Parents Finding the right gym for form/technique

[Gymnast C's mom]

I am fairly new to this world of gymnastics and so I can't offer you much advice. I will tell you that I recently posted asking this community for advice regarding a situation with my 6 year old (will be 7 in 2 months) and the responses were so helpful. In short, my daughter started rec gymnastics in September at 6.5 years of age and absolutely fell in love. We asked the gym where she was taking the rec class if she could "try out" for team and was told no citing that she didn't have enough flexibility or power and made it sound like it would not be a possibility in the future either because of her age. At this very competitive gym the girls her age are already competing level 2,3 and 4+. I felt like she missed the boat. This group helped me to realize that is not the case at all and I was encouraged to call around. I did and had her do a trial class at another gym the following week. This gym also has JO through level 10 and all Xcel levels. Within 20 minutes of the trial class they moved her up to a different (assuming more advanced) class and then 15 minutes later another coach, who I now know is the bars coach for compulsory girls, pulled her aside and worked with her one on one for 20 minutes. At the end of the hour both coaches came to talk to me. They invited her to pre team there and then. She was ecstatic and has been doing pre team 2 hours twice a week for a month now. So to echo what others have said, different gyms see things differently. So I would suggest calling around, my dd is so happy with her new gym!

 

[Amanda]

Definitely look around. My daughter started rec classes at 9 with the city. She just started team this year at 10. She did 2 months with Level 2 and they moved her up to Level 3- not sure if she will compete Level 3 or 4- she is missing at least 1 skill for both at this point. She definitely has some strengths but I wouldn't call her extremely talented or having excellent form. I think we were fortunate that our first try for team was at a gym that doesn't mind working with older gymnasts at the lower levels. Good luck!

 

[dancingimmie]

Every gym is different and every gymnast's path is different. Keep looking and you'll find the right place for her. My dd went straight from Rec classes at 7 1/2 yrs old on to the JO team. She practiced with the xcel silvers but competed level 3 at age 8. She was the only level 3 and competed alone. She just turned 9 and is training level 7 with 8 other teammates. She was very busy this season. Keep looking until you find the right fit.

 

[raenndrops]

@GymnsticsLife...I'm sorry my thread confused you. I can't figure out how to edit the original post, so let me clarify things here.

You are right...JO is more rigorous than USAG Exel, which is why I would like to get my daughter on the JO track at the other gym. Our gym is a YMCA program and does things a little differently. They compete USAG Excel up until you can master the skills necessary to move to level 7 of the JO track. At that point you switch over to JO. There's a small group of of girls in our gym competing levels 7-9 and there are no level 10 gymnasts. No one is on track for college scholarships. Given that it's the YMCA, the focus is not hardcore in general. I love the coaches, but their mission is to provide a fun opportunity for girls to compete but without the demands you might find at a private gym. With that said, I still think form/technique/conditioning is critical even in a program that is more laid back. They do some conditioning/focus on form of course, but not nearly as much as the gym I visited to have my daughter evaluated. For example, instead of using the rope as a conditioning tool, my gym uses it more as punishment for not finishing all of your drills.

And GymDad9.9 is right...the other gym was basically saying that since my daughter didn't start classes with them at 3/4 with the right conditioning/technique, she is now behind. They are using that against her and said she is not conditioned/technical enough to join their program. She has a lot of skills (full turn on beam, kip and horizontal cast on bars, round off/back handspring/back tuck, front tuck, and aerial on floor)...but things could be cleaner. Part of it might be maturity though.

The new gym basically said no to her joining their JO program...but offered AAU. You can read more about AAU here: http://www.aaugymnastics.org. It's basically club level gymnastics and an alternative for those who don't want the demands of the JO program.

I want to get my daughter at a better gym, but it looks like I'm left with the option of either keeping her at the YMCA since she is at least on track for JO level 7 in a couple of years, or putting her in an AAU program where she can at least develop better technique. I just didn't think it would be so difficult to get her on a JO team at 8 years old, but it sounds like I should have started somewhere else instead of the YMCA. She will be visiting a couple of other gyms, but I'm worried the answer will be the same, because those gyms are even more competitive than the gym I already visited. But if anyone has any advice on how to get my DD on track, that would be great! Perhaps clinics, private lessons, rec classes in addition to her team practices? I hate I might have missed the window for her to have a good foundation for gymnastics.

Not all YMCA programs are the same. We are at a YMCA and all JO and Xcel gymnasts focus on form. We compete JO 3-9 and Xcel Gold and Platinum. Xcel is only for older girls (ages 11+) that have gotten stuck in compulsories... Due to fears or missing skills for the next level. We compete through YMCA Nationals and have girls place every year.
If your coaches are not focusing on form at all, maybe you could schedule a meeting and ask them. You may find out that do offer corrections, they just do it quietly.

 

[Mrs. Puma]

It won't hurt to get her evaluated at some other gyms. While one gym turned her down, another might be willing to work with her. But it will be hard work. Mrs Puma had some similar experiences with her dd, she might have some insight into the situation.

You're so wise! I was just thinking that this is a similar situation to Puma Jrs. To OP, I can pm you with all the boring details everyone here already knows, but basically our original gym let her do big tricks and said the form would come later. Well...it didn't. We changed gyms when she was 8 and now 20 months later her form has improved immensely, but she's still struggling. What others have said here is true-it is sooooo much harder to fix form once bad habits have already been learned. Let me know if you want more details! Good luck!

 

[blueberrygym]

Not all YMCA programs are the same. We are at a YMCA and all JO and Xcel gymnasts focus on form. We compete JO 3-9 and Xcel Gold and Platinum. Xcel is only for older girls (ages 11+) that have gotten stuck in compulsories... Due to fears or missing skills for the next level. We compete through YMCA Nationals and have girls place every year.
If your coaches are not focusing on form at all, maybe you could schedule a meeting and ask them. You may find out that do offer corrections, they just do it quietly.

Thanks for the advice. I emailed her coach and she got right back to me and said she is happy to chat with me about her progress so I will inquire about how they teach form and how well she's picking up on it. She did say she is the youngest in Excel Gold (all of the other girls are 1-4 years older) so perhaps that's part of it.

 

[blueberrygym]

You're so wise! I was just thinking that this is a similar situation to Puma Jrs. To OP, I can pm you with all the boring details everyone here already knows, but basically our original gym let her do big tricks and said the form would come later. Well...it didn't. We changed gyms when she was 8 and now 20 months later her form has improved immensely, but she's still struggling. What others have said here is true-it is sooooo much harder to fix form once bad habits have already been learned. Let me know if you want more details! Good luck!

Yes! I want ALL the boring details. Thank you for posting this. Very curious to hear about the form issues your DD had and her path at the new gym given their focus on correcting her form. And how she responded not only physically but also mentally. Thanks!!

 

[Mrs. Puma]

Yes! I want ALL the boring details. Thank you for posting this. Very curious to hear about the form issues your DD had and her path at the new gym given their focus on correcting her form. And how she responded not only physically but also mentally. Thanks!!

I'm at work now, but I'll send you a novel later. Lol!

 

[blueberrygym]

I'm at work now, but I'll send you a novel later. Lol!

Lol...sounds good! Thank you

 

[3rd_time_around]

I dont understand this thread. Also, what the heck is AAU gymnastics. I looked it up. Also, most gyms are not selective at age 3/4.

Just a note to say that AAU is hardcore around here. And some believe a better foundation for JO. The progression on bars is especially better.

 

[e'smum]

a friend of mine at our gym had her dd come to our gym - she was level 3 and my friend said it was ok if she repeated 3 but they moved her to 4. that being said, they had her quit doing ROBHS b/c they said she was going to hurt herself. all last year they worked on her getting her form. she struggled but hung in there.

this year she repeated level 4 and is doing fantastic and is on track to move to level 6 in the fall (has to score out of 5 over the summer). her form is much better and she is the best on bars on team this year. she is 10. so she was 8 turning 9 in a few months when she started with us.

another gymnast came over and did level 3 with my dd. that gymnast was 10. she is a gorgeous gymnast but her ROBHS was crooked. she went off the tumble trak that is how crooked it was! lol. she's now in level 7. after level 3 she scored out of 4 and 5 and competed 6 last year and is 7 now.

there are other gyms out there and my dd didn't do rec classes at all. she took some summer rec classes for a few weeks and went right to level 3 non-compete at age 6. turned 7 right before they decided to let her compete that first year b/c she got all the skills/routines down (except for the mill circle). she was doing dance before and hated it so i can't even say she came into the gym with good dance form. haha. don't take one gym's turn down and let it keep you from looking around.

good luck!

 

[blueberrygym]

a friend of mine at our gym had her dd come to our gym - she was level 3 and my friend said it was ok if she repeated 3 but they moved her to 4. that being said, they had her quit doing ROBHS b/c they said she was going to hurt herself. all last year they worked on her getting her form. she struggled but hung in there.

this year she repeated level 4 and is doing fantastic and is on track to move to level 6 in the fall (has to score out of 5 over the summer). her form is much better and she is the best on bars on team this year. she is 10. so she was 8 turning 9 in a few months when she started with us.

another gymnast came over and did level 3 with my dd. that gymnast was 10. she is a gorgeous gymnast but her ROBHS was crooked. she went off the tumble trak that is how crooked it was! lol. she's now in level 7. after level 3 she scored out of 4 and 5 and competed 6 last year and is 7 now.

there are other gyms out there and my dd didn't do rec classes at all. she took some summer rec classes for a few weeks and went right to level 3 non-compete at age 6. turned 7 right before they decided to let her compete that first year b/c she got all the skills/routines down (except for the mill circle). she was doing dance before and hated it so i can't even say she came into the gym with good dance form. haha. don't take one gym's turn down and let it keep you from looking around.

good luck!

Thanks for sharing these anecdotes! It's amazing to see how much those girls progressed. Taking a step back in order to move forward might be good for my DD too. When I mentioned it to her as a possibility, she immediately looked heartbroken. But if I can get her to see it as a fun way to continue gymnastics, hopefully she won't be too disappointed.

 

[Ms.Pak-Man]

I would visit local gyms within your willingness to commute and watch their level 3 or level 4 practice. You'll get a good idea on if they are good at drilling in shapes and form. Then watch the Xcel or Rec teams to compare. Approach the gym you like and sign her up where they say she fits. This may not be where you'd like, some gyms have a large talent pool and simply can't say yes to a child with bad habits who looks like they will be a ton of work to catch up. Then do as many private lesson you can afford to clean up. She needs to go back a little to retrain her brain to the proper form and shapes. She should be able to catch up if she's driven, and a picky program is more apt to take her once they see her passion and work ethic can make up for what she lacked. It's up to her once you get her in the right gym. Don't stress on where they put her at first, she's only 8 and has some time if she wants it badly. If she doesn't want to fix the habits right now, there isn't a dang thing you can do, but at least she won't be on the track for injuries. Bad shapes and lack of conditioning is the makings of some really bad injuries in any kid, regardless.

 

[blueberrygym]

I would visit local gyms within your willingness to commute and watch their level 3 or level 4 practice. You'll get a good idea on if they are good at drilling in shapes and form. Then watch the Xcel or Rec teams to compare. Approach the gym you like and sign her up where they say she fits. This may not be where you'd like, some gyms have a large talent pool and simply can't say yes to a child with bad habits who looks like they will be a ton of work to catch up. Then do as many private lesson you can afford to clean up. She needs to go back a little to retrain her brain to the proper form and shapes. She should be able to catch up if she's driven, and a picky program is more apt to take her once they see her passion and work ethic can make up for what she lacked. It's up to her once you get her in the right gym. Don't stress on where they put her at first, she's only 8 and has some time if she wants it badly. If she doesn't want to fix the habits right now, there isn't a dang thing you can do, but at least she won't be on the track for injuries. Bad shapes and lack of conditioning is the makings of some really bad injuries in any kid, regardless.

Very good advice. Thank you!

 

[momstrong]

@GymnsticsLife...I'm sorry my thread confused you. I can't figure out how to edit the original post, so let me clarify things here.

You are right...JO is more rigorous than USAG Exel, which is why I would like to get my daughter on the JO track at the other gym. Our gym is a YMCA program and does things a little differently. They compete USAG Excel up until you can master the skills necessary to move to level 7 of the JO track. At that point you switch over to JO. There's a small group of of girls in our gym competing levels 7-9 and there are no level 10 gymnasts. No one is on track for college scholarships. Given that it's the YMCA, the focus is not hardcore in general. I love the coaches, but their mission is to provide a fun opportunity for girls to compete but without the demands you might find at a private gym. With that said, I still think form/technique/conditioning is critical even in a program that is more laid back. They do some conditioning/focus on form of course, but not nearly as much as the gym I visited to have my daughter evaluated. For example, instead of using the rope as a conditioning tool, my gym uses it more as punishment for not finishing all of your drills.

And GymDad9.9 is right...the other gym was basically saying that since my daughter didn't start classes with them at 3/4 with the right conditioning/technique, she is now behind. They are using that against her and said she is not conditioned/technical enough to join their program. She has a lot of skills (full turn on beam, kip and horizontal cast on bars, round off/back handspring/back tuck, front tuck, and aerial on floor)...but things could be cleaner. Part of it might be maturity though.

The new gym basically said no to her joining their JO program...but offered AAU. You can read more about AAU here: http://www.aaugymnastics.org. It's basically club level gymnastics and an alternative for those who don't want the demands of the JO program.

I want to get my daughter at a better gym, but it looks like I'm left with the option of either keeping her at the YMCA since she is at least on track for JO level 7 in a couple of years, or putting her in an AAU program where she can at least develop better technique. I just didn't think it would be so difficult to get her on a JO team at 8 years old, but it sounds like I should have started somewhere else instead of the YMCA. She will be visiting a couple of other gyms, but I'm worried the answer will be the same, because those gyms are even more competitive than the gym I already visited. But if anyone has any advice on how to get my DD on track, that would be great! Perhaps clinics, private lessons, rec classes in addition to her team practices? I hate I might have missed the window for her to have a good foundation for gymnastics.

We were in a similar position - still are to some extent. My daughter is almost 10 and decided this past year she really wanted to compete. She's been in rec classes on and off for several years, but moved up to level 4 rec doing most of those skills - also not clean or proper form/shaping. Amazingly, our competitive gym opened up a new pre-team class for her and a few other "older" 7-9/10 girls this winter with the hope of getting them ready for level 3 team by fall. Her preteam coach has told her/them that she wants them to forgot/not practice their skills so they can re-learn them correctly. I blame myself for not knowing that she should have gone JO direction much sooner. she had been asking to go to more classes/more hours for a few years. But I am hopeful we can make this work - knowing she will always be the oldest in her group but if it's what she wants and is willing to work for it I am trying to support her now. We are trying to fill in with a private/semi-private lesson every few weeks to hopefully help solidify the form/shaping. she's not gauranteed to make team.

It is possible, but as others have said you have to find a gym willing to take the chance. And your dd will have to be willing to likely step back and relearn form and shaping, and relearn the skills.

Good luck!

 

[blueberrygym]

We were in a similar position - still are to some extent. My daughter is almost 10 and decided this past year she really wanted to compete. She's been in rec classes on and off for several years, but moved up to level 4 rec doing most of those skills - also not clean or proper form/shaping. Amazingly, our competitive gym opened up a new pre-team class for her and a few other "older" 7-9/10 girls this winter with the hope of getting them ready for level 3 team by fall. Her preteam coach has told her/them that she wants them to forgot/not practice their skills so they can re-learn them correctly. I blame myself for not knowing that she should have gone JO direction much sooner. she had been asking to go to more classes/more hours for a few years. But I am hopeful we can make this work - knowing she will always be the oldest in her group but if it's what she wants and is willing to work for it I am trying to support her now. We are trying to fill in with a private/semi-private lesson every few weeks to hopefully help solidify the form/shaping. she's not gauranteed to make team.

It is possible, but as others have said you have to find a gym willing to take the chance. And your dd will have to be willing to likely step back and relearn form and shaping, and relearn the skills.

Good luck!

Thanks for sharing your experience and good luck to your daughter! It won't matter if she is the oldest. If she loves the sport and commits, she will progress.

I'm curious....are you doing private lessons through your gym or outside of your gym? I have been considering that as an option.

 

[momstrong]

Thanks for sharing your experience and good luck to your daughter! It won't matter if she is the oldest. If she loves the sport and commits, she will progress.

I'm curious....are you doing private lessons through your gym or outside of your gym? I have been considering that as an option.

Hi, sorry I just saw your question. We are doing private lessons through our gym. I asked who it was okay to do them with. She did a few (half hours) with her preteam coach right before practice, but she said that wore her out too much for class. Now we are trying to find another time that works. She did another half hour with the level 3 team coach and loved it. I will see if she can do an hour with her. I am hopeful we will only be doing these privates until she (again fingers crossed is invited to team) and starts going more hours.

 

[Seeker]

@thefellowsmom...thanks so much for your advice. It's good to know that this might just be the reality. I will take your advice and visit other gyms to see if they will take her. It won't hurt to try!

Don't give up -- I was basically told the same thing when my dd was 8. She had been doing ballet, but had also taken rec gymnastics and they encouraged me to try and find a team program for her. The first gym we went to said "we like to have kids in our pre-team program at 3-yrs old". They wouldn't even really seriously evaluate her. I took her elsewhere and they invited her to join their team on the spot. She competed (old) L4 just about 6-months later and is now a L9 five-yrs later. It makes me secretly smile inside when she beats girls from that other gym that turned us away.

So maybe go look somewhere else? See what they say...a few privates might help, but if you find the right gym it probably won't matter. Good luck!

 

[blueberrygym]

Don't give up -- I was basically told the same thing when my dd was 8. She had been doing ballet, but had also taken rec gymnastics and they encouraged me to try and find a team program for her. The first gym we went to said "we like to have kids in our pre-team program at 3-yrs old". They wouldn't even really seriously evaluate her. I took her elsewhere and they invited her to join their team on the spot. She competed (old) L4 just about 6-months later and is now a L9 five-yrs later. It makes me secretly smile inside when she beats girls from that other gym that turned us away.

So maybe go look somewhere else? See what they say...a few privates might help, but if you find the right gym it probably won't matter. Good luck!

Thanks!! That is awesome about your DD. Lol about the secret smile.

I love hearing these stories because they give me a new perspective about this process. I will keep everyone posted!

 

[CCGymbug]

DD was on preteam at another gym. Eval X 2 and both gyms said no to even preteam. Put her in adv rec and she started xcel a few weeks later. Switched to JO the next year. She is one of the highest scoring kids in her level at the gym. Dont get discouraged. Took my DD a while to really get it but she did!