Parents Thinking of trying new gyms..

DON'T LURK... Join The Discussion!

Members see FEWER ads

Cakequeen

Proud Parent
Hi all,
This is my first post but I've read sooo much on here over the last Few days.
I hope no one minds me posting...I have no gymnastics background except watching on the to :>)
Anyway my 6 yr old BOY is gym mad... 18months ago he started at our local gym... They only have the floor (which isn't sprung) the trampette and the vault..he's competed locally this year for times and is finishing around 13/14th out of 23. Due to his flexibility they focus on his floor and not his vault or trampette.
However he's 'up there' on the floor and can perform 'perfect box splits' (I'm quoting his coach...she's level 3 I believe)?

Anyway he will only ever train 4 hours a week there as that's all they offer their boys in the development program.

I've contact a slightly bigger gym but didn't really like them (hes competed there and it didn't feel right) so I've contacts a much bigger one approx 10miles from me so not too far (he currently goes 4 miles away)

So I guess I'm wondering what I need to be asking or what someone else assessing him would be looking for?
We are due to go to the big gym on Saturday to join n a rec session where he will be assessed?
I'm worried for him although not showing it...

He wants (and I appreciate he's only 6) to do the rings and to win medals.. He was very dissapoind when he didn't win one at his recent comp but we told him as long as he had fun etc.. And that actually he was only 0.16 off of winning the gold for his floor (he was 6th- it was. Dry close!)

Sorry for the rambling...
 
first off, welcome,

secondly, you might want to change your username to something a little less recognisable, just contact one of the admins (Bogwoppit) to do that.

At six, as he is a boy, our gym would be looking for ability to take instruction, fearlessness and effort, and your commitment to gymnastics.

For me I would look for a gym that has an active, competitive boys team at all ages
That has all the boys equipment
That keeps the boys occupied during lessons with plenty of side stations and drills ( cause teaching young boys can be like herding cats)
And following on with that has a reasonable coach/gymnast ratio so there is less queuing (boys goof off in queues) .

Good luck
 
Thanks for the info about user name.. I did think that (I was a little tired when I registered :-o) so I've emailed admin.. Thanks :-D

You've kind of summed up the gym he's at... Too much distraction and not enough to occupy them and not in my opinion enough toughness...
For example one student was teaching the rest how to stick the vs up to the coach... He was sat out for 5 minutes yet still allowed to compete 4 days later.. I guess I'm a bit hard as to me he should have been told he couldn't...

There's 12 in his group with 1 full coach and 1 who has just started... These boys all train 4 hours (2x2hrs)

You mentioned fearlessness and that's what is starting to happen... The coachs are too preoccupied and so not helping him and he's startied to get scared in case they don't 'catch' him... I think he fell out of a flip and hit himself somehow on the trampette.. At the time we were told he got up and he's all fine but I think it's worried him and they aren't actively getting him to forget it if that makes sense?

He's currently running, jumping onto a springboard and landing in my lounge...!! (another thing that's neglected... He was out into a comp and told to do a 3.0 difficulty headspring off the vault... He can't do it so his score was not exactly the best :)

We don't think he's going to be the next big thing.. We are just his parents helping him do as much or as little as he wants and at the minute it's the only thing he wants to do and he's pretty good at the floor stuff and the discipline and instruction...

He knows he's going to look around this new gym and knows he's going to 'have a go' but I have this thing that he'll get stage fright :) I guess we'll know soon enough :-o

Thanks for your comments
 
And I loved your comment about herding when it comes to boys... You are sooo right... I couldn't teach them... They'd be perminantly sat out :-D
I have 3 boys myself and they can drive me round the bend :)
 
first off, welcome,

secondly, you might want to change your username to something a little less recognisable, just contact one of the admins (Bogwoppit) to do that.

At six, as he is a boy, our gym would be looking for ability to take instruction, fearlessness and effort, and your commitment to gymnastics.

For me I would look for a gym that has an active, competitive boys team at all ages
That has all the boys equipment
That keeps the boys occupied during lessons with plenty of side stations and drills ( cause teaching young boys can be like herding cats)
And following on with that has a reasonable coach/gymnast ratio so there is less queuing (boys goof off in queues) .

Good luck
Hi Iwannabemargo, I so enjoyed your comment about training young boys is like trying to herd cats- as the proud owner of both cats and several Ds's in a row I so emphasis with that comment Lol
 
Hahahaha boys... Trouble from an early age ;-)
I have a dd who is 8 then 3 x ds and another dd who is 2 1/2 so those boys are very close in age and all keep me on my toes!!!
 
I agree with Iwannabemargo. You want a gym with a competitive boys program, and now is the perfect time to start working on rings, pommel horse, etc. That stuff takes a ton of upper body strength, so you'll want a gym that can make conditioning fun, especially for that age. You really need a coach who understands young boys. If the coach expects them to act like little girls, he/she will be disappointed and the boys will be miserable. And yes, part of understanding them is knowing that they need lots of stations and very little waiting in line. When they have nothing to do, they mess around and somebody gets hurt.
 
I tell you my girls herd like cats too! It's one of the most used phrases in this house.

Funnily enough the cat is slightly strange and just follows me around so no need to herd. I have taken him out on a lead before and he just follows...
 
You really need a coach who understands young boys. If the coach expects them to act like little girls, he/she will be disappointed and the boys will be miserable.
Are boys really that different?

I took dd to a football class when she was about 5. There were loads of little boys. All of them stood in line, listened to the coach, practiced their dribbling and passing nicely.

Dd hared around like a lunatic just wanting to kick the ball and run about.

In the gym she needs a lot of structure and discipline. If she isn't given constant stations and specific things to do she's off trying to copy stuff she's seen big girls do.

I've coached boys who are far less trouble and easier to work with than some girls.

Personality and expectation rather than gender?
 
I don't know as my girls are very different to my boys but that said my gymnast son is very much in need of boundaries and rules which I think is why gym really suits hi,..For us the 3 pieces and large class is making it not quite right..
Chances are this big gym won't want him and he'll probably stay where he is :-/
 
having 2 of each I see differences in all of them, but in large groups the girls can be left a little more to get on with stuff, but boys can get themselves into mischief a lot more quickly, lower boredom threshold and more need for instant gratification.
 
I would bet my hat that the big gym will want him. A motivated, gymnastics-loving kid is an asset to any gym.
 
One more less tangible thing to look for is atmosphere at the gym. Watch how the kids interact with each other and the coaches.talk to the office staff. Try to get a feeling about how comfortable you are with the place and how comfortable ds is. We moved my son, also 6, over the summer from one big gym to another. the difference in atmosphere is amazing. I had no idea, until we started looking around how tense everything was at the 1st gym.
good luck and I'll second the thought that they will likely be interested in him. Interest and motivation count for a lot.
 
having 2 of each I see differences in all of them, but in large groups the girls can be left a little more to get on with stuff, but boys can get themselves into mischief a lot more quickly, lower boredom threshold and more need for instant gratification.
Are boys really that different?

I took dd to a football class when she was about 5. There were loads of little boys. All of them stood in line, listened to the coach, practiced their dribbling and passing nicely.

Dd hared around like a lunatic just wanting to kick the ball and run about.

In the gym she needs a lot of structure and discipline. If she isn't given constant stations and specific things to do she's off trying to copy stuff she's seen big girls do.

I've coached boys who are far less trouble and easier to work with than some girls.

Personality and expectation rather than gender?

Personality and expectations certainly play a huge role, and individually I agree that you'll find both boys and girls all over the spectrum in terms of maturity and attention span. I was thinking more in terms of groups, and I do think there is some sort of cumulative effect on behavior when it comes to groups of young boys.

I have three boys close in age (8, 6, & 5), and individually, they are the most polite, well-mannered kids you've ever met. But together they are little savages. I have never seen a group of girls be that physical or that loud. It's not a huge problem when they are playing, but if there is something that needs to be done, I cannot send them off as a group and expect it to get done. And I'm not talking about extremely complex tasks. I'm talking about "Go upstairs, brush your teeth, then come back down to get your shoes on before the bus gets here." If I send them up as a group, I will come upstairs to find no teeth have been brushed, and they are wrestling on the bathroom floor. And also I will have to drive them to school because the bus would have come and gone. If I send one at a time, they are fine.

I think that in groups, girls are more likely to stay on task than similarly aged boys.
 
boys gym is more laid back in the early levels (at least around here) as boys are simply less mature on average at this age...but I would look for a program that at least trains all 6 events. My boys spent years in the rec program at my DD old gym where they become very proficient in the few events they worked, but when they did decide they wanted a boys team it took a couple of years for them to catch up on pommel/rings/pbars....not a big deal as they aren't training for the Olympics, but still it was frustrating esp. for my older one who first competed at age 11....

However, had he been a girl he likely wouldn't have been allowed to start L4 at age 11 in many places - and he's L7 now 3 years later, so its nice the boys programs are more relaxed! He never had issues staying on task, and due to that has learned lots as he hit puberty - little brother just 10 now is getting better with the focus thing - but still a silly one. Their old coach always said he'd really know what DS younger was capable of once he was mentally ready....in any case, he's by far NOT the most un focused of the team - so I think its fairly normal for boys who like to throw themselves through the air off of various apparatuses to be a bit wild!
 
Hi all
Thought i would give an update...

So we went along to the bigger gym and they've assessed my DS. They have suggested he attends for 1 1/2 hrs each week for 4-5 weeks as he has 'something' but due to lack of any work on bars (the example given) they want to asses him further but have suggested if it's not conflicting with the current gym the we should go there as well.
It doesn't conflict so he will join the bigger gym for now and continue at his current one giving 5 1/2 hrs coachin in total for the week.

Should the new gym deem that he needs to move to the full training lessons then that's 9 hours a week and 8pm finishes which would hit DS FOR 6 for now as he's only 6 (7 in feb ) and is in bed at 6.30 at the moment :-o

But we've taken the fact that they've invited him to a class as a positive and hopefully he can progress in the4 weeks.

One thing - he's on a growth spurt and lost the ability to hold a handstand - he is always going Ito a forward roll from it - anything we can help him with? Any advise? Xx
 

New Posts

DON'T LURK... Join The Discussion!

Members see FEWER ads

Gymnaverse :: Recent Activity

College Gym News

New Posts

Back