Parents What traits does a talanted preschool gymnast have?

[Sasha]

more than thespian ions

Autocorrect win of the day. I suppose we are a dramatic, high-charged bunch.

 

[gymmummy]

Thanks I was thinking that attendance is important, we always ensure she never misses a class & is a couple of mins early. She works so hard on her class & listens intently, really loves it. She is very strong but as I said upthread she's stiff so I hope they don't discount her due to this. She trains beside a pretest of 4-5 year olds & is always asking when can she be training with them & I honestly can't answer

 

[profmom]

Just be aware that commitment at a young age doesn't necessarily translate into longevity in the sport, nor does the converse always apply. At 6, DS was a somewhat indifferent preteamer. He enjoyed it, but sometimes he'd balk about going to practice and he wasn't always 100% focused. He nominated himself for preteam because he saw that his sister was getting all these cool leotards and he thought what she was doing at meets looked fun, but we'd have to keep reminding him that if he ever wanted to make it onto the team and get his own cool singlet, he'd have to keep working hard and going to practice with a good attitude. We were pretty sure it would fizzle (which is probably part of why we so blithely jumped onto the two-gymnast family train.) He was OK during his first year on the team, but it was really only that summer after his first comp year that the light turned on. He started competing L4 in 2011-12 and is now headed into L9.

 

[notthatmom]

Thanks for all the replies. It's been very insightful. Her gym is very busy with full preschool classes 7 days a week so I guess I'm wondering what makes these kids stand out & invited up to the next class?

The (good) coaches know what to look for, and I say "good" because with my personal experience, my DD was in beginner rec for what seemed like forever, for the longest time she had a coach who was a high schooler who clearly just had this as a part time job, once she went off to college, DD had a new coach who was also one of the team coaches, and almost immediately the new coach pulled me aside and told me that she thought DD was ready for pre-team (she even hinted that she wasn't sure why DD was still in beginner). If a gymnast catches a coaches eye, you'll know it, because they'll tell you.
Your DD is still very young but I would definitely let the gym know that you're interested in team gymnastics in the future, some gyms/coaches aren't always sure what the parent's expectations are. In rec, some parents put their kids in it simply for activity and exercise so it's not always easy for them to know what the parents are interested in past that.

It's possible no coaches have talked to you about team yet simply because she IS only 3, so give it time, but it doesn't ever hurt for the gym to know what you want for your child. Once they know you may be interested in team, they'll possibly keep a closer eye on her so they can have a better idea of where she can go beyond rec.

But again, she's very young, so it's not out of the ordinary that coaches haven't pulled you aside just yet.

 

[notthatmom]

Thanks I was thinking that attendance is important, we always ensure she never misses a class & is a couple of mins early. She works so hard on her class & listens intently, really loves it. She is very strong but as I said upthread she's stiff so I hope they don't discount her due to this. She trains beside a pretest of 4-5 year olds & is always asking when can she be training with them & I honestly can't answer

I would tell her "when you're 4 or 5"....in rec it is often separated by preschoolers and school age kids, she doesn't train with the school agers yet because she's not a school ager.

 

[mobeans]

Yes I think that that is a big thing at the moment, the little girl Emma on Ellen being an example. I'm sure it's been discussed to death on here but really she was put at risk, her bh were scary. Will be interesting to see if she had a career. Konnor McClain is another example however she is very good...

I am also interested in what happens with all these "famous" preschool gymmies, both from YouTube and Instagram.

 

[gymbeam]

I am also interested in what happens with all these "famous" preschool gymmies, both from YouTube and Instagram.

I know. I make a conscious effort to not make gym become too much of my child's identity. Adding another layer by marketing them in that way jsut seems a recipe for trouble in the future when they either quit progressing in gym or quit being so little and cute and popular- or both!

 

[lovemygymnast]

I am also interested in what happens with all these "famous" preschool gymmies, both from YouTube and Instagram.

I have thought about that each time I've seen one of these Instagram/YouTube posts. I rarely post pics or videos of my dd on fb even. I just can't imagine that anything good comes from it except apparently, well known gymnasts sending them leos to wear! Or other companies sending them things to wear?? I mean that's great but it just encourages more to post videos of their little gymmies.

 

[profmom]

I expect that the small number who stay in the sport are remembered. The ones who go on to something else are not. This sport gets hard for everyone at some point, and even the most tolerant child eventually reaches an age where s/he wants to have control over what goes up on the internet. I really can't think of very many 12+ year olds who are still willing to show mom their casts to handstand on the basement on their junior kip bars.

(However, for the record, I still do get dragged into the gym to see the most! awesomest! new! skill! ever! once in a while by the 12 year old, and asked in a somewhat diffident and offhand tone by the 15 year old if I happened to be around when she was doing floor and did X.)

 

[Half-Pint]

I feel that throughout our gym years, my dd has changed, and so have I. When she was a preschooler, she was tiny, strong, and flexible, and joined pre-team at 4. It is so easy to get caught up with all the other gym parents with stars in their eyes, wondering if your kid has "it." As the years go by, you realize that the kids that stay in the gym are the ones who enjoy the hard, physical and mental work that has to be put in, and can persevere through uneven development, setbacks and/or injuries, group changes, friends leaving, and increasing demands at school. I am arriving at a place where I care less if my dd has "it" and am thrilled just to watch her happily run into the gym, excited to get to work in spite of the things she is currently struggling with. I think this is a natural progression that parents go through as their kids mature in the sport. It feels like a relief, actually. Wish I had gotten here years ago.

 

[Dahlia]

My dd's gym has preteam classes starting at 3. She started at 4yos. Of the girls in those classes with her over the 2 years she was in them, maybe 3 girls are actually on team now (3 years later). They were all "talented" enough to be moved to the preteam track, but few stick it out long enough for team and some just don't "get" there.

As for my dd, she's on team, and has the strength and skills, but her form is terrible and drags down her scores. That being said, she LOVES it, and her enjoying it is enough for me. I'm hoping focus on form comes with time/maturity.

 

[rosiekat]

At the preschool age, I'm inclined to think that the most important things are does the kid love to be there, and does the parent (or whomever) make sure the kid is ready to attend and is almost always there. If those things were good, then I think the other factors would come into consideration. How talented is the kid right now - what is the body type and strengths/weaknesses - emotional maturity and willingness to take correction - focus - how quickly does the kid learn new skills - is the kid interested in moving on/being on team/attending more frequently. I actually think the physical things are somewhat less important than the mental - you can teach almost any young kid the skills given enough time, but if they aren't willing to learn and don't want to be there, they'll never learn.

A funny aside, DS was elated when he was asked to join the team and then suddenly got sad. When I asked why, he said "Because I only get to go 2x a week instead of 3!" (He was taking 3 one-hour classes as rec, just because he wanted to be there, and our L4 team only practices 2x a week but for 2 hours each time. Once I pointed out he'd get more hours, he was happy again!)

 

[gymmummy]

Oh how cute, thinking his time was being cut short!! Hope he's still loving it!
Yes apparently the coaches are constantly looking for potential but I'm so curious about what this potential is especially at this young age. This thread has been so insightful. Only a newbie but I'm loving chalkbucket!

 

[rosiekat]

Im sure it isn't identical for boys and girls, but probably somewhat similar. I think the physical things coaches liked about DS at ages 3.5-5 were:
he was very strong, both muscular and relatively lean for that age;
his upper body was very well developed for that age;
he had very good (though not outstanding) flexibility and range of motion;
he learned very quickly and has very good sense of where his body is in space (proprioception);
he is naturally athletic and "graceful" compared to many other boys;
he appears to be developing with average height and an outstanding strength to weight ratio;
and probably most importantly, he really truly would live at the gym if he could!

He's training L5 now so only a year into competition for boys, but he still loves it. Even the occasional bad day bums him out at first, but by the next day, the love is still there. He's tried several different sports (he is naturally blessed with boundless energy and athletic skill), but this is the only one he has truly, madly loved.

 

[Sasha]

Im sure it isn't identical for boys and girls, but probably somewhat similar. I think the physical things coaches liked about DS at ages 3.5-5 were:
he was very strong, both muscular and relatively lean for that age;
his upper body was very well developed for that age;
he had very good (though not outstanding) flexibility and range of motion;
he learned very quickly and has very good sense of where his body is in space (proprioception);
he is naturally athletic and "graceful" compared to many other boys;
he appears to be developing with average height and an outstanding strength to weight ratio;
and probably most importantly, he really truly would live at the gym if he could!

He's training L5 now so only a year into competition for boys, but he still loves it. Even the occasional bad day bums him out at first, but by the next day, the love is still there. He's tried several different sports (he is naturally blessed with boundless energy and athletic skill), but this is the only one he has truly, madly loved.

Except for the natural flexibility point, I could have written this about my son. Though mine only started gym at age (nearly) 6, he was all those things as a preschooler, and continues to be madly in love with gym (including the hard parts*) despite being gifted in all the ball /balance sports. I would say at least most of these things were/are also true of several TMs who have stuck with it and are doing very well. Not to imply all these ingredients must be present from the start to be successful, but they help to get a faster start, which can be self-motivating and mitigate drop out. For example there are definitely kids who were less strong (more flexible/soft), so harder to gain skills out the gate in early levels, but can absolutely catch up as they age if they stick with it. A more natural fluidity of movement (grace) can also be developed in time. Boys have more time to catch up than girls, though, if aiming for high/elite levels.

ETA: * By "Hard parts" I mean what can turn many kids off.... heavy conditioning, bad days, aches here and there, a bad comp day (falls, etc), the day in day out slow progress with some bigger skills... Way more acutal "hard parts" are surely to come later to test him, though, with growth on the horizon, repetitive stress injury risk.... so not truly tested yet as he is only (turning) 9.

 

[gymisforeveryone]

I have just finished my summer job as a rec summer course coach and I coached about 80 2-6 year old beginner gymnasts over 5 weeks (each course was 4 days long, 30-60 minutes classes). So I saw 80 different kids and honestly I have no idea which kids will eventually stay in the sport or have a chance to become competitive gymnasts. I noticed who of them were mature for their age - for example an advanced 4 year old could follow the instructions sitting still for 2 minutes, follow the circuit in the correct order and remembered what they were supposed to do on each station. Advanced 3 year olds were able to remember what they did on the stations the last time and they were also willing to try new things and let me help them and didn't hide behind mom's legs and freeze when I talked to them. They didn't get distracted easily and they could stop whatever they were doing without crying or running away when we moved on to the next thing.

I had to focus on the less mature kids way more than the mature ones - some kids needed help in everything from coming down from the mats to following the circuit in the correct order so I remember those kids way better than the easy ones who managed to do everything by themselves.