Parents More hours

[MILgymFAM]

My DD is on the xcel bronze team at her gym. She started doing gymnastics at the end of last year and really has fallen in love. She does 7.25 hours total a week, and that the max that a xcel bronze may train at her gym (6 hr team practice and the optional 1.25 conditioning class). Unfortunately, her training is all between Saturday and Monday, with a huge gap in the rest of the week. She begged me to get her more hours, and we asked if she could also take some advanced teen classes on the rec side, but were told team girls cannot take rec classes. Any suggestions on how to get her more gym time? Private or semi private lessons? Find open gyms at another gym? Maybe rec classes at another gym? I also thought about asking the coach to let her train another day with the silver girls. I know there should be a difference in the levels, but bronze and silver is so similar, and they actually train together on Saturdays already. What do you all think?

Edited to add that rec girls in the higher levels can take up to 8.5 hrs total if they choose.

 

[wgagym]

That is a bummer they are crammed into a short time and she has such a break. That is a lot of hours for a bronze gymnast though. Our Silver girls only go 3 hours a week ( I know we are on the low end for sure). I would see if she wanted to do another activity during the week during her down time. I would not go to another gym to train more hours. That puts your little one in a bad position with her current coaches and they may not coach the same at all and could end up confusing her more than helping.

 

[txgymfan]

Tell her coaches that she would like more hours and ask about the possibility of training with the team girls. Why not? They might say yes. You could also ask about attending open gym somewhere else but I doubt they would let her.

Is there a dace class or another fitness class she would enjoy that would increase her strength and flexibility maybe a yoga, zumba or hip hop class?

 

[MILgymFAM]

That is a bummer they are crammed into a short time and she has such a break. That is a lot of hours for a bronze gymnast though. Our Silver girls only go 3 hours a week ( I know we are on the low end for sure). I would see if she wanted to do another activity during the week during her down time. I would not go to another gym to train more hours. That puts your little one in a bad position with her current coaches and they may not coach the same at all and could end up confusing her more than helping.

Here the bronze team is the lowest. The usag girls (even non competitive levels) do at least ten and up to 24. There are gyms around here that train even more! She was a ballet dancer before trying gym, but the reason she was seeking a new activity then was that we couldn't find a fit in a ballet school in our area for her. She still misses her dance school at our last duty station. When we lived in ny both my girls danced about eight hours a week, so they are just used to lots of activity. She really doesn't like any other sports. Maybe she will have to suck it up for now.

 

[Sasha]

The Xcel schedule here also has that awkward 4 day break. Xcel practices are M-W or Tu-Th for both Bronze and Silver (silver stays an extra hour each day). Summer adds in a day, which helps.

Can't hurt to ask for an additional practice. If they say no (because it's full or wouldn't be fair, etc.), then there's always cross country or trail running if she can't sit still!

Hope she gets what she needs.

 

[MILgymFAM]

The Xcel schedule here also has that awkward 4 day break. Xcel practices are M-W or Tu-Th for both Bronze and Silver (silver stays an extra hour each day). Summer adds in a day, which helps.

Can't hurt to ask for an additional practice. If they say no (because it's full or wouldn't be fair, etc.), then there's always cross country or trail running if she can't sit still!

Hope she gets what she needs.

I think when we move to San Fran this summer I will be looking into maybe switching to the usag side of things. My dd is on xcel because she was such a late starter, but she really would rather put in the time and be with younger girls if need be. At her last meet (and coincidentally her first) there was a usag level 4 girl competing who was 13 and my dd asked why she couldn't do that. When we move, now that I have a little more knowledge, maybe she can if we can find a gym who will give her that chance.

 

[MeetDirector]

The low number of practice hours comes with the Xcel territory. If you want more switch to the JO side (both Xcel and JO are USAG). JO is the track that will get her to the higher optional levels. Bear in mind that with more hours comes more dollars out of your pocket. You will also find plenty of gyms in the northern California area; look at the list of teams competing in the upcoming Spirit of the Flame meet (just google it) and you will get a sense.

Good Luck.

 

[MILgymFAM]

The low number of practice hours comes with the Xcel territory. If you want more switch to the JO side (both Xcel and JO are USAG). JO is the track that will get her to the higher optional levels. Bear in mind that with more hours comes more dollars out of your pocket. You will also find plenty of gyms in the northern California area; look at the list of teams competing in the upcoming Spirit of the Flame meet (just google it) and you will get a sense.

Good Luck.

I understand that it goes with the xcel territory- now- they didn't really tell us anything or explain any of this to us. The other levels of xcel all train over 10 hours, though, so I know that it's all over the place. I also know that xcel is part of usag, that is just how people term them at our gym- you are either xcel, usag, or igc.. At our gym it isn't terribly expensive to add hours. One of the reasons we try to focus on one sport is it has been our experience that it's cheaper to do more of one thing than many different things at once. Maybe that has been unique to us. Thanks for your response.

 

[gymdog]

No, I think you're right - there are start up costs, registration fees, equipment/apparel, etc.

I would see if anyone else is in the same boat and can schedule a semi private on Wednesday. One hour with a smaller group will be the equivalent of a 2-3 hour practice. It is more expensive though but see the pricing at your gym if you split it with another girl.

 

[MILgymFAM]

No, I think you're right - there are start up costs, registration fees, equipment/apparel, etc.

I would see if anyone else is in the same boat and can schedule a semi private on Wednesday. One hour with a smaller group will be the equivalent of a 2-3 hour practice. It is more expensive though but see the pricing at your gym if you split it with another girl.

No, I think you're right - there are start up costs, registration fees, equipment/apparel, etc.

I would see if anyone else is in the same boat and can schedule a semi private on Wednesday. One hour with a smaller group will be the equivalent of a 2-3 hour practice. It is more expensive though but see the pricing at your gym if you split it with another girl.

I will ask around I think, and I think you are right. She def gets more out of the much shorter conditioning class than her regular practices- because only one other girl goes (my other dd, lol). It's out of that class that she learned her kip and her robhs- both not technically a part of the conditioning class, but the coach gives them each 20 minutes after to work on one thing with her. Thanks!