Parents Transitioning from preschool to intermediate/pre-team

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Hi, another new gym mom here. I've been doing a ton of reading since my four year old DD came home from her preschool class two weeks ago with a recommendation to move from the PreSchool class to the pre-team program. For the summer they have a sign up as for as many classes as you want system, which is great for vacations and trying out a program...so we are able to do the intermediate class they recommended 1x a week for 90 minutes to try things out and then in the fall start pre-team if we think it is the direction we want to go in. So I guess I have a few questions:

1. She definitely has athletic ability, but looking at some of the skills at the levels, and reading about 4 and 5 year olds in higher levels, I know my DD isn't there yet....she isn't doing flips and cartwheels everywhere :) I'm guessing by having more time and specific training rather than a circuit those skills might come faster? Part of me feels like she needs to have more skills to be "pre-team" but I'm new to this so that's why I am asking.

2. I believe, and so does the coach, that DD was getting bored at the pre-school level (she could do the circuit 3 times before the other kids finished once.) When she first came home with the recommendation I asked her if she was going to do gymnastics again and she said no. When I told her they wanted her to take a class with the "big girls" and teach her new things she said, oh ok. We watched a few you tube videos of what she could learn and her eyes lit up....but she still seems a little confused, "Mommy, I can't take class with 7 year olds, I'm 4!" I know I need to just let things happen, but also want her to be prepared for it being different. Not sure this is a question so much as me venting my concerns.

3. My third question would be when did that real passion for gym come for your DD? Did they have it at the preschool level or did it really come once they started learning higher level skills? I can't tell of my DD has that passion for it yet, even though I know she does enjoy her classes and practicing at home.

Thanks for any advice, thoughts, etc....
 
IT's great that the coaches feel she is ready! As others have posted in previous threads, if the coach is recommending a move, it is because he/she thinks your child is ready. Very rarely are coaches wrong about this and have to bring a child back down. Trust the coach on this one. Of course, that doesn't mean that you have to follow the recommendation. If you think the hours will be too much or your dd is not mature enough to be with the older girls, that will play a part in the decision as well.

Girls tend to move to preteam when they begin to outpace the other girls in the group. they learn skills quicker, they have the drive to do circuits multiple times to practice. They try to do the skills correctly, not just going through the motions. If you look at the preschool and rec. classes for a while, you can begin to pick out the differences in the girls who will make it to preteam and the ones who are there to just have fun and socialize.

My dd ended up in an advanced class with girls 3-4 yrs older than her when she was 5. She did fine and thrived on it. She was in awe in the beginning (but what if I can't do what they can?!) but she got over that quickly. And as for passion, I didn't really see it in my dd until last year, at around 9 (and equiv. level 5). Don't get me wrong - she has always loved gymnastics and would talk about it, read books on it, watch movies, etc. but I had always heard of kids who would prance around the house doing cartwheels, handstands, walkovers, etc. Not her, not until last year, when it came in full force. Now she rarely walks down the hallway without doing at least a few steps of walking handstands. She is constantly making up her own floor routines too. I would not worry about your dd and her passion just now... If she is having fun and progressing, that's what counts. And getting on team is a huge motivator to want to do better, which tends to spark the fire a little.

good luck with your decision!
 
Congratulations to your daughter!The skills will come. Honestly, with competition beginning at such a basic skill level now, the kids become ready to compete quickly, especially with the individualized attention that comes with preteam. The new team (level 3) is what preteam used to be---so when the kids are getting ready for that it is really pretty basic. I wouldn't worry! My daughter started preteam last summer with few skills and will be more than ready to compete level 3 this fall. As for the passion, that's an interesting question. I was hesitant to put my daughter in preteam during Kimdergarten, because when I coached we had some talented five year olds that burned out---just doing two days a week. Starting K is tough and they are TIRED when they get home. In my daughter's experience as well, she is too little to "get" that hard/strict/tough now will benefit her later. She just knew the kids in the Rec classes playing in th pit where having more fun than she was doing her splits!I had/still have a passion for gymnastics and I started when I was nine. I progressed quickly and never lost the passion, in large part because the sport was something I picked totally and completely. My daughter likes gym, but really, I picked it for her. Most four year olds aremt old enough or don't have the life experience to know what they really want. I'm sure if I had ut her in swimming she would have liked that too. Hopefully she will grow to have a true passion for gym----but if not, the coordination she has gained from her classes will help with whatever sport she chooses. (I'm suspecting cheer---but we will hold off as long as possible. She loves glitz and glamour!)
 
Hello and Welcom to the CB!! You will find many parents, coaches, gymnasts that all will give advice and support here.

First take a deep breath in, hold it then exhale and relax. Next, most young kids really don't know what they really want to do and it is we the parents that direct them towards interests. Congratualations and welcome to the world of competitive gymnastics. Pre-team is the time where kids who show they are coachable, have some drive, and coaches can see some talent go to get ready to move to team. You said your DD was 4yo so she has a few Years to get some fairly basic skills. I don't know what levels they start at in your area - in my area the competition starts at Level 4 which means they can't start to compete until they are 6yo. If your area starts competing at L1 then L1 & L2 start at 4 yo, L3 at 5yo. and those levels have easy skills your DD probably can do already or can pick up quickly. Over the summer time I am always amazed how fast all the girls in all the levels from L1 through L10 pick up the next big skill.

IF you want your DD to do the competitive team (which is something to think about first as it is a huge family commitment as you move on) then trust the coaching staff to know when a child has the skills or what ever you want to call it to groom for their teams. Heading down the competion path is going to be a big commitment not just for her but for the whole family. There are time, financial and family time with booster clubs that really do take over a big chunk of time. You start out with just a few hours a week and it's easy to schedule everything but as they advance it will be more and more hours and more and more money. We started way back when with about 4 hours a week and now we are at 18 - 20 a week. It cost alot as you move forward and once you start compeating there are expensive team leos, warmup suits, and entery fees. So really ask alot of questions as you consider heading down this path. With that said I wouldn't change a thing for my DD she really loves this sport and really would spend every free moment at the gym if she could.

My DD was born into it. Her brother started when he was 3yo he saw mens gymnastics on the Olympics and wanted to do the "Jumping thing those guy did" So we checked it out and he started in the rec classes. by 6yo he was on the boys team and was competing untill he dislocated his knee cp at 16yo. DD came along when he was 5yo. She was with me at all practices and by 18 mos she wanted to be out there jumping around with her big brother, so we did a mom and me class. By the end of that class she was just over 2yo and the owner recommended she go into their "special" preschool class (most were 3 - 4 yo) This class was a Pre - PreTeam of sorts. It basicly was a rec class but there was more emphasis on heading down the team track. By 3yo she was potty trained and asked to do Pre-Team. They had 3 levels of Pre Team and she did them all like everyone else so when she was 6yo she was at L4. Did she have a Passion for it?? Well she enjoyed going to the classes, she liked the leos with the sparkles, She liked getting her hair done for meets and having spray glitter in her hair, she liked a little make up on. She liked going for ice cream after meets. I would say though it was more around 4th grade that the "passion" entered and it was more her choice.

I would say too that is true however for any preschool kid with any sport.

Most 3yo don't know they have a "passion for baseball, hockey, soccer" But Dad or Mom loved those sports and want their kids to like them too so they sign them up for the Pee Wee leagues and encourage them to stay with it and direct them down that path.

You will know by the end of the 1st summer on Pre-Team if your DD is going to love this sport - she will let you know by her actions. She is young and have her try several other things too so you can see where she has the most joy. Let her try karate, soccer, dance, swimming and all the other things kids do when she is young. If its not this then there will be something else she will have joy for.
 
Well, my DD started around the same age your daughter is. I was concerned about the same things, but her coaches mainly wanted kids who had the ability to focus well and followed instruction. Honestly, DD did not have a lot of "skills" when she started but I was happy that when she was taught the skill, she was taught to do it correctly. There wasn't a "passion" really when she started. She liked going but it wasn't the only thing in her life (also played soccer, basketball and baseball at one point or another). She was also the youngest in her group at the time she started and was ok with that. It was 3 hours a week and she handled it well. I think the hardest transition came when they went from pre-team to team (level 4). It was a big jump in hours (3 to 9) and it took time to get used to it. She's also one who takes time to get new skills so she was usually the last in her group to get a skill. Not that she would admit it now, but I think it was a bit intimidating. She's now been through her first season of competing and is much more comfortable with it all. She's also been more excited because she and her teammates get to "uptrain" the harder skills even though she will competing another year of level 4. I admit that I had reservations about it all, but I see now what a positive impact competing has been for her and I am glad that we said OK. Good luck to your little one!
 
Welcome to CB! My girls are 5 and started in a development team right after their 4th birthday. You asked about passion and this is something I can really speak too. My daughters show their passion by asking to go to gym :) I think that's really all you can expect / hope at this age. Everything else is too abstract.

When we first were invited to a dev team (there's a post of mine on here somewhere) our results were pretty poor to be honest. We went from a super fun preschool environment where my girls literally asked everyday if it was a gym day to a super strict program that had 1 1/2 hour practices. DD's were tired from afternoon preschool and had a really hard time staying awake in the car to get to gym at 4. Practice started with stretching on the floor for 20 minutes at the beginning of class (which I had to wake them up for). It was awful. I really saw the lack of passion at this point. My girls started to hate gym and groaned when it was gym day. After 4 weeks, they started to cry that they didn't want to go. At that point, we decided to quit (we couldn't go back to preschool and they weren't ready for level 1 due to age).

After a few months we tried again at a gym that was much closer to home. My girls loved it and started the "is it gym day" bit every single day again. They then were asked to join their dev team and fortunately this time it stuck. Today is "gym day" and when my daughter did her morning wakeup question routine she cheered in delight that today was actually a gym day!

So, I guess for us, this is how we know! Its amazing how much they will change in just a few months. A few months ago, they were a bit wobbly on the beam, now they are doing really high tuck jumps and unassisted forward rolls on the beam. Once they were doing headstands. Now they can hold a handstand (for a second or two!). It will come.

I've seen and learned a lot this first year. I've learned to not push as I've seen kids forced into class crying and its just awful for the coaches and the kids when they are pushed too hard to fast (mostly by parents). Given this, I've learned not to be in hurry for them to progress -- I just want them to have fun becuase really you only get to be little for so long before the pressure hits. I love that their current dev team still rolls pizzas and puts out pepperonis when stretching and still gives them time to do silly jumps in the pit. They tailor the class to accomplish their goals while letting the littles be littles and I think that's the most important thing to focus on at this point. Without this, my girls would lose all interest.

Sorry if this is a very longwinded post! Just wanted to share a little story and some insight. I hope that your DD loves gym as mine do. Its such an awesome sport and my DDs just beam when they are in practice -- its so much fun to watch.

twosmiles
 
Thanks so much everyone. I hope the summer classes go well, and yes she does want to do lots of things, tee ball, swimming, soccer, etc. She does show the excitement for class "yay it's gym day!" I just wish we didn't have to wait 2 weeks for the summer session to begin :). @twosmiles, I had actually read one of your first posts about trying the development program at the gymFarther away and then switching...glad to hear the girls are doing we and ended up being asked by the new gym as well.
 
If the coach thinks your DD is ready I'd trust them.

I think some young kids do know what they like to do or rather what they don't like to do. My DD begged to do gymnastics and started when she was 4. I didn't choose it for her. I did choose dance for her when she was 2 which she still loves. I also chose skating for her at 3.5 which she really didn't like and also Tball which she didn't care much for either. So basically anything I chose, she hated and quit except dance. I also tried to get her into music since that's my background and she flat out refused. Sad mommy :(

So I wouldn't worry if she isn't obsessed with gymnastics. She'll let you know if she doesn't like it. My DD doesn't like to talk about gym or watch it, but she loves to do it.
 

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