Parents Pre team/developmental programs

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Love2016

Proud Parent
Hello,

My daughter just turned 5 a few days ago and has been doing gymnastics since she was about 3 1/2. I didn't like the way some things were being handled at her gym so we did a trial class at another gym where they instantly asked for her to leave the class we were trying and moved her into a pre team/developmental class which typically feeds into their JO program. The problem I'm running into is my daughter is only in pre-k and when they started her in this class she was 4 at the time, the other girls are all in kindergarten. I do not much about gymnastics and was wondering if you think she is too young for this? The coaches are extremely hard on them which is what has me thinking because it is very hard to stay and listen to as a parent. She went from a 80 minute advanced class once a week to 5 hours a week (2 days a week, one 2 hr class and one 3 hr class). Any input is appreciated, thanks in advance!
 
Hello,

My daughter just turned 5 a few days ago and has been doing gymnastics since she was about 3 1/2. I didn't like the way some things were being handled at her gym so we did a trial class at another gym where they instantly asked for her to leave the class we were trying and moved her into a pre team/developmental class which typically feeds into their JO program. The problem I'm running into is my daughter is only in pre-k and when they started her in this class she was 4 at the time, the other girls are all in kindergarten. I do not much about gymnastics and was wondering if you think she is too young for this? The coaches are extremely hard on them which is what has me thinking because it is very hard to stay and listen to as a parent. She went from a 80 minute advanced class once a week to 5 hours a week (2 days a week, one 2 hr class and one 3 hr class). Any input is appreciated, thanks in advance!
Congratulations on advancing!

My youngest DD started pre team right before her 5th birthday and she loved it. Although it was a fun, exciting environment and was not too strict. Gymnastics is fun and enjoyable especially at that age.

Not sure my DDs would love the sport as much as they do had they been subjected to a extremely strict environment at that age.

Do you have any other gym options that would evaluate your DD for pre-team?

If the coaches are that extremely hard on the girls at 5 this may make your daughter view gymnastics as a chore and give anxiety when it should be nothing but fun.

Hope that helps
 
Congratulations on advancing!

My youngest DD started pre team right before her 5th birthday and she loved it. Although it was a fun, exciting environment and was not too strict. Gymnastics is fun and enjoyable especially at that age.

Not sure my DDs would love the sport as much as they do had they been subjected to a extremely strict environment at that age.

Do you have any other gym options that would evaluate your DD for pre-team?

If the coaches are that extremely hard on the girls at 5 this may make your daughter view gymnastics as a chore and give anxiety when it should be nothing but fun.

Hope that helps
 
Thanks! We have lots of gyms within my area, and I didn't even know it was a thing to have her evaluated LOL. The last gym we were at had her move over to developmental, which is their pre team before jr team, and told her in front of her face she wasn't good enough on beam and to go back to her previous class. She had a pretty bad fall on high beam a few months back and split it and hadn't quite gotten over her fear but at this new gym she has been doing much better on it, kinda of weird lol. I will look into other programs, thanks!
 
DD was at a gym where I was uncomfortable with how they coached and talked to her. They were OK when she was 4, but even at that age they were extremely tough and intense, and by 6 there was clearly a problem. We changed gyms. My personal opinion is that if you are so uncomfortable with the way a coach talks to your child that you can barely even stay to watch practice - that is your conscience telling you that this is wrong and you're probably feeling guilty for not listening to it. She's in PRESCHOOL. There is no need for hard or tough-love coaching at that age - at all.

My kid had a ton of talent at that age (it has evened out over the years as other kids have caught up - she was just way ahead of the curve on athletic development/strength/flexibility) and we were at a gym with excellent coaching (from the technical side, not the human side) and a proven track record of getting girls to level 10. It was a MUCH harder decision to leave than it should have been. But if we'd stayed, she'd have quit - so definitely a bigger waste of her talent.
 
DD was at a gym where I was uncomfortable with how they coached and talked to her. They were OK when she was 4, but even at that age they were extremely tough and intense, and by 6 there was clearly a problem. We changed gyms. My personal opinion is that if you are so uncomfortable with the way a coach talks to your child that you can barely even stay to watch practice - that is your conscience telling you that this is wrong and you're probably feeling guilty for not listening to it. She's in PRESCHOOL. There is no need for hard or tough-love coaching at that age - at all.

My kid had a ton of talent at that age (it has evened out over the years as other kids have caught up - she was just way ahead of the curve on athletic development/strength/flexibility) and we were at a gym with excellent coaching (from the technical side, not the human side) and a proven track record of getting girls to level 10. It was a MUCH harder decision to leave than it should have been. But if we'd stayed, she'd have quit - so definitely a bigger waste of her talent.
 
Thank you for the input. I loved her last gym, never had one problem with it on the rec side and then they moved her into a development class which they ended up saying she was not ready for along with my daughter came out of the class saying she never wanted to go back. I have no idea what was said but the teacher did something to make my daughter extremely upset making her not want to go to gymnastics for a little while. At the new gym, where I am uncomfortable with the way they are coaching, my daughter has said things here and there but nothing like she did at our previous gym with not wanting to come back. We are going to look around at other programs in the upcoming weeks. Thanks again!
 
My dd went back and forth from rec to pre-team. She did not like pre-team so I kept dropping her back to rec even though they wanted her to try out for team. Only at 7 did she start enjoying pre-team. And then joined team a few months later and absolutely loves it. It depends on your daughter’s personality but for many 4/5 is too young to get serious.
 
I think it depends on what "extremely hard on them" actually entails. Are they strict and have high expectations yet are encouraging and supportive and have a good relationship with the girls? Or is what they asking developmentally inappropriate and/or emotionally abusive. There is a big range of what "hard on them" means.
 
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I think it depends on what "extremely hard on them" actually entails. Are they strict and have high expectations yet are encouraging and supportive and have a good relationship with the girls? Or is what they asking developmentally inappropriate and/or emotionally abusive. There is a big range of what "hard on them" means.
 
See that's what I am having a hard time figuring out. Shes only been in the class for a month so we are definitely going to stick it out a little longer so we can feel things out a little more, but some days the coaches are more encouraging than others. It's really just one coach who is harder on them, the other one handles it a little differently and makes it a little more encouraging but from what I can see she is the assistant coach. They certainly have high expectations for them and I wonder if my daughter was just a year older if she would handle it a little better? But its hard to say because I can see mentally she might not be there 100% but skill wise she is there.
 
See that's what I am having a hard time figuring out. Shes only been in the class for a month so we are definitely going to stick it out a little longer so we can feel things out a little more, but some days the coaches are more encouraging than others. It's really just one coach who is harder on them, the other one handles it a little differently and makes it a little more encouraging but from what I can see she is the assistant coach. They certainly have high expectations for them and I wonder if my daughter was just a year older if she would handle it a little better? But its hard to say because I can see mentally she might not be there 100% but skill wise she is there.
What does your daughter say about practice? Does she enjoy it? Does she want to go to practice?
 

I replied b
What does your daughter say about practice? Does she enjoy it? Does she want to go to practice?

She doesn't ever complain about going or say she doesn't want to go back (which she has definitely told me in the past about another class she has tried) but there was one class that she cried because she was having a hard time paying attention that day and kept getting shouted out at to pay attention and there are other girls that cry ALOT. One of the parents mentioned to me that when her daughter first started she cried all the time because of the huge adjustment of moving from her previous class to this one. So I am wondering if it will get a little better for my daughter or if this just isn't the place/right time for her. In her advanced class at her previous gym which was just a little over an hour she was not being pushed enough, the teachers barely had them stretch and would allow for her to practice bad habits over and over again.
 
By shouted at, do you truly mean shouted at? If so, I would treat that as a warning sign. There are effective ways to implement consequences for off-task kids that are age-appropriate and respectful. Shouting is never one of them.

My daughter’s team has four coaches. They all have different styles and varying patience levels, but I have never heard any of them shout/yell at one of the girls. A good gym can and should have other systems in place for behavior management. High expectations and a consistently positive environment need not be mutually exclusive.
 
I think it depends on what "extremely hard on them" actually entails. Are they strict and have high expectations yet are encouraging and supportive and have a good relationship with the girls? Or is what they asking developmentally inappropriate and/or emotionally abusive. There is a big range of what "hard on them" means.

no. These kids are 4/5. It should be FUN. Anyone being “strict” and having “high expectations” of kids this age would ring all sorts of alarm bells.

discipline and not allowing unsafe practices yes. Same as school. learning through play.

Stickers, stars, charts can all be used to motivate this age group.
 
Hello,

My daughter just turned 5 a few days ago and has been doing gymnastics since she was about 3 1/2. I didn't like the way some things were being handled at her gym so we did a trial class at another gym where they instantly asked for her to leave the class we were trying and moved her into a pre team/developmental class which typically feeds into their JO program. The problem I'm running into is my daughter is only in pre-k and when they started her in this class she was 4 at the time, the other girls are all in kindergarten. I do not much about gymnastics and was wondering if you think she is too young for this? The coaches are extremely hard on them which is what has me thinking because it is very hard to stay and listen to as a parent. She went from a 80 minute advanced class once a week to 5 hours a week (2 days a week, one 2 hr class and one 3 hr class). Any input is appreciated, thanks in advance!
If you don’t feel comfortable watching practice because they are too hard on your daughter, then it probably isn’t the gym for you. Remember that as she moves up in levels, she will spend more and more time at the gym and you need to feel comfortable leaving her with the coaches. If it’s intense now at four, it’s only going to get more intense as she gets older. I have a 5 year old who is on team. We tried out four different gyms before finding the right fit for my daughter. One gym coaches were yelling at kids and another was all about producing college athletes. We landed at a gym where I can watch every practice if I want. I know exactly how my daughter is being treated. Multiple kids should not be crying during practice. Kids only cry on my daughter’s team if they get hurt or they aren’t feeling well that day. Tears are rare. Even though she is on team, there still has to be an element of fun. Even the older team girls get to play games from time to time when conditioning. My daughter has coaches who make it fun and coaches who have higher expectations. They balance each other out and it keeps an element of fun in it for her. She definitely doesn’t care for the coaches who have higher expectations and give more criticism. I feel if they are pushed too hard too fast, they will no longer enjoy it and quit. My daughter would not be in gymnastics had I kept her in the other gyms-they didn’t fit my daughters personality or my beliefs on how a young athlete should be treated or trained. Also, my daughter does 4 hours a week as a level 2. She has been doing four hours since she was four and I don’t think it is too much for her.
 
I think it sounds like there are enough reasons for you to seriously look around for a new gym. 4/5 yr old gymnastics should be fun- not full of tears and fear. There are ways that a coach can teach the younger ones the skills they need, in an age appropriate way. Also I agree that 3 hours is an awfully long practice for a 5 yr old.
 

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