Parents Advice about switching gyms

[Gym-Mom]

I could use some advice. My daughter has been taking gymnastics since July. She is 4 ½ and loves gymnastics. She practices a lot at home. We like the gym she is at and we are happy with the training she has received so far. There is a coach at her gym that is very excited about working with her, once she is old enough to be on the team. They wanted her to start working with the team this summer, but they are having some delays in making that happen. Although we love her gym, we know that their gymnasts aren’t as successful at meets as some of the other gyms. I realize that my daughter is only 4 and it seems crazy to really be thinking about this, but I know that as parents we have to make some decisions for our gymnasts when they are young, since a couple of years at the wrong gym can really set a gymnast back. I have been having some doubts about her staying at the gym she is at, because of the records of their team. There is another gym, which is actually closer to our house, which is extremely successful at meets. They are having open tryouts tonight for their AAU team and their program for 4-5 year olds (they are part of the team). I was thinking about taking her, just to see what they thought of her and what we thought of them. I feel so guilty thinking about leaving her gym, because of the coach who is so excited to work with her. Has anyone else been in this situation? Am I crazy?

Thanks in advance!

 

[happychaos]

Do you have a USAG JO competing gym near you? It sounds like you may be thinking seriously about having your dd in the sport long term. AAU is mostly "just for fun" and not as concerned with developing serious gymnasts.

 

[Seeker]

Yes, look for USAG programs for sure. Does your current gym do USAG or AAU?

 

[Hollisbecky]

I would recommend taking her to the try out! It is easier to switch before she joins the team.


Becky

 

[MeetDirector]

Gym-Mom -

Take a breath. From someone that was in your shoes many years ago and now almost 14 years later, allow me to offer some advice.

First and foremost, at the age she is at FUN is the single most important factor. Don't worry about team and competing at this very young age. Give her as much experience in all kinds of activities as you can.

Now, from a gymnastics point of view, there are some things you need to know for decisions down the road. First, if she might possibly have the potential to be in the sport for the long-haul, to include college gymnastics, you do not want to do anything other than a USAG program. And further, you want her to be in the Junior Olympic side of the USAG program. To be blunt, AAU will get her nowhere.

Now, to the point of competing. Gymnasts need a very solid foundation of basic skills. This foundation comes from a ton of work on the basics. This work does not "need" to include competing the very low levels of the USAG compulsory program. Starting competition at Level 4 is where USAG says an athlete should start and that works out very well. Competing the levels below lvl 4 are really just a waste of money. Focus on the basics; don't rush the competing side of things.

You need to be looking for or at a gym that is strong on the fundamentals and nurtures the littles through the building of that solid foundation.

Good Luck (and you have found a good place to ask these questions now).

 

[LJL07]

^^The above is great advice. I have a 7 yr old on team and a 4 year old who also loves gymnastics. I'm really not worried about the 4 year old being on a competition team yet. I just don't think it's necessary. I would rather she be at a good gym and getting good fundamentals, and yes, definitely having fun. And agree about finding a USAG team program.

 

[Gym-Mom]

Thanks so much for the advice! Yes, I definitely know that she needs to be doing USAG. This gym has both AAU and USAG, as does the gym we are currently at. One of their girls was one of the 36 girls who were chosen to compete in the Nastia Liukin Cup. Their gymnasts are very strong and do incredibly well at meets. They have a mini team, of sorts for little ones and that is what she would be trying out for tonight, not necessarily AAU. The tryouts just happen to be at the same time. They would practice with the team over the next year and she wouldn’t start competing until the following year, is my understanding. I am not in any rush for her to compete and understand it should be fun now. I am a loyal person and hate the thought of leaving her current gym. I realize how much harder it would be to leave later, if we felt it necessary, which is why I am trying to think about it now.

 

[BachFlyer]

I think that if you are in a position to explore your options now, then there is nothing wrong with it. I personally feel there is never really anything "wrong" with switching, because not all gyms are the perfect fit for everyone. It happens at upper levels too, but it is absolutely harder and believe me, the loyalty factory will really kill you at that point. But at your DDs age, families switch gyms all the time! Go, tryout, ask a bunch of questions, see how you feel about the place. There is no harm in trying. Where is this sport headed anyway, if we expect a 10+ year commitment from a parent of a 4 year old!?

 

[BachFlyer]

PS I say this as a parent of a 13 year old L10 girl who started when she was 6 1/2. I thought the same thing - I didn't want to be presumptuous in guessing how far she'd go, and I picked an "in between" gym thinking we could switch later or she'd quit after a few years and it wouldn't matter either way. Then the time went very fast, and friendships and comfort levels were developed very quickly. She did eventually outgrow the place, and it was hard to leave. I don't think I made the wrong decision necessarily, because she got to be a big fish in a small pond and she never got lost in the shuffle. While i would have rather she had better basics from the get-go, now she is a tiny little fish which comes with it's own set of challenges.

 

[LJL07]

I think that if you are in a position to explore your options now, then there is nothing wrong with it. I personally feel there is never really anything "wrong" with switching, because not all gyms are the perfect fit for everyone. It happens at upper levels too, but it is absolutely harder and believe me, the loyalty factory will really kill you at that point. But at your DDs age, families switch gyms all the time! Go, tryout, ask a bunch of questions, see how you feel about the place. There is no harm in trying. Where is this sport headed anyway, if we expect a 10+ year commitment from a parent of a 4 year old!?

This is so true too! I also felt extremely loyal to our first gym, very attached to two coaches in particular, etc., and my older daughter started there when she was very young. Then my little one started there with the same two coaches for preschool gym. It was not a good fit for my older daughter once she got on team. Even being relatively new to team, it was hard to leave, but it was the right decision. I guess my point was that you don't need to worry too much yet.

 

[Committed]

I have definitely been there. You have been given good advice. DD came from a rec gym and competed in their very first year of artistic gym. DD had a blast competing (she was 5), but I noticed a very serious difference between our girls and the girls from other gyms. I came on CB to ask questions about a possible gym switch, expecting everyone to tell me that I was being silly and that DD was very young. I got the opposite. Actually, I think the fact that her gym had a plastic bars and no uneven bars was a determining factor. DD had nearly outgrown her gym at the age of 5.
That being said, DD was crushed when I told her that she was switching gyms. So many tears. She couldn't remember a time when she wasn't at this gym; she started as a toddler. She adored her coaches and didn't want to leave them. It turns out, one left a week before DD did, and the other left just a few months later. Since then, DD has grown so much, at the new gym.
If I were you, I wouldn't just run out and join a new gym on a whim. I would do some research. Call down there and see if you would HAVE to do this open call, or if they would do a private evaluation.

 

[iwannacoach]

... I realize that my daughter is only 4 and it seems crazy to really be thinking about this.....

....since a couple of years at the wrong gym can really set a gymnast back.....

You pretty much rocked it on the first one......

Not so much on the second one....... unless you're talking about a 7 or 8 year old who's moved through level 1 and 2 with very poor attention to fundamental gymnastics.

IMO there's little benefit or harm in either case. A 4 or 5 year old kid should go to gym to assure they end up a healthy and active child capable of running, jumping, climbing, and learn the basic concept of being upside down. Anything done to fine tune those activities is fine, but really not necessary because most kids that age need large motor skill experience, and aren't ready to focus on fine motor skills.

Even those who are ready for fine tuning would probably benefit more from the basic play oriented activities because at their age they can always build up a little more strength and speed. Also, waiting until they're 6 to fine tune will make it a simple and quick task that will be a source of excitement and pride. That would be far better than to concentrate on fine tuning at age 4 and 5 when they have so little capacity for that kind of activity.

One method creates stress, and the other creates energy that can be used to maintain momentum when they're 6, 7, and 8 years old.

 

[GYM0M]

I agree with the above posters. If you are thinking about long term, at her age, she needs to be in a place that will encourage a love for the sport. DD made a gym switch at 5.5, a very hard gym switch as I was employed by the other gym and a huge bump in hours (from 2 to 9)! Most of the time, if handled with courtesy and respect, switches go over just fine. It happens just like those that quit. She needs to LOVE it before it becomes WORK! I know of a 7 year old at our gym that quit because she took on too much too fast & she was rather gifted with natural ability.

 

[3LittleGymmies]

Which meets do they not do well at, compulsory or optional? Do they produce college gymnasts, etc? We just switched to a new gym that doesn't really ever place in the top three at compulsory meets... which concerned me at first until we got in there and I saw what advanced skills their "average scoring compulsories" can do. They don't place in the top three because they don't care about compulsories. They would rather have average compulsory gymnasts (who are uptraining instead if perfecting compulsory routines) who peak in optionals than the other way around. We have been at a gym that won top three at every compulsory meet and their optionals weren't really very impressive. I'm not sure if a gym can be successful in both programs, but I am sure it is possible. I would look up how their optionals do, how many they have, how many have left for other gyms, how many have received scholarships, etc. before making a decision because in the long run, that matters much more than winning meets at the lower levels.

 

[tooootsie]

imo just because a gym who has 1 great kid doesn't mean they are great. also if your kid switches gyms maybe she won't be a star anymore like she is now. if shes happy keep her there.

 

[gracyomalley]

Do what feels best for THIS YEAR...THIS MONTH..she's young and if she continues to enjoy gym then you have plenty of time to really get a better sense of what is important to you in the long run. Sometime between 6-7 it would be nice to know if you want the OPTION of her doing things like TOPS or similar programs that would lead to accelerated movement through JO....but competing before L4 and age 8-9 is really only for polish, fun and a way for parents to spend a ridiculous amount of money on hair products....the polish is helpful later and you should look for a way to get that when she's that age, the FUN is critical for a child's whole gym "lifetime" as they won't be doing this for a living, and there's plenty of time to waste money on travel and glitter later on (says the mom of 3 competing gymnasts - one who started competing at age 6, one at almost 11, and one at 8 - my DD who is now a L8 didn't compete until age 8....at your DD age she was doing 3 hours a week of rec - about L2-3 I'd say...and lots of handstands and cartwheels while watching TV, etc...)

 

[Natasha]

I could use some advice. My daughter has been taking gymnastics since July. She is 4 ½ and loves gymnastics. She practices a lot at home. We like the gym she is at and we are happy with the training she has received so far. There is a coach at her gym that is very excited about working with her, once she is old enough to be on the team. They wanted her to start working with the team this summer, but they are having some delays in making that happen. Although we love her gym, we know that their gymnasts aren’t as successful at meets as some of the other gyms. I realize that my daughter is only 4 and it seems crazy to really be thinking about this, but I know that as parents we have to make some decisions for our gymnasts when they are young, since a couple of years at the wrong gym can really set a gymnast back. I have been having some doubts about her staying at the gym she is at, because of the records of their team. There is another gym, which is actually closer to our house, which is extremely successful at meets. They are having open tryouts tonight for their AAU team and their program for 4-5 year olds (they are part of the team). I was thinking about taking her, just to see what they thought of her and what we thought of them. I feel so guilty thinking about leaving her gym, because of the coach who is so excited to work with her. Has anyone else been in this situation? Am I crazy?

Thanks in advance!

She's happy, you're happy…no need to make any changes at age 4 1/2…plenty of time starting around age 6-7 to figure out what you need for team training.
2nd bolded statement- not really an issue at age 4 unless they are trying to do something unsafe, things she isn't ready for or potentially burning her out by making it too serious. A kid with talent will still have that talent at age 7.