Parents DD desparate to do more and compete

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Theunpreparedmum

Proud Parent
DD 7 did some gymnastics at the local dance school taught by one of the dance teachers with gymnastics training and then a former gymnast was brought in to teach alongside the dance teacher.
DD seemed to do well and after six months they moved her from the "mini" class to the "junior" class (there are three under 8's in the "junior" class) and DD loved having the older ones to look upto and expressed an interest in doing competitive gymnastics.
So we put her name down to join a local club and three months ago got offered a place in their beginner recreational class (DD's been doing gymnastics altogether now about 14 months) and loves the new gymnastic class but is "desparate" to compete. She still does gymnastics at the dance school, along with ballet, street and acro dance.
Not doing gymnastics myself growing up and not really knowing anything about it I now feel at a lost of how to help DD achieve her goal if it's possible. Can anyone make team/squad whatever it is called or are there certain attributes needed to be able to compete?
DD is always doing handstands and cartwheels when ever she can and practising cartwheels and handstands on her floor beam and constantly practising to try and get her walkovers right, does press ups and sit ups to try and be stronger and even pinches my smalls weights to dance with!!
As I have no knowledge of gymnastics and don't know if everyone can make it to competing I said to her there are lots of girls in your new class (30 something) and lots of recreational classes you may never get to compete (I know this may be harsh but she's obsessed to the extent she asked if she could drop all her dancing and do more gymnastics lessons)
I want to do the best for my daughter and admire her passion but don't want her to have an unrealistic dream,
She is good at swimming and I know there is the option to compete with street dance if she wanted to so don't want her to write off other activities if she will never be picked out from rec for more.
How do we tell gymnastics that she wants to do more without seeming pushy. We don't even know if she is good, average or very good as in the 3 months of being there we haven't had any feedback.
Sorry for the long post and thanks for reading.
 
I think the easiest thing to do is just ask the gym how their team program works. Talk to the front desk and see if they can guide you to the specific person you need to speak to to answer your questions. All gyms work a little different. Some have open tryouts, some invite girls that are noticed in rec classes, etc. Just getting an idea of how/when the gym you are at runs their team would help you decide next steps. I know our gym is invite only (no open tryouts) and those invites have already been sent out (new season/training begins the beginning of June).
 
You should definitely ask. Even if the program is invite only, letting them know your daughters interest will likely get her on someones radar. My DD did a year of rec and no team coach even knew she was in the gym. Fast forward one conversation and many years - she competed level 9 this season.
 
I agree, ask around see what it would take to get a team coach to speak to you and your DD. As for DD and her desires. She is 7 and is old enough to know what she "likes", only you know if she is mature enough to know what she "really" wants to do. My last thought is Mom and Dad know best, but we can't live our children's lives nor can we chose what they love.
 
As I have no knowledge of gymnastics and don't know if everyone can make it to competing I said to her there are lots of girls in your new class (30 something) and lots of recreational classes you may never get to compete (I know this may be harsh but she's obsessed to the extent she asked if she could drop all her dancing and do more gymnastics lessons)

To answer the highlighted question, I believe everyone can make it to competing, but not necessarily at every gym. Each gym is different, some are more picky than others. Some invite everyone who wants to try, other hand pick the most talented 5 year olds and reject everyone else or send them on Xcel track.
So as others have said, the first thing to do is figure out how things work at your gym. Talk to the administrator at the front desk, or with the coach after class. Tell them your daughter is interested in competing and ask what the process is to get on the pre-team\team.
If they reject your daughter at the current gym for whatever reason, don't get discouraged, look for other gyms, get her evaluated in a few places. There is a right gymnastics place for everyone, you just have to find the one that's right for your daughter.
 
I agree that you need to ask. For example, at our old gym, a 7-8 year old starting rec would not be on the radar for team - their potential team girls are handpicked from preschool classes at 4 and 5. But many others in the area will let anyone on if they want it, once they get the skills. So occasionally you need a gym change - depending on the gym's philosophy.
 
Hi all, thanks for the replies :)
Sounds like different gyms operate different ways.
Thank IreneKa for letting me know that there is a right gymnastics place for everyone. She practises, practises and practises and says she will practise more and more until she gets to compete but like I say I know nothing and was starting to worry that at 7 she may be too old :-(
 
unprepared -

Allow me to guess - you are in the UK, correct? If yes, then you really need to seek an answer that is specific to the UK system, since the UK and US sytems are quite different.

Good Luck.
 
Hi MeetDirector, are all the above replies not UK related. How did you guess UK?

I will leave a direct answer to your question to the folks on here that are in the UK, but generally when talking about competing on team and getting to a team there is vast difference between the UK and the US systems.

And by the by, yes it was "mum" and "practise" that keyed me.

And also by the by @Sk8ermaiden, @MeetDirector is not a "she"; there are quite a few of us dads on here. ;)
 
I’m from the UK and whilst things are different in the competition structure etc I still agree with a lot of what has been said.
To answer the highlighted question, I believe everyone can make it to competing, but not necessarily at every gym. Each gym is different, some are more picky than others. Some invite everyone who wants to try, other hand pick the most talented 5 year olds and reject everyone else or send them on Xcel track.
So as others have said, the first thing to do is figure out how things work at your gym. Talk to the administrator at the front desk, or with the coach after class. Tell them your daughter is interested in competing and ask what the process is to get on the pre-team\team.
If they reject your daughter at the current gym for whatever reason, don't get discouraged, look for other gyms, get her evaluated in a few places. There is a right gymnastics place for everyone, you just have to find the one that's right for your daughter.
I agree with what Ireneka says everyone can compete but not at every gym.
I would ask at the gym you are currently at say your daughter is interested in competing and ask about how their squad works, what are her chances of making squad and take it from there.
Some clubs only take the very best and are very picky and only compete at high levels other clubs compete at county level and some clubs have multiple different squads competing at different levels.
I don’t know if you know what sort of level the club you are at competes? Have they got a Facebook page where you can see what competitions they have been to?
 
I'm from the UK, and how easy it is to do squad gymnastics (competing) seems to vary depending on which area you are in. Near us (in the south) it can be quite difficult to get into a gym squad (any squad, at any club) as the demand is so high for artistic. Seems to be easier for other gymnastics disciplines like trampolining and dmt (double mini trampoline), and maybe acro and tumbling, and maybe easier in other areas of the country. All clubs that I know of will offer trials to gymnasts wanting to try out for squad. Usually they are not so much testing what moves she can do at that age, but how many chinups on the bar she can do, how good her straddle lever is, how good her splits are, all of which she can work on at home before her trial to help her chances. The common theory is if she is flexible and strong, they can teach her the skills. Also they will look at her enthusiasm, and fearlessness. We were lucky and did find clubs that would take my dds but it wasn't the first one we asked...don't give up at the first hurdle, if you hit a hurdle! If she really wants to do it, hopefully she will find somewhere.
 
Thanks taxidriver and Annikins.
Taxidriver, I've had a look and I can only see reference to grades?
Annikins we are North, one area she's seen when googling for gymnastics videos to learn is teamgym which appealed to her probably for the dance but don't know if current place do it but she also loves the vault.
I'll see how many chin up's she can do (if any) this weekend.
Didn't know the terminology but she does some sort of straddle lever (self taught from videos) she just tried it one day when doing box splits. Regarding box splits she can get to the floor and makes it look easy and her legs are straight but not straight back (sorry if my description isnt quite right, I'll try to find a photo or take one and see if I can post it. She can do front splits perfect (well perfect to my untrained eye) on one leg and is practising on the other.
To practise these and I'll google what else they may test and practise for a couple of months it wont be too late to ask for a trial in a couple of months at 7.5?
 
Thanks taxidriver and Annikins.
Taxidriver, I've had a look and I can only see reference to grades?
Annikins we are North, one area she's seen when googling for gymnastics videos to learn is teamgym which appealed to her probably for the dance but don't know if current place do it but she also loves the vault.
I'll see how many chin up's she can do (if any) this weekend.
Didn't know the terminology but she does some sort of straddle lever (self taught from videos) she just tried it one day when doing box splits. Regarding box splits she can get to the floor and makes it look easy and her legs are straight but not straight back (sorry if my description isnt quite right, I'll try to find a photo or take one and see if I can post it. She can do front splits perfect (well perfect to my untrained eye) on one leg and is practising on the other.
To practise these and I'll google what else they may test and practise for a couple of months it wont be too late to ask for a trial in a couple of months at 7.5?
Do you know what grades, compulsory, National or regional/club grades or county?
 

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