Training during school hours

[floppycat]

Hi. My first ever post. DD is 7 and doing level 5 this year. Coaches have asked us if we would be willing next year for Level 4 to train during school hours one morning or afternoon a week in addition to the 5 other sessions she's does during the week. I'm quite reluctant but I was wondering if anybody had experience of this. I know of at least another club that does this. The coach says its optional and they could time it so it may be just PE they are mainly missing.

 

[Faith]

Is she doing compulsory 5/4 with a view to continuing on the elite path?

My thoughts would be that it's not really necessary to skip school until a bit higher up- level 3/2 at least. However I do realise many clubs like to take advantage of the quiet gym as they can be much more productive in that time.

It's also a year away. A lot can change in a year- you/she may not enjoy the high pressure of elite track. Some gyms will not allow you to continue on to level 4 if you're not going to do exceptionally well. I wouldn't worry about it until after level 5 vols this autumn- your gym may switch training times on you before then anyway!!

My dd is 9 and we will likely take her out an afternoon at some point. We had a quick chat with the head who is fully behind her, and will arrange class schedules/catch up sessions to suit, which is brilliant. Apparently it reflects well on the school and is part of the gifted and talented programme so it's brownie points for them.

Like I said, I'd just hold on for a bit, and maybe think about how you feel. Our pov is that elite sport is a huge opportunity, and one afternoon off primary school won't hurt her education long term. My mum, however, thinks we're mad, education comes first, the chances of making elite are too small, etc...

Is she at a uk elite hpc club?

 

[vbbf]

Hi, my dd is also 7 and will be doing compulsory level 5 this year. She currently does 5 sessions a week. I dont have experience of training during school hours but i think if it was offered i would be fine with it if it was just pe lessons being missed. I think it is quite normal for gymnasts on the elite track at high performance gym clubs to do this.

 

[Flossyduck]

Pretty much what Faith said. It's quite common for the big 'successful' clubs to expect a morning or afternoon session around level 5/4. Personally I don't see any problem with that and dd's school never had a problem either. If she's only going to miss pe that's ideal. It's a nice time to be in the gym - very quiet and it feels special.

You might want to ask what the commitment is after that. It ramps up really quickly at our club and girls are expected to miss more than that very soon. So when you're making your decision you might just want that information as well...

For the moment though I wouldn't worry too much about it. Enjoy the coming year and lots of good luck for your dd starting competitions. It's a pretty big jump from level 5 to level 4 skill wise and the drop off rate is sharp at that point (and the skills have just been upped again) so you/she may change how you feel several times as the year progresses. You may feel she needs the extra, you may feel she's doing ok without; she may love it, she may not. And our club has certainly changed the hours about 4 times, maybe more, since we started. You'll find a crystal ball an invaluable tool.

 

[gymdog]

If she just misses PE and can then get out of the gym earlier to have more relaxed time to eat and do homework, I think it would be ideal. I think first you'd need to look at whether this would be possible in your school system. If she is primary I don't see how they can say it would automatically just be her PE lessons though, I assume they don't have a period-based schedule like older kids where they could just be put in the last PE period, she'll have to go when her class goes. It might not be at the end of the day. I think you'd have to arrange it well in advance.

 

[floppycat]

Thx I'm not worried but I was interested if anybody has experienced gym during school hours. I think the coaches want to have an extra session with only the elite path girls whilst the gym is quiet. Daughters hours have already changed 3 times in 12 months so I am used to not planning ahead. Level 4 is a big step up in skills but I'm sure that won't be the problem but the hours training involved to get there and the subsequent sacrifices do concern me. Is it worth missing out on family life, birthday parties, playdates etc.. She's had a heavy christmas training schedule and it's been hard on all of us.

 

[Iwannabemargo]

P&F used to miss Wednesday afternoons at the old club. Yes she really benefited, there was a coach and three of them, but she was a bit young at 7 to get the most out of it. Elite is not an option for us as there are no HPC's near us so we are back to normal hours

 

[Flossyduck]

Yes dd's always enjoyed daytime training. As I said before, it feels special to be there during the day when the gym is quiet and they can take complete ownership of the place.

Is it necessary for progress at that age - maybe not. But it's a nice introduction to things to come.

As for whether the sacrifices are worth it... I don't know. How can you ever be certain whether it is or isn't worth it? I guess it depends on the personal outcomes you would need to reach to make it feel worth it. For me, I think that if dd gave up tomorrow I'd be satisfied that she has learned enough amazing life lessons, had enough fun and achieved enough to make it definitely worth it. If we start to think otherwise then we'll re-evaluate, but it is hard to be sure you're doing the right thing.

To the question - yes in dd's experience training during school hours has been a positive experience. And I assumed all primaries had a rough timetable/plan like hers. Hers has PE on the same days and literacy and numeracy in the mornings and art on the same afternoon. I guess it helps them schedule classroom support, resources and so on and she's always known which lessons she would miss.

 

[Midwestmommy]

In our state the school day is only 6 1/2 hours long. If somehow you can work out skipping the general study-time type class and gym/recess, it could possible be shorter.

Personally, I think pulling out elementary school age kids who "want to be elite" (5th grade and younger) regularly for practice is making the family and school accomodate the gym and coach schedule rather than the gym accomodating the educational needs of the athlete.

I thought the "off the mats" videos on a young elite gymnast in Minnesota this last week were really interesting. It appears she attends regular school other than missing the first 1/2 hour of general/study time time class because she gets up really earning in the morning for the morning workouts (though she appears to be middle school). That is the school compromising a little, and the gym making the accomodation (coach is there for that early morning too).

Sounds like it can be done if the gym wants to make that work. I think asking parents and kids of elementary age girls "aspiring elites" to skip afternoons of school for "regular" practice is not OK, just my opinion. Once they actually reach elite, it seems like regular school can still be manageable in many cases, thought lots of school would still be missed--training camps, meets, etc. they will still be missing lots of schools. Just my opinion though.