Parents What age should a child join a team?

[MrsB]

My son is desperate to join the team at his gym. However each gym seems to have different ages for kids to join teams, some 4 and some 6. Does it matter how old they are to start team training? He is coming 5 but has been able to do everything in his class for a while and I don't want him to get bored.

He is starting to teach himself stuff at home as he 'plays' gym all the time, I would just rather he learnt stuff in class!!

Does it make a difference if your gym doesn't take kids for team until they're older?

 

[bogwoppit]

Gyms all have different parameters and focus on different kinds of gym. If they say they only take children into team at a certain age, then chances are that is the way things will stay. You could look around for other gyms with different philosophies. You could also talk to the coach in his group and ask if they think he is ready for a bigger challenge. Sometimes parents do not realise that being able to do a skill is not the same as perfecting a skill, so checking to see where he is really at is a good thing.

Also in the UK kids tend to start gym later and boys often later still as they tend to peak a little later than girls. You do not see 16 year old male gymnasts at the Olympics, but you often see 16 year old girls. SO there is no rush to get them on team as years of hard pounding on the body is not the best.

You could also look at other activities to involve him in, anything that is physical is a great thing for child development.

Welcome to the Chalkbucket by the way, you are one of a growing group of Brits here.

 

[mumoftwogymnasts]

My daughter joined team as a six year old, my son didn't set foot in a gym until he was eight and a half - can't say that I felt it made any difference really. DS was older which I think helped with concentration and focus and hence he picked up skills easily. Also with boys gymnastics you have more time, there is not the rush to learn skills and progress before puberty hits, in fact DS's coach is always telling us parents how much easier it is for boys after puberty.

Team is very different to rec gymnastics. My son, at 9 years old, struggled with the transition from fun rec classes to team classes. The focus switched to perfecting skills, not just acquiring them, there was a lot of time spent on strength and flexibility and this took him several months to adapt to the changed emphasis. Like your son he really wanted to be on team, those big boys can look very cool and awesome to the little beginner gymnasts.

DS's gym has a young group of boys (5-7 yr olds) on preteam/developmental and they are amazing to watch - strong, with great form and lines. Yes they look better than the 5-7 year old rec boys, but really it is hard to tell with the team gymnasts who started early and who started late.

I would think that at 5 years old the important thing should be that he is having fun. While five year olds may want to be on team, not all five year olds find team fun when they get there.

 

[Flossyduck]

Hi. I was going to say something similar to bogwoppit about gyms having their own team structure - sometimes this is pretty complicated, but it's based on the philosophy of the gym in question and what sort of competitive level the gym aims for. It is also often based on capacity, availability of spaces and coaches.

I think some gyms recognise that boys often have a lower boredom threshold and they try to push them along in an effort to keep them interested. They set up a progression structure to facilitate that. I understand that logic as the turnover of boys is very high and none of the boys my son started with are still doing gym. But in the long run I don't think it affects their actual ability. My son started at the same age as yours (nearly five) a year ago. He was put in to a sort of pre-team development group. When he moved gym in spring (because we decided to move his sister) we found that they don't take boys from recreation until they are at least six, so he is back in recreation, but the new gym has a much more successful competitive programme.

There is no harm in letting the coaches at your gym know that you son is interested in becoming a competitive gymnast. They should be able to explain how their squad system works and what sort of competitions they enter and at what age. It might be a good idea to see if they can get him in to a second class or move him to a higher recreation class if they think he is ready. If you don't like what you hear then you could have him try out for a squad at another gym (I know they can be spread out and we don't have the choices that they do in some other countries). But he is still very young and if he is happy and you like the gym I would just start the conversation for now and try and get that extra class.

Good luck.

 

[momnipotent]

They don't tend to 'invite' boys to pre-team in our gym unless they know the family is interested, so I would ask them how the team selection works in their gym and see what they say.

 

[MrsB]

Wow thank you all for your replies!!!! I will try and speak to the coach to see if he can do anything extra, but he's having fun and I guess he plays it at home so much coz he loves what he does in class!

 

[GymBee97]

Every gym has their own guidelines and structure for teams. No matter what the team regs are they all start with USAG as a base (if in the US). Most gyms I have experienced do look for gymnasts to move to team but usually parents will let the gym know they are interested in their son/daughter being on team. If you haven't done that yet then start there - talk to the coach and see if he/she thinks your son would be a good fit for the team. remember too being on a team is a HUGE commitment not only from the child but the child's whole family. there is a huge financial and time commitment that will mean if your child moves forward in team that things like other activities, family vacations, family time, time for other sibling activites etc may (and will) be compromised both my son and daughter have been on team (dd still is) and they both have missed fun friend activites, birthday parties, school friend activities etc They both wished they didn't have to miss this to do gymnastics but both are true gymnasts and would rather do the gym than what ever it is they have missed. Gymnastic team is a lifestyle for the whole family of the gymnast not just an after school activity. If you are seeing team as just a bigger challenge for him then maybe he is ready to move up in the rec program. Really think about the commitment of team before you head down the team road.

 

[momto2js]

My son is 5 and is on the team at our gym. He will turn 6 about a week before the firstmeet. There are lots of things toconsider before making the team decision with your young son. First, I would attend (just you) a teampractice and observe both the kids and coach. Are they encouraging or screaming and yelling. Is the concept of teamwork important and arethe older kids helping the younger ones or are they annoyed by them.

Also consider the financial commitment. Is there a way to go back to the rec programif it doesn’t work out and how much money will you have to walk away from. Are you willing to do that if your sondecided he would rather be home playing video games half way through the year

For us it has been positive, but we have a uniquecombination of coaches, kids and parents. The older kids truly like my son and include him. He is their junior by at least 2 years and isa full head shorter than anyone else. Thetaller kids are willing to boost him up when he needs it. The coaches have been willing to make some accommodationsfor his age. Our Saturday practice is 3 hours,which is too much for a 5 year old body so they have encouraged us to bring himfor the first 2. School here starts at 7am making practice in the afternoon until 730 a problem. I approached the coach about leaving 30minutes early to ensure he gets enough sleep and that was no issue. There are times I have to be the parent andadvocate for his all-around health and remind them how young he is. But they have been willing to be flexible tomeet his 5 year old needs. The developmental difference between 5-8 ishuge, and having realistic expectations if vital.

 

[Aussie_coach]

For most boys I prefer to wait until they are 6, for some exceptionally focused boys I will take them at 5, have had a few 4 year olds and really they would have done just as well to wait until 5 or 6.

 

[twinklytoes9468]

I think you definitely need to let them know you are interested, because lots and lots of families do not want to take on that commitment!

 

[MrsB]

Well it seems they aren't selecting any gymnasts to squad/team at the moment. Do coaches ever hold any children back for any reason? I feel this is happening with my son, and if I knew there was a reason for it I would feel ok but there is no real communication. My son is settled and happy in his gym so i'd rather not change, but I feel frustrated as I'm paying a lot of money and he's only working on really basic skills which he can already do.

 

[Jaks]

I am in a similar position to you. My dd does recreational gymnastics in the uk, she also does Recreational Cheerleading and Recreational Trampolining ( she has just started the trampolining as you have to be 6 to do it at the club she goes to),

My dd told me that she found her gymnastic class easy. She wants to join her little friend in a floor & vault development group. At our club the invite children to move to the development classes and my dd has never been asked yet. I have not approached the head coach about my dd possibly joining a development class as I am not sure if that's the right thing to do, I am gong to wait around 6 months and see if anything happens and if my dd still wants to advance then I might approach them.

In my dd rec group they are grouped by age and not ability and they all do what ever is on the lesson plan, the older rec kids (8+ do slightly more advance stuff), the only time they do anything that shows progress - badge week is worked on by age so regardless of your age you start in the first badge and work your way up, but they only do badge week one a term (they practice and learn the skills 2 weeks before badge week) Unless they are picked for development the only way they move up in when the get old enough for they next group which is 8+ regardless of ability.

The American rec way seems much better then the English way when they work through levels and only advance when the mastered the skills. Our rec group is. To much better than an extended play time with not much achievement unless its badge week.

We haven't had a bad week for 2 terms due to restructuring at then gym. My dd was lucky enough to do and extra badge session during the summer holidays and she passed without practicing the skills, she only has 2 more to do then is on bronze silver and gold on floor, vault etc

 

[MrsB]

Can a coach help with this? Do young kids ever get held back for any reason, and if so what kind of reasons?

 

[skschlag]

I know at my son's gym, they move boys up based on ability to listen and follow directions. They know that the skills are going to come as the kids are able to do these things. So, I have seen some boys that are in rec longer than others, because they are not ready for the larger group dynamic with fewer coaches. Not sure how it works in other gyms.

 

[MrsB]

Listening and focus etc is definitely not the problem, nor is his skill base or strength. I truly feel he is being held back, and it may be for a good reason, I just wondered if coaches ever did this?

 

[GymBeeMom]

My DS is 6 years old and a second year level 4. He didn't have all the bonuses last year and didn't score amazing. He had his skills and was recognized as a hard worker and great listener but he was held at level 4 for another year and it turns out it was a great move. He has all his bonuses and can up-train, plus has a lot of confidence in knowing he can score at the meets. With boys, there just isn't any rush to the finish line since they peak later than girls. It was hard to see his teammates move on but his coach was right on with holding him back. So yes, coaches do it, and sometimes for not-so-obvious reasons to the parents. If you trust the coaches, trust them all the way. If you don't then you may need to discuss the decision and decide if you are comfortable with the program he is in.