Parents Do you hope for a D1 scholarship?

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Is that the goal for most parents of gymnasts? I feel like I hear that all the time, but it's not at all my goal for my child. Maybe it's easy for me to say that because my DD started late and isn't flying through the levels so probably couldn't get a gymnastics scholarship- too early to tell with DS, but I haven't come across much that's made me wish D1 gymnastics would be in their futures. I just think it sounds like so much pressure for years that only leads to more pressure on the kid once they are in college. If my kids continue and actually make it to upper level optionals I'll think that's really cool, but I think club gymnastics, or just moving on and trying different activities in college are what I'd prefer for them. Sometimes I mention this to other parents at the gym and they look at me like I'm nuts. So, do you see gymnastics as valuable and worth pursuing if your kid will never get a scholarship?
 
A scholarship to a D1 college is difficult to get...But that is my daughters goal at the moment. I am fine with that being HER goal, but my goal is to make sure her academics are up to par and she remains healthy and happy. She is only 11 at the moment, so a fine goal for her to have. I think as long as your kids are happy doing gymnastics they should keep doing it! It has many more benefits than getting a scholarship out of it. In reality most won't get one. LOL
 
My son is 13, he loves gymnastics but has also said he probably doesn’t want to try for a scholarship. Which I totally understand.

My question is that because he’s at practice 20 hours a week, he really doesn’t have time for school extracurricular activities. How do guidance departments generally handle applications for kids who are elite athletes, and have not participated in the clubs or teams that most kids take part in?
 
Nope! We left a gym where maybe if her talent held up and her body held up and her interest held up, that could have been a possibility. I will say my secret CGM wish is that she makes it to level 10, and maybe stays in until she's a senior. I just think it would be so neat. I have no idea if she'll entertain that possibility, but whatever she eventually moves on to will be just as cool, I'm sure.

I think club gym would be a fantastic option for her down the line if she does stay in. At this moment (she is young) she wants a very intense major that I am not sure would mesh with a big sports commitment, nor is it a guarantee the schools that focus on it have Div. 1 teams.
 
Nope! We left a gym where maybe if her talent held up and her body held up and her interest held up, that could have been a possibility. I will say my secret CGM wish is that she makes it to level 10, and maybe stays in until she's a senior. I just think it would be so neat. I have no idea if she'll entertain that possibility, but whatever she eventually moves on to will be just as cool, I'm sure.

I think club gym would be a fantastic option for her down the line if she does stay in. At this moment (she is young) she wants a very intense major that I am not sure would mesh with a big sports commitment, nor is it a guarantee the schools that focus on it have Div. 1 teams.
This is exactly how I feel! If they keep loving it, don't get knocked out by injuries, mental blocks, or burn out, then it would be so cool if either make it to level 10 (assuming my nerves could survive that). But, college gym looks like such a difficult goal and a difficult commitment if they achieve that goal.
 
This is exactly how I feel! If they keep loving it, don't get knocked out by injuries, mental blocks, or burn out, then it would be so cool if either make it to level 10 (assuming my nerves could survive that). But, college gym looks like such a difficult goal and a difficult commitment if they achieve that goal.
Mine will be a level 10 next year and has many more years to figure it out.. 7 to be exact LOL ... so i guess we will see. Most importantly i just want her in one piece!
 
My son would love to do college gym....scholarship probably will not happen. We just hope for some form of financial assistance that will make out of state tuition affordable, since all the programs save one are out of state.
 
My son is 13, he loves gymnastics but has also said he probably doesn’t want to try for a scholarship. Which I totally understand.

My question is that because he’s at practice 20 hours a week, he really doesn’t have time for school extracurricular activities. How do guidance departments generally handle applications for kids who are elite athletes, and have not participated in the clubs or teams that most kids take part in?
I used to worry about this too back when my dd was in middle school. However, once we got into the college process we found out that colleges now are looking for depth in extra-curricular activities, not a whole bunch of activities. They want to see commitment and passion for something not just a list of stuff. Some school applications even limited their space to list extra-curriculars to 3 items.
 
I was worried about that. My daughter was very academically oriented, took all
AP and Honors and always played a sport and involved herself in SGA, NHS, but it was mostly meetings and resume padding.

On the other hand, my son in MS now has put more hours into sport by MS than my daughter put into in HS. I was just wondering how it shakes out for a non scholarship seeking kid who had had a part time job since he was 7 vs a child who knew how to brand herself to college.
 
No. I want her focus to be her education in college. If any sort of athletics were to happen I could see it more likely D3, for a sport other then gym. I just think Div 1 (and Div 2 ) is a job. My kid isnt inclined in that direction and that’s good by me.

If mine gets to L9 I’ll be surprised. I believe she has the ability (to get to 9/10) but she is a cautious kid, so I don’t see her getting out of her own head for things like doubles and release moves. And I’d be more then OK if I have to eat my words.
 
It's not my goal for my daughter's gymnastics. I just want her to have fun and do what makes her happy. I've told her over and over that if she ever decides that it isn't fun or that she doesn't want to do it anymore, that that would be perfectly fine.

But I will say that, at this point anyway, it is my daughter's goal. And I think it is possible for her given her gym and her abilities. But I know that so much can happen in the next 7 years and I by no means am counting on it nor will I be disappointed if it doesn't happen. I just hope that she doesn't have any regrets in the future related to gymnastics.
 
My daughter is just happy doing gymnastics. She wants to be a level 10 one day, (she is a 3rd grade level 4 so plenty of time) and right now she wants to coach gymnastics when she’s older. She’s healthy, she loves her sport and she’s learned so much about persistence, motivation, hard work, how to win and lose gracefully- I’m fine with her never having any ‘lofty’ D1 goals or aspirations. She’s happy, I’m happy.
 
We didn't have goals as parents when we started. I was just happy knowing that she loved doing what she did. As she went through the levels and it looked like L10 and college gymnastics were possible, we began planning a little more to make sure she could achieve those goals if she wanted to. We never "hoped" for a D1scholarship, though we felt she had the ability. Obviously it would have been nice to have that scholarship to pay for college but we knew her academics were strong enough for merit scholarships. In the end, she chose a D3 school and we think it is a great fit for her both in terms of her academic and gymnastics goals. She initially went for D1 but after really researching it, she felt the pull would be too much sports, not enough studies - at least at the schools she was looking at.
 
My husband and I have joked that we are glad that our DD gymmie didn't have that goal, as it seems stressful, even for uber-talented kids (but I wish them well in their journey)!
I have seen plenty of disillusioned parents talk about college scholarships for their gymmies who really didn't appear to be on the gymnastics college scholarship track (e.g. a 14 year old level 6 middle of the pack gymnast). I just smile and nod. :)
 
Personally, no. I don't really want my kids doing college level sports except college club sports (still VERY competitive). I did collegiate swimming and it was a mediocre experience. I rowed crew on club and it was WAY more enjoyable...much more camaraderie and still got to do fun trips etc. While my young gymnast loves the idea of doing college gym now and I would never say anything negative about doing college sports, I do hope she transitions to high school gym (without club) and then some lifelong sport like rock climbing, swimming etc.
That being said, I still LOVE JO gymnastics so far and she is getting so much out of it. All the strength and conditioning will transfer to any sport later on! And the mental focus and overcoming fears and challenges are going to be lifelong skills.
 
My son would love to do college gym....scholarship probably will not happen. We just hope for some form of financial assistance that will make out of state tuition affordable, since all the programs save one are out of state.

Mine desperately wants to do college gym as well. At this point, he's hoping to make it onto a good club team. NCAA looks out of reach.
 
My dd was interested in doing gym on a college team and was at a great gym that does have girls that have earned scholarships at D1 schools. I was not sure that I wanted that for her for a variety of reasons but I was not going to stop her from pursing her dreams at that age. However, I did think that maybe D3 would be great but I felt that she needed to choose a school with the right academic fit first. Fast forward a couple of years and 2 injuries later, dd has switched to Xcel at a different gym with no chance for a college team but we're fine with that. She's loving gym again and may do club in college or continue with Xcel in college because at her current gym it could be a possibility.
 

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