Parents Moving from rec to team

[MaryA]

A few months ago, I was at the gym to pick up my DD. A little girl (5-6ish, maybe?) was getting ready to leave and was in trouble with her mom for fooling around during class. The mom was saying something along the lines of, "I know it isn't entirely your fault, and I know you want to keep doing gymnastics..." The little girl chimed in and said, "I NEED to keep doing gymnastics." I laughed and said something along the lines of, "Uh oh. You're in trouble now. My daughter NEEDED to keep doing gymnastics and now she's here 20 hours a week!" Well, did I ever regret starting up that conversation. The mom started spouting, "Well, we just moved here and before we moved, she was on pre team and I TOLD the head coach that she was on pre team, but they're having her do level 2 instead and now she's bored and being disruptive..." and on and on as I tried to find a good excuse to remove myself from the conversation. I guess the lesson here (besides that you need to have the social skills to recognize the difference between a stranger who is just making friendly conversation and someone who really wants to hear your belly-aching) is that "pre-team" means something different at each gym. Pre-team could be anything from level 1 up through level 3 skills. Some pre-teams want kids to come in with a pretty solid skill set, while others will work with any kid who is interested and seems to have some basic natural ability.

 

[Uglybetty]

I'd have to say tumbling since our squads recently acquired a load of tumblers (from a tumbling gym who places nationally). They are picking up the other pieces very quickly but have excellent tumbling skills.

 

[SurpriseGymMom]

My vote would be for ballet or tumbling. Lyrical dance isn't an actual thing, the dance schools that market that would not be good for technique.... Coming from being in the dance world first, gymnastics second (my older daughter does ballet seriously). Real dance studios with quality instruction (quality being the key word!!) would not have "lyrical" classes.

 

[Amusibus]

Tumbling. Dance classes for young kids are not that serious or structured. Usually taught by older dancers ages 14-20 ish, and kids that age just stink at disciplining little ones. Pre-team will teach a lot of the form and basics. Tumbling will fill in the gaps on the skills that pre-team does not teach.

 

[purpleleomom]

Thanks for the feedback everyone. Another update: I took her for a trial class at another gym yesterday. They spent about 15 minutes with her and put her in their level 2 preteam group. They definitely have a different "roadmap" to team there, but whether they called it level 2 preteam or level 2 rec, I could tell right away that the instruction was stronger. She got her back hip circle while she was there and had the chance to try new things. They spent A LOT more time on conditioning, and she didn't even complain. The cost is almost half what I pay now, by the way.

We will probably make the switch. I will look at the tumbling class at this new club and think some more about ballet. Any tips on how to pick a good dance studio? We have one in our area that is highly regarded (they do a nice Nutcracker production every year if that matters), but it's very expensive and kind of seems like the "status" studio.

 

[purpleleomom]

My vote would be for ballet or tumbling. Lyrical dance isn't an actual thing, the dance schools that market that would not be good for technique.... Coming from being in the dance world first, gymnastics second (my older daughter does ballet seriously). Real dance studios with quality instruction (quality being the key word!!) would not have "lyrical" classes.

Good to know! I'm so not a dance mom. I've seen some videos of performances labeled "lyrical" and they were kind of nice to watch, but I didn't know it wasn't actually a thing. Thanks for the heads up.

 

[mommyof1]

Any tips on how to pick a good dance studio? We have one in our area that is highly regarded (they do a nice Nutcracker production every year if that matters), but it's very expensive and kind of seems like the "status" studio.

Look for a school that focuses on producing professional dancers, not on competition. Even if your daughter has no desire to pursue dance seriously in the future, this type of school will teach good technique from the very beginning. Ballet should be required of all students, no matter what other subjects they are studying (modern, jazz, character). There should be a limited focus on performance for the younger kids; my daughter's ballet school does no recitals at all until the end of third grade (the first year of "real" class, as opposed to pre-ballet). A live pianist is a good sign, as are a strict dress code and attendance policy.

 

[purpleleomom]

Looks like I have my work cut out for me. As far as I know, all the studios over here compete and push the littles on stage. Silly, but I guess parents can't resist seeing their kids toodle about in an expensive costume.

 

[purpleleomom]

Just wanted to update. I wasn't going to switch gyms again, but I got a call from one I had inquired with awhile back. DD was starting to have some anxiety at the gym she was at, so I took her to meet a coach at this new gym just for S & Gs. They invited her to their developmental team right away. DD loves the coaches and the kids. So far a good move. It's huge with lots of team kids practicing at the same time, lots of optional level kids there. She will be training 4.5 hours a week (2 nights). We feel satisfied it was the right move.

 

[COz]

Just adding to @mommyof1's comment on how to choose a dance school, ask at a dancewear store. If the store is good, they will know all of the local schools, whether they concentrate on technique or are more about entertaining the little ones. Tell them that your daughter is a gymnast and they should be in a good position to help you choose school.

 

[amphomma]

I've enjoyed this conversation, as mommy to a 4-year old who "needs" to do gymnastics. We are happy with her gym and her current class. She has expressed interest in ballet but we weren't sure where to start or what to look for! Thanks to those who gave wise input about both pre-team questions and ballet!

 

[wnl256]

Tumbling. Dance classes for young kids are not that serious or structured. Usually taught by older dancers ages 14-20 ish, and kids that age just stink at disciplining little ones.

Well, I'd say it depends on the studio. My oldest was in dance when she was younger. Even at age 7 the classes were structured and very serious about proper form in ballet. She eventually left dance altogether: she was only interested in doing jazz and other types, and the studio said that ballet was a requirement.

 

[Ex member]

I enrolled my dd in dance lessons to complement her gymnastics when she was 5, she did Ballet, Tap, Modern, Musical Theatre and Street. My dd is now 7 and has dropped most of her classes and just does Modern and Musical theatre. The dance school dd goes to does exams that they do to move through the grades although these are not forced and remain the parents and childrens choice, the children are not put in for exams unless they are expected to pass them. My dd did her Grade 1 Modern Exam today and will move up to Grade 2 when the exams Modern Exams are other for all grades.

Ballet is not forced and my dd has found that doing Modern has helped her be graceful, she moved up to an invite only development class 3 months ago and I suspect one of the reason was because she was graceful and learned quickly but she was not the strongest, this is now improving with conditioning exercies she never got from Rec (the 1 hour class was not long enough to do it), dd now does nearly 1 hour of conditioning in her once a week class.