Parents Gym change for preteam??

[Dad1234]

My 4 1/2 year old daughter is on preteam and goes to class for 2 hours a week. She has her pullover and back hip circle on bars. She can do a bridge kickover, a backward roll, a handstand, and a very sloppy cartwheel. She can do basics on beam and vault. I really like her current gym, but they don't seem to push her and a lot of her skills she acquired at home. I think she could do harder skills if she had a coach that pushed her. She has natural athletic ability and picks up on skills fast. She says she wants to do harder skills and tries them on her bar at home. My daughter can definitely act like a four year old and sometimes will get silly and doesn't always listen during class. She is definitely not mature enough to compete yet. I want her to love gymnastics and I absolutely don't want to burn her out at a young age, but sometimes I wonder if I should seek out a gym that will push her a little more. The gym that she is at will keep her on preteam until she is mature enough to compete and move up to level 3.

I keep reading that gymnastics is a marathon and not a sprint. So, does it really make a difference what gym a child does preteam at? Would it be beneficial to look into a gym that will push her a little more or would it be better to keep working on what she has and perfect those skills at her current gym? I don't know anything about gymnastics and skill progression. The other gym that I was thinking of looking at has a program for 4-6 year olds that meets for 3 hours a week and would prepare her to be a level 3 gymnast during the course of a year. Then she would move to a preteam class with 5-8 year olds until she is ready to compete.

I would appreciate your input. I want her to stay in this sport for several years and I'm not sure what the best path for that is.

 

[Mommyo2az]

I am a developmental team coach, and can tell you that pre-team is usually not about skills acquisition at all. We tell our parents this up front so they understand. The goal of pre-team a lot of strength, conditioning, and religion of basics. Usually our girls spend a year on pre-team, maybe 2 if they need more maturity- then move on to level 2/3. The majority of my pre-team girls are 6 and 7. The younger 4/5 year olds will have another year before they move to team. The better we build their basics during pre-team the more ready they are to learn harder skills that are based on the basics!

 

[raenndrops]

She can't compete Level 3 until she is at least 6 years old. A lot of pre-team classes focus more on shapes than on additional skills. They are probably working on fixing her form on skills she learned at home.

 

[2gymkids]

She is 4. She should be working on having fun while building strength. The fact that she is already bridging enough to do a bridge kickover at 4 scares me- please make sure they preserve her back! Skills will come. My daughter was in the developmental program (2X week) for almost 2 full years before they ever did a back handspring. Stop teaching her at home and let her develop her strength naturally, and let the coaches work on the rest. She's a preschooler.

 

[Mommyo2az]

I am a developmental team coach, and can tell you that pre-team is usually not about skills acquisition at all. We tell our parents this up front so they understand. The goal of pre-team a lot of strength, conditioning, and religion of basics. Usually our girls spend a year on pre-team, maybe 2 if they need more maturity- then move on to level 2/3. The majority of my pre-team girls are 6 and 7. The younger 4/5 year olds will have another year before they move to team. The better we build their basics during pre-team the more ready they are to learn harder skills that are based on the basics!

*repetition of basics! Sorry, not religion!!!

 

[Deleted member 18037]

She is 4. The only thing she should be doing is having fun. And she should not be doing gym at home.

 

[txgymfan]

If she wants more activity, take her to the park. Let her play outside. If she wants more structured activity, try a dance class, or swimming lessons or soccer, anything that is fun and will keep her moving. Please stop the bridges, it’s too much for her little back.

 

[Madden3]

I am a developmental team coach, and can tell you that pre-team is usually not about skills acquisition at all.

...

The better we build their basics during pre-team the more ready they are to learn harder skills that are based on the basics!

Your post sounds encouraging to me as I have similar concerns as op- although in our case our 5.5 year old daughter is not even on pre team yet. Can you explain what is considered "the basics" rather than skills? Thanks.

 

[Mommyo2az]

...


Your post sounds encouraging to me as I have similar concerns as op- although in our case our 5.5 year old daughter is not even on pre team yet. Can you explain what is considered "the basics" rather than skills? Thanks.

Absolutely! I would say things like knowing what pointed toes, locked knees and a hollow shape feel like in all events, right side up and upside down. Sounds simples, but it takes a loooong time for kids to learn. Of course we learn skills, but nothing beyond a backhand spring (usually about this time of year for girls moving to team). But I spend a lot of time working walking on high releve (beam and floor), straight arm rolls, handstands, handstands and more handstands, cartwheels, hurdles and more hurdles..you get the picture... for bars it is a lot of strength stations along with glide swings, pullovers, and circles.

 

[Dahlia]

If they are teaching good form among wiith strength and conditioning, that is the most important. If she's learning skills at home with bad form, it is VERY hard to undo that muscle memory.

 

[Dad1234]

Absolutely! I would say things like knowing what pointed toes, locked knees and a hollow shape feel like in all events, right side up and upside down. Sounds simples, but it takes a loooong time for kids to learn. Of course we learn skills, but nothing beyond a backhand spring (usually about this time of year for girls moving to team). But I spend a lot of time working walking on high releve (beam and floor), straight arm rolls, handstands, handstands and more handstands, cartwheels, hurdles and more hurdles..you get the picture... for bars it is a lot of strength stations along with glide swings, pullovers, and circles.

Thank you so much for your responses! None of the preteam process has ever been explained to me as a parent. I see her gym practicing these things with her and it is encouraging to know that I probably don't need to look at another gym. Other people who have responded are saying that bridge kickovers are back for her back at this age. Are you able to elaborate on this? Her class consists of mostly 5-6 year olds. Her and one other student are the only four year olds. They work on bridges and bridge kickovers in class. Is this a red flag that I shouldn't stay with her current gym? They practice bridges every class. They usually do one spotted kickover each class and occasionally will spend a portion of their class time working on bridge kickovers (not very often though). I really appreciate you taking the time to respond to me.

 

[Mommyo2az]

Thank you so much for your responses! None of the preteam process has ever been explained to me as a parent. I see her gym practicing these things with her and it is encouraging to know that I probably don't need to look at another gym. Other people who have responded are saying that bridge kickovers are back for her back at this age. Are you able to elaborate on this? Her class consists of mostly 5-6 year olds. Her and one other student are the only four year olds. They work on bridges and bridge kickovers in class. Is this a red flag that I shouldn't stay with her current gym? They practice bridges every class. They usually do one spotted kickover each class and occasionally will spend a portion of their class time working on bridge kickovers (not very often though). I really appreciate you taking the time to respond to me.

Under the age of 5 we never do backbends and keep bridges to a minimum. They just don't have the strength in their core and other muscles at this age to keep the back supported well (especially for the kickover). They have years ahead of them to do these skills, no need to start them earlier than necessary. It sounds like your gym is doing the right things!

 

[Dad1234]

If she wants more activity, take her to the park. Let her play outside. If she wants more structured activity, try a dance class, or swimming lessons or soccer, anything that is fun and will keep her moving. Please stop the bridges, it’s too much for her little back.

Thank you for your response. I was unaware that bridge kickovers are bad for her back at this age and will definitely not permit her to do them at home anymore. They practice bridges in each class and do one spotted bridge kickover each class. Occasionally, they practice bridge kickovers for a more extended period of time during class. Is this a red flag to leave her gym? Her class consists of mostly 5-6 year olds and two four year olds.
Is it bad to let her play on the bar at home? She is a high energy kid which is why she is in gymnastics and also why I purchased her a bar. Playing on the bar really helps with her energy levels. She also takes dance class once a week and swim class, plus she plays outside often.

 

[Dad1234]

She can't compete Level 3 until she is at least 6 years old. A lot of pre-team classes focus more on shapes than on additional skills. They are probably working on fixing her form on skills she learned at home.

Thank you for your response. As a coach, do you prefer that your students don't do any gymnastics at home? I'm not sure if I could totally keep her from flipping around and off the bar but if that is what is best, I can limit what she does at home.

 

[MeetDirector]

Dad1234 -

From one gym dad to another, its time for some brutal honesty.

Your daughter is 4 1/2 and the only thing you should be worrying about is if she is having fun. Stop worrying about is she at the right gym and what skills she has or doesn't have. Stop her from doing gymnastics at home, especially the bar. Gymnastics at home only means that she will have to "unlearn" things she has done at home in order to do them correctly. If you want her to last in this sport, you have got to keep gymnastics at the gym; home needs to be home and her parents need to be her parents, not her coaches.

My dd lasted in the sport from where yours is until she graduated high school and made it to level 10; that is a LOT of years and if we had worried about the things you are worrying about, she would not have lasted in the sport. Give her coaches time to help her build strength, coordination, flexibility and proper form. As a dad, I know you want her to always have every opprotunity and you want her to progress. If she is at a good club now, you have to start trusting that the coaches know what they are doing.

Good Luck!

 

[tpMom]

You've already gotten a lot of great advice about what pre-team should look like - and it sounds like you're trying to listen to it so you're already doing a great job for your daughter! As for practicing skills at home - like everyone else has said, bridges and kickovers should be kept to a bare minimum and definitely should not be done at home. But, let's be honest here, most young gymnasts flip around on the monkey bars or do cartwheels and handstands all over the house - at least until their practice hours outnumber their free hours!

If I were you, I would try not to think so much about practice, period. If you're worried about bridges and kickovers at practice, speak to the preteam coach about it - you'll get a chance to hear what their philosophy is about that skill and hopefully it'll put your mind at ease. As for at home, if your little one is bouncing around on her own, having fun, in a way that is safe and not driving you crazy, then I would probably let her keep playing. I stress the word PLAYING here. She doesn't need you to remind her to point her toes or to critique a cartwheel if she's goofing around in the back yard. If she's trying to do extra "practice" from the gym, then I would tell her that she doesn't need extra practice and try to distract her with something else - like a bike ride or a fun walk.

 

[Dad1234]

Thank you all for the responses! I have listened to all of your advice and have not changed or checked out other gyms. My daughter had her gymnastics show last month. She had the opportunity to do a back hip circle on the bars. She can do it independently. She would cast and then her coach would stop her once she was getting her momentum and the coach would flip her over the bar instead of letting my daughter flip herself. Her coach has been doing this in practice as well. Can anyone explain to me why her coach would be holding her back from doing it by herself? Is it for correct form? I also found out that the the level 3-4 kids at her gym consists of older kids, aged second grade through middle schoolers. It seems they prefer for the kids to be older and more mature and that level. If this is the case, that means that my daughter has three more years at level 1-2 before she can be moved up and compete. I was wondering, does 4 years in a preteam class seem like a long time? Thanks!

 

[triplethreat+1]

Yes, it would be for correct form. I have noticed at our gym that the coaches allow rec kids to power through some skills, but for team/ preteam kids they will physically manipulate them to have correct form even if the gymnast could manage to do it on their own. Especially on the young/ small ones. It's best for them to learn how it feels to do the skill correctly from the start and not get the incorrect form ingrained.
As far as age, my guess would be that she would continue to be one of the youngest in her group like she is now (assuming she progressess at a similar pace). My DDs are average age for their levels in our gym (similar range as yours) but there are a couple younger and a few that are older.

 

[3rd_time_around]

*repetition of basics! Sorry, not religion!!!

 

[Flyaway]

At this age and level there is a big difference between "having" a skill, and doing it with correct form. And most of the time parents have no idea what the correct form should be. My dd "had" her back hip circle independently at age 5, but it was with bent arms and knees, piked and with a low belly cast. Did I see any of that? Nope, not at all. So you can imagine why I was shell shocked at her first meet in level 3 and she scored a 7 something on bars.

Shapes, shapes and more shapes. That's what pre-team should be. That and fun. I agree with the above poster that it's almost impossible to keep a young child who loves gym from cartwheeling and handstanding around the house. But it should all be play. Don't coach her. Let things take their course. You've got time. Good luck to you and your dd!