Parents WOGA Advanced summer camp

[Jroberson]

For those of you who are interested Joscelyn started off a little slow, just sort of feeling things out. Once she got the hang of things she was able to keep up. Her Mom said at the end of camp that she was the best tumbler there, but definitely needs work on the bars and the beam. I say thats not too bad for a 4 year old in a 6-9 year old advanced camp.

 

[starmaker]

Great Job Jocelyn!! Keep up the good work! She will definitely keep up, she just needs a little time. She is so little still! Enjoy the ride!

 

[nettyinpa]

She's so cute!

But, IMHO, I think she's too young to be pushed into doing skills her 4-year old body isn't ready for. But, I'm just another gym-parent, not a doctor or a coach.

Hope she has fun!

 

[MdGymMom01]

For those of you who are interested Joscelyn started off a little slow, just sort of feeling things out. Once she got the hang of things she was able to keep up. Her Mom said at the end of camp that she was the best tumbler there, but definitely needs work on the bars and the beam. I say thats not too bad for a 4 year old in a 6-9 year old advanced camp.

Congrats to your little one for hanging in there and keeping up with the big kids!!! But, I do have to step on my soap box for a moment. I totally agree with the other poster that putting a 4 YO in an advanced group training session with 6-9 YOs is utterly ridiculous!!!! That, IMHO, is just setting the 4YO up for dissappointment, frustration and failure. I am sorry to be so harsh, but there is a reason why kids need to be with their own age groups regardless of talent level.

To put it in another perspective, I would NEVER put my 4 YO toddler in an elementary school setting (3rd and 4th grade) and expect her to "get the hang of things" even if she did know how to read at that early of an age.

I am sure that Joselyn is very hard working and very talented but please, if you want her to love the sport, PLEASE do not rush her. That is the quickest way to burn out.

 

[gymmom14]

I agree with the other posters. She is very young. At first when I read that she was the best tumbler in her group I was very surprised. A 4yo out tumbling and advanced 9 yo?

I don't mean to offend or be harsh. Maybe I am misunderstanding the situation.

 

[NGL780309]

Correct me if I'm wrong in these facts, but WOGA has a camp for gymnasts that are team competitive gymnasts and then the rest are recreational camps. The camp the OP speaks of is a recreational camp. So a 6-9 year old advanced group is not competitive team 6-9 year olds. It's rec kids. Most of the kids who go to these rec camps have no gymnastics experience whatsoever. Anyone can sign up. Those in the advanced group are those that have some gymnastics experience, but are not at the team level yet. These camps are big money makers for WOGA.

 

[Jroberson]

Correct me if I'm wrong in these facts, but WOGA has a camp for gymnasts that are team competitive gymnasts and then the rest are recreational camps. The camp the OP speaks of is a recreational camp. So a 6-9 year old advanced group is not competitive team 6-9 year olds. It's rec kids. Most of the kids who go to these rec camps have no gymnastics experience whatsoever. Anyone can sign up. Those in the advanced group are those that have some gymnastics experience, but are not at the team level yet. These camps are big money makers for WOGA.

This person is correct. This was a recreational camp, non-competitive, although you did have to be evaluated to be in the advanced camp they were not drilling these girls. The other camp that was available at the time was comparable to a mom and tot class. Like front rolls and things like this. Joscelyn would have been bored. She had a blast in the camp and wants to go back. The coaches at WOGA were also amazing, theses woman know what they are doing and my wife told them before the camp started that if Joscelyn wasn't ready or slowing the class down in any way that they could put her in the 3-5 year old camp. These coaches are very good at what they do and they know if she could handle the camp or not. Oh and by the way Josc was not the only 4 year old in the advanced camp. Also some of you seem perplexed that I said tumbling, well yes Joscelyn is four and can tumble. My signature on my posts is my web page on youtube, check it out. WE ARE NOT FORCING ANYTHING ON OUR DAUGHTER. If she wanted to do t-ball thats what we would do. The thing is, is that she loves gymnastics, and she just happens to do very well at the sport. I understand the social issue with older kids but either camp that she went to she wouldn't have known any of the other girls at the camp. I geuss I need to be more descriptive when I brag on here. I didn't intend to make it seem like I signed my daughter up for USA gymnastics TOPs Boot Camp, and then forced her to stay in the class with a whip. I simply wanted to brag on my very talented daughter.

 

[NGL780309]

I think it's perfectly fine to group kids by their ability level. I think some misunderstood the meaning of the advanced 6-9 year old group. Because an advanced 9 year old to me means a pretty high level of gymnastics. We have 9 year olds at DD's gym that are level 9. I think that put people off a little bit. That's why I was hoping to clarify and defend you a little that the other group were likely kids that either had no gym experience (mom and tot like you described) and the advanced group wasn't meaning they were doing double backs or something. I'm sure with having gym experience your DD would have been very bored in the other group. I hope she had a great time. Do you guys live near WOGA or did you make it a vacation? A few team girls from DD's gym have gone to the team camp in past years and had a blast. One of them ended up moving there and is now one of their elites.

 

[Optionals United]

Thank you NGL708309 and Jroberson for cleaing that up! You made some experinced gym moms worried for you and your daughter.

Its sounds like Joscelyn had a great time at camp!!!!! She is such a talented little girl and I wish you had more videos of her gym on your youtube!!

 

[MdGymMom01]

I also want to thank NGL708309 and Jroberson for adding some more detail and explanation to the initial post. I have to admit, I was scratching my head a bit and a little befuddled at the first post, that's why I reacted as strongly as I did. WOGA is a very well-known gym that has a reputation for producing Olympic champions. When you coupled "WOGA" with "advanced camp"...well, you can see how people can get the wrong idea. I guess it is the dramatic increase in the amount of new posters within the last year with very young gymnasts just starting out that has me a bit worried about burnout and injury. Gymnastics is a sport that can get you easily sucked in and cause you to lose perspective.

 

[starmaker]

It is very difficult to be the parent of a very talented young gymmie. When they are soooo young (3 to 5 years old) and yet sooo talented it is a very difficult juggling act. There bodies can do more than their mind can sometimes handle. It is very important to keep them challenged with new skills because that creates their love of the sport not the other way around. Also because they are so young they tend to get furstrated/bored with all the repetition of repeating the same "easy" skills over and over again. Finding a program that fits their need of being challenged all the while keeping in mind that they are just 4 or 5 years old is very challenging.

I think it's very easy for some people to say I would NEVER do this or that with my 4 year old but they've never had to deal with having a super talented 4 year old.

The most challenging times with my own talented dd was when she was between 3.5 and 6 years old. She was too advanced for preschool but too young for preteam. I must say now that she is 7 years old it is much easier. She is still the youngest in her group but enjoys and understands the need to perfect skills, can verbalize her feeling better, etc.

Good luck with Jocelyn! I think she is doing wonderful and really having fun! That's what's most important!! Let us know how the rest of camp goes.....

 

[MdGymMom01]

I think what people have to realize about very talented little ones, is that they will eventually level off in skill. The trick is to keep them interested and loving the sport long enough so that they can work through the plateaus when they do come. And the plateaus will come. Sorry to be Debbie Downer, but every gymnast and every kid goes through a stage where they are just not progressing like they did in the past. Acknowledging this and continuing to work hard to get through that plateau is half the battle of a gymnasts' longevity.

 

[NGL780309]

Starmaker you really articulated what the struggles are with a young one. DD is/was just like that. Physcially ahead of where she is mentally. She's 5, too young to compete L4 this year, but that's where she is skill wise. She picks up on skills quickly and wants to move on. Age-wise she fits with the developmental team which she outgrew within a few months of starting gym. She was the baby in preteam and the worst when she started and then quickly passed those girls up. I have to say Level 4 is a perfect fit for her. The coaches make her focus on doing things correctly, but she's challenged skill-wise. I'm afraid of what's going to happen in a few months when she's ready to move on and my plan is to have her stay in level 4 until she can compete next fall. Even if the coaches try to move her up I'm really going to insist they keep her at level 4.

I've never thought about my child as being particularly talented or having some great future in this sport, probably because gymnastics is not an unknown sport to me. I'm not a clueless parent watching my 3 or 4 year old do a BHS to her head and thinking it's really something spectacular like all these youtube babies. It's not a race to see which toddler can flip an ugly BHS before she's potty trained. I've watched my exhusband coach for years and seen tons of little kids that can do alot at a young age and frankly sometimes don't materialize into anything special.

By the way my 13 month old can do a foward roll by herself and can do a chin-up if you hang her on the bar. I'm certain she's incredibly talented.

 

[gymnut1]

funny mummy

 

[MdGymMom01]

By the way my 13 month old can do a foward roll by herself and can do a chin-up if you hang her on the bar. I'm certain she's incredibly talented.

Isn't that how Dominique Moceanu's parents tested her gymnastics ability as a young tot??? LOL. This is actually a true story. They had her hang from a clothesline...

Sorry for my divergence...

 

[NGL780309]

I think Domi was actually a little baby like 3 or 4 months old and she just hung on forever. My 13 month old is clearly way behind and I need to get her signed up for some training so she can catch up.

 

[MdGymMom01]

I think Domi was actually a little baby like 3 or 4 months old and she just hung on forever. My 13 month old is clearly way behind and I need to get her signed up for some training so she can catch up.

LOL!! I know right??? By 13 months she should surely be training the vault sprint so that she can get a head start on her TOPS training!!!! .

 

[Jroberson]

I think it's perfectly fine to group kids by their ability level. I think some misunderstood the meaning of the advanced 6-9 year old group. Because an advanced 9 year old to me means a pretty high level of gymnastics. We have 9 year olds at DD's gym that are level 9. I think that put people off a little bit. That's why I was hoping to clarify and defend you a little that the other group were likely kids that either had no gym experience (mom and tot like you described) and the advanced group wasn't meaning they were doing double backs or something. I'm sure with having gym experience your DD would have been very bored in the other group. I hope she had a great time. Do you guys live near WOGA or did you make it a vacation? A few team girls from DD's gym have gone to the team camp in past years and had a blast. One of them ended up moving there and is now one of their elites.

We live about 3 hours away from WOGA but my wifes cousin does live there in Plano. The gym we attend in our town is geared more towards cheerleading and dance. Joscelyn likes the dance stuff but she does not like the cheerleading she just doesn't have the attitude for it, I think. So when my wifes cousin told us about WOGA we called and ask them about the summer camps. We told them Joscelyn's capabilities and they gave us one of those trial classes for free so they could evalute her. The coach that was so impressed with her didn't talk much about her skill but complemented her on being so smart more than anything. That same coach was supposed to have a 4-5 YO advanced camp but I believe her work VISA ran out and she had to return to her home country. So I think they split the class up and thats how Joscelyn ended up in the 6-9 YO advanced camp. Fortunately she did well. And while yall are on the subject of babies doing amazing things, albiet with a little sarcasm. When Joscelyn was 2 yrs old she used to climb up the couch and walk along the back of it, which is only about 3 inches wide, get to the end and jump off! It wasn't until we caught her trying to jump off the dining room table that we decided that she needs a safe place to be a daredevil. We enrolled her in gymnastics when she turned 3 and she took off like a rocket and loves every minute of it.

 

[NGL780309]

Kids do the craziest things don't they? I guess they are missing that fear mechanism that we've developed as adults. I don't even like to climb a ladder.

I should have known I had a gymnast on my hands when my now 5 year old climbed out of her crib at 10 months old. My dad was babysitting her while I was furniture shopping with my mom and we came home. My dad said she was upstairs asleep in the crib. I nearly had heart failure when I went upstairs and she was not in the crib. My thought was kidnapping, but she had just managed to climb out. After she did it that first time she wouldn't stay in. I had to buy this tent thing that fit over her crib and zip her in.

 

[Optionals United]

Hahaha thats sooo funny NGL780309!!
When I was younger we had a swingset witha trappeze and one day I climbed on to of the trapezze till I was standing on it and thought "Why not just go on top" So I did. I climbed on top of the swingset,and I was walking back and forth like whatever and my mom looks out her window and sees me and totally freaks! LOL. She said get down so I did, she turns away from the window and I get back on top!WE go back and forth and back and forth. Until I just got tierd and didnt do it again that day.

Then there was also the climbing between the cribs. I have a twin brother and when it was "nap" time we some how pulled out the top drawer of our dresser and climbed from one crib to the other like it was a bridge.So there are my stories