Another Newbie

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OwlGalLiz

Proud Parent
I just wanted to pop in and say Howdy. I am a wife, mom to an only child (boy), supplemental homeschooler (this kid never wants to stop learning), Playgroup leader and entrepreneur of two businesses. One direct sales and one I started when my son was learning to walk.

He started gymnastics at 3 years 3 months and is about to turn five. He is talented and comes by it naturally from his birth parents. He has expressed interest ongoing further, and since five is the magic age for boys here, I figured I might as well start educating myself as much as I can.

We are debating on two gyms- we've been comparing this semester the two. He's in beginning boys at one (5-6 year olds) and they moved him from beginning boys to a developmental class (and say he should move up again soon) at the other. Since he is officially five next month (Christmas birthday) we are researching all we can to ensure he is on the right track for what HE wants to do.
 
Welcome to CB! I have a ds in gymnastics as well. he is 10 now.

At 5, he was in a "hot shots" class at one gym. We moved him just after he turned 6 to another gym, for the sole reason that gym 1 could not keep a coach.. we have been there ever since.

I would say to go with the gym that you like better. Where do you get a better feel? Regardless of class, level, etc. WHich coaches seem more involved? What do the other levels look like? And where does he have the most fun? Boys have LONG time if they stay in this sport, so you want to make sure that he is happy at his gym and getting the coaching :)

Good luck!
 
Hi. I have a five year old son in gymnastics too (and an eight year old girl). I have to be honest, I had no idea there was a 'magic age' for boys and I can't tell if my son is talented or not. It's too early for him/me to be thinking about progression as they can't even start until they are five at our club. I'm just happy that he's enjoying his time in the gym and that he's shown that he can try hard, behave and take some instruction. I've no idea how long that will last.

I would just say from my daughter's experience, don't go on which club talks the talk about moving up soonest. Whether you need to move up depends on the quality of the class you are in. Some beginner classes focus very well on technique and building a good foundation and may not feel the need to move in to any developmental programme because of that. Other gyms just see the beginner classes as a bit of fun and getting in to a class which teaches good technique is an advantage.

At our old gym the beginner classes were a bit of a mess around and they whisked any kids with ability out quickly. At our current gym, the coaching is excellent from the very first beginner class so there's no rush. So take a look at what they do, how engaged the coach seems, whether your son responds to him/her and how much they correct things. Then look at the older boys programme if that is what you hope to get in to.

Good luck
 
Thanks for the help! We've discovered a third gym that looks pretty good -we don't want to be "gym hoppers", but want to make sure he's getting the foundation he wants and needs. He walked into this third one and told the manager "I want to be on team". We did a trial class before Christmas and were not impressed, but were invited back to have him evaluated by the regular (the coach was a sub) coach who is a level 10 gymnast and was actually competing at the time. So we're going back next week when things start up around here. Where do you find out about good teams/gyms? We love the first one, but he's too comfortable there- that's our problem. Though they say it's not so, we sort of believe that he probably won't progress there because they see him as a kid who is not serious. We had a meeting with them and were told that they would re-evaluate the situation on three months.
 

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