Update: Decision Made

[teamgirl]

Hi Everyone! First I must say thank you to everyone whom posted a reply to "Need advice for decision" in this Question & Answer Forum!!!! Back in April when I first posted, I had no idea that this would get such a response and with over 2,000 views I feel I must reveal the decision we made.

Quick review
The choices for our 6 yr. old gymnast were:
Option #1 was Level 4 Team
Option #2 was Elite Program
Option #3 was do both

We did take into consideration everyone's advice from the Chalk Bucket. And found each person's opinion to be very valueable. It was a difficult decision for us, as the pros and cons were weighed for each option and then each option compared against each other. We talked with our 6 yr. old about it, her coaches, the owner of the gym, other parents at the gym, and also our own family and friends.

All that being said, we decided to go with Option #2. Our daughter will be training to become an elite gymnast. We have no idea if she'll make it but we are willing to try. Being new to this sport, we will need the experts here at the Chalk Bucket for support. THANK YOU EVERYONE!

 

[Blazing15]

Congrats on making a decision. Sounds like it's a good one for you and the family. Please do keep us updated on how she does and how she is enjoying it.

 

[gymluvr33]

Thanks for the update, and congrats on making a decision. I hope your dd has an amazing experience with this track. Be sure to keep us updated

 

[bookworm]

6 yo being put into an "elite track" when she hasn't even competed Level 4? I'm dumbfounded...

 

[MdGymMom01]

6 yo being put into an "elite track" when she hasn't even competed Level 4? I'm dumbfounded...

I was thinking the exact same thing! LOL!! Live and learn I guess .

 

[iluvgym]

6 yo being put into an "elite track" when she hasn't even competed Level 4? I'm dumbfounded...

Well some gyms separate the kids with different abilities/goals from an early age, and how you do at level 4 (or 5 or 6 for that matter) has absolutely nothing to do with how good an optional gymnast you'll be some day.

Good luck to your daughter, hopefully they will still keep it kind of fun for her at such a young age.

 

[bookworm]

"Well some gyms separate the kids with different abilities/goals from an early age, and how you do at level 4 (or 5 or 6 for that matter) has absolutely nothing to do with how good an optional gymnast you'll be some day."


Well I agree with the above statement that how you do in compulsories is not a predictor for how one does as an optional, I 'm just puzzled by why a gym/coach etc would put a 6 yo who has not competed AT ALL in their "elite program." Is it really just a TOPS program being called elite? And I wonder how many "elites" this gym has produced with this method of training... I think it's kind of a leap to go from a pre-team or rec team class to an elite program for a 6 yo who's never competed. It's something in all the years I've been around gymnastics that I've never heard of in the US.

 

[gymcoach34]

I'm with bookworm. I have coached at the elite level, and would never put a 6 year old on an "elite track". To the parents: do some reasearch on the best gyms that consistently produce happy, healthy elites-you will see the gymnasts progress though the levels and transition into elite as they finish L9 or 10 (at a young age) and get their elite score in testing.

I'm sure the coaches/ gym are not trying to "snow" you- but rather are young and industrious. Have her participate in a quality compulsory program that spends it time on building GREAT basics, strength and flexibility and she will have a greater chance of success. I'm not trying to be negative, I've been there and seen it all and don't want your daughter to suffer. If she's that talented-elite will still be there when she is old enough and experienced enough to truly call herself an elite gymnast. Good luck.

 

[gymcoach34]

Bookworm,
lots of people have tried it, but it never works. The kids eventually burn out, get injured, or both. Thats if they make it-try being that 6 year old "elite" who has to listen to the other 6 year olds talk about the Level 4 meet last weekend: the goodie bags, the hotel pool, the whole team going out to Friendly's..........NOPE.

 

[bookworm]

Gymcoach34..thank you so much for saying that from a coach's perspective...I too was worried as to what the parents had been told about this young child. And as you say, research the gyms who produce happy elites and if she's as talented as believed, it will be a possibility after she goes throught the JO levels..at least let her have some fun at 6 yo seeing if she likes competing and such!!

 

[gymcoach34]

I don't want to come off as sounding like a nay sayer or negative; I know the parents in this case made the decision they think is best for their child. I hope they know that they are not locked in- if its not working for their child- they should immediately talk to the coaches and make a change. The best advice I have been given as a coach is to: "go slow to go fast"-meaning take your time at the lower levels/younger years and you can go fast when its time to go fast later and the athlete can physically/mentally handle it.

 

[gymjourneymom]

This thread brings to mind the Luvs diaper commercials. Remember the ones with the pregnant mom, sitting in the freshly decorated baby's room. Rocking in rocking chair & gazing out the window, rubbing her pregnant belly & dreaming about the baby to come. Then they show her a couple of years later with the kids running a muck, her hair messed up & looking exhausted,lol! The dream is different then living the reality. Not that the reality is bad...just not the pretty picture you paint in your mind to start with.

I'm not trying to be mean. I wish you & your DD all the best. Maybe I'm just old & jaded or maybe I'm just more "seasoned". But I think the reality of living this situation(going "elite" at 6yrs old)is a reality no one can prepare you or your DD for until you really get into it. I hope you & her coaches are flexible to changing things if it turns out not to be a good fit for her. My DD, now a teen, cherishes her L4 memories. Says it was her "best year ever!". To be honest, as far as winning, it wasn't her best. She went on to be state champ 4 times after L4. But L4 was FUN to her, it wasn't about winning. And from that fun experience in L4, grew her LOVE of the sport. That love is what has kept her in it through ALL the rough patches(and there WILL be rough patches for ALL gymnasts) . I wish your DD would have such fond memories to look back on someday.

No one can tell other people what to do. Sometimes they just have to live & learn for themselves. Good luck with this adventure, wherever it may lead! I just beg you to be flexible & open to change if your DD isn't happy once she gets in the thick of this "elite" training. She is a 1st & foremost, a child...these should be the fun & carefree years of her life!

 

[gymjoy]

This all gives me very conflicted feelings.
After much thought I feel that it is wrong to burden a 6yo gymnast with even the idea of making elite.

I went back to the original post to review teamgirl's choices. Here is the one they chose:

Option #2: Elite Program. She would not do Level 4 at all and continue to train but for Level 5 skills now. With the goal of competing in one Level 5 meet just to get a high enough score to move up to Level 6., and then compete Level 6 in one meet to get a high enough score to move up to Level 7. Thus getting to the Optional Levels hopefully faster with the over all goal of going Elite at a younger age. For this summer, she would practice 3 days for a total of 9 hours, and then do 3 hours of TOPs on the fourth day., meaning 4 days with a total of 12 hours per week. I think in order to test for TOPs at age 7 in the summer of 2011, she would have to do a Level 5 meet sometime between Jan. 2011 and March 2011.

The emphasis is mine, and my question is WHY?????

What is the purpose of making elite at an earlier age? So you burn out faster? Get injured more? So the coaches/parents/gymnast can to brag about it?

I have said it before, and so I will say it again - it is not the gymnast who makes it to elite the fastest who wins, it is the one who is totally prepared - physically, mentally, and emotionally. All of this can not be predicted at 6yo. It just can't.

My dd is at a gym with successful elites. She is in their training squad. She has the option and talent to test elite. At 13 she does not feel ready - yet. Who knows if she ever will, but I can not make that decision - she and her coaches do. And her coaches still say not to worry or to hurry she has plenty of time.
If a coach had come to me when she was 6 and said we want your dd to train for elite and skip all this other stuff, I very well might have jumped on board not knowing anything about the sport. (and feeling very special to have my dd's talent recognized so early) After being in this sport for almost 7 years, and seeing, hearing, and observing the difficulties of it, I think the idea is delusional.

I'm sorry teamgirl - your probably thinking we are all horrible, jealous joy-killers. But you have definitely hit a nerve in this sport. I wish your dd great success in gymnastics. Be prepared to change courses on this journey. If gymnastics is a marathon - it is one with a lot of steep hills!

 

[MdGymMom01]

Those were amazingly insightful posts gjm and gymjoy!! I couldn't have expressed my feelings any better. This sport is so unpredictable and can change in an instant. The best way to approach gymnastics, for me anyway, is to keep it fun, challenging, and take it day by day--literally. Don't plan too far ahead because there are too many things that could change.

 

[Tumblequeensmom]

I also heartily agree with what some others have posted. This child has not even competed Level 4 yet. Over and over again, I see the girls with "so much promise" at such a young age burn out due to a variety of factors. At 6 years old, this needs to be all about having fun in the gym while learning new skills and being able to show them off (during competitions, in house meets, demonstrations, whatever). I really hate that some gyms really insist that their child WILL become elite... it is truly extremely rare for a child to make it all the way to that level, and especially with the focus on that at such a young age.

I think as a parent, it is so hard when you're just becoming involved in this sport to have a balanced approach. The coaches/owners tell you your child is soooo talented, and of course you want to believe it. It may even be true . . . at that point in time. It's also extremely difficult to ask a young child what they want to be as a gymnast. Of course they watch the Olympics, the college meets, hear all about what an elite gymnast is, and thay have no true point of reference to say "whoa, I don't know if I really want to devote my whole life to developing into an elite athlete." They honestly don't know what that entails....

Good luck with everything!!!

 

[bogwoppit]

This is a bit OT, but still worth injecting at this point. One of the only complaints, though from multiple members who will remain nameless, that I get about the CB is....that the "members" are not supportive, and are quite negative, about the choice of parents to have their tinies train mega hours at an early age because they are talented and they want to go elite. etc etc.

The reason for this is that many parents, and coaches here, have been there and done that. They know that it mostly doesn't work and they also know that most gymnasts who make it to the upper optional and Elite levels have done that by working through the levels. Many kids who are "fast tracked" through the lowere levels and begin working higher level skills very young end up burned out mentally and often get injured from repeated tumbling on hard surfaces etc.

The fact that many "noob" parents come here for advice and then choose something completely different is due to their lack of experience and understanding of the way the sport works. All we can do is share our "experiences" and hope they learn from our communal knowledge and experience.

It does make me sad that tinies are being gently pushed down the "elite" path when there is just no way that they can comprehend what that means for their minds and bodies. There is just no way for a "noob" parent to understand it either as coaches just don't have the time to properly educate parents on the ramifications of such choices.

My only hope is that other parents will read the collective wisdom shared and it will help them make balanced choices for their child.

As always to each his own, but when people who know tell you it's a bad plan, it probably is.

 

[bookworm]

[QUOTE

What is the purpose of making elite at an earlier age? So you burn out faster? Get injured more? So the coaches/parents/gymnast can to brag about it? After being in this sport for almost 7 years, and seeing, hearing, and observing the difficulties of it, I think the idea is delusional[/QUOTE]


Well said, Gymjoy...we have been in the sport a bit longer than you but i totally agree with you...a lot of the whole Elite/TOPS scene is about the coaches and the gyms and not about what's best for the girls.

 

[Azgymmiemom]

Correct me if I'm wrong....maybe I don't understand...
Isn't there an age restriction on international competition?! I thought you had to be 16 to compete in the Olympics, etc. So what's the rush to go elite "at a younger age"....? Once you reach the level of Elite, it is my understanding that you can't slack off and maintain those skills...and isn't it, like, 30 hrs a week plus? So, if this girl reaches elite at 11, 12, 13...then she just has to coast there for years?

And isn't this age restriction to prevent the injuries and burn out? What's next? we take our kids away from their parents at age 3 (like some countries do...) and make them live, sleep, eat breathe gymnastics so that once they are used up they can't do anything else? Hey, like anything else, it's a slippery slope and you have to be soooo careful!!


I don't want to sound mean, best of luck to this little girl...she's going to need lots of support and prayers

 

[bookworm]

There's no "coasting" in Elite...the elite has to qualify for Elite every year at elite qualifiers and then when you get the elite score , it's off to monthly camps in Houston with the lovely Marta and the camps are grueling...there's always upgrading of skills because whatever they are currently doing is never good enough, it has to be better, better than they were yesterday and better than the elite from the other gym...the whole mental thing in Elite is just so different from JO...and you are correct, it's generally 30+ hours a week of constant training, conditioning and training some more...so to set a 6 yo up for this without even competing, as i said originally, I'm dumbfounded.....

 

[mariposa]

Teamgirl-

Can you tell us more about the "Elite" track at your DDs gym? What does the training schedule look like as she moves up? I remember that you said that she would be doing 12 hours a week during the summer (9 hours practice + 3 hours TOPS training), that doesn't seem too excessive. Many level 4s practice that. How long will she be doing those hours?

I am not sure of my opinion on this. The hours don't seem too bad, but the progression seems too quick. I have seen several talented young kids that seemed ready for the jump burn out when put on the fast track. Then there are injuries (which can stop even the most talented gymmie dead in their tracks). I also know that many VERY talented gymnasts have still done level 4, then progressed rapidly through levels 5-7 or done a year of level 5 and then done the same. I don't see how they can't let her enjoy competing and get that experience and fun of it and still focus on uptraining, etc.

Does her gym have a successful Elite program? How many elite gymnasts do they currently have?