Hello CB parents,
Seeking some advice or insight from someone who's been down this path - please bear with me as the context helps explain a lot about our dilemma.
My DD is a 10 year old L6 and hopes to do D1 college gymnastics. She trains at a new-ish gym that has a very small Optionals group with no L10's, 1 L9, a handful of L7-8 and her training group has 6 L6's. There is also a strong group of 15-20 or so Compulsory gymnasts. My DD likes the coaches and is happy at this gym, her teammates are like family. The HC has decades of experience and although there is no TOPS program per se, the gymnasts have a solid foundation with lots of conditioning, uptraining and tend to do very well at meets. However this gym has no track record of sending gymnasts to college, and over the years I've watched older girls quit the sport entirely, age out after graduating HS or those with bigger aspirations have left for bigger, more established gyms in the area.
Over the summer my DD tried out at reputable gyms in the area (that have trained Olympians and elites) and was accepted but decided not to make the switch. The biggest reason being that she wants to stay where she is comfortable. Also the best option would have been an hour commute away, which would have put a strain on my family since I have younger kids and my husband travels a lot for work. When DD tried out at this gym, DH and I noticed that they had a wall full of photos of athletes that have committed to college, but it felt a bit like a factory and we worried that my DD might get lost in the shuffle. The coach that evaluated my DD said that she had a lot of potential and getting into a program that could nurture that potential was very important while she is still young if college gym is her goal. We were torn (and felt time pressure) but eventually decided to stick with DD's current gym for at least the season and re-consider switching next season. One other issue I should mention is that DD has been dealing with fear issues and I was concerned that switching gyms would add unnecessary stress to her mental state.
For those of you whose gymnasts have made gym switches at various points in their careers with college goals in mind, how did it work out? If you could do it over again, would you have switched sooner or later? Did anyone decide to stay and have a successful outcome? Any insight would be greatly appreciated!
Seeking some advice or insight from someone who's been down this path - please bear with me as the context helps explain a lot about our dilemma.
My DD is a 10 year old L6 and hopes to do D1 college gymnastics. She trains at a new-ish gym that has a very small Optionals group with no L10's, 1 L9, a handful of L7-8 and her training group has 6 L6's. There is also a strong group of 15-20 or so Compulsory gymnasts. My DD likes the coaches and is happy at this gym, her teammates are like family. The HC has decades of experience and although there is no TOPS program per se, the gymnasts have a solid foundation with lots of conditioning, uptraining and tend to do very well at meets. However this gym has no track record of sending gymnasts to college, and over the years I've watched older girls quit the sport entirely, age out after graduating HS or those with bigger aspirations have left for bigger, more established gyms in the area.
Over the summer my DD tried out at reputable gyms in the area (that have trained Olympians and elites) and was accepted but decided not to make the switch. The biggest reason being that she wants to stay where she is comfortable. Also the best option would have been an hour commute away, which would have put a strain on my family since I have younger kids and my husband travels a lot for work. When DD tried out at this gym, DH and I noticed that they had a wall full of photos of athletes that have committed to college, but it felt a bit like a factory and we worried that my DD might get lost in the shuffle. The coach that evaluated my DD said that she had a lot of potential and getting into a program that could nurture that potential was very important while she is still young if college gym is her goal. We were torn (and felt time pressure) but eventually decided to stick with DD's current gym for at least the season and re-consider switching next season. One other issue I should mention is that DD has been dealing with fear issues and I was concerned that switching gyms would add unnecessary stress to her mental state.
For those of you whose gymnasts have made gym switches at various points in their careers with college goals in mind, how did it work out? If you could do it over again, would you have switched sooner or later? Did anyone decide to stay and have a successful outcome? Any insight would be greatly appreciated!