Competitive Gymnastics -- When did your DD begin?

[Anonymous]

She is young. Preteam at our gym is mainly 7 year olds (2nd grade) and some 1st graders. 5 year olds are on the preteam track but not actual preteam.

[Anonymous]

I think the age depends on the gym. Our gym starts tracking kids as young as 3-4 and aims to have them competing by 6 or 7, so five is the prime age for preteam.

A girl who starts competing at age 6, will reach level 10 no earlier than age 12 (repeating levels is inevitable and skipping levels is rare). Several years at level 10 are necessary before attempting to go elite.

The girls are on a tight track as they need to be where they are going by 16. Boys have a lot more time to play with since they usually hit their peak around 20-21.

[Anonymous]

Most kids who are competitive gymnasts do NOT have elite and the Olympics as goals. Most kids who are tracked for a team are talented but not future Olympic material. It doesn't mean they aren't very talented and won't be successful and have fun while competing. I competed with a lot of talented kids, and the one who ended up making the Olympics was on a far different level in terms of every natural ability. I'd say we all worked hard, but when it takes me 1000 tries to learn something new and it takes her 10, it's obvious who's going to be advancing faster and farther.

[Anonymous]

Just do classes for now

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Most kids who are competitive gymnasts do NOT have elite and the Olympics as goals. Most kids who are tracked for a team are talented but not future Olympic material. It doesn't mean they aren't very talented and won't be successful and have fun while competing. I competed with a lot of talented kids, and the one who ended up making the Olympics was on a far different level in terms of every natural ability. I'd say we all worked hard, but when it takes me 1000 tries to learn something new and it takes her 10, it's obvious who's going to be advancing faster and farther.

+1. In addition, while I certainly wouldn't stop a DD with this kind of potential from pursuing her dreams, having been a competitive gymnast myself (nowhere near elite) it is not what I would want for my daughter. A lot of lessons can be learned in gymnastics - determination and grit chief among them, but there's also a lot of bad behavior at the higher levels - eating disorders encouraged by coaches, prima donna behavior by the best of the best, etc. OP, if she likes it let her take the lead, but if she starts to lose interest, move on. Gymnastics will serve as good training for a number of things she may love later in life.

[Anonymous]

Can someone elaborate more on what "team" is? Is there one for the traditional artistic gymnastics on the apparatuses (?) and a different one for the trampoline? Do the two different kinds compete together? How often are competitions? And practices?

[Anonymous]

DD was just invited to be on the pre-team at her gym (we're in NOVA) and I didn't realize it was so selective. We haven't given word whether we will join or not (we have a couple of weeks until she would start) but now I know I should at least be proud that she was asked!

[Anonymous]

My daughter (6.5) loves gymnastics and really wanted to get on pre-team -- but once she started, the extra commitment has really gotten her down.

She's only been doing it a couple months, now; I've asked her to give it six months, and if she's still unenthused at that point, we'll look at other options for her.

Since your daughter is really excited about gymnastics, I think it's worth a try -- I don't think you need to worry that you're pushing her unduly. If she's unhappy with the reality, then you can reconsider.

[Anonymous]

what gym is this? i'm looking to get my DD into a gymnastics program.

[Anonymous]

15:05, I think they all have some type of pre-team but it's by invitation only. You can sign up for classes and see how your DD does.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here: Our dd has the body type and the determination. I'm not sure about the skill, but pre-team is an option, so I guess she has the potential to have some skills. I do not see her making it to the elite level; I don't think that she has the natural ability, but I could see her doing perfectly fine during the early years. This is part of the problem that I have at this stage. I hate the thought of her spending hours and hours at a gym knowing that it probably will be short lived and taking away from other things that she also loves. She is begging me to go to the gym multiple times per week and she is sort of hanging out in the regular classes not being challenged.

Why don't you try the pre team then and see how it goes?

I don't understand why you would keep her in regular classes? I agree that she isn't going to learn much. Your dd doesn't have to be an elite gymnast to have it be a worthwhile sport. I mean, we don't have these expectations when we sign our kids up for soccer,etc. My dd is on the pre team track. At our gym there are less competitive recreation league team opportunities. They don't require as much of a commitment.

Why on earth would a child "not learn much" in recreational gymnastics? Must a child be on a team to learn advanced gymnastics? When I took gymnastics (30+ years ago), my gym selected only a few girls to be on the team, but they continued to teach the rest of us the full range of gymnastics. I find it criminal for gyms to teach anything less in recreational gymnastics. What am I missing?

[Anonymous]

At Dynamite Gym last year, they had a 4 year old in pre-team, but most were about 7. The classes were 2.5 hours long if I recall and ended at around 7pm. Gymnasts were required to attend at least 2 out of the 3 weekly practices.

My friend's daughter who used to be on this pre-team (now team) was EXHAUSTED by the end of it, would go to bed late and be grumpy the next morning, a school morning of course. Even though she loves gym, she would often say she didn't want to go to practice. This lasted a year and now with a bit more maturity and resilience is happy to be on the team, which practices even more.

So while I'm all for going ahead with pre-team, OP, especially given your daughter's interest, you have her overall schedule to think about.