Parents 5 year old pre team

[Cseibold623]

So my daughter (5) was showing pretty good skills in the gym- She has a solid handstand, cartwheel, bridge, round off. I am happy to upload videos/pictures. It seemed like she was somewhat bored in her preschool class. I inquired with our gym about team evaluation and asked to tell me if she should pursue them, or it was completely fine for her to stay in classes. They told me they think she can pursue evaluation. She however did not make the pre team but maybe these evals were tougher than other places. Now I feel dumb for even having her evaluated. But I do think she has solid skills and needs a challenge but just recommend the next class. Anyone have similar situation and what you did? She is a good listener and quick learner but I just don’t think she is challenged enough in the preschool class. I know she can try again but I didn’t want her to have this pressure if she wasn’t ready.

 

[Deleted member 18037]

There is no pressure at 5 unless you apply it

 

[Deleted member 18037]

And if she is bored sign her up for other things. Dance, soccer, art, music

 

[Cseibold623]

And if she is bored sign her up for other things. Dance, soccer, art, music

She does plenty of other activities. I’m saying she is bored with the smaller preschool equipment.

 

[Coach Kate]

I know at our gym we stay age based until kindergarten. I'm assuming she's a five year old preschooler then? For us, we'd have her stay in the 4-5 year old preschool class through June and then move up a level over the summer. You could ask more about how it works at this particular gym.

 

[Cseibold623]

And if she is bored sign her up for other things. Dance, soccer, art, music

And if she is bored sign her up for other things. Dance, soccer, art, music

She does do other things. I’m saying she is bored with the smaller equipment.

 

[Whyhellothere]

My daughter was 6 when I put her at a local gym… she was bored like your daughter! She could do cartwheels, kickovers, headstands, etc all by herself while the other kids weren’t even close. Her coaches were teenagers .. which is fine but they just had no clue.
So we stayed for the month I paid for then tried a new gym. They wanted her to start on level 2 that night lol. Maybe try a new gym?

 

[JessSyd]

I understand. My daughter was bored with preschool gym by the time we had done a few terms of it. There just wasn’t enough progression within the program. I didn’t know anything about gymnastics, and while I could see that she was good at it and loved to challenge herself during the free play part of the sessions, I just figured it was time to move on to the next activity.

But on what was going to be her final session she got an invitation to the development squad (what you’d call preteam). She was four, and I was dubious about the hours, but it was the best thing. She didn’t progress very quickly as she had a four year old’s understanding of instructions and how her body moved, but my goodness she found the challenge fun. And ten years down the track, through two long shutdowns, illness and injury, she’s still in the sport. Without the timely invitation to join the competitive stream, she’d be a soccer player or netballer now.

So based on my experience, if it is something she loves and is ready to make progress in, think it would make sense to ask for more information, or even try different gyms.

 

[Cseibold623]

I know at our gym we stay age based until kindergarten. I'm assuming she's a five year old preschooler then? For us, we'd have her stay in the 4-5 year old preschool class through June and then move up a level over the summer. You could ask more about how it works at this particular gym.

Yes it’s a 4.5- 5.5 yr class. They use quite a bit of the smaller equipment.

 

[newbie504]

Is there an advanced preschool class? My daughter went to the advanced class first, then preteam

 

[IreneKa]

Did you talk to them after the evaluation? Did they say why she did not make it? It's ok to ask questions. Don't be pushy or confrontational, but it's okay to ask what she is missing and what she needs to work on in order to make the preteam.
If they can't give you a clear answer, it might be a case of them looking for a specific body type, or some special abilities or whatever. In that case this is probably not the right gym for your DD and it's time to explore other options.

 

[Cseibold623]

Did you talk to them after the evaluation? Did they say why she did not make it? It's ok to ask questions. Don't be pushy or confrontational, but it's okay to ask what she is missing and what she needs to work on in order to make the preteam.
If they can't give you a clear answer, it might be a case of them looking for a specific body type, or some special abilities or whatever. In that case this is probably not the right gym for your DD and it's time to explore other options.

It was a bit more skill focused than I realized. My understanding was that it more about their ability to learn and their natural strength. The feedback was more skill related but I think it’s tougher than other gyms. The skills she has is from 45 minutes classes with mostly smaller equipment. None of the kids in her class are anywhere close to where she is for skills. She does not have the typical body type for gymnastics but it freaking strong!

 

[NutterButter]

It was a bit more skill focused than I realized. My understanding was that it more about their ability to learn and their natural strength. The feedback was more skill related but I think it’s tougher than other gyms. The skills she has is from 45 minutes classes with mostly smaller equipment. None of the kids in her class are anywhere close to where she is for skills. She does not have the typical body type for gymnastics but it freaking strong!

I think you have your answer right there in the bolded part. If you are able to watch the older girls train you may see evidence that they are looking for a specific body type. Some gyms are like this so don't be discouraged. If you are serious about team, I would take your daughter to another gym for evaluation soon. Now is the time when many gyms are accepting new athletes (and many won't add kids during the school year or competition season).

I can see where the smaller equipment for a taller than average and/or more coordinated kid may truly be 'boring' but I also think boredom at this age is often a parental construct. Being good at an activity doesn't always equate to a kid actually enjoying it. My DD took on a musical instrument when she was 9. She was a natural. So. Much Talent. She hated it though and would say that she was 'bored' with it. She quit after 9 months and never looked back.

 

[IreneKa]

It was a bit more skill focused than I realized. My understanding was that it more about their ability to learn and their natural strength. The feedback was more skill related but I think it’s tougher than other gyms. The skills she has is from 45 minutes classes with mostly smaller equipment. None of the kids in her class are anywhere close to where she is for skills. She does not have the typical body type for gymnastics but it freaking strong!

I agree with NutterButter above, I would take her for evaluation to a couple other places. At this age it shouldn't be about skills, it should be about strength, flexibility, focus, coachability.
It doesn't make sense learning many skills in 45 minutes rec classes, she will probably have to re-learn them with the proper form later once she actually makes it to preteam\team.

 

[Cseibold623]

I agree with NutterButter above, I would take her for evaluation to a couple other places. At this age it shouldn't be about skills, it should be about strength, flexibility, focus, coachability.
It doesn't make sense learning many skills in 45 minutes rec classes, she will probably have to re-learn them with the proper form later once she actually makes it to preteam\team.

You do think it’s worth another opinion or should I just keep her in the age level class? I know it’s up to me but just curious what others would do.

 

[IreneKa]

You do think it’s worth another opinion or should I just keep her in the age level class? I know it’s up to me but just curious what others would do.

I'd say you have nothing to lose by getting another opinion. Go for it!

 

[Dahlialover]

Moving up levels is highly dependent on the availability of space and coaches. If Preteam is getting full, then they might leave a younger kid in rec until space opens up.

 

[katrid11]

I would get a 2nd opinion. Each gym has a different view on pre-team, moving up, etc.

Our daughters preteam coach picked her b/c she was teachable, flexible, and listened well.
Another gym turned our daughter down (same week) b/c she was "not coordinated enough" b/c she was not jumping with 2 feet simultaneously yet at age 4.5.

We went with gym A and she has had a good gymnastics career so far. Turned into a very strong gymnast and developed great body and air awareness. She did learn to jump with both feet - just a little later than everyone else

 

[Cseibold623]

 

[User5309]

So my daughter (5) was showing pretty good skills in the gym- She has a solid handstand, cartwheel, bridge, round off. I am happy to upload videos/pictures. It seemed like she was somewhat bored in her preschool class. I inquired with our gym about team evaluation and asked to tell me if she should pursue them, or it was completely fine for her to stay in classes. They told me they think she can pursue evaluation. She however did not make the pre team but maybe these evals were tougher than other places. Now I feel dumb for even having her evaluated. But I do think she has solid skills and needs a challenge but just recommend the next class. Anyone have similar situation and what you did? She is a good listener and quick learner but I just don’t think she is challenged enough in the preschool class. I know she can try again but I didn’t want her to have this pressure if she wasn’t ready.

Get a second opinion for sure. My daughter started at a rec only gym. Most kids had no interest in learning the owner suggested another gym for my daughter. We moved to a gym with a team but took Rec classes. Again most kids were not interested. She did move up to an advanced rec class though. She ended up getting invited to the team tryout. There were a million girls there and she was not selected. It seemed odd to me that the things they were asked to do at tryouts were never drilled at the adv rec level prior. My daughter was pretty bummed about not making the team but more so because she just wanted to do more gymnastics and 1.5 hours a week didn’t seem enough for her. We then called a different gym and they gave her an evaluation. They put her on the level 3 team immediately even though she was still missing many of the skills. She just finished her first season got all her skills has a real passion that is actually being fulfilled and challenged . She is moving up to level 4 next season.