Parents Xcel to JO Too Late?

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My DD asked me the other day why she can’t go to a college team. She’s 14 so I explained the levels and paths etc. And what most gymnasts are that go to a college team.
I sense she is absorbing on all this info.
I believe the answer is yes but wanted to seek out your opinion as well.
She is too old and too late to switch from Xcel to JO AND even if she did she is too late to be considered college level right?
I wouldn’t want to switch unless there was a strong possibility she could be even looked at for a team.
Again I think the answer is already yes but no harm in asking right?
 
My two cents: very, very few girls make it to the college level (even those that make it to L10 by high school). But I don't think it's "too late" if she has goals of going to optionals for her own enjoyment of the sport. Depending on how your gym does things, if she does well in Gold maybe she can jump over to L6 the following year. She won't need to score out of L4 and L5 as she'll be old enough. Good luck to her! :)
 
She's not too old to switch to JO although some gyms impose their own age requirements. If you can find a gym that you like that has openings, I'd say go for it!
 
Switching to JO is not the same as doing college gym.

So yes could switch to JO providing a gym will do that.

And regarding college gym. While it’s unlikely she could NCAA. And not impossible if she say is an extremely talented vaulter for example.

There are colleges that have club teams and they compete. So that’s a possibility as well.
 
Switching to JO is not the same as doing college gym.

So yes could switch to JO providing a gym will do that.

And regarding college gym. While it’s unlikely she could NCAA. And not impossible if she say is an extremely talented vaulter for example.

There are colleges that have club teams and they compete. So that’s a possibility as well.
Forgive me because I don’t know …. Don’t you have to be a level to even be considered for any D1-D3?
 
Forgive me because I don’t know …. Don’t you have to be a level to even be considered for any D1-D3?

My understanding is that the college scouts track L9/10 athletes, and not Xcel.
It's also my understanding (from an athlete at our old gym who did this) that if an Xcel Diamond/Sapphire wants to go to an NCAA school and they let the college know that, they can be under consideration.

You just have to jump up and down and say "I'm over here!" then maybe?
 
My understanding is that the college scouts track L9/10 athletes, and not Xcel.
It's also my understanding (from an athlete at our old gym who did this) that if an Xcel Diamond/Sapphire wants to go to an NCAA school and they let the college know that, they can be under consideration.

You just have to jump up and down and say "I'm over here!" then maybe?
Ok. I keep seeing this Eligibility thing too. Does she have to be a level to sign up for that? Or can any gymnast sign up?
 
Ok. I keep seeing this Eligibility thing too. Does she have to be a level to sign up for that? Or can any gymnast sign up?

I have hit the limit of my specific knowledge. Just saying there's a way out there, somewhere, for the right gymnast. Maybe someone around here knows more. Good luck.
 
small d3 programs sometimes recruit xcel diamond/sapphire gymnasts as an event specialist if they have certain skills on the event
Vault: flipping vault, typically layed out unless its a hand front
floor: (at least 1 of 3) rudi,combo pass with twisting, double back
beam: series that meets requirements
 
Ok. I keep seeing this Eligibility thing too. Does she have to be a level to sign up for that? Or can any gymnast sign up?
It’s not an eligibility thing and there is nothing to sign up for. There is an expectation of skills a gymnast is capable of by the time they are freshman in HS to compete NCAA. The expected skills are L10 skills.
 
I think she's talking about the NCAA Eligibility Center which is for prospective college athletes to manage and keep track of eligibility requirements (amateur status, testing, course credits, etc). I think it's required for all D1 and D2 athletes.
 
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I would not worry about the NCAA Eligibility Clearinghouse now. If she ends up in the recruiting process, you will have time to navigate that. You only need it for D1/2, not D3.

Is it too late for NCAA gymnastics? Likely, but gymnasts develop at different rates and some do really well as specialists. D1/2 would not be realistic at this point but D3 certainly could be an option if she begins to excel in one or two events. But just so you know the odds - There have been a few who have been recruited into D3 from Xcel but these are outliers. Most D3 gymnasts have been L10s for at least a couple of years before college and virtually all would have been L8's by 13/14 yrs old. Many spend multiple years in L8/9 before moving to L10.

Given her age and level, I also would be discussing college club gymnastics as alternate options to NCAA. Or Acro/tumbling or cheer so that she knows there are many ways to continue the sport in college.
 
I agree with Gymgal that it is highly unlikely that at her age , 14 and level, Xcel Silver that an NCAA gymnastics team member experience is in her future. There are a lot of schools with club teams and I've seen kids at JO level 6 on these teams up through 10s who weren't on the D1/2/3 team for whatever reason.

If she's happy doing what she's doing in Xcel, I wouldn't make a switch to JO .... ANY expectation that she will compete on a college team by simply doing that is just not realistic. There are plenty of good level 10s that aren't even on teams so an Xcel/new JO gymnast isn't going to magically get tons of skills to be competitive at the NCAA level.

Something she might want to consider is seeing if she could be a manager on a team...we had a friend that was a level 8 so not recruited but wanted to be part of the experience at her Big 10 school so she contacted the coach directly and asked and followed up multiple times and lo and behold, she was with that team for 4 years, traveled with them and even got a minimal scholarship in her senior year and she loved it!
 
It’s not an eligibility thing and there is nothing to sign up for. There is an expectation of skills a gymnast is capable of by the time they are freshman in HS to compete NCAA. The expected skills are L10 skills.
I agree with Gymgal that it is highly unlikely that at her age , 14 and level, Xcel Silver that an NCAA gymnastics team member experience is in her future. There are a lot of schools with club teams and I've seen kids at JO level 6 on these teams up through 10s who weren't on the D1/2/3 team for whatever reason.

If she's happy doing what she's doing in Xcel, I wouldn't make a switch to JO .... ANY expectation that she will compete on a college team by simply doing that is just not realistic. There are plenty of good level 10s that aren't even on teams so an Xcel/new JO gymnast isn't going to magically get tons of skills to be competitive at the NCAA level.

Something she might want to consider is seeing if she could be a manager on a team...we had a friend that was a level 8 so not recruited but wanted to be part of the experience at her Big 10 school so she contacted the coach directly and asked and followed up multiple times and lo and behold, she was with that team for 4 years, traveled with them and even got a minimal scholarship in her senior year and she loved it!
I was just seeing that one of the colleges she wants to go to does have a club and range from Level 6-9 and 10! I actually talked to her HC yesterday about that because they have a camp coming up soon and I was asking her about it. But in short agree Club is more realistic for her.
 
They are adding an sapphire level to Xcel that is meant to be a path to college gymnastics. It's so new it's only offered in some areas but will probably be everywhere by the time your daughter is ready for it. At 14 I am assuming she is 8th or 9th grade. If she does Gold in 9th and progresses through the levels one a year she would get to sapphire at 12th grade. As far as switching to JO - it's possible but she would probably land in level 4 plus or minus a level and then need to progress very fast through the levels to make it to 9 or 10 by 12th grade. Plus she will be competing with mostly younger girls, as the level 4 teams are generally preteens or younger.
 
They are adding an sapphire level to Xcel that is meant to be a path to college gymnastics. It's so new it's only offered in some areas but will probably be everywhere by the time your daughter is ready for it. At 14 I am assuming she is 8th or 9th grade. If she does Gold in 9th and progresses through the levels one a year she would get to sapphire at 12th grade. As far as switching to JO - it's possible but she would probably land in level 4 plus or minus a level and then need to progress very fast through the levels to make it to 9 or 10 by 12th grade. Plus she will be competing with mostly younger girls, as the level 4 teams are generally preteens or younger.
Just to clarify your comment about sapphire and college gymnastics. The official usag documentation says: A Division that would allow Xcel gymnasts to prepare for college Intramural sports or NCAA Acrobatics & Tumbling.

So not, DI-DIII gymnastics but college club gymnastics.
 
They are adding an sapphire level to Xcel that is meant to be a path to college gymnastics. It's so new it's only offered in some areas but will probably be everywhere by the time your daughter is ready for it. At 14 I am assuming she is 8th or 9th grade. If she does Gold in 9th and progresses through the levels one a year she would get to sapphire at 12th grade. As far as switching to JO - it's possible but she would probably land in level 4 plus or minus a level and then need to progress very fast through the levels to make it to 9 or 10 by 12th grade. Plus she will be competing with mostly younger girls, as the level 4 teams are generally preteens or younger.
We are Region 7. SA is offered in our area currently.
 

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