Follow along with the video below to see how to install our site as a web app on your home screen.
Note: This feature may not be available in some browsers.
That's a crappy thing to say to a kid. Yes, 11 is older than average for a L5 but it's not so far above average that you would have stood out at a competition.... no gym would want an almost 11yr old level 5 on their team...
100%. I remember crying to my mom telling her what he said. She wanted to tell him off but I told her not to in fear of being kicked out (which definitely wouldn't have happened, but hey I was 10 and my brain was going haywire). I had told my coach what happened the following practice and she told me, and I loosely quote, to "never listen to idiots like that" and to not let "that type of coach stop you from reaching towards your goals". Since then, she had lit a fire in me I never knew I had lolThat's a crappy thing to say to a kid. Yes, 11 is older than average for a L5 but it's not so far above average that you would have stood out at a competition.
Level 5 , 11 year old is not that late. Some gymnasts still get a full scholarship for tumbling , just competing level 8 when in high school junior year.That's a crappy thing to say to a kid. Yes, 11 is older than average for a L5 but it's not so far above average that you would have stood out at a competition.
Level 5 , 11 year old is not that late. Some gymnasts still get a full scholarship for tumbling , just competing level 8 when in high school junior year.
That is a true story from Jill Nick consultant . One of her clients got accepted to college Acro and tumbling team , only competed level 8 . She almost gave up.
It's not the comment. It's the poster.I know of girls who competed only up to level 8 but had strong tumbling skills who recently committed to A and T. Not unheard of.
got itIt's not the comment. It's the poster.
I'll try to make this as short as possible lol.
I started gymnastics at the age of 10 in a rec class. My dream was to be on a competitive team, but we couldn't afford that so I chose to stay in the rec class and learn what I could. In a few months I had advanced to level 4 rec and I still dreamed of being on a competitive team, but at one point at an open gym, a team coach told me that I was too old for team and that no gym would want an almost 11yr old on their team, no matter what level I was. When I tell you my heart dropped, like it physically felt like it had collapsed. I was crushed and honestly thought about quitting. But after talking to my coach, I decided to stay and work on what I could, hoping that one day I could prove that coach wrong. So for the next 5 years I continued to work on skills similar to ones in level 6/7, even working on standing back tucks on beam and half pirroutes on bars, which 10yr old had DREAMED of doing on a competitive team.
Now fast forward to 2020. An old coach from my gym had left the gym started their own. After helping out with getting the gym together, the owner offered me a spot to train with his competitive team in exchange for me helping coaching the recreational classes. I'm not going to lie, I balled my eyes out when he told me, and I felt like my younger self was screaming and jumping with joy. I loved the idea of coaching because of what my coach did for me, and anything involving gymnastics had my heart, so it was a no brainer. It was such an incredible experience, and I had learned so much while I was there. Every now and then I would think about what that one coach said, but now I wish I could look at him and go "who said I was too old for a competitive team again?" Although I was the oldest (I was 16, the second oldest was 13) I still made the most of it, and was even able to compete! (albeit, for a highschool team because I thought being a 16yr old level 7 was way too old, which spoiler alert, it is NOT)
Anyways, a year later I started to fall out of love with the sport when I turned 17, and shortly after, the gym eventually closed down. I felt lost for a bit and struggled a lot with trying to find who I was as a person without gymnastics. And if I'm being honest, I feel like that's a struggle a lot of people tend to overlook, and it took a hard hit on my mental health. But Coach S and Coach C had helped me a LOT with my struggle, and although my story was like a rollercoaster, I am still so so grateful for this experience. I learned so many life lessons from my journey, and I'm so glad I hit the lottery with the most supportive family and coaches.
Thank you!! How kind of youWow! What a great story! Thank you for sharing. Your perseverance is an inspiration
I started gymnastics at the age of 5 and automatically became completely obsessed and my mum knew it the coachs loved me as i was “a good mix of flexibility and strength” as they used to say and i was pretty much automatically in the competition team and i stayed gym crazy for the next 6 years at 11 i fell out of love and quit but between the ages of 11 and 13 i regretted that decision i went back to a teen class at a new gym and was moved out of it because i still had a lot of skills i moved from that gym early 2022 bc it was emotionally abusive and in less then a year i have passed three levels i think it’s time if someone really loved gym sometimes you need a break to appreciate it
TELL US YOUR STORY! WAS IT TIME... OR WAS THERE STILL HAPPY YEARS LEFT?
I was a gymnast from young age and was recruited to team straight from a preschool class. I competed dev for 3 or four years before switching to xcel. Xcel worked for about year. Then the coaches I liked weren’t there anymore. One of my coaches had no gymnastics experienced besides being a judge and couldn’t spot at all. I had crappy coaches and mean teammates. I was crying to my mom that would go to any other coaches practice but ones, she told me if I didn’t go, I didn’t go to the meet that weekend. I didn’t go. I took that year off. I came back the next year to a newer, closer gym as a rec gymnast. I’ll be honest, I was better than the rec kids. For the next three years I went to one or two rec classes a week. I got a bit better, and got to do the sport I loved. I took some time off for a broken ankle and then Covid. I loved my coaches, my teammates, and the atmosphere.
TELL US YOUR STORY! WAS IT TIME... OR WAS THERE STILL HAPPY YEARS LEFT?
That’s crazy for the coach to say that because I see girls competing in levels 2-3 at the age of 11-13. I feel like that’s a little old to start if you are wanting to compete in college or elite but most kids burn out these days by level 5 anyhow. I say let them enjoy it while they can, gymnastics is short lived unless you go on to make a career out of it.That's a crappy thing to say to a kid. Yes, 11 is older than average for a L5 but it's not so far above average that you would have stood out at a competition.