WAG Moving up from beginners rec (UK)

[Alp83]

Hi
My dd has just turned 6 and has been doing gymnastics at Rec level for about 15 months. She belongs to two clubs and went in at beginner rec level in both. She has made lots of progress in one club and was moved up to their intermediate level group in October (does two sessions a week with them/1.5 hours per session) and has all her badges except Number 1. At the other club she remains in the beginner rec class and I can't help but feel she is ready to move up. I don't have any experience in gymnastics myself so I did email them and ask if she was making good progress. They said she was but there was no mention of her moving up anytime soon. Am not in any hurry to push her into something she is not ready for, however, she does so much more at the other club and enjoys this and makes more progress. I have kept her in the beginner rec class because she would rather do that than not at all. Hope this makes sense. Am just wondering if anyone can advise whether I should ask the club again or whether kids stay in beginners for sometime before moving up....How does it all work? Thank you.

 

[bogwoppit]

Why is she in two clubs?

 

[Alp83]

Why is she in two clubs?

We joined the club where dd attends the beginners session first. We home-educate and so when dd was 5 we then joined a club which run sessions for home-educated children. She enjoyed these so much that we joined their after school session too. Seeing as my dd doesn't compete yet being part of two clubs isn't a problem. She didn't want to give up the other club which is why she does both.

 

[bogwoppit]

Well it might matter when it comes to skills. Different clubs have different skill progressions, and desired style of skills. Her training in two different places could actually be hindering her progression.

I would pick the club with the strongest program, assuming she likes it, and stick to that one.

 

[Alp83]

Well it might matter when it comes to skills. Different clubs have different skill progressions, and desired style of skills. Her training in two different places could actually be hindering her progression.

I would pick the club with the strongest program, assuming she likes it, and stick to that one.

Thank you for your advice, Bogwoppit. I had not considered that it might be a hindrance to her progression as she does 3 hours a week at the intermediate class (which I consider to be the strongest programme) and only an hour at the beginners session at the end of the week which seems more like a long warm up followed by a few rounds on the floor and equipment but I shall certainly consider stopping the hourly session and sticking with the stronger class. Thanks.

 

[bogwoppit]

Thank you for your advice, Bogwoppit. I had not considered that it might be a hindrance to her progression as she does 3 hours a week at the intermediate class (which I consider to be the strongest programme) and only an hour at the beginners session at the end of the week which seems more like a long warm up followed by a few rounds on the floor and equipment but I shall certainly consider stopping the hourly session and sticking with the stronger class. Thanks.

Maybe swap the beginner class for a ballet class. Because that certainly would benefit the gymnastics.

 

[Tumbellina82]

For rec there is no standard as to what is beginner or intermediate. Clubs just divide groups up however works for them, so the difference may simply be that one club has separate beginner and intermediate rec classes and the other might not, so that within that club moving up could mean moving to the competitive squad.

Do bear in mind also that within a good gymnastics class there will be warm-up, conditioning, and flexibility training. Minimising that in favour of time practicing skills is something that happens in classes where the focus in on fun, more than actually improving at gymnastics. Similarly efficient skills training will actually involve a lot of drills building up to attempts on the full skill, not just attempting the same skill over and over again. A club which has more of an eye to future development might also be stricter about form and want to spend more time on basics before moving on.