Need advice for decision

[gymjoy]

I think Aussie is probably saying that since they're talking about options for summer training, she won't be in school.

I think people are correct to point out reasons to be cautious about the elite track. At the same time though, I don't think 12 hours is too much for summer training. The thing I would be cautious about is putting expectations or pressure on her at this age. I would be careful not to tell people, "She's on the elite track so she can be on the National Team," or tell her "If you work hard, you can go to the Olympics." If you choose this option, it should be because it presents an appropriate level of challenge to her and she's enjoying the process. Leave open the option of slowing things down in the future without her feeling like that means failure or that she's disappointing you.

I just erased a long post that you summed up with a much better voice. I erased mine because it started to sound mean I get a little upset at the pushing of girls into elite track. We have been there, we have done that. It was, and is still, hard. Sometimes gut-wrenchingly hard.

Not that you are doing that Teamgirl. Just asking for real opinions means that you are weighing the options and trying to make an educated, realistic decision. Gymnastics is a long, long road with many ups and downs. Just peruse some old threads here and you'll see joys, and tears, and fears, and failures, and triumphs, and heartbreaks.

Remember that gymnastics is not a race. It is not the girl who gets to elite the fastest that wins, it is the the one who last through it and stills possesses the joy and passion she began with that really wins.
There is no hurry - enjoy the journey.

Best of luck to you and your dd.

 

[MdGymMom01]

This is "it" in a nutshell

Remember that gymnastics is not a race. It is not the girl who gets to elite the fastest that wins, it is the the one who last through it and stills possesses the joy and passion she began with that really wins.

So true gymjoy!!!!! Couldn't have said it better myself!!!

 

[cathiann]

I'm wondering what your daughter thinks of all this. I know she's 6, but is she begging to spend more time at gymnastics and really loves what she's doing? Also, I'm assuming she turns 7 soon as she has to be 7 to compete level 5--is that assumption correct?

My tendency is to lean towards level 4, unless your daughter absolutely loves spending time n the gym and the coaches are very positive about her skills and ability. If they're saying something along the lines of "she also has the option of trying the elite program--it's much tougher and she'd really have to work hard to get her skills up..." then I'd say no---too much pressure for her at 6, you know?

 

[Shelovesthebars]

ZJSMOM- you make some good points regarding what you tell a 6 year old. Training is one thing but telling a 6 year old that this is to become elite or to go to the Olympics is just not healthy emotionally and puts too much expectation on one so young.

 

[michiganmum]

I'd choose #2. In my opinion, #3 is way too many hours for a 6 year old. I'd be very concerned about future overuse injuries and/or burnout with that option. Compared to #1, #2 is only a few more hours and it keeps your options open right now. I think, for most 6 year olds, time in the gym would be spent more wisely working on skills than learning, practicing and competing level 4 routines. Plus, in my personal opinion, I think 6 years old is somewhat young to be competing, anyways. With this option, her ability level will dictate whether or not she ends up going elite. Maybe, she'll be perfectly capable of completing several levels in a season, maybe she'll be stuck at a level for a while, maybe she won't be able to make it past level 10. With this option, I think the only real decision you're making right now is not to compete level 4.

 

[Obeg]

Option 1. Let her have fun, learn new skills, learn how to compete, learn how to increase hours, learn how to meet goals, learn what it is like to be a team gymnast 24/7 year after year before putting the pressure on her. There is PLENTY of time to strive for Elite when she is say level 7 10 year old. What is the point in becoming an Elite at 12 or 13 ... and then she is then stuck with the 35 - 40 hour weeks 52 weeks a year for 3 years IF her goal is the Os - and them it is highly unlikely that she would even then make it. Seems to me she would be peaking too soon. Give her more time to let this sport become HER sport and not the coaches or parent's sport.

The much better goal is for her to have fun, stay healthy, learn new skills, move up levels, score well, move to optionals, and then if she still has potential for Elite - then make the decision. More than likely the decision would be to become a kick butt lvl 9 or a really good lvl 10 and try and land a college scholarship.

 

[emandelsmom]

I am the mom of 2 gymnasts. My girls have a climbed a level a year. There is no elite track at our gym. I think as a parent you have to ask yourself what is your goal for your daughter. My goal is for my girls is to have fun in gymnastics, enjoy the sport, learn and hopefully this will develop into something they can get a scholarship from at any division school. I want them to have healthy life long habits. I don't look at going to the olympics as a goal for them. They have that goal, but mom and dad want them to be active in a sport. I have a kindergarten child and a fifth grader. They will be spending 8 hours per week in the gym starting in June. The classes are small. 3 to 4 girls per a coach. That is enough for them right now. They still get to have time to be children. They would love more, but sometimes they need limits and time to allow for other things like bike riding, swimming, spend the night parties, and tennis. So to answer the question I would do level 4 so the family can adjust to competeting and the schedule and the costs. See if she likes it. We have seen several girls do awesome in the gym, but once they hit the floor at competetion they freak. My other choice would be 2 if one that young can compete as a level 5.

 

[Megley]

Either Option #1 or #2. I agree that #3 is too many hours for a just turned 6 year old.

If it were me, I would choose option #2, with the caveat that I don't think rushing through Level 5 is a great idea. I think ideally she would train for Level 5 and TOPs, compete a season of Level 5 as a 7 year old and then skip Level 6 to Level 7. That would put her at Level 7 as an 8 year old. Still very very young and with plenty of time to move forward to elite if that's in the cards. She also will be right in line with the skills she'll need for TOPs. I think skipping through three levels in one season is a recipe for disaster, though. She will need to experience success if she is going to stay in the sport long term and it won't happen by competing Level 5, 6 and 7 in one year. It's not enough time to get the solid form and basics that are so important at the optional levels, not to mention elite.

Honestly, what is the rush? Why not train and compete either Level 4 or 5 and do TOPs. That seems to me to be the road to success. If after a season of compulsories, it appears that she is really really talented and able, she has plenty of time to skip levels.

 

[bookworm]

This whole discussion about fast tracking a 6 year old to elite when she's never even competed seems ludicrous to me...I think it was the post by Aerial river that made the most sense to me...she's 6, see if she even likes the competing . If she's good enough , the gym will be banging on your door again when she's a little older ...but to put her in a 19 hour program or any other thing to fast track her now because of what? and for what?

 

[bookworm]

Totally agree with gigglesmom's post...think about the numbers and the journey to get there. Beating them up and burning them out isn't the way...

 

[Mom2Gymgirls]

Okay you asked for honest. She is 6, she has only been at it for a year and she has not even competed yet. Talking about fast tracking her to becoming an elite is just a little bit over the top in my mind. It is always good to plan ahead but keep it real. She could hate competing or may rather play soccer in a year you never know. I'd say let her do level 4 or train level 5 skills during the summer and compete it (you do not have to compete level 4 before you can compete level 5) give it a year and see if she really likes the increase in hours and the competing

I totally agree with this. She is only 6 years and hasn't competed yet. Why push it?

 

[Aussie_coach]

I did mean she wouldn't be in school because it was the Summer, if you were to choose option 3 I would think that this would mean that this 19 hours a week is just for the Summer when she has no school or any other responsibilities and as she would probably normally be in school 30-35 hours a week plus do training, then doing just the extra gym is not so bad. I am assuming the goal here is to make a decision at the end of the Summer as to which track she will be taking after experiencing them both and having a better idea which is working better.

As has been pointed out before here in Australia we choose our Elite's at around age 4-6. This is because for us elite is not a level after level 10, it is a totally separate competition stream. They train very differently from the beginning. It is possible to enter elite a little later but it is very difficult and doesn't happen at all after a certain age.

So what we do is select the candidates early on for elite and have them train more intensely. Many do not stay in Elite, they find it isn't for them and they drop back to the normal competitive stream in which they tend to do very well. Its easy to go back from the intense training to the less intense but if they go the other way it is much harder. Every year they are training at a lower level those training at the elite level are progressing further and further away and it soon becomes impossible to catch up.

 

[bogwoppit]

Aussie, do your little Elites compete? Or is it skills only? I know very little about your system.

 

[gymdog]

But the USAG program just isn't set up that way. At all the main levels of USAG competition there is opportunity for very high level of competition within the level and a very high standard of performance at the top of the bigger meets. So to me it is not reasonable from a general standpoint to have a child enter their first competitive year at L7. In some cases it will go fine...in others I think you are setting the child up for failure, and I don't see what they have to lose by doing one year of L4 or one year of L5 at 6 or 7...USAG programs should be able to easily accomodate this without diminishing the child's chance for high level success later on. To me when people try to say otherwise, it seems sort of suspect to me...I just don't see it as necessary. Many girls enter more intense training as 10 year old L8s with good basics. Especially if she'd be doing extra TOPs training with level 4, surely that must be a good enough start. Unless they think their standard of L4 coaching is not good enough basics, although of course that would raise other questions. But I do not think it would be the case since the option to do both groups was offered, clearly they don't feel that she will learn bad habits or something in the L4 group. To me that's enough of an endorsement, I'd put her in L4 team, let her have a year of introductory competition where there will be other 6 year olds. You can't compete L5 at 6 so if she just turned 6 she is going to miss most 2010/11 compulsory seasons.

I wouldn't be opposed to option 2...except for the age restriction, and because I think 5/6/7 with no competitive experience is not a good plan to bank on. If it was going to be a year of level 5 and then go to 7, even 8, I'd probably feel differently. I understand some systems wouldn't do competition for that training but that isn't true here. Many of even the youngest L7s will have done at least a year of 4 or 5 (I know a girl who did 5/6/7 but she did a full year of L4 first...she was a bit older, 8 years old)...so I think we need to not bank on a kid doing something at an effective disadvantage. It could be overwhelming.

 

[sportyfam5]

There are several things to consider. First of all look at the gym and the coaches. Are there other 9/10/elite gymnasts? In other words does the gym/coaches have the ability to hold true to the elite track option? Also look at what skills your DD already has. Can she do some L5 skills, kip, vault, cartwheel on beam. There is quite a difference between 4-5. I don't mean to sound discouraging, just realistic.
My 2 DD's have been competing for 5 years and are L8's (12 and 13). My 13 year old did just 1 year of L4 and did great. Because she had all her L7 skills she moved through L5, 6, & 7 the following year, then 2 full years os L7. My 12 year old competed 1 year at 4, 1 year at 5, a split year of 6/7, then a full year of 7. She is now competing L8, however my 13 year old who "fast tracked" did not "feel ready" to compete this year.
I have also seen a L4 who dominated for 2 years and is now really struggling at L5.
Ultimately, if your young DD has skills, form, desire, and it seems as though the coaches have the ability to get her to the higher levels go for option 2.
If not let her have fun and compete 1 year at each level.

Good luck and I hope she has fun whatever she decides.

 

[Bobby]

I'm a bit puzzled by the odd suggestion that the elite track plan would necessarily place negative pressure on a 6 y/o. I can't see how that would happen unless it was explained inapropriately to the child. And even then it would be the perceived parent/coach expectations that would be the pressure.
Competing L4 on the other hand - that's the path that is going to lead to more pressure and faster. It's competition. And she's 6.

 

[Aussie_coach]

Aussie, do your little Elites compete? Or is it skills only? I know very little about your system.

Yes, they compete. They have separate competitions. The levels are called IDP to stand for International development program. They have IDP 1, IDP 2, IDP 3, IDP 5, IDP 6, IDP 8, IDP 10 and then JUnior and senior international. So they go through their own levels system.

The system is much harder than the regular system. Fir example in IDP at level 2 they must be able to round off back handspring and punch front tuck on floor and kip on bars.

By level 3 they must have round off, back handspring back tuck, and front handspring front tuck and so on. They compete but there are not many of them around the place so there are a lot less competitions.

 

[Aussie_coach]

I'm a bit puzzled by the odd suggestion that the elite track plan would necessarily place negative pressure on a 6 y/o. I can't see how that would happen unless it was explained inapropriately to a child. And even then it would be the perceived parent/coach expectations that would be the pressure.
Competing L4 on the other hand - that's the path that is going to lead to more pressure and faster. It's competition. And she's 6.

A lot would depend on the childs personality. The kids with the right personality for elite will usually thrive on the more intense training, the more difficult skills and the push from coaches. Kids like this would probably be bored with the regular levels program and they are the sort who should choose elite.

 

[bookworm]

She's 6...she has never competed or even done a TOPS testing...this whole scenario just seems some have put it, a recipe for disaster. My daughter, who is a Level 10, flew through the levels but had the skills at the time she did this ...it wasn't a projection when she was 6. She did end up at Level 10 at 11 years old and has done well...TOPS team, did elite for a year, been to Nationals several times...but I was always cautious that she didn't do too much to burn her out. I would do as one poster suggested and look around the gym for other 9/10/elite gymnasts and I would even talk to THEIR parents about what the road has been like and what the gym is suggesting and get their feedback as they have been there.

 

[CoachTodd]

I really can't figure out why anyone would want to be an elite at a young age. Most colleges look for good level 9 / 10 gymnasts that love the sport. Most of the college coaches I know would rather have a good student they could teach a few more skills to than an elite they have to help with school work.
What are the long term goals for your DD? How can you determine this when she's only 6?
I personally think the "fast track" is pointless. It's just a way for gyms to get kids to come in for ungodly hours and make more money at the expense of the kids. I do agree that some kids progress much faster than others and should be allowed to move as quickly as they would like but to push the to do so at such a young age is pointless.
After doing 7 years as an elite and if you're not one of the few that make the Olympic team, what do you do then? You are most likely too burned out to do another 4 years of this in college.