Gymnastics? Advice needed for my daughter.

[SandiR]

This may be a long shot, but I was hoping for some advice. My 11 year old daughter started becoming obsessed with gymnastics a few months ago and I put her in classes. She's got a lot of talent and skill and that's not just my opinion. She wants to compete so I asked the gym about her getting onto the team. They said she is good, but she's too old to start. The girls that compete start when they're like 5 and by the time they're my daughter's age, they've been practicing for hours a day for years and they're much further ahead. They said she should try to compete at the high school level when she gets there, but our high school doesn't have a gymnastics program.

She's just crushed. Totally devastated. I was wondering if anyone had any advice for us. I would love to help her participate in the sport beyond just the classes she takes if it's at all possible. It makes her so unhappy to think there are no options open to her.

Thanks.

 

[superme80]

Is there another gym around? I was 11 the year I competed. Competitive gymnastics was not my thing, but I was not the oldest on the team. One of the girls was 15 and she was having a blast with us. I was invited to join the team again when I was 16, as there is a division for 15-18 for Level 5, but my parents said no. I would look around for another gym and explain that you aren't expecting your daughter to go to the Olympics, but she would like to compete.

Also talk to your daughter and find our what her expectations are. Look on youtube for Level 5 gymnastics. Evaluate what she can do and what can be worked on. Good luck!

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Find a gym that will permit her to compete.

Our old gym had a recreational comp team allowing those with talent and skill but too old and not ready for the hard core training to actually compete.

I think some gyms are obsessed with doing well in competition that they will place arbitrary rules preventing late bloomers from joining them. I found that, as my girls aged--an achieved skill set that would have moved them forward at a younger age don't at their older age. But--now that I have a 4 year old little Nadia--there is just a huge difference. So in hind sight, I don't mind that my girls were pushed forward to do something when they weren't ready. I do think safety was primary concern.

If your daughter primarily enjoys the tumbling skills, you might try finding a competition cheer team--but only with a cheer gym that keeps safety of paramount importance. This may be an option still permits her to do her gymnastics. Just not on any apparatus.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Oh--and in the meantime, she should work on conditioning at home. Sit ups, push ups, pull ups, etc. She will improve her odds of advancing if her workouts aren't limited to just once or twice per week in the gym.

 

[ashley0139]

If I may ask, what are her skills at 11? To be totally honest, 11 is a bit old to start competing, but it's not totally impossible. Could she start competing USAG level 4 at 11? Sure, but she would probably be one of the older ones. I started level 4 at 9 and I was older than many. If she were competing USAG 1 or 2 at 11 though she would probably be the only one in her age group.

EDIT: I think there are other programs that are not USAG that do competitions as well. It would be less competitive and not as intense, but I don't know much about those.

 

[SandiR]

Thanks. Yes, I believe my daughter is level 5. The gym she goes to told me that the team girls her age are level 8!

She knows she's not Olympics bound, she just wants to have the experience of competing.

 

[ashley0139]

Thanks. Yes, I believe my daughter is level 5. The gym she goes to told me that the team girls her age are level 8!

She knows she's not Olympics bound, she just wants to have the experience of competing.

For her to have level 5 skills after just a few months is really amazing. It takes most girls years to get to that place. A kip alone can take months to master. If she really has level 5 skills, find a gym that will let her compete. My gym had a couple of 11 year old level 8s, but not many.

 

[mom2rb]

I am a team coach. If she just started and already has Level 5 skills then you need to take her to a new gym. The coaches at your gym are idiots! If not then I would find a gym that has an Excel team. She can start competing right away and move up as her skills improve. Excel is designed for girls that either started late or don't want to spend every waking moment in the gym.

If you can get me a list of the skills that she has I can give you a better recommendation of where to go.

 

[deedeetoo]

Former gymnastics mom here. There really are different expectations at different gyms. Some are super competitive, the girls start very young, and gymnastics is pretty much their whole lives.

Other gyms are less intense. They won't produce Olympians, but the girls will have fun. In MA there is something called prep op. Girls who don't want to be on the USAG track can compete in that and its much more laid back. You can try to see if any gyms offer something like that around you. At age 12, my daughter was not advancing well in the USAG track (she was only level 7) so she moved over to prep op. She went from being one of the older girls in the group to being with lots of girls her own age.

I agree with others that its very impressive that your daughter got her kip so quickly. Kips are a big deal.

 

[mom2rb]

Prep op is now called Excel.

 

[chiamarie]

I have to agree with everyone else here; look for another gym that will take her. I got my parents to enroll me in gymnastics when I was 12 (after watching the 1996 Olympics, I became obsessed). I started competing as a level 5 when I was 14. I only competed 1 season, but I had a blast. Yes, the odds of your daughter being an Olympian are pretty slim, but she's 11 and should easily be able to compete, she's already younger than I was when I competed.

 

[KelsiesMommy]

If they are a USAG Gym, while I can understand your DD's disappointment, I can see their point. My 10 year old is a level 5 gymnast who currently trains 16 hours a week. She started on team late- at age 8! Pre-team at age 7- and had been in Rec gym since she was 2. Some gyms have different programs that aren't as competitive, but I can't imagine seeing an 11-12 year old competing Level 2 or 3 at a meet. Of course, we live in Southern CA, w=one of the more competitive states for gymnastics.

 

[U2_rocks!]

With USAG she will need to start competing at level 4 (can't skip it and start with 5). Age 11/12 isn't the most competitive for USAG level 4 overall - the most fiercely competed age groups for that level are probably 6 - 9 That's because the young superstars reach level 4 by that age, and they are GOOD. The average gymnasts and the late starters are older when they reach level 4. Age groups for medals may be smaller too at those higher age groups because there are less competitors. However, highly competitive gyms may not have the time slots or coaches who are available to work with gymnasts who are outside the norm for their gym. If her current gym is used to their level 4s being 6 or 7 years old, I can understand them not wanting her on team. See if you can find another gym with a more relaxed approach or more room on their team.

Excel is a good option too, and more interesting in my opinion. In Excel the girls have their own routines (and their own music for floor) - USAG can be pretty boring and repetitive for some gymnasts because the routines are scripted and the judging is strict if you are not doing exactly what the script says. Also, everyone does the same floor music and you'll be ready to tear your hair out after hearing it over and over and over!

 

[Jaime4004]

This may be a long shot, but I was hoping for some advice. My 11 year old daughter started becoming obsessed with gymnastics a few months ago and I put her in classes. She's got a lot of talent and skill and that's not just my opinion. She wants to compete so I asked the gym about her getting onto the team. They said she is good, but she's too old to start. The girls that compete start when they're like 5 and by the time they're my daughter's age, they've been practicing for hours a day for years and they're much further ahead. They said she should try to compete at the high school level when she gets there, but our high school doesn't have a gymnastics program.

She's just crushed. Totally devastated. I was wondering if anyone had any advice for us. I would love to help her participate in the sport beyond just the classes she takes if it's at all possible. It makes her so unhappy to think there are no options open to her.


Thanks.

I think anyone who has the skills to compete should be able to, regardless of age. It's just an afterschool sport, not a career for the vast majority of these kids... I know some gyms don't think this way, but some do! Hopefully you have other choices in your area. I 2nd the Xcel option, around here many of those girls start later and are older. There's a huge age range in each level of Xcel at DD's gym...

 

[SandiR]

Thank you so much for all the advice.

BTW, I know absolutely nothing about gymnastics. I think they said she was a level 5 and their girls that age are a level 8. I have no idea what a kip is. I do know that she can do all kinds of flips and splits in my backyard and seems to have turned into a contortionist, but that's about all I know. So, if I'm misrepresenting her skill level, I apologize. I'm really not sure.

I will look into Excel for her. If anyone knows of any places in New Jersey that have this, please, please PM me.

Thanks again!!

 

[JaneBanks]

You should check out Chalkbucket. It's a gym forum that has a parents section. They can answer any questions you may have. They also have experienced coaches posting so it's legit advice.

 

[ashley0139]

Thank you so much for all the advice.

BTW, I know absolutely nothing about gymnastics. I think they said she was a level 5 and their girls that age are a level 8. I have no idea what a kip is. I do know that she can do all kinds of flips and splits in my backyard and seems to have turned into a contortionist, but that's about all I know. So, if I'm misrepresenting her skill level, I apologize. I'm really not sure.

I will look into Excel for her. If anyone knows of any places in New Jersey that have this, please, please PM me.

Thanks again!!

It's great she can do all that stuff, but remember that gymnastics is 4 events. It's not just about tumbling, but also about vault, bars, and beam. So she easily may have level 5 floor skills but not bars or beam skills. I have no idea, obviously, I'm just pointing that out. It does seem like Excel would be a good option for her.

A kip is a bar skill. You can look it up on Youtube.

 

[tarheel618]

You may also want to check out gyms that do AAU as well.

Be warned though competitive gymnastics is expensive. I wish someone had told me just how much it cost before my two became involved it in.

 

[Hrhpd]

Thank you so much for all the advice.

BTW, I know absolutely nothing about gymnastics. I think they said she was a level 5 and their girls that age are a level 8. I have no idea what a kip is. I do know that she can do all kinds of flips and splits in my backyard and seems to have turned into a contortionist, but that's about all I know. So, if I'm misrepresenting her skill level, I apologize. I'm really not sure.

I will look into Excel for her. If anyone knows of any places in New Jersey that have this, please, please PM me.

Thanks again!!

I want to second the suggestion that if your daughter wants to compete, loves the tumbling part since you said she is doing flips all over the place, and can't find a gymnastics gym to compete at, an all-star cheer team may be of interest to her.

You have some of the best all star gyms in the country in NJ.

Since All Star cheer has teams for every age group and every skill level, 11 is definitely not too old to start.

Interesting fact is that we see a ton of gymnasts move to cheer around your daughter's age.

 

[Fishteacher]

I would definitely find a new gym. I began gymnastics at the age of 13 (yes, walked into a gym for the first time) and was competing at level 9 by the age of 16. I am not sure if the levels have changed since I have been there but it sounds pretty much the same. I starting competing at level 5 and worked my way up to level nine before I ultimately gave it up due to a nagging injury.

I was lucky enough to have a mom who supported me and let me make every decision in how far I went with the sport. It is very demanding when you start to compete. There are very long hours in the gym and even longer hours at meets. Overall, it was a wonderful experience that I would not trade for the world. I can still walk on my hands like a nut

Good luck!