WAG High School Gymnastics

[z2akids]

I noticed that HD gym is almost never a topic of conversation here. Do any of your kids participate?

My DD has a few years before she gets to that point, but I am curious about the pros and cons.

I know several girls who compete HS and then come back to club after the season is over to compete and qualify for States/Regionals.

 

[Rockygym]

At our gym if you are on team, you cannot participate in high school gymnastics.

 

[z2akids]

I am pretty sure that there are rules in my state, but the HS season ends prior to States. So, the girls seem to train and compete with the HS through the winter and early spring. Then they come back to their gyms, qualify for States and train at their club gym through summer and early fall.

 

[gymmomtoo]

My dd switched to HS gym about a year and a half ago. Here very few people do club and HS gym because our state high school rules prohibit doing both at the same time and most club coaches don't want their gymnasts being coached by someone else for out of the competition season (here HS is a winter sport so overlaps with optional season).

Pros of HS are that its a school sport so you get the recognition at school for it. Ore laid back and less hours. Our HS coach is nicer but that probably varies Very much a team atmosphere. You can not do events you hate

Cons: coaching isn't as good and equipment isn't as safe. Unless you are one of the best you won't be competing every event or even every meet And if you want to look at a scholarship for college that won't happen with HS (but d3 is still an option). Scoring is about a level 9 so an awesome level 7 coming in is usually shocked to be getting 7s when they used to be getting mid 9s

That's all I can think of right now!

 

[Mrs. Puma]

As far as I know we don't have it around here. The HS that my kids will go to (and that my husband teaches at) is the biggest in the county and we don't have a team. I have not heard of any of the others having a team either. Interesting post though! I have often wondered what the deal was..

 

[MILgymFAM]

It's weird here, because there are about three districts (that I know of) that have high school teams. They are spread pretty far apart though. The district closest to us (about 1.5 away in traffic) actually trains at a local club- the school doesn't have any equipment or independent coaches. Both their high school's teams train together and then compete against each other, which I thought was weird. Most school districts do not have it though. I would think it would be distinctly cheaper, so that's gotta be a plus.

 

[Vivianflips]

My hometown in the northern US has a HS team. I haven't heard of any HS teams in FL (where I now live) though! Must not be popular here.

 

[flips123]

It also depends on the size of the school and the resources available, after all gymnastics is an expensive sport! If it's a small school there's probably not going to be very many gymnasts or people interested in doing gymnastics and the school will not be willing to put money in to the program.

 

[raenndrops]

It's weird here, because there are about three districts (that I know of) that have high school teams. They are spread pretty far apart though. The district closest to us (about 1.5 away in traffic) actually trains at a local club- the school doesn't have any equipment or independent coaches. Both their high school's teams train together and then compete against each other, which I thought was weird. Most school districts do not have it though. I would think it would be distinctly cheaper, so that's gotta be a plus.

There are 3 high schools that train at a nearby club. They all have the same coach - the club coach.
In our state, HS team training starts Nov 1. A club gymnast can (if her club allows it) compete HS from Dec - beginning of March when HS States is over (or when she is no longer in the mix) and then go back to club... OR they can compete for their club until a set declaration day (in early January) after which point, they start competing for the high school. Whenever they compete their first meet for the HS, they are done competing for club until their HS season is over.
Some schools have a Jr. HS feeder program. The Jr. High season is in the fall (finished by the early October). Since there is no State meet, technically, they could compete both at the same time.

 

[stxrdusty]

There's only a few high schools in my area that offer gymnastics as a sport. If given the option I would not do it because I prefer the more intense atmosphere of JO gymnastics. My old JO team had no qualms about kids doing both and my present team was okay with a couple girls doing HS diving and gymnastics. We actually had several HS gymnasts train in our gym with our coach during their training season in 2013.

Old told though, head coach probably wouldn't want the team girls doing HS gym because she couldn't supervise their training completely.

 

[SurpriseGymMom]

They have phased it out of every HS here except ONE (so competition for that one HS is difficult to come by, nothing local at all). Our club does NOT allow their gymnasts to compete HS gymnastics, the equipment isn't up to par generally.
At the one HS who does offer gymnastics, the team consists of club gymnasts who have already quit, usually around L7 or 8. I know one of the other gyms do allow their girls to also compete for their HS and a girl I know did HS gym and competed L10 the same year, but her mom said it was absolutely exhausting (for gymmie and family!) to train and compete both and they wouldn't chose to do that again.

 

[z2akids]

A quick look at the high school gymnastics state meet for my state shows about 50 teams. I know that at least several of the teams are coached my club gym coaches who do it part time in addition to their club coaching.

I know our HC welcomes back the girls who do both and are proud to have them represent our gym in meets after the HS season.

It would be interesting to read about other experiences here

 

[profmom]

We have a pretty strong culture of HS gym around here. There's a good bit of crossover between HS and XCel. It sort of reminds me of travel soccer, with many girls being on the same XCel team and then splitting up to compete for their respective high schools, often against each other.

 

[Gymmonkeymomma]

Years ago, our HS team was a dominant force in the league but there were several 'club' girls (level 9,10) at the time. Our Club coach is not in favor of any upper optionals participating on their HS school teams, it is not forbidden. High school practices and meets conflict with club practices, that is a problem. DD did not do HS because she does not feel confident on the school's equipment, aside from not having a spring floor.

 

[Anna's_Mom]

You can't do both here (state athletics rules), but we are lucky that one of the best teams in the state is across the street from us and I expect that DD will switch to HS when she gets there. It is a winter sport and our gym offers a HS class during their off-season so the girls tend to learn new skills at the gym and then compete HS. A couple of the HS coaches also teach the upper level rec classes at the gym, so they are familiar already. Our team doesn' t have any HS age girls yet, so I'm not sure what other girls will do. But I'm pushing for HS just because of the lower commitment and lower cost. DD isn't on any type of top-competitor track and she won't be a contender for gym scholarships so I I don't want gym to overshadow academics once she gets to HS. I'd rather have her take AP classes than gym.

 

[vagymmomma]

Our state allows both and most of our optionals compete in HS gymnastics. One of our club coaches is also a HS coach and our head coach reviews HS routines with the girls. It works for most of our girls because they are only required to attend one HS practice a week if they have a certain number of club hours (some high schools are much stricter on practices though). I find that most of the routines are really, really watered down (for L8 and above). Basic L8 skills done well generally score pretty good. Equipment is not the same. No spring floors in our state for HS, so safety is a concern (thus one reason for easier routines).

 

[OHGymMom]

DD competed HS gym this year for the first time. It is definitely different then competing club and it took her and I a while to adjust. The biggest difference was scoring and the multitude of level skills the competing girls have. At an average meet there were girls doing anywhere from level 2/3 skills to level 8/9 skills. I would say to score well and place ( most meets only placed out 3 spots) you needed at minimum level 8 skills. DD didn't qualify for HS state meet but we went to watch teammates and club friends. At state the girls who won and or placed had level 9 or 10 skills. The AA champion (3 years in a row) is a level 10 with a full ride to Maryland to do gymnastics so I would say on a rare occasion you can participate in HS and club and still get a scholarship.

As far as my daughter she trains 22 hours a week with her club coach who is also her HS coach (and coach for 2 other HS teams) . Prior to and after HS season she competes club as a level 8. Around our area there are quite a few HS teams; there were probably 20 different teams at HS districts this year. However many teams only have 1, 2, or 3 girls on them so small. As such I can only think of one school in our area that actually owns equipment. Most girls train at their clubs and many meets are held at the clubs or rented venue often in conjunction with another USAG meet scheduled.

I think the best things about competing HS for DD was she finally got some recognition from her friends, community, and school that she is a well trained a athlete and she earned a varsity letter. For me, I found HS meets to be way less stressful to sit through though at times much longer.

 

[Deleted member 18037]

We are not there yet, but our HS has a team. It is my understanding (again, can't swear to it as its not on my radar yet) that they can try out as young as middle school, which in our district is 7th grade. They continue to train and be coached at their home gym primarily. And come together as a team for meets, with multiple coaches. Much like the regional meet we just experienced.

Our school does have their own equipment and in fact a new floor was put into this years budget.

 

[Stellar]

My DD competed HS this past year as a freshman. She would have never considered it in the past but she had an injury / surgery which set her back. She was able to train and compete HS while she was recovering from her surgery. She did end up competing club after HS season ended and intends to do both again next year. I have to say it was the best decision she made. There were about 18 girls on the team and they did a lot of social things together. Also getting recognition for the sport she trains so hard for was nice! The team was large and for most meets only about 6-8 girls got to compete, but my DD competed all around at every meet.

She is training with her club now and then in November will do 2 days with HS and the rest with club.

 

[Dka]

HS gymnatics is big in our state too. It is a fall sport. To qualify for the state meet as an individual you need to have level 10 skills, in fact the top girls in the state also were level 10 national qualifiers. Coaches say they don't prefer it, but in our state that what is said by every youth coach( unless its basketball or football). Most girls do it for fun, and to compete with their friends.