WAG Junior in high school predicament

[Muddlethru]

We have three juniors this year that competed L9 last season. All three made regionals and two made easterns. All three were offered the opportunity by our HC to decide which level they want to compete. Of course the coach presented them with the pros and cons for each level. Gymnast A will have 10 SV in bars, and all the other events will be 9.5 or less. Gymnast B and Gymnast C will have 9.5 SV or less on all events. Gymnast A opted to go to Level 10 and the two other gymnast decided to repeat Level 9. For Gymnast B it will be her 4th year. She and Gymnast A made easterns last year. It will be Gymnast C's second year in Level 9 and she only made regionals.

Each one wants to do college gymnastics. The two that chose to repeat wanted to have a great year under their belt right before they start looking at colleges. I felt they should all go to Level 10 because I felt they will at least have 2 years in level 10. I thought they will be better Level 10 gymnasts their senior year having one year under their belt. I also thought college coaches only look at Level 10s. But after a little more thought, it occurred to me that coaches will be signing kids up in their junior year, beginning of senior year when the season has not started yet. So how they do the year prior is what the coaches will see. So maybe having a stellar season for the coaches to see as a Level 9 is better than being a first year subpar Level 10. Does my post make sense to you? Do college coaches even consider Level 9 gymnasts?

 

[bookworm]

UNH took a gymnast who was a 9 in her Jr year but I don't think she got any athletic money but she was listed as a "commit" ....if they're going to be a lousy 10, they won't help their chances just by being a 10

 

[MeetDirector]

Each one wants to do college gym; D1, D2, or D3? It really makes a huge difference. If they are thinking D1 (and are shooting for a scholarship as opposed to walking on), the hard truth seems to be that D1 coaches want multi-year level 10's with 10.0 start values before thier junior year. If they are looking at top tier D1, then move that timeline earlier by a coupl of years (sadly).

If they are thinking D2 or D3, then a different story. D2's might take level 9's, but there are only partial athletic scholarships. D3 may take level 9's but there are no athletic scholarships.

Good Luck.

 

[Muddlethru]

Let me know how flawed this assumption is.

I checked last year's JO Nationals and JO NIT qualifiers. At JO, there were 23 Senior Cs and 24 Senior Ds. At JO NIT, there were 56 Senior Cs and 56 Senior Cs and 56 Senior Ds. That's a total of 159 that may or may not even be graduating that year. Now I beleive there are 62 D1 colleges with potentially 4 openings each year (not worried about scholarships at this piont). So 62 multiplied by 4 is 248. So it would appear that even just reaching Level 10 or having a great Level 9 year will likely land you a spot at a D1 college gymnastics team. With 248 spots and only 159 top gymnasts, there seems to be an opening for the not so top gymnasts?

 

[bookworm]

Let me know how flawed this assumption is.

I checked last year's JO Nationals and JO NIT qualifiers. At JO, there were 23 Senior Cs and 24 Senior Ds. At JO NIT, there were 56 Senior Cs and 56 Senior Cs and 56 Senior Ds. That's a total of 159 that may or may not even be graduating that year. Now I beleive there are 62 D1 colleges with potentially 4 openings each year (not worried about scholarships at this piont). So 62 multiplied by 4 is 248. So it would appear that even just reaching Level 10 or having a great Level 9 year will likely land you a spot at a D1 college gymnastics team. With 248 spots and only 159 top gymnasts, there seems to be an opening for the not so top gymnasts?

The "flaw" in this is that by their Senior year, most of those 159 gymnasts are committed , and generally have been since their Soph or Jr years ( and in some creepy instances, since 8th or 9th grade...yes I'm talking about you, Utah and Auburn) so that's why there isn't an opening for all the gymnasts you would think...

 

[CanAmGymMum]

Also, don't forget about the international students. There are quite a few Canadians, for example, at D1 schools.

 

[coachmolly]

And don't forget the elites who aren't competing at JOs.
I am just a spectator of the recruiting process, and sometimes it just doesn't make sense. Strange things can and do happen. There are level 10s who never make JOs or NIT who get scholarships and girls who make JOs for several years who walk on. It's a matter of marketing, being in the right place at the right time, and fitting the needs/wants of a particular team.
Some lower ranked D1 teams will take girls who are lower ranked L10s, or even 9s, with a strength that fits their needs. Whatever level they compete, they need to work with the coaches at getting themselves out there and not just waiting for an NCAA coach to bite.

 

[Gymdad2]

Just curious. Do all D1 schools have a gymnastics program?

 

[coachmolly]

I think she meant D1 colleges with gymnastics teams.

 

[gymmomtoo]

And, no, not all D1 schools have gymnastics programs.

 

[MeetDirector]

Thought I would throw out a very good website for college recruiting and then some: www.collegegymfans.com

This site has a whole section devoted to recruits and another section devoted to links to all kinds of information. One of the things I like about it is that it goes out a few years into the future to predict the number of scholarships available as well as the commits to the college gymnastics schools.

Enjoy!

 

[Muddlethru]

Just curious. Do all D1 schools have a gymnastics program?

Below is a link to all the D1, D2, and D3 colleges with gymnastics teams and their rankings.

http://www.troester.com/gym/WRankings/WRankType.htm
---------------------------

 

[bookworm]

I am just a spectator of the recruiting process, and sometimes it just doesn't make sense. Strange things can and do happen. There are level 10s who never make JOs or NIT who get scholarships and girls who make JOs for several years who walk on. It's a matter of marketing, being in the right place at the right time, and fitting the needs/wants of a particular team.
.

This is SO true and happened with us with my oldest ...she had been to JOS ( and done well, multiple years , was even National Champion) and the school she really wanted (and this was the summer after her soph yr so not late back then) said "well we've offered all our scholarships for your year so maybe you'd like to walk on"...really ? She's a National Champion and you 'd like her to walk on while you give your scholarships to girls who have NEVER made it to JOs and barely score 36s?! ....I don't think so...so we moved on to other schools.

It really is a whole marketing thing that our coach at the time never grasped and that's why a lot of these girls who at first glance , are a puzzling sign, get signed because their coaches make it happen. A lot also has to do with the "who you knows" in the college world...."X Univ Coach was a childhood buddy of our coach blah blah or went to school with coach's sister etc" ....that kind of stuff happens WAY more than you think....

 

[MeetDirector]

Unfortunately, I could only "Like" Bookworm's post once, but I would do it a hundred times if I could. Our experience has definitely shown that there is a portion of the college recruiting business that is built around the "who you (or your coach) know" concept.

 

[gymmomtoo]

Totally agree with bookworms post! We discovered ourselves (before my DD quit due to injuries year after year) that if the coach doesn't help you with the recruiting process, it's much harder--it really is 80% who you know.

 

[sevenatenine2]

Also look into the schools that offer Acro and Tumbling. Many of these schools are offering full ride scholarships to weaker Level 10 gymnasts and strong Level 9s. Some of these scholarships also go to cheerleaders and Power Tumblers, as well, but if your kid can tumble it seems to be a way to go.

 

[kandkfunk]

Also, don't forget about the international students. There are quite a few Canadians, for example, at D1 schools.

The D1 program in our area recruits heavily outside of the US. Of the three Freshmen on the team this year, 2 are from Canada. They've also had several Australian athletes over the last few years.

 

[wallinbl]

Let me know how flawed this assumption is.

I checked last year's JO Nationals and JO NIT qualifiers. At JO, there were 23 Senior Cs and 24 Senior Ds. At JO NIT, there were 56 Senior Cs and 56 Senior Cs and 56 Senior Ds. That's a total of 159 that may or may not even be graduating that year. Now I beleive there are 62 D1 colleges with potentially 4 openings each year (not worried about scholarships at this piont). So 62 multiplied by 4 is 248. So it would appear that even just reaching Level 10 or having a great Level 9 year will likely land you a spot at a D1 college gymnastics team. With 248 spots and only 159 top gymnasts, there seems to be an opening for the not so top gymnasts?

UF's incoming class last year was nearly all elites. They weren't at JO nationals the prior year.

 

[Natasha]

Depending on your region, (Region 8 for example) there are plenty of very strong L10s who do not make it to JO Nationals, simply because there are so many of them.

 

[emilykatherine]

Also look into the schools that offer Acro and Tumbling. Many of these schools are offering full ride scholarships to weaker Level 10 gymnasts and strong Level 9s. Some of these scholarships also go to cheerleaders and Power Tumblers, as well, but if your kid can tumble it seems to be a way to go.

This is what I'm looking into specifically Baylor