Parents What traits does a talanted preschool gymnast have?

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gymmummy

Proud Parent
Just wondering out loud really. I did gymnastics for years & was so flexible but never reached the higher levels as I wasn't strong enough & didn't have the power for tumbling.

My dd 3.5 has started gymnastics & absolutely loves it so much (she also does ballet which she loves too & I think the ballet & gymnastics definitely compliment each other). She has lots of speed & her coaches have commented on how high she jumps. But she is the opposite to me very stiff...

Coaches & parents what traits do very talented preschoolers have in common? I don't think my daugheter is talented as such, they are only learning to prep the basics at the moment, roles down slopes etc... but she loves it so much, has an awful lot of stamina & endurnce & works very hard in class that I think she could do well...
 
its great your daughter has found something she loves doing, but to be brutally honest there is no such thing as a talented pre-school gymnast.

The gymnasts who are competing successful at 14/15/16 are very different to who was doing well at 2.5, in fact many of them will have never set foot in a gym until they were school age. Gymnastics has so many variables that the only measure of success should be "are they having fun, keeping fit and learning life lessons", worrying about anything more than that will drive you nuts !
 
One kid I know who is on the jr. National team was incredibly focused at the age of 5. More than the average kid. This kid was able to intently listen to the instructions form the coach and apply them immediately and accurately......amazing and not like any other kid I have ever seen.

Second this. I think having a child being able to focus is the main challenge at this age.
 
Ok, here is a story of five talented 11 year old gymnasts. All started in preschool classes and all will be level 9s this upcoming season.

One was very strong and able to take corrections and implement them quickly, also having good body awareness at a very young age. She was a hot out of the gate kid, advancing very quickly very young. Then, she hit some blocks and injuries and stagnated for a year in the middle and now is progressing again, working to get her old skills back and her head in a place where she can train happily and compete successfully.

Two were very strong and fast but not as focused at that early age and the last two were very focused for their age but light, strong and flexible for their frame but not powerful at that age. All four of these gymnasts have progressed together with some being more successful at some stages and others at other times. They have progressed quickly, but none were the hot out the gate type.

They are all now caught up to the one gymnast that would have been identified as the most talented at an early age and they are all the same age and are all set up to have successful level 9 seasons.

Each now has their points of weakness they need to work on. The smaller ones have impeccable execution and are now developing their power as they get bigger, the powerful ones are working on execution and performance and controlling all that power they have, and the hot out of the gate one is learning to control her mind and refine all those amazing skills she learned early on.

All five girls eat sleep and breath gymnastics, identify themselves as a gymnast first and are very passionate and goal driven. But even this part of it looks different in each child, some being outspoken, some quiet about it, some silly and scattered, some driven by skills, others by perfection, but all very driven. If I had to guess, this is the kicker.
 
I wouldn't stress too much that she is tight. In the pre school age they often have come anywhere near peaking in their ability to develop flexibility, the fact that she is in gymnastics from a young age will help tremendously and the flexibility work they do in the next few years will make a big difference.

When it comes to success in gymnastics, especially at a higher level strength significantly trumps flexibility. In that a strong kid who isn't flexible will go much, much further than a flexible kid who isn't strong (in Artistic gymnastics anyway).

As others have said it is hard to pick a talented kid in the pre school age, but we are on the look out for talent as early as that, but we certainly wouldn't rule anyone out, or assume anyone would be ideal so early. We watch them develop and look for -
- muscle twitch speed
- strength
- flexibility - particularly in the shoulders
- energy
- enthusiasm
- body type
- guts
- drive
- coordination and agility

So as you can see the mental aspect is just as important as the physical.
 
I've really enjoyed this thread as all gymnasts have different starts.
I enrolled Dd in a preschool kinder gym and we lasted 3 weeks lol.
Drove me batty with wanting more from the class- she did not see why if she could do cartwheels on floor she wasn't meant to attempt them on the beam etc so I figured there had to be a better more extending sport for one very active small girl.
She didn't return for a rerun at gym until a lot older having tried several other sports meanwhile and now has chalk running in her veins training a heap of hours.. ...so there definitely is no 'one fit' preschool 'type' which will predict later involvement ( although re-reading this I guess small stature, fast twitch & fearlessness were present in bucket loads just mother-patience wasn't lol.)
Best thing is make sure that gym is fun for her at this age.
 
What Margo said.

Keep taking her, keep her enjoying it, and think again in 3 years. Enjoy the process rather than focus on the end goal.

As a coach, I'd not even be looking at that age, they change so much. If a child had a something I liked, I'd make a mental note and look again at 5 or 6. I don't want kids on team before that age really, there's no advantage to it and increases the risk of burn out.

Second this. I think having a child being able to focus is the main challenge at this age.

I disagree, when looking long term this wouldn't be high on my list (if at all) when looking for potential in kids. Yes, if they have focus at this age they will *initially* progress more quickly, but focus often comes with age, and talented kids will catch up.
 
My 5 y/o was considered by every coach who saw her as "talented" since she was about 3 1-2. But, goodness gracious the child has such a poor attention span with EVERYTHING. (I think a lot of it is asthma mess). Who knows where this crazy sport will take her...maybe she'll quit after this year, or stick around for level 10 and beyond. Bottom line, she's having a blast and the gym has HELPED her attention span improve. So as others have said, "talent" can come in many different ways, and many "talented" gymnasts will take many different paths☺️ For now, just enjoy if she sticks with it, it will get harder!
 
DD has a teammate who will probably compete L10 this year. Her dad loves to tell the story of how she got onto the preteam. The rec coach had told the head coach to come watch her class because she had a team prospect. He watched for a while and then turned to her and said, "I want THAT one." She asked him if he meant the girl he had identified. "No," he said. "That one, over there. The one licking the mat."
 
Just wondering out loud really. I did gymnastics for years & was so flexible but never reached the higher levels as I wasn't strong enough & didn't have the power for tumbling.

My dd 3.5 has started gymnastics & absolutely loves it so much (she also does ballet which she loves too & I think the ballet & gymnastics definitely compliment each other). She has lots of speed & her coaches have commented on how high she jumps. But she is the opposite to me very stiff...

Coaches & parents what traits do very talented preschoolers have in common? I don't think my daugheter is talented as such, they are only learning to prep the basics at the moment, roles down slopes etc... but she loves it so much, has an awful lot of stamina & endurnce & works very hard in class that I think she could do well...
I know when we took mommy and me classes she could do straight jumps at an early age and could do those where you sit and stand on the trampoline. Even as a baby she climbed out of her crib. She also did cartwheels at three and by five could do a back handspring. I knew it was something different because I have an older child who didn't have those traits.
 
Thanks so much for the replies, I guess some boxes she ticks eg after her first lesson her coach couldn't believe she was 3.5 as she listened to everything so intently & took direction so well. On the other hand dd is ver!y tall, 97 percentile so I guess that will rule out alot for her, she is having an amazing time, loves every second of her class
 
DD has a teammate who will probably compete L10 this year. Her dad loves to tell the story of how she got onto the preteam. The rec coach had told the head coach to come watch her class because she had a team prospect. He watched for a while and then turned to her and said, "I want THAT one." She asked him if he meant the girl he had identified. "No," he said. "That one, over there. The one licking the mat."
Omg rofl
 
Thanks so much for the replies, I guess some boxes she ticks eg after her first lesson her coach couldn't believe she was 3.5 as she listened to everything so intently & took direction so well. On the other hand dd is ver!y tall, 97 percentile so I guess that will rule out alot for her, she is having an amazing time, loves every second of her class

Don't even worry about height at this point! My DD was a strong preschool gymnast (and has progressed quickly) and always fell between the 95-97% in height. She is INCHES taller than girls 2-3 years older than her.
Just recently, DD has actually dropped down to the 78%. Some thins are harder due to long legs, some things are easier. They learn to work with what they have!
 
She sounds like my dd, she is the same height as some 6 year olds even though she's 3.5! I just hope she won't be overlooked by her coaches due to her height & stiffness, she is just so enthusiastic, focused & has great endurance for it but is not the typical classic build. Her coaches are Russian & Ukranian and her gym attracts alot of kids with an Eastern European background who would be the typical balletic style build with lots of flexibility too.
 
Folks, really do not waste time worrying about the height of your preschoolers. Where they are on those charts is more about how quickly/slowly they are growing in relation to their peers, and if your child is developing on the early or late side, the percentiles now may have little to nothing to do with where your child will end up. If a coach is taking height into account in any remotely intelligent way, s/he is far more likely to make judgments based on the heights of the biological parents rather than the current height of your child. And even then, it's a crapshoot.
 
Folks, really do not waste time worrying about the height of your preschoolers. Where they are on those charts is more about how quickly/slowly they are growing in relation to their peers, and if your child is developing on the early or late side, the percentiles now may have little to nothing to do with where your child will end up. If a coach is taking height into account in any remotely intelligent way, s/he is far more likely to make judgments based on the heights of the biological parents rather than the current height of your child. And even then, it's a crapshoot.
We were just at the doctor this morning for annual check up. I know the doctor told me what percentile my daughter's height was but couldn't care less. Something something average. I should get a sticker for my apparent nonchalance.;)
 

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