Parents Seriously considering Xcel

[notthatmom]

And you get what you pay for.

If you like the coaching, the conditioning. And the gymnastics. The level is the least of it. Especially if they up train.

Regarding the price, do the hours go up per level? And the skills. She is learning new skills. Because that is what you are paying for, not the "meet level".

And you are not even sure at this point what the plan is because you haven't asked?
Or am I misunderstanding.

Correct, I don't know what the plan is, haven't mentioned a word to the coaches yet....
The hours do go up per level and they do up train so you're correct in saying it won't be a total waste if she trains 4 and competes 3. I just know that if we decide to stay with JO, we will have to switch gyms because the prices are getting too high where we are now.

 

[duyetanh]

Correct, I don't know what the plan is, haven't mentioned a word to the coaches yet....
The hours do go up per level and they do up train so you're correct in saying it won't be a total waste if she trains 4 and competes 3. I just know that if we decide to stay with JO, we will have to switch gyms because the prices are getting too high where we are now.

Based on this, I would say it's rather cut and dry. Because if this gym is too pricey, you sure as heck won't be wanting to go back to j.o. after being in xcel for a few years...talk about sticker shock! So it sounds like your options are xcel at current gym, or j.o. elsewhere, but more affordable. Have you done any research on the other gym? Do they uptrain? If you are going to move her, younger is always easier than older. Good luck, there are no easy answers!

 

[GymDad9.9]

For an extra 14 minutes of travel time each way, it's not a bad price to pay for a little peace of mind if things are not working out at your current gym.

 

[duyetanh]

For an extra 14 minutes of travel time each way, it's not a bad price to pay for a little peace of mind if things are not working out at your current gym.

I agree. My God, we drive an hour easily....ugh!

 

[notthatmom]

Based on this, I would say it's rather cut and dry. Because if this gym is too pricey, you sure as heck won't be wanting to go back to j.o. after being in xcel for a few years...talk about sticker shock! So it sounds like your options are xcel at current gym, or j.o. elsewhere, but more affordable. Have you done any research on the other gym? Do they uptrain? If you are going to move her, younger is always easier than older. Good luck, there are no easy answers!

Yep this is pretty much what my options are. I haven't done TOO much research on the other gym yet but I'm sure when I have her do a trial I can ask these questions.

 

[notthatmom]

For an extra 14 minutes of travel time each way, it's not a bad price to pay for a little peace of mind if things are not working out at your current gym.

Oh I know, and I'll be the first to admit I'm extremely spoiled to live as close as we do to our gym...most families' commutes are WAY longer than ours.

 

[duyetanh]

Yep this is pretty much what my options are. I haven't done TOO much research on the other gym yet but I'm sure when I have her do a trial I can ask these questions.

I would personally not do a trial unless you know for sure you are out of current gyms j.o. program, and know it would be OK to come back to xcel if it didn't go as you wanted. I know it sounds sneaky, but better to find out all info you can before you go public. Just is how the gym world is. Sigh.

 

[mommyof1]

What are your daughter's goals in terms of gymnastics? My daughter really struggled during her first L3 season and has had some, shall we say, personality conflicts with her coach, but I would never move her to XCel because that would just make things worse given her individual personality and circumstances. She is a super intense kid for whom XCel would be a terrible fit. One of her main desires is to spend as much time as possible in the gym, and XCel at her gym is about half the hours of JO without really being any less expensive. She also wants to perform well and improve, which for her would be impossible with the limited hours and conditioning and lower expectations of her gym's XCel program. She needs to be putting in the hours, drills, and conditioning and getting tons of corrections.

I think XCel has a place and is a great fit for some kids, but a kid who is really driven is just not going to be happy in an XCel program that is designed to be more recreational in nature. If your daughter prefers the JO experience, I'd focus on keeping her on the JO track in a program that's a good fit for her, whether that's training L4 and competing L3 at your current gym or moving to another JO program. Training L4 while competing L3 sounds like a great option to me, if the coaching situation is acceptable. My daughter's group has been training L4 skills but not routines while competing L3 this year, and they have been quite successful and happy.

 

[CLgym]

I'm in agreement with those who suggest giving JO at least one more year. If the issue is truly cost - and you need to find a less expensive JO option - then it sounds like moving gyms might be the answer. However, I would try to get cost information anonymously if possible. I think we live in the same general neck of the woods, and gym is expensive around here! I pay approximately $9,000/year (tuition and fees), and paid about the same at our first gym. So I would definitely dig a little bit more about costs (not just tuition, but all of the other stuff too) before scheduling a try-out.

Regarding Xcel, my DD started in Xcel Bronze because her first gym did not feel she was a good fit for its super exclusive JO program. Xcel is a great option, and quite competitive in our State. However, at least in my case, Xcel also meant far fewer hours and less experienced coaching. I watched the gap between my DD and her JO peers (they came out of pre-team together) get wider and wider. After a year we switched gyms in order to compete JO (more hours, better coaching).

If your DD's ultimate goal is JO, then my recommendation would be to stay the course (either at current gym or new gym) for a bit longer. While it is certainly possible to move from Xcel back to JO in the future, it is not necessarily an easy thing to do. Progress will likely be slower, score-out meets will be required, and expectations will need to be recalibrated.

Good luck!

 

[MILgymFAM]

Looks like there are two distinct issues here. The cost one is more pressing AND more permanent. If you know right now you cannot afford it than the best thing to do is find somewhere you can afford to stay. Because really at the end of the day it doesn't matter if you are getting what you're paying for if it's bankrupting you. Trust me, I wish there was an affordable option that wasn't sucking us completely dry.

 

[Deleted member 18037]

Based on this, I would say it's rather cut and dry. Because if this gym is too pricey, you sure as heck won't be wanting to go back to j.o. after being in xcel for a few years...talk about sticker shock! So it sounds like your options are xcel at current gym, or j.o. elsewhere, but more affordable. Have you done any research on the other gym? Do they uptrain? If you are going to move her, younger is always easier than older. Good luck, there are no easy answers!

This... So it sounds like you are deciding on Xcel. So perhaps you should be comparing both gyms Xcel programs, so you are comparing apples to apples.

 

[Deleted member 18037]

She also wants to perform well and improve, which for her would be impossible with the limited hours and conditioning and lower expectations of her gym's XCel program. She needs to be putting in the hours, drills, and conditioning and getting tons of corrections.

I think XCel has a place and is a great fit for some kids, but a kid who is really driven is just not going to be happy in an XCel program that is designed to be more recreational in nature.

That would depend on the XCel program............

There are some seriously good Xcel gymnasts, because they get seriously good training.

 

[Gymmommy71]

She needed a 34 to qualify for state...she got a 33.475
I'd say the issues were more form related, she has the skills...some are just a tad shy of being fine tuned (particularly a skill on the bars that shall remain nameless...but I'll tell you it rhymes with shmill shircle)
She doesn't have her kip yet but is working on it....getting close to cast to handstand as well.
If she stays in JO we'd have to switch gyms, the cost is just getting ridiculous and we need to make that financial change for our family.

I'd keep her in JO IMO. A 34 is hard to get if you have an issue w/ a skill, and trust me, long term that mill circle doesn't matter one bit when it comes to bars. Give it another year and see now she progresses towards L4 skills and then re-evaluate. If she likes at the current gym and they have a good track record in the higher optional levels, I'd lean towards staying and finding a way to deal w/ the higher cost. Switching gyms is hard on kids and you don't want to do that unless you feel the current gym really won't work for Gymnastics reasons.

 

[RTT2]

I'm in agreement with those who suggest giving JO at least one more year. If the issue is truly cost - and you need to find a less expensive JO option - then it sounds like moving gyms might be the answer. However, I would try to get cost information anonymously if possible. I think we live in the same general neck of the woods, and gym is expensive around here! I pay approximately $9,000/year (tuition and fees), and paid about the same at our first gym. So I would definitely dig a little bit more about costs (not just tuition, but all of the other stuff too) before scheduling a try-out.

Regarding Xcel, my DD started in Xcel Bronze because her first gym did not feel she was a good fit for its super exclusive JO program. Xcel is a great option, and quite competitive in our State. However, at least in my case, Xcel also meant far fewer hours and less experienced coaching. I watched the gap between my DD and her JO peers (they came out of pre-team together) get wider and wider. After a year we switched gyms in order to compete JO (more hours, better coaching).

If your DD's ultimate goal is JO, then my recommendation would be to stay the course (either at current gym or new gym) for a bit longer. While it is certainly possible to move from Xcel back to JO in the future, it is not necessarily an easy thing to do. Progress will likely be slower, score-out meets will be required, and expectations will need to be recalibrated.

Good luck!

I agree. Xcel is a great program, but if you have a kid who wants the intensity of JO, wants the hours, and wants to learn the skills at a faster pace, Xcel can feel stifling. That is the position my daughter has been in, but luckily our coaches have agreed to move her over. I wouldn't jump off the JO track unless it's pretty clear your daughter would be happier with Xcel. Of course, cost may help make the decision for you.

 

[Gymnastmama]

She needed a 34 to qualify for state...she got a 33.475
I'd say the issues were more form related, she has the skills...some are just a tad shy of being fine tuned (particularly a skill on the bars that shall remain nameless...but I'll tell you it rhymes with shmill shircle)
She doesn't have her kip yet but is working on it....getting close to cast to handstand as well.
If she stays in JO we'd have to switch gyms, the cost is just getting ridiculous and we need to make that financial change for our family.

Wow a 34 to qualify for state in L3 is really high!!! In our state you only need a 30. Your daughter is doing really well at her age getting a 33.475!

 

[Deleted member 18037]

The mill circle will never be seen again...............................................

 

[Anna's_Mom]

Wow a 34 to qualify for state in L3 is really high!!! In our state you only need a 30. Your daughter is doing really well at her age getting a 33.475!

This may be an internal gym requirement. The "official" requirement is 32 in our region but my DD's previous gym required a 36 before the coach allowed girls to compete. And consistent 36s before moving up a level.

 

[notthatmom]

This may be an internal gym requirement. The "official" requirement is 32 in our region but my DD's previous gym required a 36 before the coach allowed girls to compete. And consistent 36s before moving up a level.

Our state requirement is 34, it was 33 last year but they changed it. Our gym doesn't have an internal requirement for state or moving up a level that is different from what the state regulations are.

 

[Anna's_Mom]

So my DD older than yours, which might make a difference here. But I would really, really watch her self esteem if she is feeling like she is less than the other girls. I can't tell if she is feeling this or if you are observing less attention from the coach. We changed gyms (and from JO to XCEL) when the constant negative feedback from the head coach and the back-biting from other girls was completely destroying her confidence at everything. It was true -- was not the star and she probably never would be, but she was a consistent middle-of-the-pack gymnast who placed at most meets, but rarely first place. We changed when she started expressing that she was awful at everything -- gym, school, friendships, music. In her head, she couldn't do *anything* well. And that was crazy. I really didn't notice how bad it was getting until she said "maybe I shouldn't be alive". Then *major* alarm bells went off and we started talking about changing. She was 12, so right at the beginning of the huge teen emotion swings. A change to a less challenging gym overall and XCEL and within days gym was fun again, and it has been all good (at least in terms of gym-she's a teen girl after all) since then. Coaches can have a huge impact on girls, so watch and listen to what she is saying about how she feels about herself and make decisions based on that.

That said, obviously if the family budget is strained now, it may be best to change now, before her identity is completely wrapped up in this gym. As other's have observed, it just gets worse from here and it will be much harder to change in a couple of years.

 

[MILgymFAM]

Wow a 34 to qualify for state in L3 is really high!!! In our state you only need a 30. Your daughter is doing really well at her age getting a 33.475!

I believe it's a 34.5 in NorCal. It varies.