Parents DD almost 8

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Marymary

Proud Parent
DD almost 8 has been doing gymnastics for nearly 18 months now. She started in beginner’s recreation and then went into intermediate and is now in advanced.

Myself/OH don’t get to watch many lessons due to work commitments and so are relying on what DD/grandparents tell us when we ask how she is doing or the moving up of classes.

Having been in advanced rec for a few months now and doing various skills etc us and DD wonder what is now available for her (ie will she remain in rec until she leaves gymnastics, whatever age that maybe? I know we could speak to the coaches but we don’t really know them and classes are back to back so it’s difficult.

During the 18 months we have seen girl’s picked out for pre team from beginners rec and girls from pre team picked out for team. Some of the girls starting team are DD’s age so assume DD’s doesn’t have what is needed? She thinks she would like to do competitions and loved it when they had an inhouse competition recently but not being picked for team and assuming DD is too old for pre team as most girls look younger we now wonder what options there are for her?

Thanks
 
Really no one here can answer this because every gym runs their recreational programs differently and every gym has a different criteria for selecting its pre Team and team members.

Some gyms only take them to team at 5-6, others will take them right up to team years. Some select them at he beginner level, others at the advanced level. Some will only take them to team through pre team, others will take them to team from advanced rec.
 
Thanks Aussiecoach for the reply. Reading your reply I assume it's not a case of you must have this skill by this age etc, etc to be selected for pre team/team etc?
 
No it really is all over the place. My DD was placed on a team from advanced rec just a couple month after starting rec- and she was 12.5. She later went to a gym that only took girls from preschool to preterm to team- never from regular rec classes and never older than 4 or 5 years old for preteam. Every gym will have heir own standard to follow. You should definitely ask so they’re even aware she’s interested in that.
 
I would also add that if she isn’t “team material” at your current gym but would like to compete, there are likely other gyms in your area that will give her that chance, so even if your current gym tells you she can’t be on their team, it doesn’t mean she wouldn’t be able to be on team at the gym across town.
 
You're going to have to ask your gym. Call them up and explain that your daughter is currently in the rec program and you would like to know what the process is for being selected to team. If the person answering the phone can't tell you then ask to speak to the team coordinator/director or head coach. Every gym is completely different. Some will have stringent requirements and others will be more flexible.
 
Hi, thanks all. We are assuming she will remain in rec based on when she started she was 6 and other girls were picked out for pre team from beginners and DD wasn’t.

I assume there is no "fixed" skill set/strength/behaviour for being selected for pre team/team?

Momnipotent where you reference even if she isn’t team material at current gym that there may be another that would let her try; I/we kind of assumed she will be too old now because we thought here in the UK you started competing at 8??

She loves gymnastics and is currently happy with her two hours a week so think she would be happy to be involved in any type of competitive gymnastics not just artistic.
 
I am definitely far from an expert on the British system, but from what I’ve read on here there seem to be different streams in that system. So yes, you have to be 8 and have a certain skill set when you compete the first level of national grades, but there are other streams that are not as strict (hopefully someone from the UK will correct me if I’m wrong.) Also, if she doesn’t care what kind of gymnastics she competes, trampoline and tumbling, acro, rhythmic, or team gym might be good branches of gymnastics for her to look into. I know that in the US at least, they are not as popular as artistic, so the entry requirements seem to be a bit more lenient.
 
I’m from the UK and every gym is different, you have three main pathways compulsory- the hardest level, and then the other two start at club grades but then split into either regional or national grades, but then you also have county level competitions so some places don’t even do grades.
It gets a bit more complicated again as you either compete in age (the youngest you can be for the grade) or out of age so yes if you were going to start on club grade 6 in age you would compete that in the year you turn 8.
I will say what many others have said and everywhere is different and will have different requirements, some clubs only compete at the highest levels whilst other compete at the lower levels this will have an impact on what their requirements are.
Only the other day when dropping my dd off I heard a rec parent asking about squad and the coach saying their daughter didn’t have what they want (my dd gym only compete at the highest levels) but recommend a couple of other local gyms who compete at lower levels which would better suit the child in question.
 
Hi, thank you for the further replies. We are considering starting trampolining alongside gymnastics. Momnipotent from your list of types of gymnastics having looked I'm not quite sure what the difference between them all is. Her strongest area is probably floor (not sure of terminology for all skills) but she can currently round off back handspring and does something similar to a handspring but with legs folded and learning some kind of flip thing. I don't really know what she can do on the other equipment with not having anything at home for her to practice on but now she loves vault after floor. She does like bars but probably enjoys them more for swinging on.

Thanks Taxidriver I’ll try to find out what level they compete at and then when we next make it to a class see if I can grab a coach for a quick chat although with classes back to back it may be difficult. Hopefully like your gym, if DD isn’t suitable for this gym then they may recommend somewhere else. Also when you say out of age is their a maximum out of age ie if DD didnt get selected anywhere until say 9 could she compete grade 6 at 10?
 
Hi, thank you for the further replies. We are considering starting trampolining alongside gymnastics. Momnipotent from your list of types of gymnastics having looked I'm not quite sure what the difference between them all is. Her strongest area is probably floor (not sure of terminology for all skills) but she can currently round off back handspring and does something similar to a handspring but with legs folded and learning some kind of flip thing. I don't really know what she can do on the other equipment with not having anything at home for her to practice on but now she loves vault after floor. She does like bars but probably enjoys them more for swinging on.

Thanks Taxidriver I’ll try to find out what level they compete at and then when we next make it to a class see if I can grab a coach for a quick chat although with classes back to back it may be difficult. Hopefully like your gym, if DD isn’t suitable for this gym then they may recommend somewhere else. Also when you say out of age is their a maximum out of age ie if DD didnt get selected anywhere until say 9 could she compete grade 6 at 10?
I’m not 100% sure if there’s a maximum out of age just know when my dd has done grades in age other girls have been a couple of years older than her. Some gyms only compete grades in age others will compete grades out of age, every gym has different philosophy, also it’s not necessary to do grade 6 to be able to do grade 5 it’s only at higher levels that you have to passed a grade to do the next level but again every gyms philosophy is different.
If floor and tumbling is what she likes have a look into team gym or tumbling, in my experience they don’t tend be so strict on requirements and not quite so high hours I guess because you’re not having to learn 4 different types of apparatus.
If you can’t speak to a coach try having a chat to the reception desk and they might either get a coach come and chat to you or be able to explain the likelihood of her competing at your gym.

At my dd gym there are some girls who have been in the advanced rec group from the age of 8 and are still there at 16/17 years old and they love just coming once a week for a couple of hours. There are even a few girls who use to be in the team who moved to advance rec so they could do other sports as artistic squads are generally quite high hours.
 
Thanks Taxidriver, its all new to me and all I know/heard is that you can compete at 8 so good to know that there may be opportunities out there. Will look into tumbling and teamgym. The 16/17 year olds are they still learning new things or going still because they love gymnastics and enjoy the exercise?
 
Thanks Taxidriver, its all new to me and all I know/heard is that you can compete at 8 so good to know that there may be opportunities out there. Will look into tumbling and teamgym. The 16/17 year olds are they still learning new things or going still because they love gymnastics and enjoy the exercise?
Yes they are still learning new skills, as long as the coaches are good there will always be new skills to learn. The harder the skills the longer they take to learn so they might not be learning as many new skills in a year as the newer girls to the group but they are still learning new skills.
 
If floor and vault are her favorites, I would also still give trampoline a try. Trampoline is actually 3 events-the trampoline, tumbling, and double mini trampoline (which I have heard people who say they like vault tend to also enjoy). It could be a really great fit for her.
 
Thanks both for the further replies. Good to hear she will keep learning even if she is never selected from rec. Hope to start trampoling once 8.
 
If floor and vault are her favorites, I would also still give trampoline a try. Trampoline is actually 3 events-the trampoline, tumbling, and double mini trampoline (which I have heard people who say they like vault tend to also enjoy). It could be a really great fit for her.

Here they are 3 separate disciplines and club may do 1 , 2 or all 3 of them. If you book a trampoline class here you likely will not get any tumbling in that. Would need to book onto tumbling as well which could get expensive.

If she likes floor and vault then team gym would be a good fit. You can definitely start that at 8. Teamgym is a group floor routine, tumbling passes on a rod floor, and vault passes using a trampette. A lot of fun.
 
Hi Jenny, thanks for the reply. The trampoline lessons we were looking at for DD once she is 8 are just trampoline lessons in sports halls so assume wont have tumbling. Will look into teamgym and see if there is any gyms local offering it. DD does ballet so may enjoy teamgym. I notice you are a coach, if you dont mind me asking at your gym what type of things do you look for when selecting girls for pre team or team. I assume combination of skills, strength. behaviour etc. I know from reading here every gym is different but with rec being the path thats been chosen for DD I'm just curious. Thanks
 
Hi Jenny, thanks for the reply. The trampoline lessons we were looking at for DD once she is 8 are just trampoline lessons in sports halls so assume wont have tumbling. Will look into teamgym and see if there is any gyms local offering it. DD does ballet so may enjoy teamgym. I notice you are a coach, if you dont mind me asking at your gym what type of things do you look for when selecting girls for pre team or team. I assume combination of skills, strength. behaviour etc. I know from reading here every gym is different but with rec being the path thats been chosen for DD I'm just curious. Thanks

Coaches look for lots of different things. Children might not have all of them and might never have all of them, but the more the better. Things like you mention - strength, flexibility, behaviour, ability to listen and apply corrections, enthusiasm and a love of gymnastics, hard worker, perseverance, fast and effective run , ability to jump high, ability to rebound (bounce) on sprung floor, coordination, ability to stay tight. brave trying new things and at height and speed, nice feet and ability to keep legs straight. Lots of energy. Nice posture, Nice extension and poise. Ability to hear and feel music and keep in time, good memory, ability to focus on details. I am sure there are lots more. I would only look for skills in an older child or a child already competing. Not for pre team. Body preparation comes first.
 
ThanKs Jenny, from me who Knows nothing related to gymnastics DD appears to have a lots of sKills but I wouldn't Know how to tell if she is strong or flexible. She is well behaved, good listener, enthusiastic, loves gym, definitely perseveres but not sure she applies corrections straight away based on the times we have seen the class I can see they show her things a couple of times and the weeK after may have to show her again. Not sure on the other items etc unfortunately but after speaKing to someone who's DD been at the gym for a good few years its been indicated that at almost 8 DD wont even be looKed at for pre team as most leave pre team before 8. So will have to show DD the things you looK for and get her to apply all in the hopes of maybe being selected for team before its too late.
 
Sounds like she won't be picked now for the gym she is at. Each club has its own criteria. I would try out elsewhere and see if anyone else will give her a chance. As you are only in rec there shouldn't be a problem with looking at other gyms.
 

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