WAG Gymnastics recruiting services

[lovofu]

maybe she meant did you talk to the coaches or did your DD do most of the talking? I want DD to lead the recruiting process but I often wonder about the power imbalance when an adult professional coach is recruiting an teenage athlete. I'm not sure what is too little or too much with regards to parental involvement.

I made all initial phone calls. I gauged interest, got the lay of the land, asked about frequency of communication going forward and their timeline. After that Sophia made 99 percent of the phone calls. She kept a notebook and jotted notes after each call so that she could pick the conversation back up the next time!

 

[bookworm]

I did similar to lovofu... the power imbalance is huge between teenage athlete and coaches and there was no way I was not speaking up to see what exactly was up. I’m sure the coaches love just the minor athlete to contact them , but again, I expressed that I would be involved in the process as well and if that was a problem, see ya.

NCAA athletics heavily favors the schools and the coaches so you have to watch out for your kid, period.

My daughters did call and speak with coaches but not without me vetting them first. One school called, emailed , called the gym and coaches and I told this particular school that we were not interested and never would be because of the creep factor of the assistant coach .... he then resorted to try to talk to my daughter at the big meets like regionals and JOs and I had to tell him to get lost at those places too.

 

[Muddlethru]

I did the same thing as bookworm and lovofu. I did make all initial phone calls. The girls are too young and still not brave enough to ask pertinent questions. They will likely not be able to gauge interest either. I don't think any of the coaches minded at all. They were all very pleasant and encouraging actually. But towards the end, when interest was established, it was evident they preferred to address the gymnast and get to know the gymnast.

 

[Peachy88]

Is anyone else wondering if These college coaches actually have time to coach while answering the calls and emails of 3000 level 10s? I teach college music and the kids audition for us and take a few private lessons from me. Occasionally someone will develop an email relationship, but I cannot imagine balancing all of that! Do they have helpers? Girls on the team who screen these emails and then show the coaches the best ones? Seems crazy!

 

[FlippinLilysMom]

Is anyone else wondering if These college coaches actually have time to coach while answering the calls and emails of 3000 level 10s? I teach college music and the kids audition for us and take a few private lessons from me. Occasionally someone will develop an email relationship, but I cannot imagine balancing all of that! Do they have helpers? Girls on the team who screen these emails and then show the coaches the best ones? Seems crazy!

They don’t always answer the phone. More often than not the call goes unanswered unless a specific time to call has been set up between the coach and the gymnast.

 

[tomtnt]

LOL - I often wonder the same thing and why I'm not always sure what to advise my daughter with regards to how often she should be emailing/calling when there is nothing new to report but still wanting the coaches to know she is still interested.

Don't forget all the visits they do to gyms across the country. Visits to various meets during the JO season which corresponds to the college season...

But- these coaches are professionals and recruiting is a major part of their job - Probably equally or more important than coaching the technical aspect of gymnastics.

Is anyone else wondering if These college coaches actually have time to coach while answering the calls and emails of 3000 level 10s? I teach college music and the kids audition for us and take a few private lessons from me. Occasionally someone will develop an email relationship, but I cannot imagine balancing all of that! Do they have helpers? Girls on the team who screen these emails and then show the coaches the best ones? Seems crazy!

 

[Gymmamabear]

Really dumb but simple question - what exactly when the girls call do they say??? I mean do they say "Hi" and give their name and ask if they are interested?? Is there any better response from email vs. calling b/c it SEEMS email would be easier. Then if no one picks up do you leave a message? Keep calling back? What if they never pick up?

One more question - anyone have experience with the Ivy Leagues? How do they work? I heard it's different - are they interested in girls early as well or do you have to have an established good grades good SAT/ACT before you even bother with them?

 

[LemonLime]

Really dumb but simple question - what exactly when the girls call do they say??? I mean do they say "Hi" and give their name and ask if they are interested?? Is there any better response from email vs. calling b/c it SEEMS email would be easier. Then if no one picks up do you leave a message? Keep calling back? What if they never pick up?

One more question - anyone have experience with the Ivy Leagues? How do they work? I heard it's different - are they interested in girls early as well or do you have to have an established good grades good SAT/ACT before you even bother with them?

Ivies and Stanford start advising gymnasts on what classes to take and what schools to attend usually in 9th grade. Gymnasts with athletic offers submit transcripts every semester during high school to Stanford. Many of the ivies have junior days and invite around 4-16 gymnasts to attend. They need to see a competitive transcript by sophomore year, and test scores in junior.

They delay in formal offers due to academic requirements allows these schools to be very picky about gymnastics skills and health. Late bloomers often have the edge.

 

[FlippinLilysMom]

Really dumb but simple question - what exactly when the girls call do they say??? I mean do they say "Hi" and give their name and ask if they are interested?? Is there any better response from email vs. calling b/c it SEEMS email would be easier. Then if no one picks up do you leave a message? Keep calling back? What if they never pick up?

One more question - anyone have experience with the Ivy Leagues? How do they work? I heard it's different - are they interested in girls early as well or do you have to have an established good grades good SAT/ACT before you even bother with them?

My daughter calls, say who she is and the coach takes it from there. Only once did she leave a message on voicemail, it did not go well (she got really flustered and basically hung up mid-message) so now we just tell her not to leave a message. The coach can't return the call anyway so really no need to leave a message. I have her try back in a few days if the coach doesn't answer. She has a few coaches that will set up a return call date and time with her before ending the phone call, so that has been very helpful.

 

[FlippinLilysMom]

I also have her send emails within a week after a meet, with the results from the meet (her scores and placements) and with a link to her YouTube where I have uploaded her videos.

 

[Gymmamabear]

Ivies and Stanford start advising gymnasts on what classes to take and what schools to attend usually in 9th grade. Gymnasts with athletic offers submit transcripts every semester during high school to Stanford. Many of the ivies have junior days and invite around 4-16 gymnasts to attend. They need to see a competitive transcript by sophomore year, and test scores in junior.

They delay in formal offers due to academic requirements allows these schools to be very picky about gymnastics skills and health. Late bloomers often have the edge.

Thank you! When you say they start advising gymnasts on what classes to take - do you mean the gymnast should call the coaches and ask? Or if they are on a good hard class plan that is fine? So after freshman year my daughter could email the coach her transcript AND a link to her website (Which has links to videos). Is that how she would hopefully get an invite some day? Are the Ivies looking for the top JO gymnasts in L10 or is a decent multi year, L10 but who may or may not make nationals or if they go may not finish at the top acceptable to them? (Provided they are smart enough with grades and test scores)

 

[amiandjim]

Thank you! When you say they start advising gymnasts on what classes to take - do you mean the gymnast should call the coaches and ask? Or if they are on a good hard class plan that is fine? So after freshman year my daughter could email the coach her transcript AND a link to her website (Which has links to videos). Is that how she would hopefully get an invite some day? Are the Ivies looking for the top JO gymnasts in L10 or is a decent multi year, L10 but who may or may not make nationals or if they go may not finish at the top acceptable to them? (Provided they are smart enough with grades and test scores)

I know a junior elite who was talking to an Ivy and they encouraged her to take a second foreign language. So its things like that.

 

[LemonLime]

The current freshmen at Yale are two Canadian elites and one JO top 10 AA finisher. The ones admitted for next year are a mix of serious specialists and one was top 3 at Liukin Cup. Cornell and Brown tend to require higher test scores than Yale. Most of the Penn and Stanford gymnasts have attended their camp for a few years.

Stanford has full-ride athletes, but also offers to one or two walk-ons per year.

The rule of thumb, and this is only a basic standard because everyone is different ...30 ACT or 650 SAT ...5 AP classes... no Cs ... four years English, Science, Math & Social Studies ...always taking a challenging curriculum for your school...top 10-15% of your class (??) ...some online schools are not accepted...send AP test scores and/or subject matter tests. Stanford is more flexible academically than the ivies, but is more challenging when looking at the total picture (i.e., extracurriculars outside of gym or unique interests/backgrounds, hardcore essay review).

Examples of questions the Office of Admission answers through the NCAA coaches:
Should I take AP Stat or Honors Pre Calc?
If I take AP US History, can I take a lower Chem?

Stanford generally reviews transcripts once or twice per high school year (coach asks gymnast to send transcript, coach sends transcript to Office of Admission). Ivies review through a green/yellow/red process the summer before senior year. Stanford gymnasts who are greenlighted in the spring of their junior year apply around July 1 and receive answers around August 15. Ivies apply between August 1 and October 15 and hear back between 4 weeks after applying and December 15th. Yale is Early Action, and Stanford is Regular Decision. I believe the rest are Early Decision?? You can only apply to one school Early anything, and if you apply ED, you are contractually required to accept the offer.

If you are interested in any of these schools: visit, attend camps, send videos like any other school, send transcripts and planned curriculum.

 

[gymgal]

Are the Ivies looking for the top JO gymnasts in L10 or is a decent multi year, L10 but who may or may not make nationals or if they go may not finish at the top acceptable to them? (Provided they are smart enough with grades and test scores)

as lemonlime said, Yale tends to recruit from foreign/elite and upper JO but the other Ivies will have mid level L10s.

 

[Jard.the.gymnast]

On the topic of admission into the ivies (without a place on a sports team), what would be the admission standards for foreign students? I was talking about it quite recently with a friend who is thinking of applying there, but the site did not give much info

 

[inthecar]

Hi, I'm a long time member who has quietly sat back and read since dd was a L4. CB has been a huge source of encouragement and information as my dd has made her way through the levels. Lots of ups and downs and it has been anything but easy.

I thought I could be of some help with regard to the ivies since dd just went through this process. Everything that has been posted has been our experience with the exception of SAT scores. They are looking for scores of 700+ or combined score of 1400+ (perhaps Yale is the exception). DD, a 2019 recruit was given a green light in July after a positive academic pre-read. She submitted transcript through junior year, all SAT scores, SAT subject scores, senior year schedule and high school profile. DD was told they could support 5 applications and if she was offered a spot, she would be required to apply ED (which is binding). She was also told that if she were to get in on her own that they would take her. There was no "soft support" either they were supporting her application or they weren't. Hope this helps!

 

[LemonLime]

Hi, I'm a long time member who has quietly sat back and read since dd was a L4. CB has been a huge source of encouragement and information as my dd has made her way through the levels. Lots of ups and downs and it has been anything but easy.

I thought I could be of some help with regard to the ivies since dd just went through this process. Everything that has been posted has been our experience with the exception of SAT scores. They are looking for scores of 700+ or combined score of 1400+ (perhaps Yale is the exception). DD, a 2019 recruit was given a green light in July after a positive academic pre-read. She submitted transcript through junior year, all SAT scores, SAT subject scores, senior year schedule and high school profile. DD was told they could support 5 applications and if she was offered a spot, she would be required to apply ED (which is binding). She was also told that if she were to get in on her own that they would take her. There was no "soft support" either they were supporting her application or they weren't. Hope this helps!

I did hear a Cornell coach ask for 675 for Math and Reading SATs (each at 675+) in the past 12 months.

 

[Muddlethru]

One more question - anyone have experience with the Ivy Leagues? How do they work? I heard it's different - are they interested in girls early as well or do you have to have an established good grades good SAT/ACT before you even bother with them?

My daughter is committed to an Ivy. This is our experience.

It is hard for Ivies to recruit early because potential recruits have to be submitted for pre-reads before the coaches can continue with the recruiting process. U Penn seems to be the only one that recruits or verbally commits early. By early, up to two years ahead. They already have 5 committed for 2020 and 1 for 2021. Brown, Cornell and Yale seems to fill their teams a year before-summer year of seniors.

My daughter was submitted for pre-reads at three Ivies last July and was given the green light on all three a couple weeks later. She was invited to two official visits and offered a walk-on on a third. You do not get a letter of support on walk ons and you have to get in on your own. She's been injured pretty much the last five years. She has not had one gymnastics season injury-free. So can't say she is a high scoring gymnast. We never had a clear idea of what she is capable of though.

As far as what Ivies academic and score requirements, by the time my daughter graduates, she'll have 11 AP classes. She's in all honors and as of last semester has a cumulative weighted GPA of 100.3%. She bombed the ACT but did fine in the SAT. We had her take the SAT twice because we did not know what the Ivies would take. Her first set of scores were mid 1400s. She cracked 1500 on her second test but we didn't have to submit her second scores since we were told she passed the academic pre-read based on the lower SAT score. I believe several girls were given offers who were in the low 1300s. I know Yale only wanted a 1350 and my experience with Cornell is they've taken even lower than that. Brown and U Penn takes mid 1300s also.

 

[Muddlethru]

On the topic of admission into the ivies (without a place on a sports team), what would be the admission standards for foreign students? I was talking about it quite recently with a friend who is thinking of applying there, but the site did not give much info

The Ivies report that they hold the same standards as they do with US citizens. However, because there is a limit on the number of foreign students admitted, the admission rate for foreign students is significantly lower than the admission rate of US citizens. All they state is you must score the highest grades and ACT/SAT, take challenging course work, and be academically at the top to at least pass the threshold. I know Yale (and I am sure Harvard, Princeton, Stanford-I know Stanford is not an Ivy. But a few years ago, it's admission rate was lower than Harvard. Now, they are both at 5%) have commonly rejected students who have perfect SAT/ACT and are at the top of their class. I also know, even if you are wicked smart, you must have something else other than just grades and scores; something to set you apart from all the wicked smart kids.

My daughter's grades and scores above would likely not be admitted if it were not for the letter of support she received from the coach.

 

[Really]

Thank you! When you say they start advising gymnasts on what classes to take - do you mean the gymnast should call the coaches and ask? Or if they are on a good hard class plan that is fine? So after freshman year my daughter could email the coach her transcript AND a link to her website (Which has links to videos). Is that how she would hopefully get an invite some day? Are the Ivies looking for the top JO gymnasts in L10 or is a decent multi year, L10 but who may or may not make nationals or if they go may not finish at the top acceptable to them? (Provided they are smart enough with grades and test scores)

The recruiter whose presentation I attended suggested that grades and academics were very important to the Ivy League schools, maybe even more than the level of gymnastics. She said the Ivies would look at applications from L8 gymnasts who were vault or bars specialists (high demand events) if they had the grades and test scores to support the application. Again, it's a matter of doing your research and finding a good fit for your kid.