Coaches How much is too much?

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hopefulgymmom

I'm hoping NOT to become totally neurotic about this....
I competed as a kid and would LOVE to see my girls (at least one of them!) become a competetor. The girls, ages 3 and 5 are just starting at a gym here, but they love it and want to go more often than once per week (no prob with this mom!) So, the gym we are starting at says no prob with the five-year-old going twice a week, but apparently the teacher for the 3 y/o says no more than once per week!
The gym is not very competition oriented (I don't think) and there's only one other gym here which is at the Y, but by looking at the website I don't think they gear much towards competing either.
I think the question stands at, would it benefit my 3y/o to take her to a place that's about a 40 minute drive away so that we can go to a better gym?? Is there a growth/development aspect involved that the coach may have in mind when she limits practice to once per week? I've tried to research this online, but didn't come up with much help.
Thanks!
Michelle:confused:
 
There is absolutely nothing wrong with a 3 year old going twice per week. In fact, all of the 3 year old that I have going twice per week are much more socially developed (listening skills, taking turns, recognizing skills by name) than the others. We are a fully recreational gym and we have many preschoolers that attend twice per week. If you said your 3 year old was going to do 10 hours per week I would be a bit concerned.

Does the owner know the coach is discouraging a second day per week?:confused: As a director this also concerns me that the gym is potentially losing a perfectly good client.:greedy:
 
I agree, I think a 3 yr old can definitely handle a little more time in the gym.... but if you are happy with your current gym and classes for your 5 yr old for now, then switching may be a little more of a hassle .... sometimes a long drive can make the little ones tired and crabby.. if you can stick it out for another year or so it may be worth it, the great part about being young is that they can always practice the basic simple skills at home... I loved my dd's rec classes (she did one hour a week until she was 5) but her improvement really came from practicing handstands, fwd rolls, backwrd rolls and cartwheels at home :) we always had a great time and she could never wait to get back to her class, so she essentially never lost interest:D
 
Before switching gyms I would do a little more research in the current gym, what is there reasoning for a 3 year old only going one time a week. Is it that there is not a class available at this time, the coach doesn't want her going or is it a gym policy. As was stated in the last post a 40 minute drive can be a lot for a 3 & a 5 year old, and then what if you cant get both girls in class at the same time. If it is a gym policy that 3 year olds only go one time a week and you are happy with the program I would look into Open Gyms in the area for the meantime. Getting the girls into a competitive program at this age is not the important part, the program itself and if they are enjoying themselves is key at this stage. We have students that leave our recreational program at all ages and still do very well in a competitive gym.
 
thanks :)

I appreciate the input! I will try to find someone to ask these questions to... I'm sure we'll find some sort of answer that will work.
BTW, we are practicing skills at home and they enjoy that too. It's always fun to watch them "show off."
Michelle
 

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