Parents What if a gymnast is "not sure" if she wants to begin Xcel?

[SophiaPD]

My 11yo daughter has done recreational gymnastics since preschool. She started with general girls gymnastics, but did just tumbling in fourth and fifth grade and returned to general girls gymnastics this summer. We did a trial week at a different gym and she was offered a spot on the Xcel Bronze team.

She is not sure whether she wants to compete or not -- she hasn't ever done anything like it. Sometimes she says she thinks it would be fun, and other times the idea of changing gyms to compete seems to make her feel stressed. Her extra-curricular activities have always been recreational. She just started middle school last week and is nervous about change in general.

Her current rec gym class is like elementary 3, with kids generally age 8-10, training JO level 2/3 skills, and 4 hours a week. She doesn't like being the oldest and hasn't liked her coaches, but she is getting a new one now that the summer is over. Xcel is 5 hours, so not a huge change there, and a wider age range -- most are 9-13. Would you encourage her to try something new, or back off if she isn't sure?

 

[CLgym]

I assume that, if your daughter tried Xcel Bronze at the new gym and didn’t like it, then she could always return to the old gym in the rec program (where she is now)..... right? If so, then I would encourage (but not push) her to give it a try, mostly because it seems like a better age range and there’s a chance for a good coach-relationship. If it ends up not working out, then head back to gym one. Knowing this is not necessarily a forever decision might help your daughter make the leap. After all, change (the unknown!) is hard for a lot of people.

Also, she might end up really liking the team aspect of Xcel. My DD started competitive gymnastics in Xcel Bronze and it was a pretty fun, low-key way to start. Also, for what it’s worth, my DD was very reluctant to switch gyms two years ago.... but she did and is now SO glad.

Good luck! Let us know what she decides... and join the (great) Xcel social group if she ends up going Bronze.

 

[seoulmama]

I would encourage her to try because I think she will end up aging out of the rec class at some point-and if she is generally fearful of change (I can totally relate to that!) she might need some encouragement from you to try something new. From what I've seen at different gyms, most rec kids stop when they get to the younger middle school age because other activities start to compete for their time. And as the above poster stated, she could always go back if she doesn't like it.

 

[John]

@SophiaPD @CLgym seems to be in my head. I could not have said it better. She may blossom with change, she may hate the change. Either way, maybe it is better to have tried than never to have tried at all?

 

[SophiaPD]

Thanks so much for the helpful advice. She likes to sit with her decisions for a while but she seems open to it.

 

[Pirouette]

My dd (now 15) started as a competitive dancer and switched to gym the summer before 6th grade. When she started (had just turned 11), she had taken a few tumbling classes but that's about it. She joined a pre-team and was a head taller and years older than every other teammate. She did a year of preteam, a year of silver, and 2 years of gold. She is now training platinum. The first 2 weeks of preteam were the hardest, because as she said at the time, it's so BORING compared to tumble class or the fast pace of dance. She struggled with the slow and steady repetition of it. It took about a month before she was really enjoying it. Now, she loves her teammates and gym, is still WAY taller than her teammates (5' 8.5"), and is hoping to compete her remaining 3 years of school.

I share this with you just to say that if she does choose to try team, the pace and focus of the practices may be different than what she is used to in rec. She may need some encouragement during those first few weeks. Good luck with the decision!