Parents Sorry if this has been asked before...I'm new☺️

[z2akids]

Oh my.

How many hours does she do now?

How long has she been in gym working towards this summer's TOPs testing?

How many elites have come out of this gym and how recently?

First of all, my DD is not on that path, nor is she (at 10) at all interested in that path. However, even if we were considering pushing towards elite, there is no way we would pull her from school at age 7 or have her in the gym that many hours.

There are only a handful of elites in the US and plenty of girls who burned out of gymnastics before they completed elementary school due to burn out or injury.

 

[JBS]

Haha

 

[munchkin3]

She will quit in a few years.
As Bog said, a good coach can get to elite with less hours. I have seen it with quite a few athletes.

 

[profmom]

Just be aware that the number of L10s and college scholarships may not tell the whole tale -- there's a gym in our area that has littles doing crazy hours close to this ballpark, and if you looked at their 9s and 10s, it would look like a decent sized team with some very good outcomes. The kicker is that a lot are not homegrown. There's a ton of churn in the compulsories and only a few stick with it. Some of their good optionals came over at L7+ and took off because they weren't completely burned out, broken, and emotionally wrecked.

When DS was a seven year old L4, we met some parents from another gym where the little guys were doing 20 hours a week during school and 22-24 in the summer. That team killed us, of course, with our plunking along, five-hour-a-week, let's-see-if-we-can-remember-our-routines orientation. None of those boys were left for DS and his teammates to beat this year at regionals; several of our guys were over the couple of survivors last year.

Good luck sorting this all out. Sounds like your girl is off to a great start!

 

[LJL07]

32 hours a week is definitely a lot. Our program maxes out at 20 currently. It is an invitation gym school program. Where we live, it is the only good training available currently. Otherwise, there is pretty much no point in bothering with competitive gymnastics. Maybe the OP is in a similar position. OP, it's not something I would have considered either before I realized how limited our options are. It is a tough decision no doubt.

 

[Aussie_coach]

If your gym is asking at 7 for her to train 32 hours and week and to be homeschooled then I recommend that you leave immediately.

It is unsafe practice for a child of that age to be training that number of hours.

Success in gymnastics is about longevity too, she needs to still be fit, strong and uninjured at age 16 to take their gymnastics to the top level anyway.

At the very best she will be burnt out by that age if she trains this number of hours from 7. But more likely she will suffer health issues from overtraining before her body is developmentally ready and these health issues can be very serious.

 

[Tigtimes]

Educate yourself on growth plate injuries - wrist, knees, ankle and feet. Check out stress fractures in spine as well.
Sorry but 32 hours ....youth sports in this country are broken

 

[gopuckgo]

Hello and welcome! I pm'd you, We've been there. Don't rush it. That is a lot of hours at a young age and will cause injuries. Slow and steady wins the race. Good luck!

 

[JennC4]

My daughter is a 10 year old level 10, training elite, and doesn't even practice that many hours a week. At age 7 she was practicing at most 20 a week. Those hours seem like A LOT.

 

[JennC4]

Feel free to private message me with any questions because it seems like your daughter is on the same path mine was at this age.

 

[Deleted member 18037]

Interesting to me that pretty much everyone says no. Especially interesting to hear to hear it coming from coaches

 

[happychaos]

I heard an interview with a coach (in AZ) recently who explained that his philosophy is to have the young ones train high hours, and then back off on hours when they got older. This coach has had great success with girls getting D1 scholarships. He said he does this because the little ones are fearless, energetic, less prone to injury, and they just love gym. As they start high school he reduces hours. The girls get to have a life, but still do L10 then NCAA gym.

That was the first time I'd ever heard of anything like that, and I thought it was interesting. Probably wouldn't work for Elite, but still an interesting idea.

 

[gopuckgo]

I heard an interview with a coach (in AZ) recently who explained that his philosophy is to have the young ones train high hours, and then back off on hours when they got older. This coach has had great success with girls getting D1 scholarships. He said he does this because the little ones are fearless, energetic, less prone to injury, and they just love gym. As they start high school he reduces hours. The girls get to have a life, but still do L10 then NCAA gym.

That was the first time I'd ever heard of anything like that, and I thought it was interesting. Probably wouldn't work for Elite, but still an interesting idea.

That is if their tiny and developing bodies can take all of that pounding without breaking first. They probably have to back them off in high school because of all of the overuse injuries. I'd like to see some stats on injuries in that gym under that philosophy.

 

[bogwoppit]

That is if their tiny and developing bodies can take all of that pounding without breaking first. They probably have to back them off in high school because of all of the overuse injuries. I'd like to see some stats on injuries in that gym under that philosophy.

I would like to see those stats too. All the info we see speaks to lower reps, softer landings and training smart not long.

 

[lovemygymnast]

I have a 7 year training level 5 with 16 hours per week. Tops is an additional 3 hours. I thought that was too much but 32 is crazy talk!!! My child lives & loves gym but that many hours at that young age is terrible on her body and honestly, could suck the love of gym right out of her. We are doing our best to hold our dd back & even tried talking her into repeating 4.

I'm sure your daughter is really awesome but be careful, not every gym is looking out for what's best for her. You as the parent have to make those decisions in the best interest of your gymmie. We are at a gym with a lot of level 10's & elites & 16 is the max hours for level 5.

 

[ld7]

Oh my.

How many hours does she do now?

How long has she been in gym working towards this summer's TOPs testing?

How many elites have come out of this gym and how recently?

First of all, my DD is not on that path, nor is she (at 10) at all interested in that path. However, even if we were considering pushing towards elite, there is no way we would pull her from school at age 7 or have her in the gym that many hours.

There are only a handful of elites in the US and plenty of girls who burned out of gymnastics before they completed elementary school due to burn out or injury.

She is at 20 hours now and been training tops for almost a year. It's a small gym with a handful of elites who've come out it. Currently none at the moment. Thx for the reply...

 

[B&M's mom]

When I read your post, my first reaction was to tell you to run. I know where you are coming from, I was told when my DD was 6 that she could be elite. However I deferred putting her into intensive training until 6th grade as I wanted her to build good childhood memories that didn't only involve being in the gym. As a result, she has friends and activities from outside of gymnastics. She did TOPS one year. She still attends school but does 2 classes on online.

She's been doing the kind of hours you are talking about for almost 4 years. In that time, she's had a good time but we've gotten to know the orthopedic surgeon and PT really really well. Only a couple of her injuries have been the result of an accident, the vast majority are overuse which hurt just as badly and take as long or longer to heal as traumatic injuries. I'm to the point that I'd like her to walk away while she still can.

This is a very very hard sport on their bodies and I'd really hesitate to commit a 7 year old to that type of training. You may want to talk to a sports medicine doctor about the impact that training would have on her body. And if you are thinking that this is a sure fire path to a college scholarship, be aware that many girls training elite quit before that point. My DD at age 12 said that she wasn't sure if she'd be able to do college gymnastics because most elites have had too many injuries.

I saw a remark that this was a fasttrack to elite. Hate to tell you but there's no fast track. It's a long slow slough. And there's no guarantee that doing that amount of training that early will ensure that she makes elite. Many girls crack under the pressure of never being being good enough, there's always a new skill to learn or better form is needed, someone else is better or they are too slow.... Some kids aren't bothered by it, others can't function. One of the reasons I waited to put my DD into that atmosphere was to make sure that she understood the pressure and could deal with it. I'm not certain that a 7 year old has that level of self awareness. And even if your coach is the nicest, friendliest coach on the face of the earth, your daughter will still interact with other coaches who will not be.

You need to consider what you want for your daughter when her gymnastics journey is over. There is a finite career in gymnastics for all but a few gymnasts. Honestly, waiting was the best answer for my family. My DD has loved (for the most part) the experience of elite training. Would her path be any different if she had started earlier, maybe but I like the fact that her life hasn't been totally focused on the gym. It's a very challenging life but I know when it's done, she'll be a very well rounded person who can transition from the gym into her next adventure.

 

[calli]

How many hours is she currently doing? Would the jump to 32 take place in the summer or September? It is a tough choice if that is the only TOPs/elite track option your gym is offering and you are happy there otherwise. My dd was 7 last summer and did make TOPs Team as an 8 year old. She trained 19 hours a week last year leading up to and through TOPs and is at about 22 hours a week now.

 

[Midwestmommy]

Gymnastics longevity and wear and tear on the body aside, creative nonstructured play is really important for healthy brain development (and cognitive and social development) of children. If being the in the gym 32 hours a weeks means she is so busy and/or tired that she doesn't have the opportunity to develop friendships outside of the gym and have time to do lots of free play, that has consequences. 32 hours training in the gym for a seven year old is nutty in my opinion, for so many reasons. And for what potential longshot payoff? We all get really involved in the gym world-- the "real world" is keenly aware that a kid being in the gym 32 hours a week is a decision adults are making, just as putting them to work in a factory 32 hours a week is in some parts of the world.

 

[stillgotmyleotard]

I saw a remark that this was a fasttrack to elite. Hate to tell you but there's no fast track. It's a long slow slough. And there's no guarantee that doing that amount of training that early will ensure that she makes elite. Many girls crack under the pressure of never being being good enough, there's always a new skill to learn or better form is needed, someone else is better or they are too slow.... Some kids aren't bothered by it, others can't function. One of the reasons I waited to put my DD into that atmosphere was to make sure that she understood the pressure and could deal with it. I'm not certain that a 7 year old has that level of self awareness. And even if your coach is the nicest, friendliest coach on the face of the earth, your daughter will still interact with other coaches who will not be.

All of this.

To the OP, it is very usual for people to find this forum when they have concerns and common for the first post to be a query. My experience is that most people who ask a question like yours know what the answer is before they post and need reassurance. Either that, or they know the response they want to hear and they want assurance.

The best advice on here comes through experience. Either from gymnasts/parents/coaches who have been there and know what it takes. I notice you have remained rather quiet throughout this conversation and hope that you don't feel like the advice is criticism.

If you are not very experienced in the gymnastics world, you might benefit from the unique advice available through someone like @dunno, who is an enigma of the US system and the chalkbucket community. He is able to give first-hand advice, often relating to specific clubs and regions.

I do hope you find the best route for your daughter and that she is happy and healthy along the way.