gym wwyd?

[challada]

Ok...mommy rant just to warn you!

My youngest DD started gymnastics last year on a whim because it was a fun thing to do indoors in the cold winter. At 4, I put her preschool classes and thought she might have fun. Within about 2 months, she was progressed through 7 levels of gym classes by the owner of the gym and placed in the highest noncompetitive level of classes. She has been in this class over a year now.

When she started in that class, she was the smallest, youngest by ALOT (mostly 10-11 year olds) but held her own. She has had a good time and enjoyed watching her bigger friends move on to the competitive team.

Now since this winter, the gym owner has been "preparing" me for the fact that DD will be moving up. Frankly, yes, her skills are high for her age but I am realistic...I know she's not going to the Olympics or anything.

Well, this weekend at the gym meet, one of the coaches came to me w/ "your DD is our highest noncompetitive gymnast, but she need to slow down so we are going to put her at level blah blah (noncompetitive) instead of level blah blah (competitive)". Huh???

Now, this gym has gone thru two moves in one year, is in a warehouse now and my DD has had at least 4 different coaches in the one year. I'm not sure how stable their business is at this point.

I think my DD would be fine at either noncompetitive or competitive (this is a girl laying on my floor right now w/her legs folded back over the back of her head and on the floor...think Chinese gymnasts)...but when I asked her last night what classes she wanted for summer, her first reactions was "what class are friends XYZ in?"...well, they are ALL going competitive.

I am proud of her skills, but know she's not headed into a career in it. She's SIX and petite and involved in piano, girl scouts, soccer, etc, etc. I want her to have FUN is my main objective right now!

So, what would you do????
Would you push for her to be on the competitive level?
Would you convince DD that noncompetitive is best fun for her?
Would you go to the only other gym in town (we're in a very small town)?

TIA
C

 

[ntburns22]

My DD6 is in competitive cheer and it is all in fun. We intend to keep it that way. She was even thrilled when they came in last at national level competition. Just being there is all she wants. She loves to go to the competitions to watch all the other girls too. If you do decide to go the competitive route be prepared for stage moms. We stay far away as possible from them, They take the fun out of it for the kids.

 

[daisyduck123]

I'm just speaking from experience here...I would not let her go competitive at that age...due to the fact that it would involve too many hours of practice per week.

My DD11 has been swimming competitively for years now....made it to the Maryland State Championships 2 years ago....but now we're paying the price.
She hurt her shoulder last year...we've been to sports medicine doctors, physical therapy two times/week, etc. If I could've seen this coming, I never would've let her swim 6 days/week...but she loooooved it!!

Of course, practicing many hours a week doesn't injure every child...but it did mine.

 

[Tracey1974]

If she is having fun with it and wants to be in the class with her friends, then I would do that. It doesn't seem that you are pushing her to do the competitive thing and thinking she is the next Mary Lou Retton, then let her go where she wants to. If she is that into it later, then decide what to do. Good luck!

 

[challada]

Thanks all! I'm torn so it's always good to hear other's opinions!

Frankly, after reading my post, the first thing I thought was "you dork, go talk to the OWNER and get her opinion!" Of course, her own DD had blown out both knees by the age of 17 due to gymnastics, so I don't really trust that she wouldn't push them to breaking point!

THANKS
C

 

[Rafiki Rafiki Rafiki]

I have to say the same thing about the daughter of a good friend who did competitive gymnastics.

At age 14, she still had not started her menstural period. She was short for her age. She had to maintain a strict diet so as to not gain weight. She was a level 9 USGA competitor.

She suffered from constant pain in her knees, wrists, and ankles. She went to school 8 hours and then spent 3 hours at the gym daily. She had no time for outside activities or fun.

She finally gave up gymnastics and her olympic dreams after a second major knee injury. She's much happier and has more time to spend with friends and have a normal life.

 

[FreshTressa]

My daughter joined the team at 5 and a half and started competing at 6. She too was the youngest and smallest on the team.

It was practicing about 10 hours a week and it was too much for her. Now she does not want to do gymnastics at all. I wish I had held her back!

But, maybe your daughter is different.

Good luck with whatever you do!

 

[barkley]

if you want what's considered a fairly realistic overview of the good, the bad and the ugly in competitive gymnastics read "little girls in pretty boxes" (in most libraries). it tells of the good and bad coaches, the positive and negative physical, mental and emotion impact on the girls.

i personaly think 6 is too young for competitive gymnastics-i just think the pressure of taking something they enjoy doing WITH their friends and turning into something they do AGAINST their friends (and there is a pecking order within teams for who gets to compete in what) can take the fun out of the activity.

i also get concerned that the coaches are not as educated medicaly as they should be (and frankly unless i knew for a fact that the coach i was considering had some training in physical education and sports medicine i would be hesitant to entrust my child to them-there are too many places out there that simply hire people who have DONE gymnastics-but have never been educated in body mechanics such that they understand the impact it causes on a developing body).

i had several friends who were elementary and jr. high age gymnists-most found it too demanding to continue with beyond 7th or 8th grade, but their early experiences sometimes haunted them. one had severe knee problems that surfaced in high school and most of the others had joint and arthritic problems surfacing by college.

i think if you are going to consider letting her go competitve you need to ensure her pediatrician knows about it and keeps an eye out for any potential issues.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Basically the coach has already not placed her on the team, right?
If you go and ask for her to be in the competitive team, they may say NO, and then what will you do?

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Our gym instructor just opened a new studio. We are finishing up our lessons with our old place.

She believe gymnastics shoudl be fun and girls are getting pushed to earlier to go the competitive route (with gyms refusing to even do "beginner" level with girls who are "too old").

we will be following her at the new school year. She will not have a competitive team right now but it will be somethign she works up to. And she won't be having "little girls" competing to early either.

So that is from the professional POV (though second hand of course).

LEt your daughter just do it for fun now. She'll only get stronger.

 

[AtlantaSue]

My DD started gymnastics at 4 as well; now at age 8, she just completed her first meet season yesterday - her team took 1st place at the state meet.

At ages 6 and 7, she was on a "pre-team" which did not compete, but they did do exhibitions at some meets, which was fun.

I trust the coaches at her gym - they have been at this awhile, and seem to have everyone's best interests in mind. I think if you don't have trust or confidence in the coaches, then you may be in for a tough road ahead!
At this point, I would trust what her coach says; if your DD wants to quit because she is not w/ her friends, than maybe gymnastics isn't for her anyway!

good luck!

 

[Sleepy]

if you want what's considered a fairly realistic overview of the good, the bad and the ugly in competitive gymnastics read "little girls in pretty boxes" (in most libraries). it tells of the good and bad coaches, the positive and negative physical, mental and emotion impact on the girls.

i personaly think 6 is too young for competitive gymnastics-i just think the pressure of taking something they enjoy doing WITH their friends and turning into something they do AGAINST their friends (and there is a pecking order within teams for who gets to compete in what) can take the fun out of the activity.

i also get concerned that the coaches are not as educated medicaly as they should be (and frankly unless i knew for a fact that the coach i was considering had some training in physical education and sports medicine i would be hesitant to entrust my child to them-there are too many places out there that simply hire people who have DONE gymnastics-but have never been educated in body mechanics such that they understand the impact it causes on a developing body).

i had several friends who were elementary and jr. high age gymnists-most found it too demanding to continue with beyond 7th or 8th grade, but their early experiences sometimes haunted them. one had severe knee problems that surfaced in high school and most of the others had joint and arthritic problems surfacing by college.

i think if you are going to consider letting her go competitve you need to ensure her pediatrician knows about it and keeps an eye out for any potential issues.

As the parent of a ballet dancer, there are some things that can be compared with gymnastics and that is physical and emotional demands of the activity at a young age as well as the "pecking" order and personal competitiveness. (ballet isn't all tutus and tiaras....it is an ugly, competitive activity).
I agree 100% with what you have said. My cousin was very young when she started in gymnastics. She was well on her way to the Olympics until they hired a "guest" trainer and he ruined her legs. She was 13 years old and so hopeful and then she had to move on to cheer. You often even have to be careful of the "professional" trainers as they have been known to do things that injure children (as what happened to my cousin). Also, don't forget the evil competitive moms who will instantly hate you if your child is better than theirs. And the money it will cost for the next level up in any activity.

 

[Tigger&Belle]

She's SIX and petite and involved in piano, girl scouts, soccer, etc, etc. I want her to have FUN is my main objective right now!

At 6yo, I think that kids should be involved in a variety of activities.

I have a 12yo son who I let get very involved in baseball at a young age. He still is very involved and it's been a tough balance--how to keep him practicing enough to keep him competitive on a team where he's the youngest, but not have that be the only thing in his life. To say that it's a juggling act would be an understatement. But we do allow him to have other things in his life--basketball in the winter, religious school, a social life on occasion, etc. He's a kid first and then a baseball player.

And gymnatics is even more intense.

I also have a 6yo and I'm not allowing him to concentrate on any one sport right now. I think that basketball will be his sport (not that he's played on a team yet). At this stage, I'm having him play different sports different times of the year and am having him wait to play a sport year round. Of course it's different for a sport like gymnastics, ice skating, karate, etc, but I would really think twice about going the competitive route, especially with a child her age when the gym isn't even pushing that.

 

[challada]

Thanks all! Many have confirmed my worst fears of gymnastics and that has helped with our decision making.

The owner of this gym has a dual degree in education and sport fitness, but she still has an "ex-gymnast" mentality. The first coach my DD had was fun and exciting, but the coaches since then have gotten progressively more rigid. Right now, if DD goes competitive or noncompetitive, she will have the same coach, so that doesn't matter. They say it's all about "fun and team work" but in the same sentence will tell you all the girls from the gym who have placed first in their divisions at state and regional levels.

DD is a social butterfly. She is one of those kids that seems to attract an entourage of other kids around her no matter where she goes. I think that is the biggest part of my problem in that she has her "group" now at the competitive level.

Of course, I think as a mom that I have been the reason the coach said "hold her back" since I've been pretty verbal about my doubts of any good that could come of moving her up so early. I don't want to limit her in other areas she loves and I have said that...so I'm wondering if that was part of the decision. Truth is, we could be looking at select soccer team in a year also (and soccer is HUGE here) and I know her previous dance teacher has talked about her returning for ballet (and there IS travel also w/this dance school's competitions).

As I look at the big picture, I think keeping her at the noncompetitive "expo" level will be a good thing for DD. I believe she can make new friends at this level and be just as happy.

THANKS ALL!