WAG Required skills for team/preteam?

[Madden3]

Curious about what skills are required at your gym for a girl to first get on team and/or preteam? I am specifically interested in the specific skills your team coach wants to see, not other factors- but if there are specific requirements about flexibility or strength apart from specific skills that would be of interest as well. Also at our gym, Level 3 is the first "competition" level so that is the context.
Thanks!

 

[FlipNTwist]

Our coaches don't care too much about strength because that comes with hours in the gym, mainly they test on flexibility, cartwheel, and if the child is attentive.

 

[raenndrops]

Our first competition level is level 3 also.
Team tryout consists of the girls doing (or trying) certain skills on each event.
Vault: They do a flatback... or their version of one, lol
Bars: Glide. Pullover (can be spotted). Cast. Back hip circle. She has they TRY a front hip circle, shoot thru, and mill circle (all spotted)
Beam: Stand up. Pivot turn. Lever or handstand (handstand can be spotted). Dismount (either the L2 or L3 version).
Floor: Cartwheel. Roundoff. Handstand forward roll. Handstand-bridge, kickover if they can. Good leg splits as far as they can go. Leap.
Other factors: Willingness to try. Not overly scared (a little fear is fine, especially on high beam). Listening skills.

 

[Aussie_coach]

Not so much the skills they have, more their potential to learn skills. We look for strength - chin ups, chin up pullovers, leg lifts, hollow holds, V snaps etc.

Gutsy kids, who are excited about trying things that are little bit scary.

Effort and commitment.

Flexibility - legs and shoulders.

Technique - Do they pay attention to detail.

Speed - Fast muscle twitch.

And yes, we also consider age and body type, as do most gyms but rarely put it into their “official” selection criteria.

 

[Taxidriver]

Our coaches don't care too much about strength because that comes with hours in the gym, mainly they test on flexibility, cartwheel, and if the child is attentive.

At my dd gym they are not too worried about current flexibility, they are far more interested in natural strength, interesting how different gyms are, then kids who are attentive and a good attitude to learning, there are no set skills. I’ve seen kids with lots of skills not offered a place where as others with very few skills offered a place. I think it’s much more in their potential rather than current ability.

 

[Sk8ermaiden]

I agree, I know it's not what you're asking for, but at our gym they didn't care at all what skills they had - only how strong and focused they were and how well they took correction.

 

[Madden3]

Thank you so much. This is all very helpful. The reason I asked about skills specifically is my daughter has the good attitude, listening skills, willingness to try stuff, works hard, plus seems pretty flexible to me at least as far as splits go (not sure how to tell re: shoulders) and is very strong. Physically she is quite slender but not short, but not super tall either-average height.

She started in rec at age 3. At our gym, under 6 rec trains in a separate space than 6 and up and there is more emphasis on games, keeping it super fun, etc. But they can still advance in "Levels." For the under 6s, there are three levels- and the kid has to get to Level 3 to be considered for pre-team. My D had made it to Level 2 but not 3.

Last week, I found out my daughter was going to be moved to the 6 and up rec floor even though she does not turn 6 for another 7 weeks. This is great, she is certainly ready for this.

But I was surprised that she was being put in Rec 1 and not Rec 2. When I asked about it, they told me she had to be able to do an unsupported handstand on beam to get to Rec 2. This surprised me, and explained it because my D cannot do a handstand on beam unsupported and I doubt she is even close. She can do a lever on beam without losing balance or falling off, but even I can tell her lever is awkward-looking.

So finding out they wanted a HS on beam for moving to level 2 rec, is why I started wondering what specific skills various gyms would want for a girl to get onto team.

Based on what is written above she currently has all the bar-relevant skills, but not all the tumbling/beam-relevant ones.

 

[ProvB]

At our gym to get into tryouts for pre-team/team they need a decent cartwheel, handstand, and a pullover on bars. Then at tryouts they are assessed on strength (rope climb, L hang on bars), listening skills, and ability to take corrections. I am in canada though and all of the gyms in our area start competing at JO1.

 

[Taxidriver]

Thank you so much. This is all very helpful. The reason I asked about skills specifically is my daughter has the good attitude, listening skills, willingness to try stuff, works hard, plus seems pretty flexible to me at least as far as splits go (not sure how to tell re: shoulders) and is very strong. Physically she is quite slender but not short, but not super tall either-average height.

She started in rec at age 3. At our gym, under 6 rec trains in a separate space than 6 and up and there is more emphasis on games, keeping it super fun, etc. But they can still advance in "Levels." For the under 6s, there are three levels- and the kid has to get to Level 3 to be considered for pre-team. My D had made it to Level 2 but not 3.

Last week, I found out my daughter was going to be moved to the 6 and up rec floor even though she does not turn 6 for another 7 weeks. This is great, she is certainly ready for this.

But I was surprised that she was being put in Rec 1 and not Rec 2. When I asked about it, they told me she had to be able to do an unsupported handstand on beam to get to Rec 2. This surprised me, and explained it because my D cannot do a handstand on beam unsupported and I doubt she is even close. She can do a lever on beam without losing balance or falling off, but even I can tell her lever is awkward-looking.

So finding out they wanted a HS on beam for moving to level 2 rec, is why I started wondering what specific skills various gyms would want for a girl to get onto team.

Based on what is written above she currently has all the bar-relevant skills, but not all the tumbling/beam-relevant ones.

I will start this by saying all gyms are very different in their requirements and class/team structure.
At my dd gym the vast majority of kids do not progress to squad. To give you a rough idea there are approx 1000-1500 rec kids per week where as squad currently about 30 kids and many of those have come from other gyms.
At my dd gym for squad the coaches spot potential and that’s what they get selected for where as in rec there are set requirements they have to meet to move to the next rec class, the higher level of rec classes have higher skill requirements than what girls joining squad have.
How many levels of rec are there for the 6+ age group?

 

[fuzi]

I just wanted to throw one more voice into the mix. I am the pre-team program director at our gym. We look for a mix of skills, strength, flexibility, and dedication/drive/love/focus/ability to make changes.

For our youngest pre-team (ages 4-6), we look for kids who have unusually high levels of coordination and focus. They can do a pullover off a block, a forward roll on the floor, a backward roll down a cheese, cast on bars, as well as a passable cartwheel and handstand. Most 4 and 5 year olds can't do these things, but this pre-team group is to keep those who can moving forward, rather than being bored in our 4-year old and kinder classes.

For our next pre-team group (ages 5-7/8), we start to look for a balance of skills, strength, flexibility, and focus. They need to be able to do 2-3 pull-ups and 2-3 leg lifts, a split within a couple of inches of the ground, and a bridge with straight arms. They can do a cartwheel and handstand, a forward roll and backward roll; a pullover, cast, and back hip circle on bars; run and hurdle onto a springboard; and are comfortable walking, jumping, and turning on a high beam.

With gymnasts older than 7 or 8, I look for them to have the skills to compete JO2 (or occasionally, go straight to JO3). That means to go into the JO2 group, they need to be able to do all their JO2 skills (exceptions being I'll take a kid who doesn't quite have her mill circle and/or her bar dismount), 5 pull-ups and leg-lifts, as well as a split all the way down, and a bridge with straight arms and legs. For JO3, they need all the skills again (occasionally I will take someone who has their RO BHS on TumbleTrak but not quite comfortable with it on floor), 10 pull-ups and leg-lifts, two splits all the way done, and a bridge with shoulders over hands. These standards are shared with any parents who ask and shared with girls in our intermediate and advanced rec classes, so the kids know the standards. It's quite common that when girls come to pre-team evals the first time, they aren't "ready," but I email their parents with what they need to work on, and at the next evals 3-4 months later, they are usually ready.

Anyways, this is way too much detail, but I thought it might be helpful to see how standards and expectations vary gym to gym and by age and level.

 

[Madden3]

Hi Taxidriver, I appreciate what you are saying, believe me! My sons have been on gym team for several years, so I am not a complete newbie but I am newish to girl's gym. We have been at this gym a pretty long time and I have a pretty good sense of how they do things team-wise. Girls do not have to start on team super young at this gym and it is a very large team. Also ultimately who knows if gym team is something she will want to focus on? She says it is, but she is not yet 6 and loves every activity she does.

As far as gym goes, from what I can tell and what her coaches have said, it is her tumbling skills that are lagging and I am really glad she is in the regular rec classes now as I can already see huge improvement in a very short time. I am mostly wanting to understand more clearly what the expectations are skill-wise for level 3, because what I have been told about level 2 seemed harder than I thought. Since this team does not compete below Level 3, I was not sure if the "rec levels" coincided with 'team levels" as far as skills go, but I am thinking that is most likely the case. So, that is why I am focusing more on asking about skills. And I know ever gym is going to have its own things it looks at for team.

I appreciated all the details, fuzi. Very helpful!

 

[raenndrops]

Since this team does not compete below Level 3, I was not sure if the "rec levels" coincided with 'team levels" as far as skills go, but I am thinking that is most likely the case.

At our gym, the rec levels coincide more with the "old levels."
We have 3 levels of rec. In rec level 3, they are just barely introducing the back handspring. They focus mostly on drills for the skills. In R3, they do a lever on high beam and will do spotted handstands on the low beam. They work handstand forward rolls and flatbacks on vault.

 

[Taxidriver]

Hi Taxidriver, I appreciate what you are saying, believe me! My sons have been on gym team for several years, so I am not a complete newbie but I am newish to girl's gym. We have been at this gym a pretty long time and I have a pretty good sense of how they do things team-wise. Girls do not have to start on team super young at this gym and it is a very large team. Also ultimately who knows if gym team is something she will want to focus on? She says it is, but she is not yet 6 and loves every activity she does.

As far as gym goes, from what I can tell and what her coaches have said, it is her tumbling skills that are lagging and I am really glad she is in the regular rec classes now as I can already see huge improvement in a very short time. I am mostly wanting to understand more clearly what the expectations are skill-wise for level 3, because what I have been told about level 2 seemed harder than I thought. Since this team does not compete below Level 3, I was not sure if the "rec levels" coincided with 'team levels" as far as skills go, but I am thinking that is most likely the case. So, that is why I am focusing more on asking about skills. And I know ever gym is going to have its own things it looks at for team.

I appreciated all the details, fuzi. Very helpful!

Ok I’ve just seen far too many awkward conversations where parents ask when will their child progress to squad, where parents assume all kids progress through to squad.
With regard to levels I can’t help you at all as uk based so your levels are a mystery to me.

 

[coachmolly]

Your gym must have a massive group of rec 1 kids if all kids over 6 years start in rec 1 and they need an unspotted handstand on beam to move on! There are JO level 3/4s that still struggle with handstands on beam. That's definitely more of an upper level rec thing in my mind. Maybe levers in an advanced beginner or intermediate level class, but handstands seem like a stretch. However, if that is a requirement in your gym, they are probably working on them quite a bit in the class. As far as her tumbling skills, I've found it's not terribly uncommon for younger girls who are otherwise quite talented to lag behind a little bit on tumbling. Eventually they catch on.
Pre-team in my old gym (new at current gym, so I'm not sure) was about building strength and working simple skills with good body positions and then working up to level 3 skills as they became ready. To get into the group the girls needed to demonstrate strength, focus, and a desire for more in their current class. Skill wise they generally needed a pullover, good handstand, and a nice bridge. But like others have said, it was often more about future potential than what skills they had at that moment. The skills come fast when the hours increase provided the ability and desire are there.

 

[Madden3]

I am not aware of exact rec numbers, but we are a pretty big gym- but in any case, thanks so much for that attestation that a hand stand on beam can be seen as a more advanced skill! This one requirement I was told is why I got confused. Now that I think back on the conversation, this info may be incorrect or incomplete, maybe they did not mean doing an unassisted one is necc a requirement. I plan to check into this further.

 

[Madden3]

Oh and can anyone post me a link to a video of a well done, well explained girls gymnast hand stand? So far I have noticed that very little rec time is spent on HS and I am flummoxed about that, but as I recall my sons needed practice at home to learn their hand stands solidly when they were starting out.

 

[raenndrops]

Oh and can anyone post me a link to a video of a well done, well explained girls gymnast hand stand? So far I have noticed that very little rec time is spent on HS and I am flummoxed about that, but as I recall my sons needed practice at home to learn their hand stands solidly when they were starting out.

Here is a pretty good one

 

[Madden3]

Quick update-
DD is now in a class with one of the best rec coaches. An assessment was done and she is doing well but just short on moving up due to being not quite there with form on a couple skills on floor and one skill on beam. As I suspected, bars are v. good, plus she was complimented on being 'coachable." I think the issues we have been having is they had lots of newish coaches and their training/attention to detail varied, plus they were revamping how classes are structured and some skills were being overlooked, they seem to be fixing that now, although I still think there is not enough time spent on hand stands. Also found out that no, they do not have to do a handstand on beam to move up, that information was incorrect. They do have to be ready to start training those. Also, I was reassured that at this gym, girls can and do move right from rec to team when they are ready, as my sons did. Pre team is specifically for the really young early developers.
I felt nervous voicing my concerns at the gym, but by doing so, I got the answers I needed to feel confident she is doing ok and in the right class for her skill level. Thanks to everyone here for their helpful input.

 

[sce]

Thank you so much. This is all very helpful. The reason I asked about skills specifically is my daughter has the good attitude, listening skills, willingness to try stuff, works hard, plus seems pretty flexible to me at least as far as splits go (not sure how to tell re: shoulders) and is very strong. Physically she is quite slender but not short, but not super tall either-average height.

She started in rec at age 3. At our gym, under 6 rec trains in a separate space than 6 and up and there is more emphasis on games, keeping it super fun, etc. But they can still advance in "Levels." For the under 6s, there are three levels- and the kid has to get to Level 3 to be considered for pre-team. My D had made it to Level 2 but not 3.

Last week, I found out my daughter was going to be moved to the 6 and up rec floor even though she does not turn 6 for another 7 weeks. This is great, she is certainly ready for this.

But I was surprised that she was being put in Rec 1 and not Rec 2. When I asked about it, they told me she had to be able to do an unsupported handstand on beam to get to Rec 2. This surprised me, and explained it because my D cannot do a handstand on beam unsupported and I doubt she is even close. She can do a lever on beam without losing balance or falling off, but even I can tell her lever is awkward-looking.

So finding out they wanted a HS on beam for moving to level 2 rec, is why I started wondering what specific skills various gyms would want for a girl to get onto team.

Based on what is written above she currently has all the bar-relevant skills, but not all the tumbling/beam-relevant ones.

Many gyms have a rec path and a developmental/team path. What your gym designates as rev level 1, 2 etc May not correlate to any other gym or team path