WAG random gymnast age question

[Mickey11]

From reading around on this board I am wondering how on earth some girls are so young in their levels!!! It seems on here so many girls are training level 8 at 9 years old or something like that.

At our gym the majority of level 4's are about 10, level 5's 11, the level 6's are 12-13 etc.

Are other gyms not making girls compete a full season at a level? Here kids skip but its rare. 1-4 a year. Not too many and iI've never seen the same kid skip twice!

So I was just curious. ...how are so many girls at such high levels so young!?! It doesn't seem to be the norm here!

 

[twinmomma]

I've noticed that too. My daughter is almost 8 and has been competing Xcel bronze this year but will be a level 3 in the Fall. Most of our Level 7/8/9 girls are high school age. One of our top level 9's is a high school freshman. There is a level 8 who is around 11 but she's not the norm for us at all. My friend's daughter is 10 and just became a level 4.

 

[Quadqueen]

9 years old at level 8 is not the norm, but it does happen. Certainly a child that age/level has skipped a level or two. At our gym, the girls tend to be on the younger side, but not extremely so. They just don't tend to repeat levels. So, at our gym, a typical level 8 is 11 or 12.

My DD has never repeated a level and never skipped a level. She started at old level 3 and is now a level 7 at 10 years old.

 

[Iwannabemargo]

I think you may get a skewed perspective as the parents who join fora like this tend to be just a bit more "invested" in their children then your average run of the mill parents. So the average age may be lower on here than out in the "real world"

 

[cbifoja]

For our gym:

L2 - 6yo to 13yo. This year's team is a little weird. We usually don't have that young or that old. 7yo to 11yo is more typical for our lowest level.

L3 - 7yo to 11yo.
L4 - 9yo to 11yo.
L5 - 10yo to 12yo.
L6 - 10yo to 14yo.
L7 - 9yo to 13yo.
L8 - 13yo to 14yo

 

[Fliptwisttumble]

So I guess DD is a skipping example. She is an age 9, L8 example (or the approximate equivalent). But it may also be a result of our system in the younger years.

In Canada, you can't compete in the provincial system (so like USAG) until you are 9. Anything you do before then is invitational only, and there is NOT a focus on competing at young ages like there appears to be in the US. So the girls at the age of 7 do a meet, maybe a couple the next year, just so they know what competing is like. But they spend their entire time obtaining skills.

When she was 7, she competed in two meets within a month, at old L5. At age 8, three meets within 6 weeks at L7, without a giant. So you can see that for 11 months a year, she was just working new skills. This really allowed a kid like her to excel in the best possible conditions. Her peers (she trained with the provincial girls) would be working routines, as she started twisting on floor, doing saltos on beam, etc. And with few meets, there was little to no stress, and it was all LOVE LOVE LOVE..... achieving new skill after new skill.

This year she turned nine - completely different setup. Nine meets, running from November to May. But she is in a program that allows for the addition of bonus skills to her routines, so whereas she didn't start out with the maximum skills, as she gets them she is able to incorporate them. I see that the speed with which she gains new skills is slightly slowed, as more focus is paid to routines. But she trains more hours, which to some extent makes up for it.

She is definitely not the norm at our gym, and for her age is the only one at this level. But everyone who looks at her sees the same thing - a kid who was likely born to be a gymnast. She looks like Sigourney Weaver from Alien (yes, I'm dating myself) in the form of a 9 year old.

I agree with @Iwannabemargo if she was a rec gymnast, I likely wouldn't have searched out this forum, so the actual appearance of numbers of kids at this level might seem skewed.

 

[raenndrops]

At our gym this season (not counting the girls who decided NOT to compete)...
L3: 8 - 12 yo
L4: 8 - 12 yo
L6: 10 - 13 yo
L7: 12 - 13 yo
Xcel Gold: 12 - 15 yo
Xcel Platinum: 14 - 15 yo

 

[purpleleomom]

I'm one of those crazy people who researches everything, so I found this forum right after my daughter started rec. Forewarned is forearmed!

 

[JoyAvenueMom]

One of the interesting things I have learned since joining a USA gym is the differences between teams at other gyms. For example, there is one gym in which everyone is "young" for their level. The oldest L4 they have is 11. Most are 7-9yo. There are only a few (3-4) gyms in our state who have girls younger than 9 competing L4...but if they have any, they tend to have several young ones on team. The vast majority of gyms tend to have more variety.... 9 - 14 at L4 for example, and no one under 9. This leads me to believe the gyms with the young teams must have a rock solid development program. They also have a reputation for working harder longer hours. Be interested to hear a coaches' perspective on that assumption.

 

[Quadqueen]

One of the interesting things I have learned since joining a USA gym is the differences between teams at other gyms. For example, there is one gym in which everyone is "young" for their level. The oldest L4 they have is 11. Most are 7-9yo. There are only a few (3-4) gyms in our state who have girls younger than 9 competing L4...but if they have any, they tend to have several young ones on team. The vast majority of gyms tend to have more variety.... 9 - 14 at L4 for example, and no one under 9. This leads me to believe the gyms with the young teams must have a rock solid development program. They also have a reputation for working harder longer hours. Be interested to hear a coaches' perspective on that assumption.

Interesting. My DD was 8 in L4/old L5, and she was not at a very competitive gym at the time, doing lower than average hours. However, the other girls in her level were at least a couple of years older.

 

[Gymmonkeymomma]

At our gym currently
our level 3's are 6-8
Level 4-7's are 8-10
Our 8-9s are 11-13
Level 10 are 11-16
A couple of our 10's skipped 1-2 levels. My DD started level 4 age 6 and repeated level 5, then one year at each level. She's first year 10 at 13.

 

[mylittlemiss]

The younger girls at the higher levels, I have to say, from my observations is more the exception than the rule. I am a mom of an 8 year old (new) level 6 optional. She's training level 7 skills, but wasn't quite ready for 7 this year. They are holding her where she'll be confident and feel safer and add her 7 skills as she gets them. She did level 4 at 6 years old, level 5 at 7 years old and scored out of old 6 at age 7, just weeks after finishing her level 5 season. They've just moved her along as she's been ready. It's been a natural progression for her, but it's not for everyone. I have to add, we aren't in a hurry, though! It's just moved along as it has, based on what she's been ready for.

 

[fuzi]

Currently:
Level 1s (preteam) are 5-7
Level 2s are 6-10
Level 3s are 7-11
Level 4s are 8-10
Level 5s are 9-12
No level 6s.
Level 7s are 12-16
Level 8s are 12-16
Level 9s are 14-17

 

[iwannacoach]

I think you'll find gyms of every stripe. Some are structured to take 4 or 5 years to get a child, with little regard to ability, through level 3 and up to level 7. To top it off they may have a pre-team that every kid has to go through before moving onto the L3 team. This structure causes almost every child who starts pre-team at 6 years of age to take until they are at least 10, and more likely 11 to end up at L 7. These kids will be lucky to ever get passed L8 and compete as a legitimate L9.

The reason for this is simple. The equipment, facility, and staff are very affordable when a program tops out at L8, because you can kinda get away without a pit and have more kids working on fewer pieces of $3000.00 equipment each with $1800.00 worth of matting beneath them. Another benefit for the owner is they can be four coaches coaching 40 to 50 kids instead of 4 coaches working with 30 to 40. That can bring in an extra $2500.00 to $5000.00 each month from team fees averaging $250.00.

So who wants their child in a gym like that? People who want their child to be on a gym team that's easy to get onto and stay a part of. Fewer travel meets, fewer practice nights, and kids that never cry........ until they figure out the gym won't give them a chance to ever learn the really cool stuff they rightly dream of being able to do. Those are tears I don't like seeing.

From there it's generally upward and, while slower than some, many gyms will give kids a chance to get to L9, and sometimes L10.

 

[gymdog]

You think kids won't get to level 9 unless they are level 7 at 10 or 11? I think that's a bit dramatic. I think it's more accurate to say regardless of age at starting level 3/4 the chances of getting to 9/10 are most directly related to the quality of the coaching at that level in your gym. If there is no level 9/10, it doesn't matter if you start as a 6 year old level 3.

 

[luvmygymdtr]

I think you'll find gyms of every stripe. Some are structured to take 4 or 5 years to get a child, with little regard to ability, through level 3 and up to level 7. To top it off they may have a pre-team that every kid has to go through before moving onto the L3 team. This structure causes almost every child who starts pre-team at 6 years of age to take until they are at least 10, and more likely 11 to end up at L 7. These kids will be lucky to ever get passed L8 and compete as a legitimate L9.

WOW- IWC - that's incredibly depressing since you just described my kid. So, if I'm understanding you correctly, my 10/11 year old L7 should kiss her L10 dreams good-bye??

 

[gymgymgymnast08]

I was a level 7 at 13 and I competed as a legitimate level 9. My gym didn't offer the equipment or the hours necessary to train level 10s so that wasn't possible for me but maybe it could have been.

 

[happychaos]

Our gym has a few 9 and 10 year olds rocking levels 8/9, but that is not typical. We have 45 girls competing levels 3 and 4, and about 45 girls competing 7-10. We don't routinely compete levels 2, 5, or 6. Ages vary widely, but the average age of our L7's is probably 12. But they are very well prepared, and it is rare to repeat once in optionals. Our gym may be rare in that we have almost as many 9/10's as we do 7/8's.

 

[iwannacoach]

The point I was hoping to make is there are gyms that move kids slowly because they want them to take 4, 5, or 6 years to go from pre-team to and out of L5. The logical extension of a 5 year journey through 3 compulsory levels is they likely repeat L7 at least once and L8 a minimum of once but most likely two times. That adds up to a child who starts with pre team at 6 will move into L7 at age 11 and likely move to L8 at 13, and possibly to L9 at 15 or 16.

The ability of these kids to move up is seriously hampered because the intention on the part of the gym owner is to avoid L9 and above for economic reasons, so figure a wishful kid has an outside chance of getting to where their peers at gyms with a deeper commitment to optional training. I think there's a valid need for all types of programs, and the slow and steady gym fits for some kids, and not for others.

I've posted often and with great conviction that a child of 10, 11, and 12 can do amazing things in a program where they are challenged and there dreams are no longer dreams, but possible reality. I've seen it go both ways for some pretty talented kids, like a 10 year old training skills that were 4 years behind a moderate L10 that went to a slow "laid back" gym, and ended up as a 15 year old L10 with skills that were decent back when she was 10 years old, but not so much at age 15. I've also seen 10 and 11 year olds with L7 skills get to L10 by the time they were 13 and 14 years old.

Geez, I've even seen a kid with 6ish years of low key gym experience decide at the age of 12 that she had a heck of a lot left in the tank. This gal spent a final year at her gym as (sorry to be vague but it was way back) a level 7 or 8 before moving to a high quality program, and went on as a senior elite national team member to represent her country in three different internationals, perform in a post olympic tour, and become a NCAA all american multiple times.

I never meant to give the impression a child was limited by being at x level at z age. Just saying it can't be done at a club with a standard practice of having kids repeat on a regular basis.

That's all

 

[Deleted member 14190]

Not the norm but not uncommon to have a young team. We have a pretty young team, but that is due to our developmental program and preschool program. Nothing wrong with bringing them in later on or starting early. I will say that in upper levels there is a slight disadvantage in bringing out a little one because they get rolled in with all the older girls..