Parents Elite track, what does it mean?

[Deleted member 18037]

Not really. Girls on the elite track in the US can compete JO along the way concurrent with TOPS or HOPES.
In Australia, from my understanding, elite track (even before they are elites) compete IL and non-elite track girls compete NL.

Yes but once Elite, it's a different track .

 

[gymbeam]

Yes, in Australia the distinction is formalized earlier whereas here in the US those training Elite are often integrated with "normal" JO athletes for most of their early years (while training in a distinctly different way, though).

It would be interesting to see how that sort of system would work here. I wonder if it would reduce the number of girls trying or have no affect.

 

[skschlag]

Yes but once Elite, it's a different track .

True. Although you can petition back to JO. We had a gymnast that did several elite comps, decided it wasn't for her, and petitioned back to L10. She is now a successful college gymnast.

But, in the US, elite track gymnasts are typically doing JO and TOPS/HOPES.

 

[Seeker]

True. Although you can petition back to JO. We had a gymnast that did several elite comps, decided it wasn't for her, and petitioned back to L10. She is now a successful college gymnast.

But, in the US, elite track gymnasts are typically doing JO and TOPS/HOPES.

This is quite common -- to start in JO, test/qualify/compete Elite and then at some point move back to JO (common in the year just before college). In that sense it's rather fluid, unlike Australia and some other countries where the streams are totally separate.

 

[skschlag]

This is quite common -- to start in JO, test/qualify/compete Elite and then at some point move back to JO (common in the year just before college). In that sense it's rather fluid, unlike Australia and some other countries where the streams are totally separate.

And since I have a boy, my experiences with the girls' side is just based on what I see/hear. Good to know that I wasn't too far off on that one

 

[Jenny]

Interestingly it says very clearly on the USAG website that HOPES and TOPs are not classed as elite......... but many people refer to them as elite. You are not technically elite until you have qualified junior or senior elite.

We also have different pathways which lead to being qualified to compete at the British Championships and people do use the term elite but officially it doesn't exist anywhere.

 

[OzZee]

This is quite common -- to start in JO, test/qualify/compete Elite and then at some point move back to JO (common in the year just before college). In that sense it's rather fluid, unlike Australia and some other countries where the streams are totally separate.

Whilst not very fluid from NL to IL it is the other way. Lots of girls move to national levels at all sorts of levels when they decide it's not for them/can't keep up etc.
and I can think of one wag senior international who spent some time in national levels.

The US doesn't need the separate streams - you have so many many more kids, with so many more gyms able and willing to train to elite level. Yes many girls with that potential won't get the chance but here pretty much no one would without the idp program.

Yes there are many downsides to choosing so young but remember it's a country as large with less gymnasts in the whole country as there are in one of your smaller states.

I do think the current RG program here where the girls tend to do the lower national level (1-4 or 5) before going elite stream is kinder on the girls though not beneficial to the program on the whole.

 

[bogwoppit]

Yes but once Elite, it's a different track .

Yes, but the path to elite is not one path. There are many ways. Some girls go all the way to L10 and then go elite. Others start much earlier and never really do JO, then others still do both JO and the HOPEs elite path.

We also know that elites can, and do, drop back to L10 very often. Elite is not for everyone, anyone who read the USAG report last week will see that being an elite is fraught with stress.


I think like the words "pre team", we all know that "elite path" means many different things in many different gyms. We also know that qualifying junior or senior elite does not actually mean a gymnast will ever compete on the international stage for the USA.

 

[GYM0M]

Interestingly it says very clearly on the USAG website that HOPES and TOPs are not classed as elite......... but many people refer to them as elite. You are not technically elite until you have qualified junior or senior elite.

We also have different pathways which lead to being qualified to compete at the British Championships and people do use the term elite but officially it doesn't exist anywhere.

If someone were to ask my DD what level she is, she says elite. It's just easier that way. She knows that technically there's a difference, but to the avg non-gym person, it's the easiest explanation.

 

[caligymdad]

I agree with everything said. My daughter is also training "elite" but I use that term very lightly. Why? Not because she doesn't put in the hours and time but because I feel like every other kid I hear about is training elite and HOPES now!

I will give an AMEN to that! I keep smiling and chuckling at this quote because it's so true.

 

[gymbeam]

I thought of an Elite track question today. Does everyone who attempts to qualify HOPEs or Elite believe they could make it to National Team? Or even further, to the Olympics?

I mean, it's always preached to JO gymnasts that they have to be in it for the love of it because banking on a scholarship is so unlikely. Does that philosophy apply to girls wanting to qualify and compete Elite as well? Should they be doing it "just because" or is competing Elite really only for those trying to reach THE ultimate gymnastic goal?

 

[Sidnito]

For a young gymnast on an elite track the goals are usually to take it as far as their bodies and minds can take them.

One step at a time.

 

[nycgymmom]

For a young gymnast on an elite track the goals are usually to take it as far as their bodies and minds can take them.

One step at a time.

Yes...and add as far as family and gymnast is wiling to sacrifice

 

[Gymmamabear]

I thought of an Elite track question today. Does everyone who attempts to qualify HOPEs or Elite believe they could make it to National Team? Or even further, to the Olympics?

I mean, it's always preached to JO gymnasts that they have to be in it for the love of it because banking on a scholarship is so unlikely. Does that philosophy apply to girls wanting to qualify and compete Elite as well? Should they be doing it "just because" or is competing Elite really only for those trying to reach THE ultimate gymnastic goal?

I can answer this for my daughter. I feel like the most jaded mom whose kid homeschools and trains elite! For her she is doing it because she can and she loves the training of it. She loves how in her "elite" portion of the day she gets to work on hard and scary skills. Is it with the National Team in mind? Not really. Hopes? She says if she gets to do it it fine, great experience, if she "makes it", good if not, she got to do it. I as a mom am looking at more in terms of a "college gymnastics resume" type deal. It seems most of the girls in big D1 schools at least train elite, if not are elite. She loves gymnastics so much she'd like to go to one of those. But we aren't banking on it by any means!

Maybe we are weird, we have no ultimate goal. I'm letting her guide me and she does it because it is fun and she enjoys it. If she ever truly qualifies for elite it will be a nice surprise but if she doesn't I don't feel it was a waste or have regrets.

 

[LJL07]

Not jaded @groovygirl !! Just realistic!

 

[Gymmamabear]

Not jaded @groovygirl !! Just realistic!

Thanks! And you know most girls in elite gymnastics end up in college anyway, so why not have a realistic goal and if it turns out better than what a nice surprise.

 

[DefiniteMaybe]

I thought of an Elite track question today. Does everyone who attempts to qualify HOPEs or Elite believe they could make it to National Team? Or even further, to the Olympics?

I mean, it's always preached to JO gymnasts that they have to be in it for the love of it because banking on a scholarship is so unlikely. Does that philosophy apply to girls wanting to qualify and compete Elite as well? Should they be doing it "just because" or is competing Elite really only for those trying to reach THE ultimate gymnastic goal?

My dd once told me that she didn't know how you could do elite if you didn't love it. That may not answer your question, but I guess, according to at least one kid on the elite track, you need to love it if you're going to last.

 

[Aussie_coach]

I personally feel that the US system of developing elite gymnasts is quite superior to,ourmsystem in Australia, and if we were to implement something similar here, we would need a lot more coach education availability to make it work, but it would help us to be more successful at the international level.

Our system selects gymnastsbaround 7 years of age (or younger) and has them train and compete in a totally seperate stream to other gymnasts). Usually training in seperate High Performance Centres. If a gymnasts isn't cutting it in the international,system they can quite easily drop back to the national system, but switching from the national system to the international is not so easy and becomes more difficult with every passing year the child ages.

In our system many capable kids will never have a chance to do elite if they - Start gymnastics later, start to excel later, don't live near a high performance centre, have parents who don't want them training 25 hours a week at 7 years old even though they may accept these types of training hours as their child gets older etc. Most kids train international after being accepted from their gyms to train at the high performance centre. Understandably many clubs don't want to recommend their ymnasts for international levels because they will lose them. These are often the best kids in their gym and once they go to HPC the gyms lose the income they received rom those kids, they lose them from their teams etc.

High Performance Centres are sparse around the country and each con only offer a few limited spots. Families that want their child to pursue elite must often move or send their child away to live with someone else. I know this happens a lot in the US as well, but for us it has to happen at 7 or 8 years old age.

Competition is also a problem. These kids need to be able to represent our country yet they have so few opportunities to compete. There are only a handful of international girls in each state so there are very few competition opportunities. Kids might get to do 2 comps a year in our state, where national level kids could to 10-12 if they wished. Somthese kids get very little competition experience. Because so few kids compete at this level they are often competing to a very small audience, so they don't learn how to compete confidently in front of large audiences. They also have very little competition and end up competing against the same few girls for their entire carreers, while the national levels kids have so any girls to push themselves against.

 

[OzZee]

Aussiecoach, not really like that in nsw - I guess as we don't have a hpc. There are far less clubs training IL but still a few.
I don't know if any clubs competing 10+ comps a year around here , NL may compete 1-2 more than IL but still only around 3-6.

But generally the states doing the hpc way have more girls making it than nsw despite nsw having the most gymnasts.
We still just don't have the numbers like the US to generalize so much.

 

[Aussie_coach]

Our clubs rarely compete the kids in 10+ meets either, I meant that they could do that many if they wanted because they are available. But our International level only have regionals and states and that is all.