WAG how old is the youngest female L10 gymnast?

[gymgal]

State meet info was just released and birthday ranges were listed for age divisions. The youngest just turned 11, meaning she was 10 for most of the season. I thought the previous youngest was 11/12.

 

[gymgal]

Alright, my mistake. That session is a mix of L9/10. And the gymnast I was referring to is a L9. Still quite impressive

 

[HoldThePhone]

I am aware of a 10 year old (turns 11 this year), that has competed at least one L10 meet.

 

[bookworm]

The minimum age for Level 10 used to be 10

 

[MeghanMeghanMeghan]

I can think of 2 different instagram gymnasts who competed in level 10 at age 9.

 

[Flyaway]

That is just mind blowing to me. I imagine that it takes a lot of innate talent to get to that point at age 9 or 10, but honestly it has to take a lot of hours in the gym too... can anyone tell me what the benefit is of getting to that level at that age? Aside from learning skills before puberty and fear sets in... so many years yet to come - 6 or 7 before eligible for the Olympics, 8 or 9 before college... how in the world does one sustain that level for so long? That is just a whole world I will never experience...hard to wrap my head around it.

 

[bookworm]

I can think of 2 different instagram gymnasts who competed in level 10 at age 9.

The new mobility chart has age 9 as the minimum age for level 10 now

 

[gymgal]

That is just mind blowing to me. I imagine that it takes a lot of innate talent to get to that point at age 9 or 10, but honestly it has to take a lot of hours in the gym too... can anyone tell me what the benefit is of getting to that level at that age? Aside from learning skills before puberty and fear sets in... so many years yet to come - 6 or 7 before eligible for the Olympics, 8 or 9 before college... how in the world does one sustain that level for so long? That is just a whole world I will never experience...hard to wrap my head around it.

Those were my thoughts as well. It seems that a slower pace where the body isn't beaten up for so long may be a better path.

 

[FlippinLilysMom]

Lily has a teammate that is 10 now and is a level 9 and will more than likely move to level 10 after this season. So she will be a 10 year old level 10. She is still in public school and maxes out at 25 hours of practice each week. So it can be done without having to spend every waking moment in the gym.

 

[MeghanMeghanMeghan]

Those were my thoughts as well. It seems that a slower pace where the body isn't beaten up for so long may be a better path.

This is totally based off my observations from little gymnasts who are active on social media but the only ones ive seen competing 10 at that young of an age are in HOPES and doing a level 10 meet here or there as preperation for HOPES competitions. I havent noticed any doing full level 10 seasons. Given that the youngest age category for HOPES is 10-11, but you don't actually have to be 10 to compete in it, I suppose it makes a tiny amount of sense. For the record, looking at the level 10 score of the girls I am thinking of, they aren't very high scoring at all. I am not sure if its because they lack the ability, or if its just that they're doing HOPES routines which may not match the composition requirements of level 10.

 

[Flyaway]

Lily has a teammate that is 10 now and is a level 9 and will more than likely move to level 10 after this season. So she will be a 10 year old level 10. She is still in public school and maxes out at 25 hours of practice each week. So it can be done without having to spend every waking moment in the gym.

Well... 25 hours/wk is a A LOT. My dd (12 years old, 6th grade) goes 16 hours/wk and we barely have time to fit everything in. Maybe it's easier if these girls homeschool and at 9 or 10 obviously the school work isn't going to be as intense, but let's not pretend that 25 hours a week isn't a lot at that age or any age to be honest. We are all conditioned as gymnast parents (my non-gymnast parent friends cannot fathom 16 hours a week!) but the reality is that is more hours than a part time job and we're talking elementary aged children. In light of that, I'm trying to understand the urgency to get to that level so young.

 

[FlippinLilysMom]

Well... 25 hours/wk is a A LOT. My dd (12 years old, 6th grade) goes 16 hours/wk and we barely have time to fit everything in. Maybe it's easier if these girls homeschool and at 9 or 10 obviously the school work isn't going to be as intense, but let's not pretend that 25 hours a week isn't a lot at that age or any age to be honest. We are all conditioned as gymnast parents (my non-gymnast parent friends cannot fathom 16 hours a week!) but the reality is that is more hours than a part time job and we're talking elementary aged children. In light of that, I'm trying to understand the urgency to get to that level so young.

I agree but trust me when I say that our gym is on the low end when it comes to training hours. Almost all gyms in the south do 2 a day practices with school at the gym. Our girls are doing level 10 and elite and are still able to have a life outside of the gym.

 

[FlippinLilysMom]

And for us it wasn't an urgency to get her to a high level quickly. But more that she was getting the required skills quickly and saw no reason to hold her back. Had we held her back we would have been accused of sand bagging in order to win titles. Its like a no win situation.

 

[reluctant]

I agree but trust me when I say that our gym is on the low end when it comes to training hours. Almost all gyms in the south do 2 a day practices with school at the gym. Our girls are doing level 10 and elite and are still able to have a life outside of the gym.

I don't get it. It seems like such a conflict of interest for school to be at the gym. I wonder what takes priority? I really feel for these broken beat up girls who leave gymnastics and then realize that they haven't gotten a proper education for years.

 

[SMH]

I agree but trust me when I say that our gym is on the low end when it comes to training hours. Almost all gyms in the south do 2 a day practices with school at the gym. Our girls are doing level 10 and elite and are still able to have a life outside of the gym.

25 hours after school is basically every out of school free moment in the gym though- I get that your hours are lower than a lot others (and I’ve seen some crazy hours for even compulsory so yes by comparison, low) but even if you allow only one day off that’s still around 4 hours a day 6 days a week- after school- for a 9/10 yr old that’s school then gym then bed- sunup to sundown.

 

[Flyaway]

25 hours after school is basically every out of school free moment in the gym though- I get that your hours are lower than a lot others (and I’ve seen some crazy hours for even compulsory so yes by comparison, low) but even if you allow only one day off that’s still around 4 hours a day 6 days a week- after school- for a 9/10 yr old that’s school then gym then bed- sunup to sundown.

This is exactly what I was trying to say. And my question is why? What is the benefit of being level 10 at 9? Elite aspirations? Instagram fame? There are just so many years to maintain that level, it doesn't seem sustainable to me. But again, I'm not in that world and never will be so maybe it's just hard to understand if you're not in it.

 

[SMH]

I don't get it. It seems like such a conflict of interest for school to be at the gym. I wonder what takes priority? I really feel for these broken beat up girls who leave gymnastics and then realize that they haven't gotten a proper education for years.

I had a friend who was sucked into a homeschool program with promises of gymnastics glory for her daughter- (test out of compulsory in a year, start straight to optionals) she went from rec classes/training a few hours a week, to homeschool gym and 30+ hours in the gym with nothing in between. This of course ended horribly for her daughter who was not ready or conditioned to practice that many hours and had a horrible fall, and a broken bone that has taken over a year and multiple surgeries to heal.
She’s now back at gymnastics in a new gym, starting in Xcel and slowly getting ready to compete.
This is a semi well known gym in a bigger city.
I’m sure that many homeschool programs have their gymnasts best interest at heart but some
for sure don’t.

 

[Flyaway]

I will say though (and maybe this should be a different thread) that maybe part of the culture change USAG needs to make has to do with the quality of life for these young gymnasts (aka -the belief that they have to reach that level at a young age in order to be competitive). I was listening to the GymCastic podcast this weekend and they were talking about how the age of elite women gymnasts in recent years has gone up (Vanessa Ferrari for example at 27 or 28). I do feel that this is a trend that USAG could support and push for, if they wanted to. It may mean not winning all the time (gasp!) but I wonder if it would produce healthier gymnasts (and I don't just mean physically healthier).

 

[FlippinLilysMom]

To each their own...my daughter has so far accomplished all of her goals and is well on her way to accomplishing more, all while being on the A honor roll. She is happy and we are happy for her.

 

[Flicfliclay]

Playing devil's advocate here... Why does it bother anyone how many hours ones daughter trains and the age of the girl and level? I have a level 9 daughter turned 11 mid November, that also is training Hopes/Elite. She does not homeschool, but has a very lovely public school hours that allow her to train 29 hours a week.. Although those hours are shorter while in comp season because of all the travel for qualifiers and reg jo meets. She is healthy... She is happy... She is doing what she loves... And she and a few teammates are the youngest in the state, but that isn't always a benefit at all...