For Parents Is there any

[Monkeygirlsmom]

Descriptions of what the average child does at diff levels??

I was wondering where my kids would be on the Number levels comapred to how our gym does it!!

we have BEG 1
Beg2
Advanced beg 1 &2 (they work together)
Intermediate
Advanced Intermediate!

we have a team but I have not figured out when they can get to team
we have been at this gym for 3 years!!

Ok does this make sense! What I wanted to unserstand is how we compare to level 1-4 etc!!!

 

[Ingymmom]

MGM... it sounds like your gym is more geared towards a rec program correct? At least for now... these programs would be considered rec....

BEG 1
Beg2
Advanced beg 1 &2 (they work together)
Intermediate
Advanced Intermediate!


usually rec programs have their own requirements for advancing & teach different skills relative to their own program. At least this is the case in the rec gym we came from - of course it may be a little diff since the gym was ONLY a rec program - nothing competitive- we also had no vaulting in our program, only floor, beam, bars & tramp. You may have to ask your gym for the skills they focus on at these levels. In our intermediate program in rec the girls worked RO BHS's - they also taught standing BHS's 1st, walking on hands, hndtsnd fwd rolls, back x rolls, back walkover** on bars, bck hip cir, peach drop, every once in a while a mill cir ** on beam 3/4 handstand, crtwl med beam, a few different walks & hnsprng dismount... all depended on who was coaching - this was our coach, but others did it completely different... they did have the same requirements for moving to the next level posted, but rarely followed it. In club gym, I have found it to be tremendously different... it was a total learning exp.... I sometimes wish we would have been in some sort of mini team program or even a rec program that really worked on doing basics correctly - I LOVED our program so much in rec, but A has had to relearn even a cartwheel - yikes - since we switched... hope I explained this well.

 

[gymnastmomof4]

My daughter was in a preschool class at our gym at 4 yrs old. She got a letter inviting her to try out for the "Hot Shots" which is a pre-team level 3. When she was 5, she advanced to level 4. You have to be 6yrs old to compete under USAG rules. She competed level 4 last year and is competeing level 5 this year at 7 yrs old. Although she is the youngest one on her level..You can be any age at the levels. It all depend on your skill level.

 

[Megley]

I don't think there is a free list anywhere of what skills are required for each JO level. You can buy the information from the USAG website if you are interested. I bought the DVD with the Levels 1-6 routines and they are very helpful. I can tell you that you have to be 6 to compete Level 4 and 7 to compete Level 5, but as gymnastmomof4 mentioned, there is no other age limitation. The girls compete within age groups in their level. My DD's level 4 group has girls ranging from age 5 to age 9. Level 4 skills include:

Floor:

Handstand to forward roll
Handstand to bridge, kickover
straight armed backward roll to pushup position
round off/back handspring
various leaps, turns, splits

In addition, the girls on our Level 4 team can do front and back limbers, front and back walkovers, some can do front handsprings, front and back tucks on tramp or tumbletrak.

Bars:

pullover
front hip circle
cast to shoot through, mill circle
back hip circle, underswing dismount

They are also working on kips and cast handstands, though none of them have these skills yet.


Beam:

handstand on beam
side handstand hold to quarter turn dismount
split leap, tuck jump, straight jump
half turns and pivot turns

Vault:

The vault is a run, hurdle, jump to handstand fall to flat on back on stacked mats.

Level 5 adds a front handspring on floor, ro/double back handsprings, back extension roll to handstand, plus a full turn and the dance gets more complicated. There is the addition of a cartwheel on the beam plus a full turn. On bars, they need to be able to kip as well as cast to squat on, jump to high bar, tap swings. The vault is a front handspring over the vaulting table. Level 5 girls are also working on cast handstands on bars, back walkovers on beam. The Level 5 team has girls from age 6 to age 11. I hope this helps a little! It sounds like you are in rec classes. I would ask around at the gym about how to advance to team if your daughters are interested.

Meg

 

[ZJsMom]

Here are the USAG skills for each level 1-6: http://www.usa-gymnastics.org/women/2003/2005-2013finalelements.pdf

Each gym has it's own requirements though. For instance, some may put kids in a level when they have most of the skills i.e., 75%. Other gyms really require mastery of all the skills for the next level to move up. For instance, at some gyms, I've seen kids who can do RO BHS BHS and kip who are competing level 3.

 

[Monkeygirlsmom]

thanks!! I know each place differs a bit the things that were posted is exactly what I was looking for!!
I am trying to decide if the gym we are at is gonna be good for what the goals my kids want! They are happy there but I dont see there goals they have (mostly my youngest) being met!! We have been where we are at now for 3 years! and I see progress just no info being out there as to if they will ever compete!! and that is what my youngest really wants to do!!! my oldest is in the ideas of wanting to just not sure! and that is fine but I want to make sure that BOTH there needs are being met!! its just hard to change places since they are soo happy there!!
and to me that is what being involved in sports is all about!!!
Thanks!!

 

[Carmansunshine]

I just want to say if you are happy where you are the best thing you can do is open the line of comunication with your dds' coaches, and talk to the team coach as well. Let them know what you are looking for. Sometimes they need to know a parent and child has the intrest in competing. I have been to many gyms in my area and until the one I am at now I never really had a frank conversation with any of my dd's coaches.(Sometimes as a new gym mom I felt a little intimidated) If I had really been open with some of them we may not have been lost in the shuffle and learning rec type gymnastics form for so long and my dd may have been competing by now. Some gyms train thier team prospects differently than thier rec classes, strickly to keep it light and friendly, and to keep the kids coming. I'm not saying this happens at all rec gyms, but I've seen it happen at a few.

 

[Ingymmom]

What Carmansunshine says is so true about them (& you) being happy and enjoying the program that they are currently in.... if you communicate w/the coach as she said also, you may be surprised, they may even recommend a competitive gym for you to go to.... in our case I can just say that my dd was very happy at her rec gym, it was her coach that mentioned we maybe start looking into club gym to get her more gym time etc. The gym we went to, you had to be invited on team so we took a couple of rec classes there just before she turned 5, got the invite, but going from 1 hr a week to 6 hrs, I was just not sure.. we tried the class and dd LOVED it, but I wanted to wait. It was difficult for me to make the transition, it took me about 4 months ( I really wanted to wait until she turned 6) but then realized she could really benefit w/more gym time. So we tried both programs for a bit (her rec class & pre-team class). I needed to be sure this is what she wanted. When it came time to choose dd did not even hesitate, she wanted to drop the rec & continue with the new club. Our rec coaches supported us completely because we kept the communication open.

I have to say it was apples & oranges - dd was way behind in bars & had never vaulted. If I would have started a few months earlier it would have made a huge difference in form and so much more... For us I wish we would have started a little sooner. The skills were different & the details were different but that was just between our rec & the USAG comp. track programs (that meg mentioned).... some rec programs teach skills correctly in case a child wants to switch to comp. or maybe the gym offers both - our rec gym has a fantastic program but they need to keep the kids interested in coming back every week - not all kids love hours of stretching & conditioning, which would be more on the comp side. Changing turned out to be a positive one for us, however if you choose to stay in her rec gym because you/they love it, its close etc., it will not be too late to make the decision later on... familiarize yourself as much as you can with the USAG program and check out a couple of other programs in your area. Communicate w/the current coach & let them know which direction you want to go. They will probably be your best source & a big support if/when you choose to make a transition OR maybe they will start a competitive program. nic

"we have a team but I have not figured out when they can get to team "

I forgot you had mentioned this so rather then changing my entire post I thought I would add... find out about your gyms current team... what level does it begin with? How old do the kids have to be? What program do they use (not all do USAG)? Is it a competitive team or an exhibition team? Etc.