WAG An interesting article on what it takes to make the national team

[FlippinLilysMom]

I found this article really interesting. It shows a breakdown of just how many girls attempt to qualify elite and how many actually end up being named to the national team.

https://thegymter.net/2018/08/20/the-path-to-the-national-team/

 

[bogwoppit]

I posted this on your other thread on the topic.

Yep, it is a very tough row to hoe. Very few elite girls will ever compete for the USA. They will spend a lot of money, deal with injury and miss life events for their effort though.

I often wonder why the girls, who are clearly struggling to qualify, continue when they could be very happy L10's. Especially as the Olympics becomes a harder competition to get to. They'd be better off taking up a more obscure sport, like pole dancing.

 

[reluctant]

I posted this on your other thread on the topic.

Yep, it is a very tough row to hoe. Very few elite girls will ever compete for the USA. They will spend a lot of money, deal with injury and miss life events for their effort though.

I often wonder why the girls, who are clearly struggling to qualify, continue when they could be very happy L10's. Especially as the Olympics becomes a harder competition to get to. They'd be better off taking up a more obscure sport, like pole dancing.

Parents and gymnasts would do better to just enjoy the ride no matter where they fall in the line up. Almost nobody makes it to the national team. So many who seem like they are there, get injured and get sidelined. And there is always new talent coming along. There's more to life than this. I can't imagine putting all my eggs in one basket and having a child who doesn't go to school, or join Girl Scouts or sing in the choir or whatever they want to do to get a break from the gym. And parents will say, they just want to be in the gym. Too bad. Be the parent. Make them explore other avenues of joy in their life.

 

[gymgal]

I often wonder why the girls, who are clearly struggling to qualify, continue when they could be very happy L10's. Especially as the Olympics becomes a harder competition to get to. They'd be better off taking up a more obscure sport, like pole dancing.

I have wondered this too and came across some posts a while back that explained that many of the girls just want more challenging competition. Many do it just to say they did it. Helps with college recruiting as well, since the colleges are looking toward the elites first and youngest.

I think the same could be asked of any level gymnast - Why do JO when you can have less pressure and more of a life in XCEL or AAU. Same mind set, i guess.

 

[Deleted member 18037]

This is really not new. And my favorite part (read sarcasm) is that there are no clear parameters to make it or not. The coaches decide based on team “needs”. If you are in favor it’s good. And if you are not favor oh well.

 

[tomtnt]

What part are you referring to? making the national team? there are clear parameters for national team members:

Top 8 Sr and Top 6 Jrs at Nationals....


:

This is really not new. And my favorite part (read sarcasm) is that there are no clear parameters to make it or not. The coaches decide based on team “needs”. If you are in favor it’s good. And if you are not favor oh well.

 

[FlippinLilysMom]

Right, this was about making national team, not the Olympics. Making national team is very cut and dry.

 

[3rd_time_around]

I have wondered this too and came across some posts a while back that explained that many of the girls just want more challenging competition. Many do it just to say they did it. Helps with college recruiting as well, since the colleges are looking toward the elites first and youngest.

I think the same could be asked of any level gymnast - Why do JO when you can have less pressure and more of a life in XCEL or AAU. Same mind set, i guess.

Our AAU is just like JO. They train the same hours, maybe more, and it is very competitive. Xcel is getting more and more like JO every year, so even that direction is changing from its original intent.

 

[Flicfliclay]

Parents and gymnasts would do better to just enjoy the ride no matter where they fall in the line up. Almost nobody makes it to the national team. So many who seem like they are there, get injured and get sidelined. And there is always new talent coming along. There's more to life than this. I can't imagine putting all my eggs in one basket and having a child who doesn't go to school, or join Girl Scouts or sing in the choir or whatever they want to do to get a break from the gym. And parents will say, they just want to be in the gym. Too bad. Be the parent. Make them explore other avenues of joy in their life.

This kind of hits me the wrong way...Who are you to decide what is best for parents to say or do with their children? I AM the parent and my husband and daughter make the decisions with OUR daughter. My daughter in particular has never wanted to do other activities besides gymnastics. She goes to school 5th grade 10 yrs old, gets straight A's in accelerated classes, goes to gym 30 hours 6 days a week and loves to be there. Yes, she trains in an "elite" training group, yes, she is aware that it will take a lot of work and dedication to even make elite, yes, she knows that may not happen, yet she continues to love the sport and work toward her goals. And I as a parent do just fine at where she falls in the line up and encourage her daily to do her best and most of all have FUN!

 

[Freddy's Fred]

This kind of hits me the wrong way...Who are you to decide what is best for parents to say or do with their children? I AM the parent and my husband and daughter make the decisions with OUR daughter. My daughter in particular has never wanted to do other activities besides gymnastics. She goes to school 5th grade 10 yrs old, gets straight A's in accelerated classes, goes to gym 30 hours 6 days a week and loves to be there. Yes, she trains in an "elite" training group, yes, she is aware that it will take a lot of work and dedication to even make elite, yes, she knows that may not happen, yet she continues to love the sport and work toward her goals. And I as a parent do just fine at where she falls in the line up and encourage her daily to do her best and most of all have FUN![/QUOTE

No need to get defensive. Clearly you ARE doing your job as a parent since you are already thinking about all these things, and supporting your child's goals.

 

[Flicfliclay]

How can you not? I find the comment made as offensive..and really I am not screaming or yelling just my opinion..

 

[tomtnt]

How can you not? I find the comment made as offensive..and really I am not screaming or yelling just my opinion..

agreed. everyone has different goals and aspirations and abilities. taken to the extreme, these are the parents who wonder why you won't just let your kids "be kids" instead of doing any sort of high level sports. as if it's better to spend hours on instagram or playing fortnite. the child has no interest or aptitude for musical instrument? too bad - force them to play a musical instrument anyway. wellroundedness versus special ability - both have its merits but lets not impose your values on others.

Interestingly though, the elite college admission process these day favor the specialized kids rather than wellrounded:

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/01/10/colleges-arent-looking-for-well-rounded-students.html

 

[Freddy's Fred]

agreed. everyone has different goals and aspirations and abilities. taken to the extreme, these are the parents who wonder why you won't just let your kids "be kids" instead of doing any sort of high level sports. as if it's better to spend hours on instagram or playing fortnite. the child has no interest or aptitude for musical instrument? too bad - force them to play a musical instrument anyway. wellroundedness versus special ability - both have its merits but lets not impose your values on others.

Interestingly though, the elite college admission process these day favor the specialized kids rather than wellrounded:

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/01/10/colleges-arent-looking-for-well-rounded-students.html

I get what you are saying about that post seeming bossy, but I think they have a point about not pouring all your energy into one thing. How do you know what's out there if you never try to do something else. My kids are in the gym 20 hours a week, but they also love to draw and write and play other sports recreationally when they have the chance. We also travel all the time, and miss practice in the process. The amount of time they spend on Instagram and Fortnite is zero.

 

[tomtnt]

I get what you are saying about that post seeming bossy, but I think they have a point about not pouring all your energy into one thing. How do you know what's out there if you never try to do something else. My kids are in the gym 20 hours a week, but they also love to draw and write and play other sports recreationally when they have the chance. We also travel all the time, and miss practice in the process. The amount of time they spend on Instagram and Fortnite is zero.

ours as well.. but what if your kid doesn't love to draw and write or play other sports? and how dare you not have your kid playing an instrument. 20 hours??? you could reduce that to 10 hours and spend that other 10 hours on getting better at math. /sarcasm

 

[Flicfliclay]

I get what you are saying about that post seeming bossy, but I think they have a point about not pouring all your energy into one thing. How do you know what's out there if you never try to do something else. My kids are in the gym 20 hours a week, but they also love to draw and write and play other sports recreationally when they have the chance. We also travel all the time, and miss practice in the process. The amount of time they spend on Instagram and Fortnite is zero.

And why wouldn't kids that are attempting to go Elite still love to draw, write, or read for fun? My daughter LOVES to draw and can write tremendously inventive stories.. yet she is at the gym 30 hours. She does it while eating dinner, in the car, or whenever she might have some spare time. It is a balance and these girls sure do have an uncanny ability to balance things. And what a tremendous value and life lesson that is. She will miss gym and school to go on a family vacation .. so everyone has a different ideal as to what "well rounded" may be.

 

[gymmom10]

I think everyone has a different idea of balance and as parents of gymnasts, everyone here probably has in some way struggled with it. I personally thought my daughter’s 20 hours a week were too much, (for us), however, it is such a personal thing and not for anyone else to say or judge...What if the parents of these 8 seniors named to the national team, or the 6 juniors, or the parents of the last 5 Olympians (etc.), had thought it was a waste of time or tried to discourage their children from doing gymnastics because the odds were they might never make it? What if Simone Biles parents thought it was a waste of time?

 

[Aussie_coach]

To look at it a different way, just read an article saying the average 8-12 year old spends 42 hours per week on their phone, and the average teen spends 8-9 hours a day on theirs (56-73 hours per week). Kids can probabaly afford to squeeze in 20-30 hours in the gym if they cut back on that a little.

 

[RTT2]

I often find that with parenting decisions everyone feels that the person doing things differently from themselves must be doing something wrong. We all want so badly to be doing the "right" things, as if that will ensure the perfect outcome.
Kids are all different and not every kid wants or needs to have the same experience. I imagine (and hope) that most families with kids pursuing any high intensity path periodically reevaluate whether it is still working for their child and their family.

 

[bogwoppit]

I think as parents we do the best we can, with the information we have, knowing the child we are raising. Different for every kid and family.

 

[John]

This thread has me thinking about gymnastics and competition, which I have been doing anyway the last few days. Becoming an elite is a wonderful achievement, but does it get recognized as such, does anyone outside of gymnastics know the scarifice the athlete has made? Representing your country and yourself in the Olympics is also an amazing accomplishment, but what about the individuals that also possess that same goal but are never able to achieve it?

Making the national team or elite is just a smaller piece of the same larger question for me.
What is the purpose of intense gymnastics and competing?
How does competing effect the children participating ?
What are the benefits of competing?
What are the deterrents of competing?

I think the world is a harsh place. I think competing is the norm when we are adults, sometimes life feels like life is a competition. I know watching my daughter learn a new skill makes her happy, it is all over her face, but how does competing make her feel? When she wins she is happy when she does not win how do you turn that into a learning moment?

In my opinion whatever it is that each gymnasts decides to pursue as the mature into adulthood can be helped by what they learn in gymnastics if the training environment can stay positive and healthy. This is why I let her participate, I would love her to train and save the competitions for her teen years but I have not found a gym that agrees.