Parents Young Boys Gymnastics

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Hi. New here. I have a 6 year old son whose been doing recreational gymnastics in coed classes for a few years now (minus covid times). I know very little about gymnastics, and even less about boys gymnastics. Currently he does floor, bar, beam, trampoline and springboard which I assume is to get ready for vault. I know he's working on equipment that male gymnastics wouldn't do later on, and it's a co-ed class I get it. What I'm wondering about is floor. He really loves gymnastics but he gets upset he can't hold a bridge and do back bends. Overall he's very flexible. So my questions are, do boys and girls at this age work on the same floor skills? What floor skills should he be working on? What can I do at home to help him?
 
Hi. New here.

Welcome to the site!

Currently he does floor, bar, beam, trampoline and springboard which I assume is to get ready for vault.

Ok... this is a big one for me. I started in a co-ed class when I was 6 years old. All I wanted to do was quit. My mom talked to the owner and they tested me and switched me to the boys "pre-team" and the rest is history.

Overall he's very flexible. So my questions are, do boys and girls at this age work on the same floor skills? What floor skills should he be working on?

Girls are typically heavier on back bending stuff. Boys are heavier on handstanding... extension rolling... pirouetting... pressing. So all things "handstand".

If he is interested in men's gymnastics... I would get him in a boys class ASAP.
 
Many of the skills in boys and girls gymnastics are the same.

Both boys and girls need to work bridges. But back bends, limbers and walkovers are not part of competitive MAG (boys gymnastics) and they are part of competitive WAG (girls gymnastics).

At 6 we don’t mix boys and girls in classes. From the time they start school (4 1/2-5 years old). I keep them in seperate classes. But we don combine older beginners who are more in a recreational pathway and not headed for Competitive gymnastics.

A lot of clubs combine classes for various reasons. There are often far less boys, so there may not be enough kids to justify extra classes. Teaching young boys can be harder in general (lots of energy), so some clubs will put them with the girls as a way of managing it.

But be aware that many clubs just don’t have competitive boys programs. They may tack the boys into the girls rec classes, but won’t have any competitive options for them in the future. It’s worth checking in to see what your club does.
 
Welcome to the site!



Ok... this is a big one for me. I started in a co-ed class when I was 6 years old. All I wanted to do was quit. My mom talked to the owner and they tested me and switched me to the boys "pre-team" and the rest is history.



Girls are typically heavier on back bending stuff. Boys are heavier on handstanding... extension rolling... pirouetting... pressing. So all things "handstand".

If he is interested in men's gymnastics... I would get him in a boys class ASAP.
Thanks for the advice. I wanted to channel the energy he has at home into the most beneficial skills, so I guess we'll start with handstands.
 
Many of the skills in boys and girls gymnastics are the same.

Both boys and girls need to work bridges. But back bends, limbers and walkovers are not part of competitive MAG (boys gymnastics) and they are part of competitive WAG (girls gymnastics).

At 6 we don’t mix boys and girls in classes. From the time they start school (4 1/2-5 years old). I keep them in seperate classes. But we don combine older beginners who are more in a recreational pathway and not headed for Competitive gymnastics.

A lot of clubs combine classes for various reasons. There are often far less boys, so there may not be enough kids to justify extra classes. Teaching young boys can be harder in general (lots of energy), so some clubs will put them with the girls as a way of managing it.

But be aware that many clubs just don’t have competitive boys programs. They may tack the boys into the girls rec classes, but won’t have any competitive options for them in the future. It’s worth checking in to see what your club does.
He's currently at 2 different gyms. Neither have a boys class for his age, or a competitive boys team . The one he's been at for awhile and I'm just trying to figure out what to do with him next. In the fall I may be able to switch him to a place that has all boy classes. I don't even know if he likes the other men's events because he's never tried.
 
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