WAG In house recreational team?

[gatorz]

TLDR: what does an in house recreational team entail?

The long version: My daughter is joining a new gym this summer. She is super interested in joining a team and will be evaluated by the coach in a few days. When I emailed for information about their team, they said they’d gladly evaluate her but didn’t offer info about the teams. I’m assuming it’ll come after she’s evaluated…

I’m thinking she might not be good enough for the Xcel team. If she doesn’t make the Xcel team, I saw that they offer an “in house recreational team”. It’s only once per week and double the price of their recreational classes (at least as far as I can tell on the registration page). It also says by invitation only. Any educated guesses as to what an in house recreational team would entail?

I plan to ask the gym for more info when we are there, but I am curious of outsiders’ thoughts!

 

[Dahlia]

In my area, an in-house recreational team means a team that trains together and have 1-2 in house (gym) meets "for fun." Sometimes there are actual accredited judges. Sometimes it's just coaches from the gym judging. It's a good way to offer a competitive experience to girls who either don't have the talent to move through the more formal teams OR who want to compete but their families cannot afford the team costs. Most of the time they are around xcel bronze or silver level.

As to what your specific gym means by this is anyone's guess, though.

 

[Coach Kate]

It is super gym specific. I worked at a gym that had one and it was pre-xcel levels of difficulty. It was a glorified rec class where girls put their skills into routines and competed at a few meets each session. We actually had three levels - the equivalent of advanced beginner, intermediate, and an advanced intermediate that was roughly equivalent to Xcel bronze (we didn't do bronze). It was fun for the kids and it was just coaches who judged, very casual. You would definitely have to ask your gym though.

 

[Aussie_coach]

Sounds like they don’t do any competitions outside of their own gym. They are probably not sanctioned competitions so that would mean they may not do set routines, but the coaches may make them up.

 

[ORgymmom]

I know of a fairly big one for WAG at an xcel-only gym who don’t want to commit to 2-hour practices or who don’t make it past the waitlists for the classes that lead to the pre-competitive program for xcel. The routines I saw used DP level 2 and 3 routines for bars, level 2 vaults at all levels, and varying routines for beam and floor. Floor maxed out at a RBHS. It was basically rec gymnastics with scores and leotards. I think most of the parents understood that but plenty thought their children were on a truly competitive track. The gym didn’t do much to dissuade this perception which felt a little deceptive.

 

[mom2newgymnast]

My daughter's gym has a rec team. Years ago they used to have 4 levels and did routines which, from my understanding, correlated to usag levels 1-4. But it was only 4-6 hours a week or so and was just for fun. They would compete against a couple of other local gyms a couple of times a season. Very low key, but still more than rec classes.

I'm not really up on the latest with that team, but my daughter has worked at a few of their meets this season and apparently there have been teams from hours away coming. And they now have 4-5 meets. So I guess they've expanded from just a couple of local gyms.

All that to say, I think it definitely depends on the gym..