Parents Opinions or Real Situations on Gymnastics in College

[3rd_time_around]

You do realize that kids who do online school can also feel good about school right? They don't have to go in a building to feel accomplished.

No one said otherwise. We were reassuring the OP that kids can go to regular school, not be in level 10 by grade 7, and still get DI scholarships. That is all. No one here was saying anything negative about the homeschoolers or modified schoolers or online schoolers.

 

[wallflower]

Because you got defensive about homeschooling. You missed the point. The point was having different sets of friends and spaces, school being just one of them, gym, another, there are also a couple of other things thrown in for my particular kid.

But it is about having more then just gym.

I'm not the least bit defensive about homeschool. It's more you that irritates me in every thread with your words of wisdom. This was a thread about whether kids could get scholarships to Division 1 schools while in regular school. Not about how your level 5/6 goes minimum hours and what a great balance you have found for her and all the activities she has. Upper level gymnastics takes sacrifices so get back to us if your daughter ever reaches that point.

 

[3rd_time_around]

I'm not the least bit defensive about homeschool. It's more you that irritates me in every thread with your words of wisdom. This was a thread about whether kids could get scholarships to Division 1 schools while in regular school. Not about how your level 5/6 goes minimum hours and what a great balance you have found for her and all the activities she has. Upper level gymnastics takes sacrifices so get back to us if your daughter ever reaches that point.

That wasn't me.

(And my daughter was a level 10 for 4 years. Don't talk to me about sacrifices, because I could fill a book. You have no idea. )

 

[cadybearsmommy]

I'm not the least bit defensive about homeschool. It's more you that irritates me in every thread with your words of wisdom. This was a thread about whether kids could get scholarships to Division 1 schools while in regular school. Not about how your level 5/6 goes minimum hours and what a great balance you have found for her and all the activities she has. Upper level gymnastics takes sacrifices so get back to us if your daughter ever reaches that point.

Wow...... just wow. I honestly have no words.

 

[3rd_time_around]

That wasn't me.

(And my daughter was a level 10 for 4 years. Don't talk to me about sacrifices, because I could fill a book. You have no idea. )

See my PM.

 

[Natasha]

Regarding OPs original question and the various replies, I wondering if this is something that is really dependent upon what state you live in and area of the country as well as specific gyms. I know Homeschool/online school options/regulations/popularity vary greatly by state as well as state variances for modified school schedules. It seems there are some areas where it is pretty standard for kids to go to school with no modifications and do gym training afternoon/evenings for all except perhaps the elite girls (which are nonexistent in some states) In other areas and some gyms it seems that the highest level group is only available to those that can come in earlier.
Our school district does not allow any modifications whatsoever, so either you homeschool or do full school, you can't even get a study hall period.
Something I have seen in a few gyms, which really irritates me, is there will be one or two girls who want to homeschool and have a day workout and have the potential to be strong L10 or maybe even is looking at TOPS/hopes/whatever so the gym recruits other kids to do this as well so that they can make it worth their time and then you have girls homeschooling for gym, sometimes girls that really don't even have the 'it' to be a strong level 10 much less elite, and their parents are clueless, because all they know is that their kid was invited to train with little Suzie who has elite goals and so their little Sally must have 'it' whatever 'it' is... and Sally and her parents may not really have wanted to homeschool but this is what it will take for little Sally to reach her dreams....

 

[John]

This thread had shown me much about gymnastics and the competition it breeds.

Maybe we should let everyone know who we are where we live, this will stop internet muscles.

I live is PA. My daughter trains in MD. DD had to chose between three gyms. I would have chosen Prestige but my x wife would not agree. DD attends a MD school. Her school does not allow Modification I'd like to just wave gym get out early for home work and dinner.

PA school systems offer many possibilities so I continue to live in PA so DD could opt for one of these options should she still have big dreams at 13 or 14.

Today gym is about hard work friends and new skills. No pressure. Currently her and her bestie are downstairs choreographing floor routines.

 

[Geoffrey Taucer]

Keep it civil, folks. I'd hate to have to lock this thread

 

[gymgal]

Keep it civil, folks. I'd hate to have to lock this thread

I think the thread is a good topic and has been very civil, aside from a couple replies. Just delete those...

 

[l.c.o]

I do think there's some misconception about homeschooled and online schooled kiddos. There are a lot of these kids that are quite socially active outside the gym. My DD participated in an art class all year, attended many workshops, and got to choose project topics that she was interested in and learned a LOT by exploring things she had been interested in. She also had the opportunity to do some volunteer work.

Had she been in a regular school program, she would not have had those opportunities due to lack of time.

Anyway. My intent is not to promote homeschooling here. Back on to the original topic, my kiddo is an 8th grade possible L8, so we have no horse in this race, nor do we have personal experience juggling an upper level college hopeful. But she did not directly homeschool because of gym per se. More because she wanted to have the time for additional experiences outside gym and school. And maybe to sleep a little more.

Of course homeschooling isn't required for college. To my knowledge, I don't think many area clubs even have homeschool programs, including DD's gym unless it's secret. They've placed kids in D1 programs. But I can understand gyms that have these daytime program, as the best, most senior coaches can probably avoid working so many evening hours. And gymnasts and their families have time together, or have time to do other activities outside the gym.

I don't think that one is inherently better or worse. IMHO I think it depends in what the gymnast and family needs, and how that aligns with a gym.

Gym often requires a number of sacrifices as you progress through the levels, particularly for college (or elite) hopefuls. That said, so do so many other activities.

 

[CLgym]

It is a very interesting thread.... and clearly a hot topic. Also particularly timely for us as our gym will have homeschoolers for the first time this year. It will not be what I would describe as a gym-organized homeschool program. More like, we provide the space, you provide the program. So there will be several different online programs going on simultaneously. Not entirely clear to me what the adult oversight will look like. Of course, my DD is begging to do it, but we are too happy with our current school to make a change. Interestingly, it seems that a few of the girls in the homeschool crew were placed up a level compared to similar peers (presumably bc they will get 12 more hours/week in the gym -- so 28 hrs/total at like Level 7!) It has certainly changed the dynamic a bit at our gym.

Regarding the original question, while at our old gym there were two D1 scholarship recipients (one at a top 10 ranked school). Both were attending "regular" school (one public, one private). Not sure if they had any modifications to their schedule, but they practiced after-school hours with all the other optionals.

 

[munchkin3]

Mine just had the option to do homeschool/online school this year in 7th.........her point-
'Mom, if I do homeschool, then I won't be good at doing BOTH school and gym when I get to high school or college. I think I should stick with both so I can learn to always do both.'
I don't know which way is better, and I'm not judging- but she going to do both......
She will get out of PE and leave a bit early. I have no expectations about what level she 'should' be at, or if she is going to do it in college......not my chicken to fry.
My job is to support her and try to give her what she needs.....sometimes, I think we inadvertently make it too easy- (yes, even when gymnastics is involved)

 

[MILgymFAM]

Mine just had the option to do homeschool/online school this year in 7th.........her point-
'Mom, if I do homeschool, then I won't be good at doing BOTH school and gym when I get to high school or college. I think I should stick with both so I can learn to always do both.'
I don't know which way is better, and I'm not judging- but she going to do both......
She will get out of PE and leave a bit early. I have no expectations about what level she 'should' be at, or if she is going to do it in college......not my chicken to fry.
My job is to support her and try to give her what she needs.....sometimes, I think we inadvertently make it too easy- (yes, even when gymnastics is involved)

This is why homeschoolers get defensive, I think. And I get it because for years my girls were in public school and I had some ridiculous misconceptions about homeschoolers. Now my girls are not great at gym, but that irrelevant to my point here- they are great at school, by objective measures, and that hasn't changed from public to homeschool. Homeschool gives my girls continuity and it gives them flexibility, but it definitely doesn't give them easy. My 16 year old has 25 college credits and has traveled the world alone. This semester she is taking four college classes in addition to her three coop classes and two homeschooled classes- and she maintains a 4.0 and is in both a high school and college honor society. All school, public/private/or homeschool, is what you make of it.

 

[notthatmom]

This year, after receiving letters home from both my girls' teachers, I think food allergies of other classmates alone would be reason for homeschooling my kids more than Gym would. They both have kids with peanut allergies and poultry allergies in their class, meaning neither of them can have anything that contains these allergens in their snack/lunch. And with one kid who doesn't eat mammals, I'm kind of out of sandwich options.
I realize this isn't at all gymnastics related, and I am not trying to be insensitive to kids with allergies (I mean, why isn't there a vaccine for allergies yet????),I honestly feel for those parents. Just needed a place to vent....

 

[notthatmom]

Anyway, to answer the actual question. One of my best friends in HS got a full ride to college for gymnastics. She went to school full time (aside from the last period of the day which was "reserved" for electives, but I skipped that period as well for outside sports).
It was private school but I don't know how that makes a difference...it's still a full day/full week of school. So it's definitely doable, but as others say, it really depends on where you live, and how the specific gym's training schedules work.

 

[gymgal]

Mine just had the option to do homeschool/online school this year in 7th.........her point-
'Mom, if I do homeschool, then I won't be good at doing BOTH school and gym when I get to high school or college. I think I should stick with both so I can learn to always do both.'

Well, just to clear this up - Obviously, homeschooled kids transition fine to more traditional learning environments, whether it be high school or college without any difficulty at all and yes they handle sports right along with it. This, taken with a previous comment about a pp wanting her child to be in school so she has an additional social group/outlet, implies an additional misconception that homeschoolers do not have a school social group. This simply is not true for most homeschoolers, who develop "school friends" through coops, clubs, etc.

We all make our own choices for our children. I am not trying to change anyone's mind. Alternative schooling is not for most families due to lots of reasons. Our society is built on traditional schooling as the norm, but that doesn't mean that alternatives somehow offer a lesser experience. In many ways, for many children, it is just the opposite.

 

[gymdog]

I'm not the least bit defensive about homeschool. It's more you that irritates me in every thread with your words of wisdom. This was a thread about whether kids could get scholarships to Division 1 schools while in regular school. Not about how your level 5/6 goes minimum hours and what a great balance you have found for her and all the activities she has. Upper level gymnastics takes sacrifices so get back to us if your daughter ever reaches that point.

It does, but there are still plenty of level 10s who aren't homeschooled. I think the level has probably stayed pretty flat probably although I doubt the numbers exist - I think it's just the emergence of the Instagram/YouTube stars that make everyone think that homeschool programs are the norm. For elite, sure more the norm. Level 10? It's out there, but also plenty of ways to be a 10 and go to public school.

 

[Ali'sMom]

There is no home school program st DD's gym. They have sent many girls to college with scholarships. Team practice is 5 to 9 for level 6 and up.

We don't have a home school program at gym, but the few girls who are looking to go far do homeschool.

 

[KipNurse]

We have had girls get scholarships while graduating from public school. The schools around here are also notoriously inflexible about modifying schedules and developing workarounds for club athletes. My kids' gym does not produce the 8th graders who get letters of intent. It produces the ones who look good enough in 11th grade that colleges pick them up to fill out their rosters at the point where it's reality rather than potential.

This just sounds so very nice and sane Thanks much!

 

[KipNurse]

To be quite honest, I really don't understand the "need" for so many gym families to home school, unless their athletes are seriously in the running for elite. I am not knocking the choice to homeschool in general, for personal reasons only (don't get me started how public school is lacking and has completely failed to evolve) but it has always been crazy to me to think that it would be considered rational just for a sport, even for successful athletes. It kind of drives me bonkers that some gyms have school programs built into their gyms and seem to encourage it. I KNOW gymnastics is "different" but it's possibly to be good without practicing more than a full time job. I don't think you see quite the same push in other sports, even in elite sports. Most other sports work around the reality that is public school. We are always making jokes about how people think our kids are going to the Olympics when they can do a BHS, but I think a lot of us buy into the idea a little more than we admit when our kids get started, and the culture seems to encourage it (at the same time telling us parents to stay out of it, lol).

Also...a very sane post. Thank you. I'm glad I put this question out there. So good to hear some nice, reasonable situations that have worked for people.