WAG 5 year old round off back handsprings-average age??

[Dad1234]

My five year (almost 6 years) old got her round off back handspring. Is this advanced for her age or is this more of the average age that kids get this skill? Thanks!

 

[GymDadWA]

For JO3 you need a ROBHS and the minimum age for that level is 6, so she's not way ahead of the curve but is toward the front of it. I would guess that the average age is closer to 7 than to 6 though, so congrats to your little one.

Development Program • USA Gymnastics

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[gymisforeveryone]

Where I live, average age to learn RO BHS would be like 9-10. But that's because our compulsory levels are very different and RO BHS is not required until the last compulsory level (where you do free hip on bars, back walkover on beam etc). Kids learn FHS first around here. It's quite rare to learn even standing BHS on trampoline until age 7-8.

 

[CuriousCate]

team kids at our gym are probably 6-7 when they learn it.

 

[Nikki4]

8-10 is avg I think
My kiddo was either about to be 6, or just turned 6

 

[mommyof1]

Where we live, the biggest age groups at L3 are 9- and 10-year-olds, which would mean most kids are learning ROBHS somewhere around age 8.

Remember that "having" a skill and having it competition-ready are two very, very different things. Especially with the ROBHS.

 

[cp13]

I think my daughter was about 8 when she did a RO BHS. I think 5 is a little young but not too young as I think my daughter had a 6 year old teammate in L3. Just to let you know, my daughter and the 6 year old were ahead of their L2 group with back handsprings. They were working on 2 in a row while others were just doing 1. I thought my daughter would be a good tumbler. Turns out, she is afraid of connecting anything out of the BH. She was the last to get her RO BHS BT in L5. Her 6 year old teammate quit mid season. So, you never know what will happen and how they will progress but that's great that she has the skill.

 

[Mrs. Puma]

Remember that "having" a skill and having it competition-ready are two very, very different things. Especially with the ROBHS.

YES. Puma Jr “had” ROBHS at 6&1/2, but it wasn’t pretty. Lol She didn’t HAVE it for a couple more years.

 

[MuggleMom]

My daughter learned it when she just turned 7. Most of the girls at our gym its between 5-8 if they are on the JO track

 

[3rd_time_around]

I worry about younger girls (ages 5 and under) doing back handsprings because their arms are either not or just barely long enough to reach past their heads. I’ve seen so many “phenoms” who’ve learned the skill on their trampolines or on a mat in the yard who are doing them practically on their heads.

 

[RTT2]

I worry about younger girls (ages 5 and under) doing back handsprings because their arms are either not or just barely long enough to reach past their heads. I’ve seen so many “phenoms” who’ve learned the skill on their trampolines or on a mat in the yard who are doing them practically on their heads.

I've seen this too- both with girls and boys gymnastics and it's terrifying. I flinch every time I see a little one doing a frog armed BHS where their head is inches from the floor.

 

[stillhoping]

My dd and the kids who she trained with had this skill at that age. That was 10 years ago. Most of her original group has quit. Two are still competing, now at level 10.

 

[Geoffrey Taucer]

Backhandsprings at that age is impressive.

Without trying to detract at all from that, I'd like to respectfully caution you to please be wary here. I have seen formerly sane people whose daughter hits one or two milestones ahead of the curve, and then they fall down the rabbit hole of thinking their kid is the next Shawn/Nastia/Simone, and they then obsessively compare every possible milestone and end up putting so much pressure on their kids that they end up quitting.

I'm not saying you're doing that here; your daughter sounds like a talented gymnast, and you should 100% be proud of her, and I'm not trying to discourage that at all. I'm just saying there exists a rabbit hole, and it is dangerous, and please be wary of it.

 

[raenndrops]

I worry about younger girls (ages 5 and under) doing back handsprings because their arms are either not or just barely long enough to reach past their heads. I’ve seen so many “phenoms” who’ve learned the skill on their trampolines or on a mat in the yard who are doing them practically on their heads.

Our HC won't let a child even try a spotted BHS, no matter the age, if they can't pass "the arm test" ... They have to be able to reach over their head and grab their ear on the other side (or something like that - lol). If they can't reach, they get to do some of the drills, but no BHS.

 

[HappyDDdriver]

I would think that is about the average age most JO team girls get that skill at our gym. Enjoy every minute of the journey, they grow up fast!!

 

[Dad1234]

Where we live, the biggest age groups at L3 are 9- and 10-year-olds, which would mean most kids are learning ROBHS somewhere around age 8.

Remember that "having" a skill and having it competition-ready are two very, very different things. Especially with the ROBHS.

Thanks. Hers is definitely not competition ready as she just got it. She won’t be competing it this year so she has lots of time to perfect it.

 

[Dad1234]

YES. Puma Jr “had” ROBHS at 6&1/2, but it wasn’t pretty. Lol She didn’t HAVE it for a couple more years.

Thanks! Hers is not pretty yet as she just got it. I’m sure it will take a lot more practice to perfect it!

 

[Dad1234]

I worry about younger girls (ages 5 and under) doing back handsprings because their arms are either not or just barely long enough to reach past their heads. I’ve seen so many “phenoms” who’ve learned the skill on their trampolines or on a mat in the yard who are doing them practically on their heads.

My girl learned hers in the gym with a coach so that it would be learned properly. She is definitely not doing it on her head or I would be putting a stop to that real quick. Thank you for your concern.

 

[Dad1234]

Backhandsprings at that age is impressive.

Without trying to detract at all from that, I'd like to respectfully caution you to please be wary here. I have seen formerly sane people whose daughter hits one or two milestones ahead of the curve, and then they fall down the rabbit hole of thinking their kid is the next Shawn/Nastia/Simone, and they then obsessively compare every possible milestone and end up putting so much pressure on their kids that they end up quitting.

I'm not saying you're doing that here; your daughter sounds like a talented gymnast, and you should 100% be proud of her, and I'm not trying to discourage that at all. I'm just saying there exists a rabbit hole, and it is dangerous, and please be wary of it.

I greatly appreciate your wisdom! I try not to fall down that rabbit hole and I’m definitely not a parent who thinks my kid is going to the Olympics or will get a college scholarship. I actually turned down a spot on a team for my daughter when the gym told me how they produce college level gymnasts. That was their selling point for my daughter to join their team. I told them that my daughter was four (at that time) and that I didn’t know if she would even like gymnastics a month from now. It’s definitely easy to get caught up in the excitement of new skills and I definitely tell my daughter how proud I am of her. For competitions, I tell her to go out there and have fun and work hard. I also tell her that it doesn’t matter to me if she gets a medal or not, but if she wants one then she has to work for it. I’d love to see her stay in the sport for awhile so I try to be very cautious not to be a crazy gym dad.

 

[Flyaway]

Sounds like you've got the right frame of mind! 6 is probably fairly average. My dd was older, but our gym is not one concerned with flying through levels, so they take their time.