Parents L10 gymnast (The Reality Of College Gymnastics)

[MuggleMom]

And I definitely agree with this lol. Its what I tell all the littles parents at the gym, to run away and put them in soccer, or softball or anything else but gymnastics.

When parents of the littles start asking how many hours my kid does and what it costs I tell them because I think its good to know and hours and money always seems to be a taboo subject in this sport. The look of shock when I say she does 20 hours is priceless (and comparatively 20 hours isnt terribly extreme) When they give me the "look" I just say be warned it escalates quickly. Conversely I hear some parents talk about how 6 hours a week is just way to much etc and I think silently to myself hope your kiddo hasn't drunk the coolaid cause 6 hours is a drop in the bucket.

Of all the Level 3/4 parents that were around when we were that level I think I was one of the most level headed...didn't have any Olympic aspirations for my kid and didnt even realistically think that College gymnastics would be achievable for her so at least if none of those things happen I dont think her or I would be dissapointed. I think it would be really cool if she could make it to level 10. Very achievable goal considering where she is at now. It would also be great if she made it through her Senior year too seeing all the stuff they do for seniors is really cool. Anything beyond that is gravy. We had a lot of moms rearrange their lives so their kids could "get ahead" at gym and none of them made it to Optionals.

 

[JBS]

That left exactly one weeknight and the weekends for 24+ hours a week of homework, which was just too much.

Not sure what high school this is… but our AP classes definitely don’t hit 24+ hours a week of homework.

This is not something that is required at any of the high schools near us. I know many high schoolers taking AP loads. The last one we had was a Level 10 in our program… got a full academic ride to a great school… 34 on the ACT. She did 2-2.5 hours of homework per night… 5 days per week. Sometimes she would need to do 3 or 4 hours worth for special projects / assignments.

 

[NutterButter]

Could you share more about getting on a D3 team? I would love to hear more of these stories.

My DD's gym sends a kid to NCAA every couple of years (D3 and D1) but they are not a college powerhouse. For example, they just started training single bar release moves with the younger kids a couple of years ago (meaning none of the current or past group in NCAA ever make bars lineups, despite being former L10). But even with this, the girls vault well and have decent tumbling potential for NCAA. My DD's gym also provided zero support/advice for making NCAA team - those who have pursued it, were left to do so entirely on their own.

So, the summer before my DD's senior year she decided she wanted to try for D3. At the time she had just made Westerns and although she didn't do well at Westerns she had a great season. She was unsure whether she would be L10 for her senior year (and did end up staying L9). She researched D3 programs that had her desired major AND provided enough academic rigor to support her post-grad goals. This eliminated most programs and despite living in the heart of D3-West the schools she found most interesting with the right academic rigor were all in the East. She created an insta account and youtube page for recruiting and contacted coaches. She scheduled in-person meetings with 4 schools and had online communications with a couple of others. The feedback she received from all the coaches was very similar in terms of how they saw her fitting into their team. All of it was positive.

My DD is currently injured (Achilles) with an unclear path forward for timing of recovery. Her team does hold tryouts every year and I don't think she will make the team again next year. It's competitive and juniors, even seniors do get cut. My DD is slowly accepting this and is starting to consider other options for filling her time (being a TA, work, study abroad, etc). She loves her school - even if she likely won't be a student athlete for all 4 years. (And apparently there's an acronym for non-athletes and she's really not happy about being one of these! LOL).

 

[mommyof1]

Not sure what high school this is… but our AP classes definitely don’t hit 24+ hours a week of homework.

This is not something that is required at any of the high schools near us. I know many high schoolers taking AP loads. The last one we had was a Level 10 in our program… got a full academic ride to a great school… 34 on the ACT. She did 2-2.5 hours of homework per night… 5 days per week. Sometimes she would need to do 3 or 4 hours worth for special projects / assignments.

Even with 2 hours of homework per night, when do they do it if they are in school/practice until 8:00 or 9:00 at night?

 

[NutterButter]

Even with 2 hours of homework per night, when do they do it if they are in school/practice until 8:00 or 9:00 at night?

My DD would start homework at 9:30-10pm and work until midnight or later. She would spend Friday nights and most of her weekend doing homework. She was sleep deprived for sure! I wasn't too thrilled with her lifestyle and we talked plenty of times about reducing something in her life but it's what she wanted.

 

[Tigtimes]

Even with 2 hours of homework per night, when do they do it if they are in school/practice until 8:00 or 9:00 at night?

After practice. Makes for late nights, after 11 on many. Not ideal

 

[JBS]

Even with 2 hours of homework per night, when do they do it if they are in school/practice until 8:00 or 9:00 at night?

Our kids that achieve highly in school typically run our 2pm workouts so they are home before 7pm. Our main high school has a program that releases top students one period early by scheduling them last hour study hall. This option is used highly by students in many after school activities… especially non-school activities.

 

[mommyof1]

My DD would start homework at 9:30-10pm and work until midnight or later. She would spend Friday nights and most of her weekend doing homework. She was sleep deprived for sure! I wasn't too thrilled with her lifestyle and we talked plenty of times about reducing something in her life but it's what she wanted.

Mine just couldn't handle the late nights and lack of downtime. She was always exhausted, which made gymnastics harder and schoolwork take even longer. She started skipping practice to do homework and that was the end. And again, this was only L6.

I can't imagine sustaining that level of sleep deprivation on a constant basis.

 

[mommyof1]

Our kids that achieve highly in school typically run our 2pm workouts so they are home before 7pm. Our main high school has a program that releases top students one period early by scheduling them last hour study hall. This option is used highly by students in many after school activities… especially non-school activities.

That is a huge difference. Our high school dismisses at 3:45 and there is no early release except for seniors, who can get out at 2:30 every other day if they've fulfilled all their requirements. Gyms in our area don't start optionals practice until 4:45 or 5:00 for this reason.

 

[mom2newgymnast]

I feel like this thread has tons of spin-off thread possibilities and I wonder if the OP would rather these discussion be done in separate threads? I have lots of thoughts on all these side discussions.

 

[JBS]

Our kids that achieve highly in school typically run our 2pm workouts so they are home before 7pm. Our main high school has a program that releases top students one period early by scheduling them last hour study hall. This option is used highly by students in many after school activities… especially non-school activities.

Also… sometimes they will lighten their school year load by taking a summer class.

 

[LJL07]

So here is one huge positive: these girls are all staying out of trouble and developing good values. They may not make it on a college team, but this is a huge positive for the future. The number of middle school kids and freshman girls who are rudderless and engaging in high-risk behaviors is really sad. And alarming.

Re: the homework. My girls' school tends to be on the heavy side with homework, so I would say a bit more than 2 hours per night. If they want to take honors science, they are required to commit to a two year science fair project and it is HUGE--basically the equivalent of a thesis. So I would say it is challenging to juggle this particular school (and I am sure there are many schools just like it) with a level 10 gymnastics schedule.

 

[NutterButter]

Mine just couldn't handle the late nights and lack of downtime. She was always exhausted, which made gymnastics harder and schoolwork take even longer. She started skipping practice to do homework and that was the end. And again, this was only L6.

I can't imagine sustaining that level of sleep deprivation on a constant basis.

Honestly, I didn't think my DD could do it either. So many times I questioned my sanity as a parent...

 

[LJL07]

I feel like this thread has tons of spin-off thread possibilities and I wonder if the OP would rather these discussion be done in separate threads? I have lots of thoughts on all these side discussions.

You are so right! I am just glad to see more discussion and activity.

 

[JBS]

That is a huge difference. Our high school dismisses at 3:45 and there is no early release except for seniors, who can get out at 2:30 every other day if they've fulfilled all their requirements. Gyms in our area don't start optionals practice until 4:45 or 5:00 for this reason.

Yes… I agree… game changer.

 

[NutterButter]

Also… sometimes they will lighten their school year load by taking a summer class.

This is actually an important point I forgot to make earlier! My DD took both gym and health online or during the summer. This freed up her schedule to have a release period both her freshman and sophomore year which was not standard around here. I realize not every district allows this sort of flexibility but she was fortunate in that regard.

 

[Tigtimes]

can't imagine sustaining that level of sleep deprivation on a constant basis.

You also need a coach who is willing to give a little when needed. I give my kids coach a heads up in weeks I know there is alot of work/tests. He moderates her time more efficiently and gets her out half hour to 45 minutes early some days.

Now my kid would never ask to leave early and she always comes home amazed saying wow he let me out early cause asked me what was going on in school this week. For a smart kid I sometimes wonder !!!

 

[rlm's mom]

My 16 year old (sophomore) is juggling both. It’s a struggle but we manage.
Coursework and homework are either done in the car or after 9pm!

 

[LJL07]

Our kids that achieve highly in school typically run our 2pm workouts so they are home before 7pm. Our main high school has a program that releases top students one period early by scheduling them last hour study hall. This option is used highly by students in many after school activities… especially non-school activities.

Thank you for mentioning this! Both my daughter and her classmate are going to be allowed to take last period off to get to gym for 2pm next school year. This is the first time the school has ever allowed this. I think it will really help! We did have to ask and present the school with a lot of info to make it happen.

 

[mom2newgymnast]

We have a lot of level 10s and their school hours/type are all over the board. We have a day group where the girls either go to a local charter school that is flexible or a public school that is specifically for athletes/performing arts/etc with a heavily modified schedule, either way not a traditional public school. We also have an evening group that has kids in those same type of schools and in private schools and traditional public schools. My daughter is in the evening group and at a public school (only 8th grade though) She goes straight from school to practice and gets home around 8:45. Eats, showers, does homework and goes to bed around 11:00. Not an easy life, but she has all A’s and lots of friends at school and has all weekend to hang out and catch up. I know high school is different, so we shall see..

I will say I have 2 older boys, 1 in college and 1 a senior in high school. They both did well and are quite smart, but my oldest had hours and hours of homework and worked his butt off. My senior has had very little homework. But still had something like 8-9 AP classes (all 5s so far), straight A’s, National merit finalist, 35 ACT etc. he’s definitely not spent anywhere near 24 hours a week on homework. So it really all depends.. lol