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[Jaks]

I have a daughter who has just turned 6. She is very small for her age (wears 3-4 age clothes).

My daughter currently takes a rec gym class and has just started a rec trampoline class ( you need to be 6 to start at her current club) she also does rec cheerleading and is a flyer. She also does Ballet and Modern - started 8 months ago.

My daughter loves gymnastics and prefers gymnastics to dance and has no fear. Her flexibility is improving and she nearly has her front splits - gets to 1 inch off the floor, she can also do a bridge both straight leg and bent leg. She can also do a bridge kickover down a cheese wedge on her own ( she learnt this at 5 1/2). She can do a forwards roll and get up without using her hands, a straddle forward roll and gets to standing in a straddle from forward roll. She can do a handstand kick up against the wall and a handstand flip over the end if a pit with a light spot. She can also do a backwards roll on the bed and she can do a bent leg headstand unsupported and she also likes to do head stands in a front split position.

My dd had told be that she finds rec gym a little easy as she learns most of the stuff at rec cheerleading that is only held once a week. My dd's friend was moved up to floor and vault development group even though she can't do as much as my dd, my dd wishes to join her friend. I am not sure as to wether speak to the head coach about my daughter's wishes or leave things as they are. The local gym does invitational classes but my dd hasn't been invited for any.


I am divided as part of me feels that she is young and has plenty of time to perhaps move up but another part if me feels that my dd my be missing out in a few years training if you now what I mean. My dd loves gym and is always jumping about at home and she is always upside down on the couch when she should be sitting. My dd has lots if energy and is always on the go until she falls asleep. She has also been placed on the Gifted and Talented register at home.

 

[Aussie_coach]

Talk to the coach, coaches do know when a kid has talent but don't always know when a family wishes to pursue it further.

 

[Jaks]

Thanks for the reply.

I don't want to come across as a pushy mum by speaking to a coach but I don't want my dd to miss out either by staying silent.

The only thing that is slightly bugging me is that if they though she was good enough wouldn't they have already asked her to move out of rec class but on the other hand I know of a girl this had obvious talent and she can do round off into back hand spring and this girl is head and shoulders above the others in her rec group (she is 9), she was over looked for other more advance classes until her mother asked the head coach to consider her and she had a trail last week for a development group.

maybe there is hope for my dd without having received an invite. We do badges in her rec group and my dd has passed every on first time. My dd also does badges for cheerleading and has only 1 more to go before doing bronze silver and gold ( she achieved her cheerleading badges in the first 6 months of starting classes - got 3 badges at one go)

 

[Faith]

Hi,

Are you in the UK (as per your flag)? It works a bit differently here.

Firstly clubs tend to be quite small, and there are quite limited spaces on teams. Secondly there are several "tracks", so people can do rec gym, or floor and vault, which is competitive but doesn't need the hours or commitment of 4-piece. Then within 4 piece there is club level, or elite stream. Which one your daughter ends up on will depend on talent, physical make up, and how much money, time and commitment both you and she are prepared to give.

Secondly, what a coach looks for in a "talented" child may be quite different to what a parent looks for. Being able to do splits and back handsprings may look impressive, but maybe the coach can see the girl doesn't have the necessary upper body strength, or build, or work ethic, or psychology to stick with gymnastics long term.

My daughter was 7 when she was picked for the artistic team, and at that point couldn't even do a handstand, or splits, or a decent bridge. But she works hard, takes every correction on board, loves conditioning, and has amazing strength. She was last to be invited to her team, but in 8 months has pretty much caught up with the girls who started at 5 and 6 (those ones that are left, most quit!).

I think if your DD has just turned 6 you have a bit of time. Particularly if she's doing dance and trampolining too, that's probably just as beneficial. Cheerleading I know nothing about, but I do know some skills are taught very differently. General wisdom I picked up here and there seems to say as long as a child starts gymnastics before they're 7, it makes no difference whether they start at 4, 5 or 6.

I think there's no harm in maybe having a word and asking what age do they generally take them on team (ours has no age limit or bracket, it's based on whether they think a child is physically, and just as importantly, psychologically ready for 10+ hours a week in the gym). Do they have trials, or must you wait for an invite. Let them know you and your child is keen when and if they think she is ready.

 

[Flossyduck]

Just a word of caution - it is very difficult for us parents to know who has 'obvious talent', even if we think it is clear. That is the road to stress and madness! In itself a roundoff flic (Back handsping is the US term) is not at all unexpected for a 9 year old and without knowing how good her form is and how quickly she picks up skills and so many other variables it's hard to say she is head and shoulders above the rest. It's hard, I know, but try and focus on your own daughter and what she wants and how well she is progressing. It can all seem very unfair if you start comparing.

Having said that it would definitely not harm to speak to the coaches and find out what they look for in order to move up. They all have different criteria, depending on the set up of the gym. Some focus on the squad and have rec classes to support it, some are rec based and that will impact on whether they are looking for long term potential or just looking to help keep the kids interested and having fun. At my daughter's previous gym it definitely helped to yourself known to the head coach.

You have only listed floor skills for your daughter and you mention that the development group is floor and vault. Does the gym offer a four piece programme with bars and beam too? That offers a whole new set of challenges. The skills you've listed do sound a fairly basic and if your daughter is bored and they don't have a place for her to move up, maybe you could look at a gym which offers a wider programme and more options? Just a thought. My daughter loves the bars - it has always been her favourite (she started at 6 and is 8 now and in an elite stream squad).

Talk to the gym, get a feel for what she could do there and consider a bigger gym with more options.

And keep practicing handstands - I've discovered that a good handstand is the holy grail

 

[profmom]

Agreed, a short conversation with the coach/gym is the way to signal interest and gage if there's interest from their side. If not, and if your DD really wants to work toward team gymnastics, it might be time to start looking at other gyms.

When my DD was invited to join pre-team, we had no idea what competitive gymnastics was all about, and all she brought with her were strength, flexibility, and a good attitude. She could not turn a decent cartwheel to save her life and was pretty much the worst in the group in terms of being able to do actual gymnastics skills. I am not a coach, but I'd say that of all the things one might want in a prospective team gymnast -- capacity to do some basic skills, strength, flexibility, sane parents, and a coachable attitude -- the attitude is the most important thing!

 

[Deleted member D3987]

i certainly would encourage more hours in the gym and ZERO hours as a "flyer". yikes!

 

[Jaks]

Thank you for your replies.

The gym my daughter goes to is an Olympic size training centre that was used as a training centre for one of the London 2012 teams.

My daughter loves cheerleading (even though it involves more conditioning then her rec gym that doesn't even teach splits) as it teaches her more tumbling skills then her rec class. Her gym as elite squad, trampolining squad, floor and vault squad and a competition cheerleading squad as well as several development groups.

There is no other gym club around more at least 30 miles. She used to do 2 gym sessions a week until she changed 1 for trampolining, she can't add another rec gym class as they are full and also the days they are held clash with my dd's dance class ( she has been moved up to primary grades for ballet and modern for exam classes).

My dd was not very flexible before she started dance classes back in March but that has now improved. She hardly ever misses gym class unless she is on holiday and always takes up any extra sessions that they offer during the summer holidays, she s always dressed correctly and has her hair tidy and is well behaved.

My dd is able to balance well on the beam and will do a forward roll and a handstand with light support (high beam). She also loves the bars.

 

[Flossyduck]

If you're happy with the gym she is at, that's a good start. I can certainly relate to the distance between good clubs in the UK - we do a 90 mile round trip, five times a week to daughter's gym and some of her squad mates do more than that.

So you just need to have that conversation to let them know that she is interested in moving up and see what they say. She has time, at six, but they can let you know what might be possible and get her on the radar.

At some point it sounds as though she might have to make some choices over her activities, if she wants to get on a team as the hours will very quickly mount up. Your daughter sounds a lot like mine was at six - doing a couple of types of dance and she also played tennis and did swimming as well as the gym. She had to drop all the other things over time. It sounds as though your daughter prefers some of the other activities, so to what extent she's willing to sacrifice them will be a big consideration in what sort of group she wants to be considered for. Again the gym will be able to tell you what sort of commitment they are looking for going forward and at six she has a while to see if she likes it before the big hours kick in.

Also have a look at a development group in training. They usually focus a lot more on conditioning and technique.

In the mean time you're doing the right things in being reliable and well prepared.

Good luck

 

[Jaks]

Thanks for your advice.

the gym my dd goes to has had a coach restructure and there is a new head coach ( been there for just over a month), the mother of the other daughter (the 9 year old I have talked about) has told me to speak to him.

My dd has cheerleading and rec gym tomorrow (1 class at 9-10 and the other at 12-1) so I will find out who he is and tell him of my daughters interest and keenness about progressing in the sport ( I will have another chat with my daughter to make sure that this is what she wants first), that way they will know she is keen and is interested in moving up at some point - I can then leave it fate knowing that I have done what I can for my daughter without being to pushy.

My dd's love has always been gymnastics.

 

[mommyof1]

Your daughter sounds very similar to mine, who is about the same age and size and is also completely wild about gymnastics. Although my daughter's coach initiated discussion of moving her into the developmental program within a few weeks after she started rec classes a year ago, she ended up being held back because of strength issues. In our gym, the kids who get noticed right away are the naturally strong and bouncy ones. It took several months for the coaches to decide that my daughter's other qualities (flexibility, good form, focus, discipline, ability to apply corrections) would make her a good fit for the competitive track. I think it also helped that, as parents, we made sure she was there on time for every class and made it clear that we were very serious about supporting our daughter's desire to compete. She ended up spending a few months in a developmental class with younger kids, and was just moved up to preteam. In that time, we have observed other families with naturally gifted but unfocused kids who were targeted for preteam just disappear from the gym. So I think that anything you and your daughter can do to make it clear that both she and her parents are serious about the sport will help. Good luck!

 

[Jaks]

Update ....

my daughter has now dropped trampolining as she decided it wasn't for her and has added an extra gym class, she is still in rec gym and can now do the splits on her left hand side ( she seem to do most things that way naturally) and can do a headstand with legs straight, she looks like she is having fun and she is always bouncing around in the gym, they were working on forwards rolls down a cheese block ( jumping from the floor into a forward roll position) she loved doing that despite being a lot shorter then the other girls, she even helped a girl do one by showing her how. I asked her what her favourite thing was in the gym and she said bars followed by floor. She was working on the bars and the had to jump to front support on the bars and hold it for as long as they could and then flip over the bars - my little monkey decided that she would jump to front support and then put her foot up on the bar .

 

[SignHere]

Good for her!