Gymnastics and Cheer in Santee, CA is wonderful. My daughter has been there for three and a half years now. She came to Champion with only tumbling experience from the local Rec Center and joined team almost immediately. She is now training level 8 and is a 2 time 1st place Regionals winner as well as ranked on America’s top 100 list. If that doesn’t speak for the high level of coaching at this gym, I don’t know what will.

 

[APB_ mom 14]

Hello all
We are relocating from Des Moines, IA to San Diego this summer. My daughter (7) is relatively new to gymnastics (been at it about 9 months) but loves it and is picking things up quickly. She's pretty much mastered her level 1 skills FWIW, so prob level 1 moving into 2 this fall. In Des Moines she's been at a couple of gyms, most recently Chow's. I have looked at the following in SD but would love any parent feedback: SD United, SD gymnastics (Mission Valley), Gemstone and the YMCA.

My daughter is exceptionally focused and while we don't want her in an aggressive place or one that takes all the fun out of gym she is certainly looking for a place that takes things seriously. One of the gyms she was at here in Iowa had to share space with a "ninja" class and she was furious...

Any recommendations would be much appreciated!

My daughter started at the YMCA rancho when she was 7 doing rec classes for 2 months and then got asked to join levels. We switched her to a more competitive gym since that Y didn't have as many girls place at higher level competitions. We switched her to Coastal.
For the most part we have had a good experience at Coastal, being that this is our first year in the gymnastics world. However as the season has come to an end and we know a little more about the gymnastics world, we are most likely going to have her move gyms this next season. The gym is INSANELY packed on a constant basis. Her team has 14 girls I believe and they only have one coach for the first half of practice.
Without saying too much, I feel like the lower level teams and the xcel programs are not a priority for the gym. They have amazing higher level teams and the coaching seems to be a lot more put together for those girls.
I would strongly suggest trying out a few practices before making a decision. I wish we would have.
We heard that Coastal was getting a lot of girls committed to D1 schools so we just assumed the coaching was good all around. The lower level coaches are great, but they're not the ones coaching those D1 girls.
I would recommend checking out TRC, SCEGA ,(SCEGA IS FAAARRR) Coastal Gymnastics Academy, Pacific Coast Gymnastics, and North County Gymnastics in Carlsbad. I don't know too much about the gyms down south past mission Vally, and I haven't heard about the gym the other parent was talking about (the cheer and gymnastics gym) I don't think I've heard much about them at any of our meets, but definitely wouldn't hurt to check them out!
One of the best ways to see how specific levels are doing (which is going to be a reflection on the coaching for those girls) would be to get on MYMEETSCORE.COM and look up the scores.

 

[coachAT]

I would recommend the YMCA Copley Price, they just started their competitive program and it is a great introduction into the competitive gymnastics world! The Cameron YMCA, McGrath YMCA and Copley Price are all apart of the Y league pre team program which gives pre team (level 2) the opportunity to have 4 “meets” a year! It is a great Segway and foundation builder before investing so much time and money into a more intense program!