Parents Skills vs. fun - team option advice

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SWK6

Proud Parent
DD is 7 and L4. She was singled out to move up this past year to uptraining with L6/7 girls. Our gym is very small so no L5. The group thinned out over the year to only 3 girls and now is being merged in with a larger group training L7-10. DD is fine with skills and improving rapidly (far beyond old teammates) but very up and down emotionally. Stuck between wanting the challenge and missing the team atmosphere where you are all working on similar skills and routines and similar age. She can go on either team- the advanced or L4 where she likes the girls but would be less challenged. As a parent, her happiness is my main concern and if she is unhappy I think she will eventually want to quit which seems sad as I believe she loves the sport. Any guidance?
 
Has she competed L4 yet? Could she split her time between the two groups? She will have to score out of 4 and 5. Keep in mind the L4 girls will start catching up soon., especially with no 5/6 group.
 
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Is a combination of trainings possible. At our gym sometimes the very advanced little ones can train say 2/3 times a week with their age group and then add in 1/2 times a week with their more advanced level group. After a year or so when they are more socially mature they move up completely to the advanced group. This might not be ideal in the long run since they don't really belong anywhere but can be good for a period of time to overcome the time gap to be emotionally ready for the advanced group.
 
No, she has to do it in the fall.

Is the plan to have her compete a full season of level 4 no matter which training group she is in? Or will she score out of 4 and 5 to compete 7?
If she's going to compete a complete season of 4, then maybe you can have her do one day of training with the older kids, to uptrain, and then train with her level 4 'team' on other days. I also have a 7 yr old and I'd imagine it's a little lonely without similar aged friends to be at the gym with.
 
No, she has to do it in the fall.

What is the plan after L4? Will she compete L6 in the spring or wait/train the whole year and compete L6 2019? If it is the first, then I would be more apt to keep her in the advanced group but if it is the latter, it may be better for her to enjoy her time in the younger/lower group. Of course, if she really doesn't want to be in the older/advanced group and you see the potential of her quitting as the result, then it is clear that she should stay with her L4 teammates for now.
 
Also, what are some of the ages of the higher level girls? It one thing for a 7 year old to train with 10,11 year olds. That's doable. But a 7 year old with 13-15,16 year olds? Nope. No way.
 
My 7 yr old has a few 11 yr olds she trains with. It's a strange dynamic. They think she's cute and want to play with her and ask to babysit her like she's a doll. But she's their equal/teammate on the gym floor. I like that she has at least some same/similar age teammates. There is a world of difference between a 7 yr old and a middle schooler in how they interact and the experiences they are going through.

Has your daughter competed yet? She may enjoy going to competitions with the similar aged teammates- the girls on our team that were all 6 and 7 all really bonded and supported each other at meets, since they were always together.
 
Also, what are some of the ages of the higher level girls? It one thing for a 7 year old to train with 10,11 year olds. That's doable. But a 7 year old with 13-15,16 year olds? Nope. No way.

My girls gym has completely mixed ages and they (13 and 15) train with a 5 year old, a few 7 year olds, and a 9 year old (as well as ages all the way up to 20). It works out perfectly well as my girls love the girl and she loves my girls. It doesn't have to be gloom and doom even with a big age gap. The kids all get along very well.
 

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