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Your DDS are talented. My now 8 yo was also on a level 4 team at 4yo. She was on team with 6-9/10 yo. She survived and yours will too. Keep you "Mom" glasses on. You know what they can take or not. You do have to trust that their coaches have their best interest. They may want them on team now to condition them and get them strong. Mine didn't compete until she turned 7 and was in level 5. She did do three GIJO meets for fun when she was 6 though.No offense taken =) Considering they are only 4 I would think it a bit odd for them to be on a team with 7 and up girls. I actually asked about the pre-team (thought 2 days a week might be better and it is cheaper which with 2 and they are so young makes sense) but the lady in the office made it clear they needed to be on the team, not pre-team b/c they already had their (I think it was) pullovers? The pre-team from what I understood is for older girls who aren't quite skilled enough to make team and are working towards it? Or maybe for younger girls who don't have some of the skills? I have a lot of questions when I get home from the summer!
I am in Montana for the summer and put the girls in a gymnastics class here sort of for fun, but also I kind of wanted to see how they did in comparison to other girls in another gym. I had a Mom again tonight commenting on their cartwheels. They went last week too and the 2 classes combined I think the girls were 4-6 yrs old and I do see even more now why they were asked to be on team. It was good for me I guess to have more confirmation as to their God-given talent =) Hope that makes sense=). 3 nights a week is a lot but we may just see how it goes.
No offense taken =) Considering they are only 4 I would think it a bit odd for them to be on a team with 7 and up girls. I actually asked about the pre-team (thought 2 days a week might be better and it is cheaper which with 2 and they are so young makes sense) but the lady in the office made it clear they needed to be on the team, not pre-team b/c they already had their (I think it was) pullovers? The pre-team from what I understood is for older girls who aren't quite skilled enough to make team and are working towards it? Or maybe for younger girls who don't have some of the skills? I have a lot of questions when I get home from the summer!
BUT, gymnastics comes at a great expense and you really need to know what is involved, cost-wise, because while I have one that at this point I easily pay about $10,000, if not more, a year for her to be in this sport.... you have 2! (I honestly do not want to really add up all the costs I pay in a year's time to get an exact amount.) This is a slow sport that sucks you in as you go. That is not a bad thing, but when you don't know what's a head of you, it can be a real eye-opener! Talk to the coaches, talk to team parents of older/higher level girls. Find out what is involved, time-wise and cost-wise. I do not mean to say all of this to scare you off, but to make you aware. Like I said earlier, I personally could not afford to pay for 2 girls on optional level teams. I know this. Also, just so you know I do live in the Northeast part of the country and I realize that our costs seem to be higher than some other areas, so maybe I may be off on some numbers compared to other areas. Also we do not have a booster club, so my checkbook is always open and the checks disappear quickly.
I am a wee confused =) From what I understood the lady who explained the team/pre-team said my girls would need to be on team b/c they were already learning pullovers (I think that was it)...I was kind of thinking pre-team sounded better, only 2x a week and cheaper but she was pretty adament they need to be on team...pre-team was for a lil older girls who didn't quite have what it took to be on team and they were working towards that...does that make sense =)? Now after hearing more about the concerns with some of the skills required (kickovers etc.. w/back problem possibilities) in some of the lower levels I am not sure I want them competing in the lower levels...sooo confusing, WHY do they require possibly dangerous skills to compete at these levels?
Thanks for all input =)
taylee - something I just want to address to you because when I read your post I see a re-occuring theme... costs. Gymnastics is uber expensive. It does not start out that way, but honestly I could never afford to have 2 children doing team gymnastics. Gymnastics starts out with a small commitment of time and the costs are manageable, but as the gymnast continues on the time commitment becomes consuming and the costs are major and once they are in it and doing well, it's not like you can just pull them out. Well, I guess you can just pull them out, but it kills you to take them out of a sport that they have come to love and are excelling at. At our gym, the girls really don't start travelling until they hit level 7, actually back in my dd's day it was L8. Once we hit that point, the meet fees practically doubled and now I was paying for flyaway meets and meets that required overnight stays, possibly for the entire weekend.
My dd will be competing L10 this upcoming season and I pay over $500 a month. I have to purchase her comp leo which will be $200 and pay her USAG fee $50 this summer. She is attending a camp for girls who qualified to Easterns for her region, which will cost me around $225-$250 (it was $225 last yr). She will go to about 5 or 6 meets, maybe more, where the meet fees will be on average about $100 - $125, per meet. I will have to provide transportation (some driving, some flying) and lodging for these meets. I may get lucky and have 1 or 2 meets that are in-state. This past season alone she ended up missing about 7 days of school because most of her meets fell on a Friday, she took 2 days off to go to Easterns, 2 days off for the flyaway meet and then 3 other somewhat local meets she had Friday report times.
Another thing to think about is right now I am paying for weekly privates for my dd. I do not do this all the time, but she is working a couple of skills she needs a little more one-on-one time to the tune of $100 an hour, she does an hr private.
Gymnastics is a great sport and I wouldn't change anything for the world. My dd has experience much success, she's learned many, many life skills that she will use beyond gymnastics and she has met wonderful friends - as have I. I love my gym family!
BUT, gymnastics comes at a great expense and you really need to know what is involved, cost-wise, because while I have one that at this point I easily pay about $10,000, if not more, a year for her to be in this sport.... you have 2! (I honestly do not want to really add up all the costs I pay in a year's time to get an exact amount.) This is a slow sport that sucks you in as you go. That is not a bad thing, but when you don't know what's a head of you, it can be a real eye-opener! Talk to the coaches, talk to team parents of older/higher level girls. Find out what is involved, time-wise and cost-wise. I do not mean to say all of this to scare you off, but to make you aware. Like I said earlier, I personally could not afford to pay for 2 girls on optional level teams. I know this. Also, just so you know I do live in the Northeast part of the country and I realize that our costs seem to be higher than some other areas, so maybe I may be off on some numbers compared to other areas. Also we do not have a booster club, so my checkbook is always open and the checks disappear quickly.
Take your upcoming 6 weeks to really think and come up with your questions for your return. Talent is obviously not a question in regards to your children, but realize the slow pull into the sport and once you get down the road a little, there really in no turning back until your gymnasts decide to move on, if they ever do. My will be 16 in Sept and has been doing gymnastics for 12 yrs, she is still going strong and I find I am paying even more money as we get closer to the college years for this sport.
Not sure what qualifies the "lady in the office" to make the assessment that they "need" to be on team, but having one more advanced (for age) skill doesn't make up for the basics they may not have such as proper form, conditioning, etc. that is important.
My youngest DD was and still is, very young, strong and determined. But USAG does not allow kids to compete Level 4 until age 6. So even if your two were to go on 'team' and train with the older girls, they will be training more than a year and depending on their birthdate and when it falls compared to the season, maybe closer to 2 years, before they can compete. In the meantime, they are watching teammates get their pretty comp leos (which are pricey, so you won't probably want to buy if they are not competing right away), getting ready for meets, coming home with medals. Are your girls the type who might be upset that they can't participate if the other girls are all older? Just something to consider. I've only known one girl (my oldest started team in 2004) who was not 6 when her Level 4 season started, but her birthday is December and back then the L4 season was winter/spring) so she only had to wait a few weeks to compete with her team, not a year or more. And I'm assuming your team competes at L4 (sorry, didn't read all of the posts) but if it's L5 then that's an additional year to wait!
Good luck with your decision!
The $200 for a leo does sound insane to me, but then again what do I know!
HAHAHA, then I won't even tell you what I paid for DD's this year!!!!