WAG How long in gymnastics before a team invite

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Aussie_coach

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Just a bit of a curiosity thread. How long was your child/yourself doing gymnastics before you started on a competitive team, as opposed to recreational type classes. What level did you start this programs. Did you go straight to team or was there a pre team system, how long were you on pre team?
 
When i started, i started in a recreational competetive group. We did competitions, but only 3, including states (since there were no more for my level). We also did a lot of drills for form , conditioning and drills for higher level skills. We had 2 hours training, with 2 optional hours. After about a year, i moved up to the real competetive group. Here you have 4 hours, with 8 optional hours ( i only do 4) here the focus is more on gaining skills and i also moved locations, from a small hall for PÉ in school to an actual gym (the one where Epke Zonderland trains)
 
DD did rec for 1 hr/week for one school term when she tried out for team. She went to National level 2 training 5 hrs/week. At the end of that year she moved to IL3 then moved gyms where she continued to train and compete IL3. There is the possibility that she will compete IL5 at a comp towards the end of this year. She is currently training 12.5 hrs/week.
 
DD started in a 1 hour per week rec class in the fall before she turned 8. She did 4 weeks of the class when the HC pulled me aside and invited her to join their team program. DD did a trial and hasn't looked back. The group she joined was basically a level 2 team. They practiced for 4 hours a week. They learned the old L3 routines. They did 5 competitions in the spring - local, almost exhibitions. The girls received ribbons based on scores, but no placements or podiums. At the end of that small season, she was invited to the Level 3 JO team at 8 years old.

She had not done gymnastics prior to that rec class. However, she had taken a couple of seasons of dance.
 
OG started in preschool classes at almost 4.5 years old. YG started the same day (17 months old) in baby classes.

2 months before OG was 5, she moved up to regular rec (ages 5 and up) level 2. She stayed there for a year until her listening skills were good enough to move up to rec level 3 (our final rec level). She was invited to team when she was almost 6.5 years old. Her first meet, she was 7. So 2 years from 1st class ever to team invite ... and 1 year, 8 months from regular rec class to team.

YG moved up to preschool classes (3-4 year olds) when she was 2.5 years old. 4 years, 2 months old, she moved to rec level 1 (15 minute longer class than preschool class... listening skills are what kept her from going directly to level 2 like her sister had done). She progressed through all 3 rec levels and was invited to team at 6 years, 5.5 months. her first meet was on her 7th birthday. So 5 years from her first ever class to team invite... and 2 years, 3 months from regular rec class to team.

At the times of their move ups, they were each the youngest EVER invited to team (YG beating her sister by 2 weeks due to when their birthdays are).

We have had other girls take less time to get to team, but they started older. The fastest I am aware of was a 14 year old who had done dance for years and did privates over the summer with one of our coaches (2 months, 3 hours a week) and was on team in August.
 
Mine was 8 years old and started out in rec. she did that for about a month then switched directly to team, Her first competition (Xcel Bronze) was 6 months after walking in gym.

BUT that was at a small gym which was not selective or very competitive at all.

We only stayed there exactly a year. Moved to an awesome gym and now, three years after moving she is a JO level 9.

At new gym, they have many more steps a new gymnast would have to make to get on their team. There are a few different tiers of Rec and preteam one has to pass through before joining the team.
 
My dd took the "traditional" route at her gym. She started in regular preschool rec classes at 4 and was moved to advanced preschool classes at 4 1/2. She stayed there until the summer before she started Kindergarten (at 5 1/2) and then was moved to an advanced class for 5-6 year old. Invited to and joined a pre team like program at 6 and then joined the level 2 team at 6 1/2. Competed level 2 at 6 1/2, level 3 at 7 1/2 and level 4 at 8 1/2. She is now 9 1/2 and getting ready to start her level 5 season.
 
did some mommy and me classes when i was little but mostly focused on dance, did competitive dance starting at the age of 4 and then started acro/"tumbling" classes at the studio. at the age of 8 my acro teacher told me to try gymnastics so i went to a gym and had a try out and was put on preteam. did one day of pre team and the coach said i needed to move up to level 4(old), did about half a season of old level 4 and moved to old level 5 and then it went from there
 
About a month in rec and then to the Xcel team. Took two seasons to get into JO though.

Oops! Meant to include that she was 12.5, went to bronze, and her first comp was about 3 months after starting rec. She's either a 6 again or 7 (dang bars) this season- and she's just now 16. She's trained from 4 hours (bronze) to 32 hours (non-leveled/ non-competing optional), and is now at 16 hours (4x4). Whew!
 
She started in an "advanced class" at 4, but all that meant was that it was 90 min instead of 60 and the girls could listen a little better. She was invited to team at the end of the year when she was 5. Competed for a year with that gym (JO old level 3) but decided she didn't like the coach. We went to another gym where they thought she needed more strength and conditioning so they put her on pre-team for a year and then she competed new level 3 starting at age 7.
 
Oops! Meant to include that she was 12.5, went to bronze, and her first comp was about 3 months after starting rec. She's either a 6 again or 7 (dang bars) this season- and she's just now 16. She's trained from 4 hours (bronze) to 32 hours (non-leveled/ non-competing optional), and is now at 16 hours (4x4). Whew!
Yes, bars are a growly beastie!!
 
Younger son was in mommy and me at 2, but was a holy terror so I stopped after 1 session, determined to wait until he was old enough to go by himself. He next did tots rec at 3.5/4 yrs old for 1 session. At the beginning of the 2nd session I was told he needed to be on the Pre-Pre team, which was basically Boys Level 2. I waited a bit and moved him there in the middle of the session and he stayed on Pre-Pre team (2 days a week, 1 hour), then Pre Team (2 days a week, 2 hours) for the next year and a half, moving to the competitive team at Level 4 (3 days a week, 3.5 hours) when he was 6.

Older son was in rec classes at a different location doing 1 day a week on Saturdays and summer camps from the age of 5 to 8. He would come with me when YS was at practice for the years he was on Pre team. The summer that YS began Level 4, OS asked me almost casually, "Why aren't I on team?" And I almost slapped myself. See, I had been "told" to put YS on team, which was something I more or less expected. But it never entered my head to ask them if OS should give it a go as well. Part of that was that YS and OS were in separate schools at the beginning and we had to split up fetching, and chauffeuring of them because of my job. But by this time the kids were in the same school and I was doing all of the fetching and chauffeuring myself. So OS ended up on Level 4 at the same time as YS, even though he's two and a half years older.

So for YS the first competition was just shy of 2 years from when he started pre team and for OS it was probably less than 6 months from his first level 4 practice.
 
My DD started rec classes at 5.5, moved to pre-team at 6. Her gym has 2 levels of pre team, so she did each for a year and then started team. She will compete level 3 in the fall (she is now 8).
 
My son started in parent tot classes when he was 16 months. then preschool classes for 1.5 years. Then he was in hotshots for 2 years. at 5 he moved to team practices and starting competing when he was 6.
 
First class ever, beginner 2, in October. Made old lv 3 team in February, competed 1 season in old lv 3, 1 season in new lv 3, tested out of lv 4 and 5, competed 1 season as a 10 year old lv 6, 1 season as an 11 year old lv 7, 1 season (really only 1 meet bc she broke her foot and was out all season-but met mobility score for 8-9 transition) as a 12 year old lv 8, currently training lv 9 as a 13 year old. Fingers crossed. You will see that there is no "one way" to get to the finish line...everyone's stories will be different! Best wishes to your dd!
 
DD was in beginner rec for about a year/year-and-a-half (started at 4.5 years old) then she was invited to pre-team, on pre-team for 7 months and then made it onto the team.
 
My kiddo did regular rec classes at a gym with no competitive team from ages 3-5, they were very unstructured, fun, play type of classes.

When she was 5, ( she has a late birthday so she was at the tail end of her last yr of preschool) a friend suggested she come tryout for team at a nearby gym. She was put on the level 2 team.

We ended up moving out of state 5 months later. She was put on pre-team at her new gym, after a one on one tryout, and when they had team tryouts a few months later she made level 3 team at 6 yrs old.
 
My daughter did one rec class right after her 5th birthday - at the end of the class they said she should go into invite only pre-team track...did about 1.5 years of preteam and then started competing "old level 5" at the age of 7...her gym at the time didn't do any of the levels that weren't required, so they started a L5 even if some of the girls were barely ready - they just repeated if they needed to (about half of them would).
 
My daughter (9 at the time) did a one hour a week rec class through the city about 2 years ago- no competitive team option- although she did move to the "B" class after a session or 2. Then she did one month of rec at our current gym and tested into their team- Level 2. Practiced with Level 2 for 2 months (they were finishing their competition season when she joined) and then moved up with a group to Level 3. She's been with the team for 10 months and will compete Level 3 in 2 weeks- coach was hoping got Level 4 but she didn't quite get bars mastered enough to compete 4.
 

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