Parents When to start looking for new gym?

[Torimom12]

This question comes a bit early in my daughters gymnastics career but here is the scenario....
My DD is competing level 7 this year, first year. She loves her gym and her teammates and coaches. This gym however, has never had any gymnasts go beyond level 9. I don't know if it was the gymnasts or the coaching or both. My DD and several of her teammates, and younger have potential to make it to level 10 but if we stay at the current gym, I'm afraid it won't happen. So here's my question....when and/or should we start looking for another gym that I know has level 10?!?!?!???
I never brought this up to my DD and would never want to make this decision without her but it's been burning a hole in the back of my mind since starting this year.

Help!

 

[CMA25]

I think it is important for you to find out the reason that your gym has not had any level 10 girls. Is it a new gym? Does the coach have experience coaching girls to level 10 or elite?

If you decide that the coach does not have the interest or ability to coach level 10, I would make the switch once season is over. I find that the older and higher level the girls get, the longer it takes them to get adjusted to a coaching change.

 

[Gymmommy71]

If it's a small gym, be aware there is a chance that the gym just never had gymnasts talented and driven enough to get to Level 10. It may not have anything to do w/ the training. If it's a large gym that has hordes of compulsaries that somehow all filter out before they get to L10, then I'd wonder if it has something to do w/ the upper level coaching.

 

[raenndrops]

If it's a small gym, be aware there is a chance that the gym just never had gymnasts talented and driven enough to get to Level 10. It may not have anything to do w/ the training. If it's a large gym that has hordes of compulsaries that somehow all filter out before they get to L10, then I'd wonder if it has something to do w/ the upper level coaching.

I agree. Up until last year, our gym had never had a gymnast above Level 7. This year, we have 4 L8s. Three are young enough that they COULD make it to L9.
As girls get older, unless they have a high goal (L10/College/ Elite), then other activities get in the way.
3 of our L8 are on the high school team. One girl only does gymnastics. Two of the four are cheerleaders. Two are on the track team. 75% of our entire team across all levels does something other than gymnastics. The dropout rate once they get to junior high and high school was greater before we got a high school team and then a junior high team. Now that they can compete for their school, more are staying in the gym.

If your gym hasn't had any L10 it could easily be that they didn't have anyone want it bad enough ... Or at least bad enough to be the first and only at the time. You should find out what happened to any L9s... Graduated? Moved away? Local gym change (where they didn't move, but switched to a "better" gym)?

 

[profmom]

Can your coaches train flipping vaults and bar changes/releases safely?

 

[Gymmonkeymomma]

My DD was 10 years old and Level 7 the year I decided she HAD to change gyms. There was no negotiating, though she was more than ready to leave. Our previous gym had a few 8's and 9's but majority of team girls level 4-9 were not competing up to level (and these were the old levels). We've never regretted the decision.

 

[raenndrops]

My DD was 10 years old and Level 7 the year I decided she HAD to change gyms. There was no negotiating, though she was more than ready to leave. Our previous gym had a few 8's and 9's but majority of team girls level 4-9 were not competing up to level (and these were the old levels). We've never regretted the decision.

"Old Levels" really only apply to Compulsories… Old L1-Old L6. New L6 was inserted as a Level 6.5 between Old L6 and L7. There were not enough changes to L7+ to call them "new" levels.
However, I do understand leaving if the upper level gymnasts are not competing "up to level." The first time we had a girl that wanted to move to L8, HC said no because she wanted to compete basically her L7 routines as an L8, just for the status of being L8. She quit and became a cheerleader instead.
Our 4 current L8s have a 10.0 SV on floor and are up to level. If they hit their beam and bars, they have a 10.0 SV. They may or may not be up to level depending on the day. On Vault, they are all twisting their yurchenkos, but not flipping them yet. That being said, in the most recent meet, we swept the podium on vault.

 

[profmom]

My DD was 10 years old and Level 7 the year I decided she HAD to change gyms. There was no negotiating, though she was more than ready to leave. Our previous gym had a few 8's and 9's but majority of team girls level 4-9 were not competing up to level (and these were the old levels). We've never regretted the decision.

Yes, this is an important question. Does your gym have L8s? If so, what kinds of skills are the best gymnasts competing in their routines and are they competing these skills well? If everyone is just fulfilling minimum requirements, that's not a good sign. It can take a while to get through L8 and L9, but in my kids' gym, the very best ones are doing more than the bare minimum as first year L8s and L9s, or at least you can see that they have very strong trajectories forward because the harder skills are being perfected in the gym (for L8, isolated back tuck or aerial on beam with BHS BHS series, front twisting and double backs on floor, shoot half and double back dismounts on unevens, and/or more than tucked Yurchenko or tsuk on vault).

 

[Gymmonkeymomma]

"Old Levels" really only apply to Compulsories… Old L1-Old L6. New L6 was inserted as a Level 6.5 between Old L6 and L7. There were not enough changes to L7+ to call them "new" levels.

.

My original statement referred to levels 4-6 as well, we had girls competing who could not master all skills at those levels.

 

[Gymmommy71]

Yes, this is an important question. Does your gym have L8s? If so, what kinds of skills are the best gymnasts competing in their routines and are they competing these skills well? If everyone is just fulfilling minimum requirements, that's not a good sign. It can take a while to get through L8 and L9, but in my kids' gym, the very best ones are doing more than the bare minimum as first year L8s and L9s, or at least you can see that they have very strong trajectories forward because the harder skills are being perfected in the gym (for L8, isolated back tuck or aerial on beam with BHS BHS series, front twisting and double backs on floor, shoot half and double back dismounts on unevens, and/or more than tucked Yurchenko or tsuk on vault).

Double backs on floor in L8? Omg! I didn't even know that was allowed? Isn't a double back a D skill?

 

[QueenBee]

I thought double backs were only allowed as a bars dismount in Level 8.

 

[txgymfan]

Yes, this is an important question. Does your gym have L8s? If so, what kinds of skills are the best gymnasts competing in their routines and are they competing these skills well? If everyone is just fulfilling minimum requirements, that's not a good sign. It can take a while to get through L8 and L9, but in my kids' gym, the very best ones are doing more than the bare minimum as first year L8s and L9s, or at least you can see that they have very strong trajectories forward because the harder skills are being perfected in the gym (for L8, isolated back tuck or aerial on beam with BHS BHS series, front twisting and double backs on floor, shoot half and double back dismounts on unevens, and/or more than tucked Yurchenko or tsuk on vault).

She is referring to training double backs, and other higher level skills. These skills take years and years to learn and perfect so good Level 8s are training 9 skills progressing towards potential skills ever harder. Level 9s should have goals and be progressing toward Level 10 skills. Even 10s are working on more flips and twists and turns.

 

[Torimom12]

Thanks for all the great responses!
The level 9's that left last year are I college, neither of them doing gymnastics in college, so I guess they didn't have the desire or "want" to excel beyond where they were when they graduated high school.

As far as they gym and coaching, I would have to say I don't think the gym is even equips for level 8 and above. There is a lot they lack as far as equipment and space. No pit, at all, anywhere. No tumble track, no high strap bar, only 2 high beams, I could go on. It's amazing the girls can accomplish anything but some how they do.

 

[Seeker]

Thanks for all the great responses!
The level 9's that left last year are I college, neither of them doing gymnastics in college, so I guess they didn't have the desire or "want" to excel beyond where they were when they graduated high school.

As far as they gym and coaching, I would have to say I don't think the gym is even equips for level 8 and above. There is a lot they lack as far as equipment and space. No pit, at all, anywhere. No tumble track, no high strap bar, only 2 high beams, I could go on. It's amazing the girls can accomplish anything but some how they do.

If your daughter has the desire to move past that level, you need to move her. Even for safety reasons, continuing to train without those things will be a challenge and hard on the gymnasts bodies (knees, ankles). Good luck to her!

 

[QueenBee]

She is referring to training double backs, and other higher level skills. These skills take years and years to learn and perfect so good Level 8s are training 9 skills progressing towards potential skills ever harder. Level 9s should have goals and be progressing toward Level 10 skills. Even 10s are working on more flips and twists and turns.

That makes a lot more sense, I went back and realized I read @profmom's post too quickly and missed "training in the gym". Sorry @profmom

 

[profmom]

Oh, no worries! I am just remembering when I first realized how long it takes to get some of these things ready to go into routines. My son is a first year L9 who can't move to L10 until 2019-20, but he's currently working on L10 (for the boys it has to be at least a C to get full credit) dismounts for two events (rings and pbars). However, I very much doubt either will ready to compete until late next year, i.e., toward the end of the 2018 comp season. (HE of course thinks the rings one is ready to mat, but I think his coach has different plans and would like to keep him alive for longer. ) My L8 daughter's worked on shoot halfs every summer for the last three years. Maybe she'll have it ready next year if she moves to L9.

Unfortunately, I have to second Seeker's comment. No matter how good the coaches are, this upper level stuff is very hard on knees and ankles if they can't work it into a pit and have to take a lot of hard landings. And I have watched both of my optionals use the tumbl trak a LOT to work on floor, which is a somewhat weak event for both of them. I don't see DS ever getting a double back on floor without extensive use of the tumbl trak -- he has a good one on trampoline now, but it's nowhere near ready to transfer to the tumbl trak, much less the real floor. My DD is more of a twister, but there too being able to work on her form and speed in the air is a lot easier with the extra bounce, and will make it possible for her to continue upgrading with confidence.

 

[Deleted member 18037]

As far as they gym and coaching, I would have to say I don't think the gym is even equips for level 8 and above. There is a lot they lack as far as equipment and space. No pit, at all, anywhere. No tumble track, no high strap bar, only 2 high beams, I could go on. It's amazing the girls can accomplish anything but some how they do.

As seeker and profmom said this stuff is important. Move for this reason alone.

 

[Natasha]

Now is a good time to pay attention to the upper optionals at meets of the gyms in your area so you can be ready to make a move at the end of the season. Your daughter will need to start training all those higher level skills with a coach that knows how to train them and the equipment to safely train. And, as a side note, the L9s that are in college, unless they were looking at college club gymnastics, they may not have had any options there are only a few D3 schools, and even those are getting filled with L10s.

 

[MeetDirector]

Let's keep it simple. I will assume that gymnastics is her passion.

No pit - move.
No harness system to train bar releases - move.
No tumble track/rod floor - move.

Without the above she can't safely get beyond Lvl 8 at best.

Good luck.

 

[Sasha]

No harness system to train bar releases - move.

Interesting... I agree with no pit or tumble trak, but this is the first time I have seen the requirement to have a harness for bars. I have yet to see one of those in the gyms my daughter has attended/tried. She is not in any elite gym, but they do have level 9s and have had 10s...

Is that really a deal breaker?