Decision about gymnastics-help!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No, no way.

If she likes it, I would let her stay, but keep her in the non competitive lane.

I don’t think it is a sport worth pursuing. It is extremely hard on growing bodies and can have a lasting impact on the joints and development. It is also a sport that girls age out of extremely young.

My best friend’s daughter is an 8 yr old high level gymnast. She has practices before school a couple mornings per week. She has practices after school nearly everyday for several hours. She eats dinner in the car every day on the way to practice. Her gym has approached my friend on having her quit school and attend school at the gym by their own tutor to get more practice time in. She hasn’t yet, but it is probably just a matter of time. Even the kids that aren’t at this high of a level have rigorous practice commitments.

If she is good at gymnastics, she will probably be good at other sports too. I would push something that is easier for family life and for her to continue as an adult.

+100. It’s fun for little kids but not something worth seriously pursuing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My 6-year-old is a level 3 gymnast getting ready to compete in the fall. She did a year of pre-team at 5. Is she good? Absolutely. Will she ever go to Olympics or even do gymnastics at college? Almost positively not. Why do it? She loves it. Gymnastics teaches hard work, discipline, how to perform under pressure, how to fall with all eyes on you and then get up and keep going, how to balance work and fun - these are all such valuable skills that any adult would benefit from. I’d say give it a try. You can always quit if it becomes too much or if your kid’s heart is not in it.

This is a great perspective.

[Anonymous]

What's the hurry with making these little children compete? Let them have their childhood. Why not?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What's the hurry with making these little children compete? Let them have their childhood. Why not?

My DS played Blastball at age 4, think of it as pre t-ball. They had a weekly practice and a game. They enjoyed the game. There are kids on summer swim teams at 5, some participate in swim meets. We can talk soccer, hockey and a lot more sports. If a child is enjoying a sport, they are going to learn lessons about practice, perseverance, team work, effort, and good sportsmanship. That is not ruining their childhood, that is helping them develop good life skills in a fun way while getting in good exercise.

And some kids show signs of being above average to excellent at a sport at any early age. DS has friends playing travel soccer at 7. He has another friend, 7, who is on a demonstration team for her Tae Kwon Do dojo and is in a more advanced ballet class. Both of them enjoy their activities and asked to participate. They know that it means more practice and being more focused at practice. Their parents take the attitude as long as you like it and are taking the extra work seriously, it is fine.

Gymnastics is no different. If a child shows real interest, which probably means they are paying attention in class and not goofing off and making an effort, they might be given the chance to try a more serious program/class.

If it fits the families lifestyle and the family can afford it and the kid is interested, why not?

DS, 7, has not shown the same level of interest. He enjoys baseball but doesn't ask to play in the back yard or shown any interest in travel teams. And I am fine with that. He enjoys tennis, basketball, and soccer in the same way. We are good with that. Who knows if his level of interest will change, we will make a decision then.

But encouraging a child to participate in a sport that has a bit more commitment and competition is not taking away their child hood, it is listening to them and following their lead. And there is nothing wrong with that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I mean the reason you’re probably sad about saying no is an annoying truth about the state of kids sports these days - it’s kind of now-ish or never-ish (give or take maybe a couple of years) and 5 is really too young to have to make that decision but that’s the state of a lot of sports these days, though gymnastics is one of the worst in that regard.

In general I don’t think there is too much harm in trying if DD is interested with the understanding that she can stop if it’s not working out.

I see a lot of parents who are kind of delusion IMO about their kids sports abilities and I wonder about how good some kids are that are being invited to competitive teams / whether it’s really worth the time, etc. I think a lot of gyms, pools, dance studios, travel teams, etc. have made this a really big business and they’re taking some kids who are not all that great to make money. I personally try to keep an eye on that wrt my own kids. Right now none are so good that’s it’s an issue

And it’s not to say sports time is “wasted” if they don’t go far. I have one kid who really likes baseball and while I don’t think he is the world’s greatest baseball player, our LL has a great youth umpire program and I actually do think he would make a great ump.

And, I do for sure think skills learned in one sport are translatable to other sports.

OP here, and I think you hit the nail on the head.

Thank you to everyone for your feedback. I'm going to decline due to the fact that it's just not going to work for my family. Way too much time in the car and having to schedule vacations and not participate in school activities because of gymnastics commitments...I don't think that's for us. My daughter will be disappointed; I'll either enroll her in a different activity or else up her to 2 recreation gymnastics classes a week.

OP, you're looking very far ahead here and I'm not sure it's reasonable. Scheduling vacations around gymnastics? Not participating in school activities because of gymnastics? Sure, there may come a time for this. But it's not going to be until your daughter is very high level (which will take years if ever) and you'll have these problems with other sports too.

Imo she has been identified as having talent, she enjoys it, it's another day per week (right?). If the logistics don't work NOW, that's one thing. But these anxieties and what ifs about the future are kind of unfounded at this point.

Gymnastics provides a great base for other sports and TBH life in general. If it's doable NOW, I'd really encourage you to let your daughter try advancing, especially if you're willing to up her rec classes by one at this point anyway. The rec track only goes so far and your daughter will get bored quickly.

Actually I have to sign a contract agreeing to the scheduling of vacations, school activities NOW, not in a few years. And 2 one hour rec classes a week, one of which is on the weekend are different than 2 two hour practice sessions on weeknights. I will reevaluate in a year, when both kids are in school. I work (and would have to adjust my work schedule to make the competitive track doable) plus have another kid in daycare.

Wow re the contract. That's...not normal (although I'm new to the DMV I've been involved in gymnastics for decades all over the country). Reevaluating in a year is a great idea and sounds like the most workable solution but I'd also encourage you either to talk to team/preteam parents at your gym about whether the contract is enforced and that's really the culture of the gym or not. And if it is, I'd probably find a new gym!

OP, I see that you made your decision, but I agree that this contract is more intense than the norm, especially for pre-team.

I was going to advise you to put her on pre-team then reevaluate in one year. Since you're keeping her in rec, there's a chance they could offer her pre-team one more time, but gymnastics coaches can be a little capricious.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What's the hurry with making these little children compete? Let them have their childhood. Why not?

My DS played Blastball at age 4, think of it as pre t-ball. They had a weekly practice and a game. They enjoyed the game. There are kids on summer swim teams at 5, some participate in swim meets. We can talk soccer, hockey and a lot more sports. If a child is enjoying a sport, they are going to learn lessons about practice, perseverance, team work, effort, and good sportsmanship. That is not ruining their childhood, that is helping them develop good life skills in a fun way while getting in good exercise.

And some kids show signs of being above average to excellent at a sport at any early age. DS has friends playing travel soccer at 7. He has another friend, 7, who is on a demonstration team for her Tae Kwon Do dojo and is in a more advanced ballet class. Both of them enjoy their activities and asked to participate. They know that it means more practice and being more focused at practice. Their parents take the attitude as long as you like it and are taking the extra work seriously, it is fine.

Gymnastics is no different. If a child shows real interest, which probably means they are paying attention in class and not goofing off and making an effort, they might be given the chance to try a more serious program/class.

If it fits the families lifestyle and the family can afford it and the kid is interested, why not?

DS, 7, has not shown the same level of interest. He enjoys baseball but doesn't ask to play in the back yard or shown any interest in travel teams. And I am fine with that. He enjoys tennis, basketball, and soccer in the same way. We are good with that. Who knows if his level of interest will change, we will make a decision then.

But encouraging a child to participate in a sport that has a bit more commitment and competition is not taking away their child hood, it is listening to them and following their lead. And there is nothing wrong with that.

Gymnastics is different because it’s such an isolating sport. Most high schools don’t have competitive teams. Being a competitive gymnast sometimes means not even attending school. Have you ever heard of a HS soccer playing being homeschooled for soccer?

Also gymnastics is a spot you can only do for a number of years. It’s a sport for young girls. How many other sports are like this? There are plenty of sports you can enjoy your entire life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What's the hurry with making these little children compete? Let them have their childhood. Why not?

My DS played Blastball at age 4, think of it as pre t-ball. They had a weekly practice and a game. They enjoyed the game. There are kids on summer swim teams at 5, some participate in swim meets. We can talk soccer, hockey and a lot more sports. If a child is enjoying a sport, they are going to learn lessons about practice, perseverance, team work, effort, and good sportsmanship. That is not ruining their childhood, that is helping them develop good life skills in a fun way while getting in good exercise.

And some kids show signs of being above average to excellent at a sport at any early age. DS has friends playing travel soccer at 7. He has another friend, 7, who is on a demonstration team for her Tae Kwon Do dojo and is in a more advanced ballet class. Both of them enjoy their activities and asked to participate. They know that it means more practice and being more focused at practice. Their parents take the attitude as long as you like it and are taking the extra work seriously, it is fine.

Gymnastics is no different. If a child shows real interest, which probably means they are paying attention in class and not goofing off and making an effort, they might be given the chance to try a more serious program/class.

If it fits the families lifestyle and the family can afford it and the kid is interested, why not?

DS, 7, has not shown the same level of interest. He enjoys baseball but doesn't ask to play in the back yard or shown any interest in travel teams. And I am fine with that. He enjoys tennis, basketball, and soccer in the same way. We are good with that. Who knows if his level of interest will change, we will make a decision then.

But encouraging a child to participate in a sport that has a bit more commitment and competition is not taking away their child hood, it is listening to them and following their lead. And there is nothing wrong with that.

Gymnastics is different because it’s such an isolating sport. Most high schools don’t have competitive teams. Being a competitive gymnast sometimes means not even attending school. Have you ever heard of a HS soccer playing being homeschooled for soccer?

Also gymnastics is a spot you can only do for a number of years. It’s a sport for young girls. How many other sports are like this? There are plenty of sports you can enjoy your entire life.

You are totally exaggerating. Yes, there are extremely intense programs and those people can choose to homeschool, but that's only for the elite level. Around here, there are tons of programs that are nothing like that. 99% of competitive gymnasts attend normal school. And it's not isolating, because you are with your team and in my experience so far, the fellow gymnasts are an exceedingly kind group of girls.

Also, most high schools around here offer gymnastics as a high school sport.

OP, is your gymnastics club Capital? That contract does sound like overkill. We are at Chantilly Academy and it's a very nurturing environment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My 6-year-old is a level 3 gymnast getting ready to compete in the fall. She did a year of pre-team at 5. Is she good? Absolutely. Will she ever go to Olympics or even do gymnastics at college? Almost positively not. Why do it? She loves it. Gymnastics teaches hard work, discipline, how to perform under pressure, how to fall with all eyes on you and then get up and keep going, how to balance work and fun - these are all such valuable skills that any adult would benefit from. I’d say give it a try. You can always quit if it becomes too much or if your kid’s heart is not in it.

I'm so thankful that my parents had the same attitude as you. I still love and do gymnastics in my mid-40's, and even though I enjoyed competing and was relatively successful at a low level, I was also never going to compete in the Olympics or college. That doesn't have to be the end game for a sport, ever.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What's the hurry with making these little children compete? Let them have their childhood. Why not?

It is the nature of competitive gymnastics. If you don’t put them on a vigorous schedule by 5-6, they will miss the window and likely won’t be able to catch up and be competitive. I don’t agree with it and don’t put my kids in gymnastics past the preschool type classes, but it is the reality of competitive gymnastics.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My 6-year-old is a level 3 gymnast getting ready to compete in the fall. She did a year of pre-team at 5. Is she good? Absolutely. Will she ever go to Olympics or even do gymnastics at college? Almost positively not. Why do it? She loves it. Gymnastics teaches hard work, discipline, how to perform under pressure, how to fall with all eyes on you and then get up and keep going, how to balance work and fun - these are all such valuable skills that any adult would benefit from. I’d say give it a try. You can always quit if it becomes too much or if your kid’s heart is not in it.

I'm so thankful that my parents had the same attitude as you. I still love and do gymnastics in my mid-40's, and even though I enjoyed competing and was relatively successful at a low level, I was also never going to compete in the Olympics or college. That doesn't have to be the end game for a sport, ever.

+1. I was a low level competitive gymnast all the way through college, division 3. I learned focus, discipline, the value of hard work, confidence. Ended up at MIT for college and I did better in my classes during gymnastics season than during the off season because of the discipline that having a daily commitment at the gym forced me to have.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My 6-year-old is a level 3 gymnast getting ready to compete in the fall. She did a year of pre-team at 5. Is she good? Absolutely. Will she ever go to Olympics or even do gymnastics at college? Almost positively not. Why do it? She loves it. Gymnastics teaches hard work, discipline, how to perform under pressure, how to fall with all eyes on you and then get up and keep going, how to balance work and fun - these are all such valuable skills that any adult would benefit from. I’d say give it a try. You can always quit if it becomes too much or if your kid’s heart is not in it.

This is a great perspective.

I was going to say something similar. My now teenaged daughter did team gymnastics for years. Several years go, she decided to play other sports and no longer does gymnastics at all. Even though she put tons of time and we put tons of money into her team participation, we have no regrets whatsoever. She made good friends she remains friends with, met tons of people, took some fun trips, developed great discipline and study habits, and learned about dealing with and overcoming adversity. She loved it while she was doing it and walked away when she was ready. No regrets. If it is something your daughter loves and you can afford it, go for it.

PS - From my perspective, the meets were terrible. I hated them so much. I was happy when she "retired" so that we would no longer have to sit through the meets and endless award ceremonies, but other than that, it was a great experience that benefited our family beyond the sport itself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Actually I have to sign a contract agreeing to the scheduling of vacations, school activities NOW, not in a few years. And 2 one hour rec classes a week, one of which is on the weekend are different than 2 two hour practice sessions on weeknights. I will reevaluate in a year, when both kids are in school. I work (and would have to adjust my work schedule to make the competitive track doable) plus have another kid in daycare.

I've been involved in gymnastics for more than 25 years and I've never heard of this. I recommend you look around because there are a lot of gymnastics programs in this area and certainly there are ones that will be a better fit for your schedule if your child wants to pursue gymnastics past the rec level. In addition, multiple area gyms offer trampoline and power tumbling teams which are generally a lower commitment to start. There are also competitive routes (Xcel) which are more flexible to allow other activities.

Not sure what the previous poster means by enforced. They're kicking kids off team...interesting, I've never gotten that story. Most likely your child will just progress slower (won't be promoted levels as fast) which is fine as long as you're prepared for it and understand. Also, gymnastics team tuition will be due throughout the year even if you have a two week vacation, etc. You can't just withdraw for the month and pop back in. Not sure if this is really where the contract lies. As far as contracts stating you'll pay through June of next year for team tuition, a couple area gyms have these, but the majority don't have such restrictive withdrawal policies.

[Anonymous]

My daughter did gymnastics from about 7 to 11 and at that age she elected soccer over again stepping up the gymnastics level. She simply could not do both as the practice time committments precluded doing both.

Now -- as a parent I would start by asking ourselves -- how realistic is it that my kid can compete at a relatively high level in the future? The reality is the answer to that question depends on a great many factors, but first it depends greatly on where she is going to end up size wise by the time she is 15-18. Forget for the moment her strength, competitiveness, etc. . . if your daughter is likely headed to be 5'6" or taller then she is going to be too big for high level competitive gymnastics. That does not mean that she can't do gymnastics now, but it does mean that you can help her be good with where she is and where she will end up.

Girls who are 5'5" are on the very tall side in high level gymnastics. On the other hand, if you have an athletic kid who is going to also be quite small -- 5'0 to 5'2" -- then gymnastics can be a very good sport for them. Being small will be a disadvantage in many other sports. Now, for an athletic girl, being 5'2" or less is not going to be the end of lots of sports, but it certainly is not the advantage that it is with gymnastics so do take that into account.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My 6-year-old is a level 3 gymnast getting ready to compete in the fall. She did a year of pre-team at 5. Is she good? Absolutely. Will she ever go to Olympics or even do gymnastics at college? Almost positively not. Why do it? She loves it. Gymnastics teaches hard work, discipline, how to perform under pressure, how to fall with all eyes on you and then get up and keep going, how to balance work and fun - these are all such valuable skills that any adult would benefit from. I’d say give it a try. You can always quit if it becomes too much or if your kid’s heart is not in it.

My ten year old did competitive track from age 5-8. She transitioned out of gymnastics after completing level 5. She had a height growth spurt and gymnastics wasn’t in the cards long term. But it was a fantastic early development sport. She joined year round swimming the year that she left gym. She has had a lot of success in swimming due to the strength, flexibility, endurance and work ethic she gained from gymnastics.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I mean the reason you’re probably sad about saying no is an annoying truth about the state of kids sports these days - it’s kind of now-ish or never-ish (give or take maybe a couple of years) and 5 is really too young to have to make that decision but that’s the state of a lot of sports these days, though gymnastics is one of the worst in that regard.

In general I don’t think there is too much harm in trying if DD is interested with the understanding that she can stop if it’s not working out.

I see a lot of parents who are kind of delusion IMO about their kids sports abilities and I wonder about how good some kids are that are being invited to competitive teams / whether it’s really worth the time, etc. I think a lot of gyms, pools, dance studios, travel teams, etc. have made this a really big business and they’re taking some kids who are not all that great to make money. I personally try to keep an eye on that wrt my own kids. Right now none are so good that’s it’s an issue

And it’s not to say sports time is “wasted” if they don’t go far. I have one kid who really likes baseball and while I don’t think he is the world’s greatest baseball player, our LL has a great youth umpire program and I actually do think he would make a great ump.

And, I do for sure think skills learned in one sport are translatable to other sports.

OP here, and I think you hit the nail on the head.

Thank you to everyone for your feedback. I'm going to decline due to the fact that it's just not going to work for my family. Way too much time in the car and having to schedule vacations and not participate in school activities because of gymnastics commitments...I don't think that's for us. My daughter will be disappointed; I'll either enroll her in a different activity or else up her to 2 recreation gymnastics classes a week.

OP, you're looking very far ahead here and I'm not sure it's reasonable. Scheduling vacations around gymnastics? Not participating in school activities because of gymnastics? Sure, there may come a time for this. But it's not going to be until your daughter is very high level (which will take years if ever) and you'll have these problems with other sports too.

Imo she has been identified as having talent, she enjoys it, it's another day per week (right?). If the logistics don't work NOW, that's one thing. But these anxieties and what ifs about the future are kind of unfounded at this point.

Gymnastics provides a great base for other sports and TBH life in general. If it's doable NOW, I'd really encourage you to let your daughter try advancing, especially if you're willing to up her rec classes by one at this point anyway. The rec track only goes so far and your daughter will get bored quickly.

Actually I have to sign a contract agreeing to the scheduling of vacations, school activities NOW, not in a few years. And 2 one hour rec classes a week, one of which is on the weekend are different than 2 two hour practice sessions on weeknights. I will reevaluate in a year, when both kids are in school. I work (and would have to adjust my work schedule to make the competitive track doable) plus have another kid in daycare.

Wow re the contract. That's...not normal (although I'm new to the DMV I've been involved in gymnastics for decades all over the country). Reevaluating in a year is a great idea and sounds like the most workable solution but I'd also encourage you either to talk to team/preteam parents at your gym about whether the contract is enforced and that's really the culture of the gym or not. And if it is, I'd probably find a new gym!

Agree that it's not normal. Sign a contract for pre-team? What gym is this? I've been at a number of gyms (but my no means all) in the DMV, both as a gymnast and a coach, and that's just nuts. I'd go elsewhere, honestly.