Parents What does pre-team mean exactly?

[dinkalina]

Let me preface this by saying I what I know about gymnastics, progression, level structure, etc could fit on the head of a pin. Dance I understand, this I do not.

Can anyone explain what pre-team means exactly in terms of time committment, expectations, etc? BeeBee Loo's coach sticks his head out of the door last night and says, "Oh by the way, I think she is going to be ready to move to pre-team in the fall", gathers his next group of kids, and goes back into the gym. Blink Blink....

There is no mention of pre-team on the gym's website and the schedule is not published in the gym either. The secretaries get peeved if you start asking them questions about schedules of levels your child isn't in. Apparently it is this big hairy secret? I did gather that the progression of levels looks to be:

Beginner girls
Advance beginner girls
Intermediate girls
Advance girls
pre-team?
and then there is a web page dedicated to the team and it starts out with a level 5 listing. Does that mean pre-team would be level 4?

A little background: BeeBee Loo started last fall in a beginner girls class and also took an intermediate tumbling class. She had been in dance prior to that and had taken acro classes as part of dance for 2 years as well as one summer tumbling class at the gym she's at now. She was in Beginner girls for 3 months, got moved to advance beginner girls where she stayed for a couple of weeks, and then moved to advance girls where she stayed for the rest of the year. This summer she is in advance girls (90 minutes once a week) and advance tumbling (60 minutes once a week). She will be 9 at the end of summer. I think she is progressing/being pushed too fast but on the other hand, I think her coach is doing the best they can to stay ahead of her and keep her challenged.

She LOVES tumbling and has a great time in her advance girls class learning new skills. We are completely not interested in competing for a lot of reasons (time, money, not wanting to deal with gym parent politics, difficult to keep decent weight on her if she works out alot, and her passion for things outside the gym). I have other kids in dance and have never been keen on competition in that arena either. I've just never understood the draw or necessity of the whole competing thing. She just does this for the simple fun of it, for the learning challenge, and never felt the need to show off her skills in a competition setting She is very out going and had no problems performing in dance and piano recitals.


So my questions are this:

1. What the main expectations of something like this? Do they expect you to compete and if you have no intention of competing, should you politely decline and just stick with the classes you have now?
2. What's the time and money committment of a pre-team course?
3. Do the coaches just give up teaching you new things if they know you don't want to compete? The coach has never asked her what her goals/aspirations are so I think they just assume being on team is everyone's dream?

Thanks!

 

[lhmom]

I know at my daughter's gym that once you are on pre-team, the expectation is that your child is being readied for competition. On pre-team, DD went 2 days a week for a total of 3 hours. After 2 years, they had a parent meeting and told us about the team (time commitment, competition costs, etc). Not every girl on my daughter's pre-team decided to go forward. It was a huge jump in time commitment (from 3 to 9 hours). If your daughter is not interested in competing, I'd just keep her in the rec classes she's in now. Not much use in doing pre-team if she doesn't plan on competing.

 

[win1385]

I am like you when my dd started, but 10 years later I understand so much.

Pre-team is a great opportunity for your daughter to see if she is really interested in gymnastics or not. It is getting them ready for team skill -wise, but also mentally. Bumping up hours means more time, if your daughter complains about going, she is not interested. Many parents make the mistake of not listening to their child at this time because they want their child to do it. Pre-teamers usually also perform at home meets for a group show about 1 or 2 minutes. This lets them be in front of an audience. The good think about Pre-team is their is not a financial commitment at the time. If she does start complaining and is upset at the prospect of performing in front of people, you probably would be able to drop back to rec classes in the middle of the year as opposed to skipping pre-team for the whole year. In my experiences, coaches know what is best for the kids about 99% of the time, and they would not have put here there if they had not believed in her

 

[gym law mom]

Honestly "pre-team" and what it involves varies widely from gym to gym. At some gyms its merely an advanced rec class at others it might be learning skills for L3 with the goal of competing.

Make an appointment to talk with someone at the gym and get an explanation of their "pre-team" program and then discuss the goals you and your dd have.

 

[Azgymmiemom]

3. Do the coaches just give up teaching you new things if they know you don't want to compete? The coach has never asked her what her goals/aspirations are so I think they just assume being on team is everyone's dream?

No-they don't give up teaching you new things, however, just like with dance, your dd is only going to get to a certain point skill-wise on 2 hours a week of class. For the progressively harder skills it requires more strength, more flexibility, and more time for perfecting the skill.

I think like pp's said, pre team is a great place for your dd to figure out if gymnastics is something she wants to commit to-to learn those harder skills. It is the beginning of "team" like training, yet without all the expenses that come with competing. If she decides she doesn't want to do it, she can always go back to the rec classes and tumbling.

I think the reason the higher level kids compete is because-why would you spend all that time, effort, blood, sweat, tears, and money into something and then not be able to show it off anywhere??? Can't do those skills safely at the playground, so we take our kids to meets. It's their "hard work payoff".

 

[Quadqueen]

I agree with the poster who said pre-team varies widely from gym to gym. My DD's gym competes L3, which many gyms do not, and they call that "pre-team". They only practice three hours a week but they do compete in several meets.

You stated that you have no desire for your DD to compete. If you don't think you'll change your mind on that, I personally wouldn't waste time doing pre-team, because the idea is to progress and do competitions in time (if they don't compete at "pre-team" at your gym).

 

[cher062]

Pre-team is something each gym does on its own. It is the program they use to prep those kids they think have what ever they are looking for in a kid that they would like to see eventuallyl go to their competitive teams. (at least that has always been my experience) They usually get 2 or 3 days of practice for about 4-6 hours a week. It's like a very advanced rec class but the coaches are working on the skills for team and making sure there are pointed toes etc. If you aren't going to have your DD compete then stay with the rec classes as the goals for Pre-team is to move to the team at some point.

At our current gym its Just Pre-team but there are different ability levels within the group. Other gyms have various levels of Pre team and use L1 - L3 as the pre-team criteria as my area doesn't compete below L4 (some gyms in our area don't compete below L5 but that is their choice)

This is what my experience is (not every pre-team just the one I've seen)Usually the first year of Pre-team is a let's try this out year. Your child thinks they want to be on team and you are willing to give it a try. By the end of the year or sometime during that year you will see if this is something your child likes enough to continue and you are willing to really change the family life. if you make it to the 2nd year assuming the money isn't a deciding factor you are probably hooked into the vortex that is gymnastics.

Gymnastic team in general is a huge commitment from both the gymnast and the family. It has a huge committment more than your average local soccer team type sports.

Unlike most other sports this is a long term thing. it takse YEARS to develop the skills not a season. It is probably one of the only sports where you come into it with no skills in the sport and learn how to as you go.

You can't just fluff off practice you are expected to choose practice and meets over other events. It's not cheap and only gets more expensive as time goes on. Usually as they move up in the ranks there isn't time for other sports or alot of other extra curicular activities. Thats not to say that they don't have some time to join other things but you have to be very selective to make sure they fit into the gym schedule time off.

It sounds bad but really if your child is into this sport and has the talent and ability it can be a very positive experience. I My DD loves doing this and has been in it since she was 18 mos in the mommy and me classes. She is now 14 and competed L7 last season and is working on L8 this season. If she has to miss practice its like a punishment for her.

 

[thefellowsmom]

Like everyone else has said, pre-team is the path to competitive gymnastics. It is a great place for kids to figure out if they like the added expectations and seriousness of taking gymnastics further. There tends to be more emphasis on body positioning, conditioning and skill progression. There were several girls on pre-team with my dd who quit after trying it because it was too stressful or too much work.

On the flip side, you have the girls like The Fellows, who can't get enough, who thrive on the high expectations and can't wait to compete. the Fellows chooses gymnastics, over pretty much everything. This isn't something I have ever pushed. When conflict comes up, she decides and almost always she chooses gymnastics. she has chosen practice over sleepovers and birthday parties and she cried for an hour with a 104 fever because she couldn't go to practice.

My point in saying this is, like Cher said, gymnastics is a tough sport that takes a huge commitment from both gymnast and their entire family. If your daughter isn't chomping at the bit for more and more and you don't think you can support her in a competitive environment, then stick with your rec classes, because if she does get hooked, watch out. If I tried to take gymnastics away, it would be like removing a part of who she is. We're on this ride now, for better or worse.

This is entirely conjecture, but I would guess that they are rushing your daughter because they see potential in her and at nine, if she is headed toward team then she better get going.

Talk to her coach and ask for more info and talk to your dauter about what she wants as well. Competition isn't the enemy. For these kids, it's the reward.

Good luck and thanks for sharing your story!

 

[Krystan]

I agree with those who say that if you are dead set against team, then pre-team might not be a good fit. If your dd loves gymnastics though, it might be worth it to try it out. At our pre-team, the girls learn the level 4 routines and, when they're ready, they compete them in a local, low-key league, until they're moved to USAG or another lower-key team. It's only 4 hours a week, but the mentality definitely shifts to learning routines and scoring well. Try asking the coach what pre-team means at your gym since it sounds like it's different everywhere. Good luck!

 

[AmandaLynn]

This is something that you should talk with your DD's instructor and/or the pre-team instructor about. As others have mentioned, "pre-team" varies widely from one gym to another. At our gym, they compete as low as Level 2. So, our "pre-team" is a lot of basics and body shapes, light conditioning, etc. Our pre-team is also only 2 hours per week (one 2 hour class), currently.

 

[gymgal]

Pre-team is typically very different from rec classes. It is more "team based" and focuses on foundation skills. A lot of girls get to pre-team and find gym just not fun anymore. There is a lot more focus on pointed toes, straight legs, tight bodies, high reps of skills, perfection of skills. Girls destined to be on team really thrive on this but girls in the gym just to have fun and learn some skills don't like it much. One thing no one shared with me in the beginning and confused me for a while is that girls in rec classes will often surpass pre-team (and lower level team girls) in gym skills. This is mostly because more time is spent on those foundations I mentioned above, which is SO important for competition. Of course, without these foundations, you can only go so far on skills so eventually the rec girls get to a point where they can't go any further because they haven't perfected their bodies or skill set.

bottom line is - if you are against your dd going to team, then it is best to keep her in rec classes and not give her a taste for team. I am a firm believer that if you are going to allow a girl catch the "team bug", then you need to let her see it through until SHE is done and that could be 10+ years of very expensive tuition, team expenses, travel, and loss of family time. It was a very hard decision for us as a family to introduce dd to team gymnastics but I know for her it was the right decision.

 

[gymjourneymom]

Just wanted to agree with everyone who said "Preteam" means something different everywhere! "Preteam" at my DD's gym is prepping them for "Team", which our gym doesn't start until Level 5. It is more intense then rec. classes, but still much lower hours then "real" team. All of the "preteam" practices are geared toward progressing through skills(as individual abilities allow) & prepping to compete Level 4 & beyond.

Even Level 4 is considered a "preteam or trial team" level, because that is the 1st time they get a taste of competition at our gym & it may not be for everyone. Once they successfully complete Level 4, if it's still for them, then they maybe invited to join the "real" team. Some still choose not to at that point because "expectations" & hours increase once on the "real" team.

I really like the way my DD's gym does this progression. It gives the girls freedom & time to try other sports & activities prior to "committing" solely to a gymnastics lifestyle. In fact, trying other sports & activities is encouraged during this time! The girls who decide to "commit" to team by Level 5, have had a taste of gym practice & competition have tried other sports/activities also. They are making an educated decision to commit to gymnastics for themselves.

This progression has worked well from what I've witnessed with DD's team. Now that they are teens there's minimal burn out. And those who decide to retire from team are confident that they have other sports/activities to go back to or try. I think this progression has helped the girls form a very healthy mental outlook about the sport.

 

[dinkalina]

Thanks to all who responded!

Thanks to everyone who responded! Based on what I've read here and a parent's blog whose child goes to the same gym we do, I seriously don't think pre-team is the right fit for my child. The coach, bless their heart, is a dear person who has really worked hard to keep BeeBee Loo challenged last school year. I hope they can respect the fact that team isn't everyone's end goal. Thanks again!

 

[melissajoy1234]

Our gym just started doing preteam this year. My DD and her other classmates that were in her advanced class were invited to try out preteam from January-May. At the end of May they had a meeting and told us the girls could all move on to level 4 team or go back to the advanced class, whichever they wanted to do. It seemed to be about half and half (some to team, some back to advanced). The team is a big committment of time and money, so I guess our gym was trying to weed out the ones who couldn't stick with it. They are now practicing with the other team girls, and my DD is loving it. It was explained to us that preteam was a way for the girls to see if team was what they wanted or if they just would rather do recreational gymnastics. I guess basically to get a taste for team without committing to team yet.

Again, this was the first preteam class our gym had done, and I don't know if they will do it again next year or not. But it was 2 hours 2 days a week instead of the 1 1/2 hours 2 days a week advance class, so just a little bit more time commitment, but not much.