WAG Communicating info about class progressions and team track

[ayyyrial]

How does your gym communicate information about class progressions and team track stuff to parents (and athletes, especially if they're old enough)?

Inspired by a post on the parent forum with a discussion about what to expect with a young child on a pre-competitive track and how gyms communicate progression info. I know a some parents are frustrated with the lack of communication from coaching staff, so I was curious to find out what coaches' (and others) experiences and practices are.

At the gym I coached at, we were not supposed to give any definitive answer if parents asked about their child's progression. If I thought a kid should move into the pre-competitive track, I would have to ask the coach in charge of the team development program first, to confirm that she agreed with my evaluation, and that there was space in the class.

The other thing is that at a young age, so much can change so quickly. Our pre-competitive progression was 1) general class for 4-5 year olds, 2) class for 4-6 year olds with skill requirements, 3) invite-only class for advanced 5-6 year olds, 4) pre-team, and 5) team. A child in the second or third class could easily be considered as a prospect for team, but many also wind up not showing the consistent skill development that is needed to move to the next class. So you don't want to create an expectation that the athlete will stay on the competitive track.

 

[Jazzjerz]

This is one area that I am thankful our gym is very strong in. When my daughter tried out for preteam, we were informed verbally about the overall philosophy of the JO program (college track), how it differed from the Excel program, what the progression from pre-team through optionals typically looked like, as well as hours expectations for the different programs. We were also given a very thorough handbook which laid out the various paths and timelines, what coaches look for in order to move kids up, as well as clarification that athletes are re-evaluated every year, and moving up or continuation in the program is not guaranteed. We also had a parent meeting at the beginning of each season. The owner and coaches are also very available to schedule meetings if parents have questions about their individual child.

 

[CoachAlex]

I coach team and rec classes - so if a parent asks about team OR if a child shows potential I will talk to the parent directly. If our rec coaches who are NOT team coaches are approached by a parent, or they have a child who is more advanced, etc., then they know to come to one of the team coaches and ask our thoughts, etc. We do offer multiple competitive programs and we often pull team kids from our 4-5, 5-6, year classes. But the communication is all coach to parent.

 

[Mamabear123]

At our gym, sometimes the lack of communication can be frustrating; but they are very clear where our kids stand as far as levels and such. Our gym holds an invite only tryouts every June and the coaches tell the parents the result right after the tryout. Our gym pulls some kids from those tryouts, and some from advanced rec classes for team track. Once invited to team, it's like an exclusive club that rec parents have no clue about. We have in depth emails that outline expectations, practice times and meet schedules. Since these things are shared through group emails, no one outside of team would have any clue about this stuff. Team progressions are shared through an envelope that is given to the child during the end of the season/tryout times. The envelope tells you what level your kid will be at and has the contract with payment schedules and team practice hours.

 

[gymisforeveryone]

In Finland we have a national pre-competitive program for rec and pre-team gymnasts. It's mandatory for all of the gymnast willing to start competitive gymnastics but on the other hand this pre-competitive program is usually available (as it should be) for every gymnast who is interested despite of age, body type or experience. In this program the gymnasts practice certain skills (on different events, strength and flexibility) and then have testings 1-5 times a year. Most gyms have an extra practice for kids who want to pursue this program. Some gyms make everyone practice and test the skills. The gymnasts have to pass 10 mandatory skills and 5 optional skills out of 10 before being allowed to move from this first pre-competitive level, bronze, to the second level, silver. After passing 10 mandatory and 5 optional skills on silver level they are allowed to start competing. After the first competitive level they still have to pass gold testing before moving up to the next level.

I think that this program is very open and inclusive. Everyone can look up the tested skills online and also the criteria for passing. Also the pre-team and team coaches can easily find potential gymnast for teams by just taking a look on the clubs testing results. If they find a youngish gymnast who has quickly moved through the program they can probably assume that this gymnast is team material. They continue training and testing the skills in pre-team but it's always an advantage if the gymnast has already mastered the basics.

On the other hand most gyms have a "rec-team" for older gymnasts who might progress a little slower or who started a little later but who still manage to pass the bronze and silver testings. After passing silver they are invited in the rec-team. The silver level is not a piece of cake at all so there is no danger of the rec-team getting too big or anything. They are usually allowed to compete like the regular team but mostly just local meets.

The skills tested are based on the fundamental skills and progressions. For example bronze requires one pull up, silver requires three. Bronze requires cartwheel, silver requires cartwheels on both sides and a hurdle cartwheel. This guides the rec coaches to focus on the right things and overall the program has boosted the Finnish gymnastics and helped to produce more strong team gymnasts.

So the pathway is usually like this:
1. A beginner rec class, grouped by age, 1 hour a week (usually one year or less)
2. Intermediate rec class and additional bronze practice, 2-2,5 hours a week (usually one year)
3. Invite to pre-team (4-5 hours a week) tryouts in the spring
4. Pre-team for 1-2 years, testing silver (If you didn't make it to the pre-team you continue to train bronze and silver and after passing silver get an invite for the rec team or team)
5. Team, usually one level a year. Hours go up every year. Usually it starts from 7 hours a week and goes up by 2-4 hours each year

For older starters the pathway is usually like this:
1. A beginner rec class, grouped by age (usually one year or less)
2. Intermediate rec class and additional bronze/silver practice
3. Rec-team when you have passed silver
4. You continue to train for gold AND/OR you start competing
5. Usually 1-2 years in one level, if you want to compete
6. If you start to progress very fast the coaches recommend a spot in the real team later on

 

[ayyyrial]

I love that there are national skill-based standards for each level there. It sounds useful for parents and athletes and also less-experienced coaches. I guess USAG kind of has those with Level 1, etc, but I don't think many gyms really use them.

 

[Aussie_coach]

From the point of view of the gyms, parents can be frustrated by a lack of communication on their child's path to team, but it's rarely as simple as saying, you have to do this, this and this and you will be on the team.

Individual coaches may not be able to give accurate information to parents because the final desicions may be out of their hands. There could be little worse than taking a family their child is on the path to team and then for one reason or another it doesn't eventuate. This is why many gyms will not tell you this until they are sure the selection is definitely happening and the spot is there.

Availability on team, or in the next level will play a big role. So the standards of skill required for teams may vary from year to year. Sometimes kids with a lesser skill level will be able to be offered a spot because there are less kids after those spots one year, while the skill level will need to be much higher the following year because the demand is higher. So again gyms may avoid publishing the crieteria because the bar is not set in stone. Parents will complain "Well, Suzy got into team last year and she didn't have all those skills", and other years kids who already have all the skills listed can't be selected as the number of spaces means the skill cut off is higher. If gymnasts and parents are putting their stakes into meeting a certain set of published criteria, and then it doesn't end up working like that no one is going to be happy.

The other problem is that many of the criteria a gym will look for are somewhat subjective. Have you heard the term "coachability", how do you judge that? Gyms will look for kids who they feel are committed, hard working, have a positive attitude and are keen to learn. But there is no set test to determine this, they will simply need to look for those kids they feel like they can work well with.

 

[l.c.o]

Combination of smoke signals, reading and interpreting coach and staff facial expressions, and rampant rumors.

(In all honesty, parents have to ask and they'll usually get an answer if one is available. Rec families get progress reports after every class session with recommendations for next level, though that usually remains rec-focused. Super talented kids are sometimes pulled right out rec and tossed into preteam. And tryouts for girls team are posted 1-2 times per year. Sometimes once you're team track you get a bit of an FYI. But progress varies so much anyway, and the gym's program evolves over time, so in reality I'm sure it's hard to have anything set in stone).

 

[SurpriseGymMom]

At my gym, I am the one officially in charge of the pre-team/developmental program. If a parent asks the office staff about team, they get directed to me. If a rec coach sees a kid that has potential, they come to me. I evaluate said kid and either offer them a trial spot in pre-team or (if they are not ready) have them on my radar for later. We also have several official tryouts/year where we invite anyone who wants to (within an age limit) to come in and try out for pre-team. I try hard to talk to parents and inform them of the process, and communicate afterwards with concrete suggestions. We hold parent meetings for pre-team to keep them informed about the usual progression and what they can reasonably expect, and I am always open to answering questions if needed.
I like to keep parents really informed, it cuts down on the speculation..!
Now, if you just walk in to the gym and don't talk to any staff members, there is no posted information about any of this so you either have to ask (if you are interested), be approached by a rec coach or myself, or sign up for a group tryout when those come around and are widely advertized across the gym.