Girls gymnastics: what to expect

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vveat
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Girls gymnastics: what to expect

Post by vveat »

Does anyone have experience with how gymnastics works for kids, what to expect when signing up for a team?

As a context: We are not particularly interested in sports, both coming from cultures where few kids were doing organized sports. However, we do see that in the US practicing some kind of sport "seriously" is more or less the expectation, so we are trying to give our kids a better chance to fit with peers.
If the kids really like a sport we'll encourage and support them - this said, I would rather avoid the travel teams that I've heard are a big burden on family time. Money is less of an issue for us than sacrificing family time. We also don't plan to encourage the kids to pursue sport scholarships, again it may be a cultural thing, but we do think college years should be more about academics and future jobs, than about sports.
We have a sailing boat, so the kids are doing swimming lessons and they will take sailing lessons when they turn 7, but these are just so they can enjoy safely the family sport, we don't expect them to continue beyond the needed-for-safety level. So we've tried to give them exposure to other sports through camps and such, let them see what they like.

Now to the gymnastics question. Our 6-year old daughter has been going to recreational gymnastics once a week for a year and a half now - there is a very large facility not far from us, and it seemed good to develop balance and flexibility. I was about to sign her up for another year, and I was told she has potential and we may consider a developmental team where they practice 4 hours a week. They are not pushing us into anything, just bringing it up as an option to consider.

My daughter likes this sport well enough, and is physically well suited to it, being slim, pretty flexible and not too tall. However, I don't know if she has the passion or tenacity to make a big commitment to it in due course. She is also still interested in exploring more - we've promised her horseback riding and sailing camps next summer. So I am looking to understand the implications, but fully accept that she may give up on this sport in a few years.

The 4 hours of practice/2x a week are less convenient than 1 hour once a week, but not a big burden yet, she only does this and swimming. There is an advantage to get coached more seriously, give her a chance to test her skills, in recreational classes they are often just fooling around. But first I want to understand what may follow down the road if she does well - is she too young for more serious practice (hence more prone to injuries), what would it mean in terms of time and travel commitment if she goes on a competitive team, how do the seasons work in this sport (I see some girls at the facility practicing year-round). And probably other things as well - I don't know what I don't know yet.

Does anybody have personal experience with this sport? What is important to know and consider? Is there a good book or online resource for these questions - I have been searching but am not getting any reliable answers yet. I will speak to the facility owner as well, but again not sure how objective the answers will be.

Thanks!
Last edited by vveat on Sun Aug 17, 2014 2:40 pm, edited 1 time in total.
livesoft
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Re: Girls gymnastics: what to expect

Post by livesoft »

Early gymnastics are a path to being on the cheerleading team and other squads in schools, so that may be a positive.

I cannot comment on the 4 hours twice a week thing, but many kids participate in non-travel sports teams with similar time commitments. I coached youth basketball teams with 3 practices a week and games on weekends. We live in a large metropolitan area, so there was no travel further than about 40 miles. Very enjoyable and my kids did not go on to play senior varsity sports in high school, much less college.
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Rich Cape Cod
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Re: Girls gymnastics: what to expect

Post by Rich Cape Cod »

My neighbor's daughter (young teenager) was heavily involved (went several times a week to train and traveled to events to compete) in gymnastics.

The upside: she loved doing it and became pretty good (according to her mom... She did win a bunch of ribbons and such.). She made lots of nice friends. She's a quiet kid and it certainly helped her "social life."

Downside: she's had to undergo a number of operations due to some hip issues resulting from her gymnastics. This precludes her from further activity in the sport.

I have to believe that her injuries are anomalies in regard this sport (never heard of them before this) but you should at least keep an eye out for any injuries suffered by your child.

Best,

Rich
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dolphinsaremammals
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Re: Girls gymnastics: what to expect

Post by dolphinsaremammals »

Rich Cape Cod wrote: Downside: she's had to undergo a number of operations due to some hip issues resulting from her gymnastics. This precludes her from further activity in the sport.

I have to believe that her injuries are anomalies in regard this sport (never heard of them before this) but you should at least keep an eye out for any injuries suffered by your child.

Best,

Rich
When bodies are still developing, stressing them too much can lead to injuries.

Why is swimming ruled out? That's a pretty safe sport and builds strength and flexibility. There's no reason why she has to travel to compete as opposed to just enjoying swimming and building her skills.
welldone
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Re: Girls gymnastics: what to expect

Post by welldone »

One of our daughters does competitive club gymnastics. There are many benefits to a sport like gymnastics; especially if you find a great gym and strong coaches. The focus and discipline required in a sport like this are high and competitors learn many important life lessons (drive, the rewards of hard work, the knowledge of how hard they can work beyond their pre-supposed limits and what they can accomplish when they put their minds to it, dealing with setbacks, performing under pressure, etc) that will have positive implications in their life well after they stop competing in the sport.

However, it is incredibly expensive and it is a "whole family" sport.

At this point, our daughter practices 16 hrs weekly (4hrs/4 days a week). She is entering her last "compulsory" year of competitive gymnastics (the first five levels of USAG gymnastics have every single gymnast performing the exact same routines to the exact same music) and will be moving on to optionals next year. Optional training hours at our gym are 20 - 32hrs weekly and the girls who are training "Elite" (gymnasts who compete at gymnastics events that can qualify you for the Olympics) at our gym practice 36 hrs a week (6hrs/6 days a week).

Competitive gymnastics is an all year round sport. My daughter gets exactly one week off each year when the gym is closed (and is sent a conditioning list that takes 2 hrs to complete daily during that "week off"). Gymnastics is a year round sport because the skills gymnasts perform would be dangerous if they were not in peak condition. Injuries are a "when" not an "if". And your child would be expected to continue a conditioning regimen during injury rehabilitation. We have several gymnasts currently sporting casts for broken arms, ankles, fingers, etc - not to mention all the wrapped ankles, taped knees and bloody palms (rips on the hands due to bar routines) which are expected and not even looked at as sidelining injuries at all. Gym conditioning and training changes to accommodate injuries (for breaks and serious sprains) but they are at practice the same as everyone else.

It costs a lot of money. We spend ~$10k a year at this point. It started at about $6500 a year and rapidly increases. This includes the money spent on traveling to meets, out-of-state meets, as well as coaching/training fees. To compete at the highest levels costs upwards of $25k a year, easily and we are still not talking Elite level with the attendant costs of National and International competitions.

If this sounds overwhelming and not terribly attractive - I understand. When our daughter first started, it was hard to reconcile that we would be spending the equivalent to an IRA investment for people over 50 for one year of training and competition. But, she loves the sport and she has the kind of drive I think you need to be willing to sacrifice for a sport like this. There is a reason that there are so many gym t-shirts that say, "I can't....I have gymnastics". She has had to miss countless birthday parties and other outings because of this sport. And during meet season, we as a family have to be willing to commit to 6-8 weekends during the 4 month meet season spent watching hours of competition in which our daughter's portion (all 4 event combined) is ~4 mins total competition time, 10 mins if you count the time waiting for the judges to salute her to begin and the time spent waiting to see her scores after she is done.

If your daughter is enjoying gymnastics, but you know you don't want to go the route I just outlined I would suggest asking your gym if your daughter could move up to 2 recreation classes a week. If it is a good gym - they will still be working on improving your daughter's abilities even in their rec programs. There are also programs like Excel and GI Jo which have their own competition season but have lower skill levels and more relaxed judging than USAG does. However, it is difficult for Excel and GI Jo gymnasts to make the jump to USAG without dropping down a level if that switch is something you might consider.

I will also tell you that many gyms do look at the "lower" levels of gymnastics as their profit centers. So, while your daughter may indeed have a lot of potential, the lower levels of competitive gymnastics often are large teams and there is a lot of attrition in those first few levels. If she doesn't have a love of the sport and good focus - she very well may not enjoy the increased expectations at the competitive level.
Last edited by welldone on Sun Aug 17, 2014 6:29 pm, edited 1 time in total.
strbrd
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Re: Girls gymnastics: what to expect

Post by strbrd »

Think critically about the level of rigor that is required of even beginning competitive gymnasts. I did gymnastics for nine years when I was a kid (3-12) and even though I escaped without any serious injuries, I think I still experience the psychological impact of pushing myself so hard at such an early age. Also realize that once your kid gets into gymnastics, there will be zero time to develop skills in sports (unlike gymnastics) that you can realistically continue into adulthood. Soccer, swimming, and tennis I think are sports that are best introduced in childhood, and gymnasts simply cannot learn those skills in any depth while training at the gym.
tibbitts
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Re: Girls gymnastics: what to expect

Post by tibbitts »

I don't have any personal experience with this, but would try to interest her more in "lifetime" activities that are less likely to result in injuries. You mentioned sailing, and that's certainly something that would qualify as a lifetime activity with relatively little probability of injury. I agree with your emphasis on family time; it seems like most kids are involved with multiple outside-school activities today vs. years ago, making it much more difficult to do things like schedule family vacations together, etc.
livesoft
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Re: Girls gymnastics: what to expect

Post by livesoft »

@welldone, a BIG welcome and thanks for registering today for this very informative first post. Thanks!
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welldone
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Re: Girls gymnastics: what to expect

Post by welldone »

Thanks for the welcome. I'm glad you found my post to be informative and hope it answered most of the OPs questions.
dgdevil
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Re: Girls gymnastics: what to expect

Post by dgdevil »

dolphinsaremammals wrote: When bodies are still developing, stressing them too much can lead to injuries.

Why is swimming ruled out? That's a pretty safe sport and builds strength and flexibility. There's no reason why she has to travel to compete as opposed to just enjoying swimming and building her skills.
+1. Strength, flexibility PLUS endurance, lung capacity, early-bird skills, with virtually zero injury risk. When I see kids or adults who cannot swim well, it makes me very judgmental.

This thread reminds me of a fascinating one from a few years back where a family, also from a different culture, was spending a small fortune on their kids' sporting events, maybe also gymnastics, or soccer. A quick search was unsuccessful.
shuchong
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Re: Girls gymnastics: what to expect

Post by shuchong »

I did club gymnastics from age 6 to 11, and ended up stopping because of osgood schlatters, a common gymnastics problem. I took it back up again in high school just for fun (my high school had a team of varying skill levels, everything from "I can kind of do a cartwheel" to level 10 gymnasts). My undergrad didn't have a team, but my grad school did. I'm now 30 and I still do rec classes and open gym times on occasion.

I loved gymnastics in high school: it was a great outlet, and it gave me a whole different set of friends. (For some reason, all the honors students in my high school were runners and skiers. I was the only one who did gymnastics... more on that below.) And I still love gymnastics. I can't do all that I used to be able to, and I often work on a tumble track (a long, skinny trampoline) instead of on the floor to minimize the pounding it puts your body through. But I am definitely glad that my parents let me pursue it. It also still has physical benefits: I have far more upper body strength than most women, and more flexibility too.

On the other hand, many of those in my adult gymnastics classes were serious competitive gymnasts when they were children. A lot of them have mixed reviews on the sport and the amount of time they devoted to it. At the elite levels, it can be brutal: training enough to delay puberty, a culture in which you are constantly judged by how well you perform and how fast you can pick up new skills, difficult coaches, moving away from family as a young child to be closer to the best gyms, etc. Even below the elite level, children can devote a lot of time to training and traveling for meets. It's very difficult to have another sport or extracurricular activity when you're serious about gymnastics. It may also be difficult to take AP and honors courses in high school, because the homework commitment on top of a gymnastics training commitment is too much to handle. In retrospect, the osgood schlatters may have been a blessing for me, since I was on the cusp of entering into a more competition-focused program.

If I were you, I would ask coaches and parents in the area exactly what the developmental program is setting your daughter up to do. How much do the older kids in this program practice? Are there rec classes that older children take, or just classes that set them up to become part of a team whose main goal is travel/competition? What kind of time commitment is expected when a gymnast is Level 5? (At my old gym, that was the skill level at which children started to regularly compete.) What about Level 7? Level 10? Also, perhaps sit in on some sessions and watch the older girls train. What are the coaches like when coaching their most competitive gymnasts? Are they positive, or do they push the kids to a level that you wouldn't want for your daughter? Basically, I would hesitate before putting your daughter on the path to a rigorous competition schedule. As welldone pointed out, there are upsides, but it is a big enough commitment, both for you and for her, that you should go into it with your eyes wide open.
campy2010
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Re: Girls gymnastics: what to expect

Post by campy2010 »

dgdevil wrote:
dolphinsaremammals wrote: When bodies are still developing, stressing them too much can lead to injuries.

Why is swimming ruled out? That's a pretty safe sport and builds strength and flexibility. There's no reason why she has to travel to compete as opposed to just enjoying swimming and building her skills.
+1. Strength, flexibility PLUS endurance, lung capacity, early-bird skills, with virtually zero injury risk. When I see kids or adults who cannot swim well, it makes me very judgmental.

This thread reminds me of a fascinating one from a few years back where a family, also from a different culture, was spending a small fortune on their kids' sporting events, maybe also gymnastics, or soccer. A quick search was unsuccessful.
If I recall correctly, that was a thread about kids playing tennis.
postingname
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Re: Girls gymnastics: what to expect

Post by postingname »

vveat wrote:

However, we do see that in the US practicing some kind of sport "seriously" is more or less the expectation,...
Wow. That's a new one by me. I've never herd of girl's athletics being an expectation subject to peer pressure, but assuming that it is, I agree with those who point out the advantages of swimming. It's cheaper, can be done anywhere, can be a team sport or not, results in fewer injuries and doesn't lead to eating disorders or other weirdness.

That said, if your daughter loves gymnastics, might as well go with it. But there's a difference between your daughter liking it because she's already in it (due to your putting her in it) vs an organic love/need for gymnastics. I'm thinking of Shaun Johnson who was apparently hyperactive at an early age and jumping over couches so her perents put her in gymnastics and it was a perfect fit for her (and her excess energies.)

Anyway, sports are good. Good luck with whatever you decide.
livesoft
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Re: Girls gymnastics: what to expect

Post by livesoft »

Lots of kids do sports in the US on a trial-and-error basis up to about age 12. After age 12, the vast majority of kids (and parents) figure out that organized sports are not for them.

There are other activities that kids with the same pattern: music, scouting, art, horses, etc. This can be a lot different than other cultures.

Very few kids keep at these activities into college age.
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vveat
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Re: Girls gymnastics: what to expect

Post by vveat »

Thank you all for the very informative answers, especially welldone and suchong for the very useful details - thanks to your comments I was able to get a bit more detail online on the levels and programs. The expectations at the elite competitive level do sound overwhelming - I have obviously underestimated how high the costs can go, but more than that, the year-around 6 days a week training schedule, confirms my fears.

@welldone - does it take 1 year per level, i.e. do girls stay at the developmental levels 1-3 only 3 years - and are the schedules for these levels more reasonable (the 4 hours a week I was told) or did your daughter get to the 16 hours a week even then?

dgdevil wrote:
dolphinsaremammals wrote: When bodies are still developing, stressing them too much can lead to injuries.

Why is swimming ruled out? That's a pretty safe sport and builds strength and flexibility. There's no reason why she has to travel to compete as opposed to just enjoying swimming and building her skills.
+1. Strength, flexibility PLUS endurance, lung capacity, early-bird skills, with virtually zero injury risk. When I see kids or adults who cannot swim well, it makes me very judgmental.
These are good points. I hadn't "ruled it out" per se, but she has been taking weekly lessons since she was 3, and only now at 6 she can swim on her own 30 yards or so. I guess I didn't feel that she is a natural in swimming, that's why I said she will likely stop lessons once she is comfortable enough swimming on her own, but we hadn't really discussed it, and you are absolutely right that it's an activity she can keep enjoying later in life.
welldone
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Re: Girls gymnastics: what to expect

Post by welldone »

vveat wrote:Thank you all for the very informative answers, especially welldone and suchong for the very useful details - thanks to your comments I was able to get a bit more detail online on the levels and programs. The expectations at the elite competitive level do sound overwhelming - I have obviously underestimated how high the costs can go, but more than that, the year-around 6 days a week training schedule, confirms my fears.

@welldone - does it take 1 year per level, i.e. do girls stay at the developmental levels 1-3 only 3 years - and are the schedules for these levels more reasonable (the 4 hours a week I was told) or did your daughter get to the 16 hours a week even then?...
@vveat

The short answer is, it depends. And while I can share with you my experience with the hours/costs/etc, please be aware that your gym may well do their program much differently.

Most gyms that I know consider their recreation program to cover level 1 and 2 of USAG gymnastics. Last year, USAG changed the level structure (which used to be Level 4/5/6 as compulsory competitive levels) so that the compulsory level of competition are now Level 3/4/5. The skills remain very similar to the old Level 4/5/6 but all new routines for the compulsory levels were rolled out along with the new level system - these new routines will be in effect until 2021, I believe. Optional levels now begin at Level 6, though many gyms do skip their gymnasts from Level 5 to Level 7 as Level 6 is generally considered to actually be easier than Level 5 - especially when it comes to bars which is often the sticking point for gymnast advancement. One of the reasons USAG changed the level structure to the current one is because many gymnasts will drop out by the end of the compulsory levels and those gymnasts who do never get to perform personal routines on beam or floor (personal floor routines being one of the things most gymnasts dream of when it comes to the sport). With the restructuring of the levels, Level 6 optionals allow gymnasts a chance to compete with a personalized floor routine and music, as the bars routine can be put together in such a way as to be much easier than the Level 5 compulsory bar routine. For reference, Level 7 gymnastic skills are about as high as anyone will see competed in a high school team. Level 8/9/10 and Elite are almost never competed outside of private gymnastic clubs due to the expense of proper training and ability to find competitors.

Most gyms have a "pre team" that train gymnasts to get ready for the first commonly competed Level - 3. Pre team is usually 4-6 hours a week so I would assume the your gym's pre team is what your daughter has been invited to join. At that level (which is sort of a between 2/3 level), coaches will work on having the girls get stronger and more flexible, as well as build their ability to focus and perform. They will also work on building up their skill base correctly. At our gym, children try out at the end of pre team (which lasts a year) to see if they are ready to train for Level 3. At that point, if accepted, gymnasts train for between 8-10 hrs a week (3 workouts).

Advancement between levels really depends on the gymnast and the policy of the gym they are attending. Many gyms looks at the 3 compulsory levels (3/4/5) as the true building blocks of a strong gymnast and that the building blocks shouldn't be rushed. There is no reason to try to skip through these levels early. Gymnastics is a tricky sport because you have to master 4 very different apparatus. The skills build from Level 3 to Level 4 to Level 5 very sharply and it is a rare gymnast who can master those skills in under a year well enough that it would make sense for them to skip out of getting the training most gymnasts have when learning those skills.

Gymnasts must be turning 6 years old by their states's USAG State Meet Date to compete in the first level (Level 3) but then, theoretically you could "test out" of as many levels as the gymnast is able and the coaches are willing. However, to "test out" of a level, a gymnast must compete at a USAG sanctioned meet for each level (all 4 events) they are looking to test out of and achieve a higher enough All Around score in the level to qualify for the State Meet (Usually between 32-34 AA - necessary score getting higher as skills get more difficult). It is a rare gymnast would be able to not only master the skills necessary for each level but also memorize the routines for each apparatus in order to skip multiple levels.

Most gyms around where we live have their gymnasts follow the "one year for each Level" model (not counting level 1 and 2). As I said before, one of the few exceptions is the jump often made between Level 5 to Level 7. And there are some gyms that push a "2 years at Level 5" model because it is such a big jump in skills. Don't be in a rush to skip levels, it isn't good for gymnasts' bodies to be strained and stressed trying to master skills the gymnast isn't ready to perform. And each of the compulsory levels have extremely important skills that are necessary to master in order to perform the very high level skills safely and with proper body placement when you get to Optionals.

Pre team can cost anywhere between $2000 - $4000 for a full year (depending on gym) 4-6 hrs a week
Level 3 $5k (conservatively) 6-10 hrs a week
Level 4 $5-$6K 8-12 hrs a week
Level 5 $5-$7K 12-16 hrs a week

EDITED TO ADD - I have pulled out the costs of competition leotards (anywhere from $100-$300 per leotard), warm ups ($75 -$200), gym bags ($75), grips ($20 per pair, need 2 pairs at all times), traveling fees ($1500 - $2000 - and that only includes 1 out of state meet - many optional level have 2 or 3 out of state meets most of which require flying to attend), etc from the costs listed above. The pricing per level above would only include the coaches fees, competition fees and training costs. The additional items are what bring a year's cost at Level 5 to about $10K.

If your gymnast is seen to have a lot of potential, you may also be asked to get them TOPs training in addition to their normal training. It would be an additional cost of between $1k - $2K for that training and testing which is pure strength, flexibility and endurance training as well as additional routines to perform at TOPs testing. Those who test well at TOPs are invited to the USAG training camp in Texas where they can try to qualify for the National TOPs teams. It is open to gymnasts age 7-10.

At Level 6/7, you will not only need to pay for regular training and coaching, but you also have to start paying for your floor and beam routines. Those need to be choreographed and music selected for floor (which will also cost money). Good routines cost between $500 - $1.5K and can be used for 2 years (with additional skills added the second year).

Most of the serious gymnasts at our gym are training Level 8 by age 10-12. To really be considered for scholarship recruitment (something I know you are not interested in but thought you might like to know for general knowledge) - the majority of gymnasts being recruited need to be training Level 10 by 8th/9th grade. And most gymnasts who are recruited to Division 1 schools are verbally declared to a specific school by 9th or 10th grade. I know several Div 1 schools who have the incoming gymnastics rostered filled though 2018. If that boggles your mind, you are not alone. ;)

There is a USAG women's compulsory app on iTunes that you can purchase if you want to see the routines for Level 1-5 along with written commentary on how the skills need to be performs for full credit. It is pricey ($30) for the app, but it might help you understand better how the USAG program progresses through the compulsory levels. It will definitely help you understand how scoring can vary so greatly between gymnasts, as the app breaks down each deduction that a gymnast can have throughout each routine.
Last edited by welldone on Mon Aug 18, 2014 11:01 am, edited 2 times in total.
Alex Frakt
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Re: Girls gymnastics: what to expect

Post by Alex Frakt »

Here's my background. I was a competitive swimmer (and later water polo player) from 8 to 18, including a year of playing collegiate water polo, and I have a son going into kindergarten. IMO, unless a child is highly self-motivated to do a particular sport, I would not put them on a competitive path at such a young age. Learning to swim well is a necessity. But beyond that childhood should be a time to explore and play and experience new things, not focusing much of one's time and energies on a single activity.

The costs are real. The time spent necessarily limits other activities, including ones the child may actually be better suited for or that they would be able to carry on as adults. It can also interfere in their schooling or even damage them physically and emotionally, for example eating disorders are rampant among girls in certain sports including gymnastics. And, except in a very few sports (unfortunately for your decision, including gymnastics), even if the child wants to pursue it competitively, there is little to no detriment in delaying the switch from recreational to competitive until a later age when the child is both better developed physically and more able to make such a decision.

FWIW, my son has had two swimming classes a week for the last year. He also has two or three other recreational classes per week, mostly through our city parks department (one advantage to living in a big city). Soccer is usually in there, he's also done tennis, ice skating, dance, tumbling and jiujitsu. For this fall he asked me for a theater class and I also found a kid's fencing class that he's pretty excited about.

BTW, there is a flip side to those who think that athletics may get their children into a better school. I ended up going to a worse school than I could have because the coach was willing to let me play water polo there. My better choices either didn't have a team or I wasn't good enough to play for them. I didn't even get much of the benefit of that choice. Practice was such a time and energy commitment that it interfered with my studies, so I quit after my freshman year.
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Re: Girls gymnastics: what to expect

Post by dolphinsaremammals »

vveat wrote: These are good points. I hadn't "ruled it out" per se, but she has been taking weekly lessons since she was 3, and only now at 6 she can swim on her own 30 yards or so. I guess I didn't feel that she is a natural in swimming, that's why I said she will likely stop lessons once she is comfortable enough swimming on her own, but we hadn't really discussed it, and you are absolutely right that it's an activity she can keep enjoying later in life.
6 is incredibly young to be making decisions about athletic talents, imho.

By coincidence on the general topic of sports for kids, the NYTimes had an article this morning about how it can swallow up their lives and impact their families' lives:
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/17/fashi ... lives.html

It has vaguely bothered me for some time that I see kids now with their after school lives totally programmed with regulated activities, as opposed to the free time to play that kids used to have when I was growing up. I spent a lot of time swimming, some competitively, but it never swallowed up my life. We never even went to out of state meets.

It's one thing if someone is incredibly gifted in some area and wants to pursue it, then I can see that kind of life swallowing up dedication, but how frequent is that gift, one in 10,000 kids or probably less.
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Re: Girls gymnastics: what to expect

Post by carolinaman »

6 is quite young to dedicating oneself to only one sport. IMO, it is better to expose young children to multiple sports and other activities. It could be that they gravitate to one sport after 2 or 3 years or they may simply like the variety of several sports. I often wonder how these children feel who devote their entire childhood to a sport and fall short of their goal: Olympics or professional athlete. I think it is much better if the child decides they want to dedicate themselves to a sport without the pressure or prodding of their parents.

The great pro golfer Davis Love, Jr. tells the story of when he decided to become a pro golfer. His father was a former pro golfer and was one of the top teaching pros. When Davis was about 15 years old, he told his dad that he wanted to be a pro golfer. His dad told him that if that was what he wanted to do, he should make sure he enjoyed the journey. So often people become focused upon an ultimate goal: an Olympic gold medal, riches and fame. Is it really worth it if you do not enjoy the journey?

One of my grand daughters has been doing cheerleading for about 4 years. She has practice twice a week and they do about 6 to 8 regional competitions a year. She is now at a point where she usually exercises or practices for this almost daily at home for maybe 30 to 60 minutes. I was dubious of this when she started, but it has really helped her mature. She takes minor injuries in stride and is more careful what she eats to stay in top shape. There is a gymnastic component to cheerleading but not as rigorous. She enjoys doing this. It is her choice to do this and she is very well rounded, enjoying other activities and sports.
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Re: Girls gymnastics: what to expect

Post by TRC »

We're in a similar situation with our 7 year old son. He's by far the best in his class, which is comprised mainly of 4th and 5th graders (he's going into 2nd). They asked him to be on a "special team" that practiced 2 hours a week instead of 1. We tried it, but the team was bigger in size and he wasn't getting the 1x1 attention that he was getting from his former class (other class was just 4 boys). The advanced class was also comprised of much younger kids, so I felt like the teacher was doing a lot of baby sitting vs. teaching. In any event, he's gone back to his shorter class, but I would like to get him into a more specialized program that perhaps does competitions He does lots of sports, but this is by far the one he's best at and likes it the most.
swaption
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Re: Girls gymnastics: what to expect

Post by swaption »

I have fond memories of that coach telling my wife that my daughter should try out for the pre-team. Our path changed dramatically from there. She made the pre-team and competed at what was then Level 4. Nothing can really prepare you for the tears when everone on the team got medals (most multiple) in that first meet and your daughter gets nothing. This pretty much is what happened for the entire year of Level 4. Definitely tests one's parenting skills. But she was closing the gap and she moved up to Level 5. Medaled in her first meet at Level 5 and now she was definitely in the mix. Later that year, she took a first on the bars at a meet, and a second on the beam. In terms of life lessons, pretty much invaluable. Prettymuch continued on this trajectory, until I got that call on the train, a broken arm in practice, pretty much a clean broke in both bones in her left fore arm. Full recovery (although really a year or two until she could comfortably type), back and medaling at Level 6. Was all set to go for level 7 the next year when she declared that she did not want to do gymnastics anymore. Did all the requisite parental probing as to why, and came away that she just wasn't that into it anymore. Fortunately she did switch to other things, but really not a sport that a child can be pushed into, so we were done.

But we were happily done. Putting aside the cost, it took a toll. The practices often ran late at night, and school work was starting to increase. We saw lots of injuries and I would say that gymnastics for girls is basically like football for boys, the physical strain is very real. Our gym is strong, but some parts of the country can be a little crazy. At Level 5, we traveled to Disney for a meet. At the time my daughter was putting in 9 hours per week in the gym. We met a girl from Texas that was doing something like 18 at that level, and it sounded like that was the norm. Having said that, we did have a recent Men's all around national champion and olympian come from our gym.

In hindshight, it was all a great experience. My daughter is now extremely driven and confident. Who knows what role the gymnastic experience played. It was also a paretning dress rehearsal as well. Lots of parents are crazy, we were not. We did not helicopter in during the early failures. we were not going to overcompensate with hours of additional private lessons. we left room for the drive to come from inside her, which it ultimately did. But ti also meant that there was only so much we could do when the drive was gone.
michey312
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Re: Girls gymnastics: what to expect

Post by michey312 »

If you are worried about family time, be prepared to drive 1-3 hours to attend competitions, sit in a gym for 4-6 hours to watch you daughter compete for a total of 2 minutes, and then drive the 1-3 hours home. That is on top of the hours of training during the week. Be prepared to spend your weekends as a gymnastics parent.
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ResearchMed
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Re: Girls gymnastics: what to expect

Post by ResearchMed »

Most of the above posts have great thoughts and suggestions.

We enrolled the children in lots of things when they were young, but only swimming was a "you MUST do this until you can swim indefinitely without holding on to anything; no one ever died because they couldn't do piano or ballet well...".

One of them LOVED gymnastics.
Not surprisingly, both of her daughters, do also.

One of them was really captured by it, to the point of begging for a balance beam at home for a Christmas gift (this was the one 6 inches off the ground!), so that went into their living room.
If she wasn't "at gymnastics", then she was doing cartwheels in the family room, in the hallway, etc., like a little perpetual gymnastics machine.

So she got lessons and coaching as long as she enjoyed it. She's early teens now, and I think the joy has gone out of it a bit, so she is spending more time at soccer and swimming.

As far as college applications, these days it is so very competitive that even if a college applicant isn't going to compete at the college level, having "other excellent skills" is still something that will make an admissions committee notice. ALL of the applicants (almost!) seem to have published books, gotten patents, etc.... things that a generation or two ago would have been considered extraordinary coming out of grad school. (Or so it seems?)

But that could be playing the violin or making origami swans, too.

To excel at something that one enjoys is, as the ads say, priceless.
THIS is what is important, in our minds.
If you have the means to get her lessons and coaching *AND* if she enjoys it, that's worth a great deal, now and in the future.

RM
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22twain
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Re: Girls gymnastics: what to expect

Post by 22twain »

welldone wrote:And most gymnasts who are recruited to Division 1 schools are verbally declared to a specific school by 9th or 10th grade. I know several Div 1 schools who have the incoming gymnastics rostered filled though 2018. If that boggles your mind, you are not alone. ;)
Interesting! I recently read an article (in Time magazine, maybe) that described a very similar situation for women's soccer. I don't think it mentioned other sports like gymnastics.
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dbCooperAir
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Re: Girls gymnastics: what to expect

Post by dbCooperAir »

I could write 3 pages of thoughts about gymnastics for kids.

We had one kid in Gymnastics, last year was her last year competing.

She joined what they call an Excel team, although this team is suppose to be a level down in some regards to time we did not find that to be the case. We started with the Excel team when they started the program, it has exploded in size in a very short time and the program has been going thru some changes, most for the good.

Gymnastics was great for our daughter, many life skills learned, school life was night and day etc.

Now here comes the but........gymnastics is a time sucking sport that does not leave much time for anything else. One of the pluses of the Excel team was to leave time for other sports and activities but in reality it does/did not. The kids will get tired of just rec gymnastics and will want to compete at some time so be prepared to do the time or move on to something else.

Our daughter who is now going to High School this year (last kid to start!!!) gave it up because she wants to more than just gymnastics. Gymnastics is a year around sport, you are in the gym an easy 50 weeks a year, that's just the way it is.

If I was to do it over I would not have tossed Gymnastics into the mix, one of another 20 sport choices may have been better. One of the biggest hurtles is that Gymnastics does not translate well into high school (at least around here), not many competing high school teams, if you have a team its small (not that its a bad thing) and you are still expected to be in a gym all year conditioning, practice etc.

My daughter really wants to be involved more with her peers in high school. Our high school is great and has lots to offer. I wished she would have gave up gymnastics a little sooner to make for a easier transition but its working out ok.

Gymnastics is very expensive, you will have more cost then gym fees, be prepared to write lots of checks. You need to add in something for health care cost, doctor visit etc. I can't think of gymnast who did not get hurt in one form or another. Its sad when a gymnast get knocked out for half the year. As you move up you should become more active in your Booster Club, most gyms have a very active booster club from what I have seen.
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postingname
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Re: Girls gymnastics: what to expect

Post by postingname »

dbCooperAir wrote:
My daughter really wants to be involved more with her peers in high school.
That thought brings us full circle ot the OP's post where vveat said:
As a context: We are not particularly interested in sports, both coming from cultures where few kids were doing organized sports. However, we do see that in the US practicing some kind of sport "seriously" is more or less the expectation, so we are trying to give our kids a better chance to fit with peers.


The bit about this being Part of US culture was a question mark for me and I wondered how much that belief was driving the decision about gymnastics. The organized-sports emphasis would seem to be more of a local phenomenon...local to the school, school district or neighborhood...rather than something unique to American culture. Participation in a group sport does bring an instant peer group and also creates team-bulding type social skills which are useful in corporate life, but it can take away from a broader involvement in school activities. So I just thought it was interesting that the first post was about peer considerations and this latest one was too -- but from an entirely different perspective. :)
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dbCooperAir
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Re: Girls gymnastics: what to expect

Post by dbCooperAir »

To add to what I noted above, I ran out of time while typing last time, had to pay some bills :wink:

I have a real love hate relationship with sports, some more than others. In most high school sports you can do more than one, fall/winter/spring etc. That gives you a different group and dynamics for each group, that's a plus. When you look at gymnastics its a small world and can become a little click'ee, you also run into many parents who seem to be re living their youth thru the kids, you have this in every sport but it seem more so in gymnastics from what I have seen.

As a side note the music programs are getting the short end of the stick, nothing new but they don't get much love. I would/did encourage music in school. I really wish they offered more after school music programs such as band/orchestra/choir etc. just like the sports programs. What I found as the kids get older 10-12 grade they have a full school schedule and no time for a music elective unless they ditch a math/science class. Our district made a change this year and added more required math (that's a good thing) but you can see the writing on the wall with the music programs.
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js2012
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Re: Girls gymnastics: what to expect

Post by js2012 »

I haven't read all the responses but want to chime in with some more information about swimming.

I am 34 and am still a competitive swimmer. It was the greatest gift my parents gave me. Of course, I liked to do it which makes a huge difference, but I really started it because my friends were doing it and now more than 20 years later, I'm still swimming and my friends have moved on.

I swim on a Master's team with a wide range of people in age and ability, a woman in her late 60's started swimming in her 30's! She's been swimming almost as long as I've been alive. A few years ago, I went to a swim meet and swam on a relay with two men in their 90's!

Hopefully she grows to enjoy it, but even if she only get to the "comfortable" stage, I'm sure she will thank you later in life. But, if you can encourage her in that particular sport, she will really benefit from the overall conditioning and safety of swimming on the joints. My biggest issues are my shoulders, but overall, I am in great shape and there is something about being in the water. Maybe it's just me, but it's a very peaceful place.

Best of luck!
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Re: Girls gymnastics: what to expect

Post by dgdevil »

js2012 wrote: My biggest issues are my shoulders ...
101% agree with your post, being a former Masters swimmer myself (got lazy) ... Your coach should be able to fix the shoulder issue in 5 mins. It's technique: rotate the torso, keep elbow high/forearm floppy, make sure hand doesn't cross to other side on re-entry. etc. The sidekick drill will help + innumerable Youtube clips.

PS: Great book: Swim: Why We Love the Water

http://www.amazon.com/Swim-Why-We-Love- ... inw_strp_1
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