Parents Xcel vs JO

DON'T LURK... Join The Discussion!

Members see FEWER ads

gwenmom

Proud Parent
My DD is 7 and competing bronze Xcel and is on her first year competing. I thought I read somewhere that there is little or no mobility out of Xcel back to JO program. Now I know my Dd is only 7 but her dream is the Olympics. I know it's a long shot of her ever getting there but are we limiting her Olympic dreams if she competes Xcel. I don't want to mess up her dream with my total ignorance of how this works.
 
See if you can have her tested for the JO team. If it proves to be too much...you can always switch back to Xcel.
 
No mobility between programs means that Xcel gymnasts must score out of L5 to enter into the JO program. Depending on where you live, some regions require Gold Xcel gymnasts to also score out of L5. Moving from Xcel to JO really depends on your gym and how they set up their program. For instance, our gym uses Xcel Bronze in place of L3, so most gymnasts compete Xcel bronze then go to JO L4. In contrast, in a nearby state, almost all gymnasts compete the Xcel program in place of compuslories (L4,5,&6). THey simply go to one meet at L5 and one at L6 to get the mobility score and then they stay in Xcel until they are ready for optionals. There are some gyms however, that keep their Xcel and JO programs completely separate and generally do not move gymnasts between the programs.
So, the long answer to your question is, find out how things work at your gym and in your state/region. All gymnasts have to start somewhere, and Xcel bronze is a good place to start. Competing Bronze Xcel at age 7 really will not have any effect on her future dreams.
 
There is no JO team this year. The whole gym is trying Xcel. Might be sticking with it. Not sure what to do if they do. The other gym in the area is not my favorite
 
All gymnasts have to start somewhere, and Xcel bronze is a good place to start. Competing Bronze Xcel at age 7 really will not have any effect on her future dreams.

Thank you. I know it seems crazy to be concerned at 7 but she is a very determined little girl and I don't want to mess up her dreams by not having any clue (plus add in my control freak tendencies towards needing to know everything).
 
No mobility between programs means that Xcel gymnasts must score out of L5 to enter into the JO program. Depending on where you live, some regions require Gold Xcel gymnasts to also score out of L5. Moving from Xcel to JO really depends on your gym and how they set up their program. For instance, our gym uses Xcel Bronze in place of L3, so most gymnasts compete Xcel bronze then go to JO L4. In contrast, in a nearby state, almost all gymnasts compete the Xcel program in place of compuslories (L4,5,&6). THey simply go to one meet at L5 and one at L6 to get the mobility score and then they stay in Xcel until they are ready for optionals. There are some gyms however, that keep their Xcel and JO programs completely separate and generally do not move gymnasts between the programs.
So, the long answer to your question is, find out how things work at your gym and in your state/region. All gymnasts have to start somewhere, and Xcel bronze is a good place to start. Competing Bronze Xcel at age 7 really will not have any effect on her future dreams.

Yes...find out what your club does. Bottom line though...the Xcel program does not compete at as high of a skill level as the JO program. As soon as the Xcel program is nationalized...much of this should be fixed.
 
The first year my DD competed in gymnastics she did Prep Opt Novice because at the time she was also swimming competitively. She decided she wanted to quit swimming and focus on gymnastics so the head coach/owner switched her to the JO program

As long as you enter at a level that does not require competing a previous level of having a mobility score, she can switch to JO. That is currently level 5. I am not sure if she can switch back or, if she does, she may have to then stay in Xcel.

Good luck!
 
Our gym uses excel like tigergymmom. Excel is replacing L3, 4, 5, and 6. They did have to get a mobility score to compete gold. We have strong level 7-9 girls too. Not sure what the gym will do next year with the changes. So I don't think it will hold her back if your gym treats the excel program like regular usag. We practice the same number of hours and they go to the same number of meets.

Sent from my SPH-L710 using ChalkBucket mobile app
 
Thanks everyone! She is very happy competing where she is right now but I know what her ultimate goal is (unless she changes her mind eventually). This sport is a lot more complex than anything we have done before (football and soceer) and I hate being ignorant. I know her coaches would answer my questions but when do they have time?
 
To the OP -
You asked if you are "limiting her Olympic dreams if she competes Xcel". Short (brutally honest) answer - yes you are. From my look at the Xcel program, it is not a program to produce high-level gymnasts; it is a program to keep gymnasts in the sport when the JO program doesn't work for them. But the bottom line is that the path to any higher levels in this sport goes thru the JO program. And the sooner you get her in the JO program and start climbing that ladder, the better she will be.

Good Luck.
 
Although technically you can always do score out meets from L5 and up to transfer over to JO at any level - i.e. do one meet at L5 get a 32 (or whatever the requirement is), another meet a week later at L6 get a 31, another meet a week later at L7 get a 31, etc..., IMO the JO program has an invaluable focus when it comes to *form* that other programs don't.

And doing a program that doesn't have that focus on perfect form for an extended period of time would, also IMO, seriously limit your DD's long term potiential if she has Olympic aspirations. For instance, she might start doing back tucks before her bhs is perfect (in the JO sense of perfect), flyaways before she can kip well, etc...). Basically, if a gymnast doesn't get in the habit of doing skills the way that the JO program likes them to be done early on, it is hard for them to adjust down the road when they already have been doing advanced skills for so long.

I'd really advise finding a gym for your DD that has a JO program if she really wants to go to the Olympics someday. She's still young, so there's plenty of time even if she needs to start at L3/L4. Good luck!
 
Last edited:
If your gym chose to do xcel exclusively this year instead of compulsory, it is likely to be in one of a few areas of the country that have done well with using xcel as a stepping stone to optionals. What state are you in? Or if you prefer not to get that specific, just the region would be fine. Then people from that region can answer more specifically as to how xcel compares to compulsory there. Dd went through xcel and is now doing well in her first year in level 7 (36+) as a young 12. Is she going to the Olympics? No. Our goal is to prepare her to at least walk on to a good college team, which is a very feasible timeline as long as she doesn't get sidelined too much due to injuries.

So, is xcel a death sentence to high level gymnastics? No, but if the Olympic dream is what you are after, you are going to want a gym with a proven track record of producing high level optional gymnasts and scholarship recipients and even then you are likely going to have to change gyms eventually because very few train elites capable of making the Olympic team.

Having said that, let's step back. She is 7. Every 7yr old dreams of being in the Olympics, particularly after such a success in the 2012 Olympics. We, as parents, have to be realists. We don't have to crush their dreams but behind the scenes we have to evaluate the situation to determine how far we are willing to go as a family to pursue this dream. And also whether she has the talent, drive, and perseverance to go all the way. After doing the research, you may find this goal is not a good one for her (or your family) or you may be more set on her pursuing it. With that in mind, you can make better choices as to the gyms you choose.
 
Yes...find out what your club does. Bottom line though...the Xcel program does not compete at as high of a skill level as the JO program. As soon as the Xcel program is nationalized...much of this should be fixed.

As I was re-reading this thread I realized the bold that I typed above didn't sound as I wanted it too. I did not mean that the Xcel program would go to a high level when it is nationalized. I am hoping that the "gaming" of the JO system by using the Xcel program will stop. The Xcel program is meant to be a lower hour alternative to the JO system...not an alternative path for the JO program.
 
To the OP -
You asked if you are "limiting her Olympic dreams if she competes Xcel". Short (brutally honest) answer - yes you are. From my look at the Xcel program, it is not a program to produce high-level gymnasts; it is a program to keep gymnasts in the sport when the JO program doesn't work for them. But the bottom line is that the path to any higher levels in this sport goes thru the JO program. And the sooner you get her in the JO program and start climbing that ladder, the better she will be.


This is true in most of the country. However, we have 2 neighboring states whose top gyms use the Xcel program exclusively (except to score out) and then enter into JO optionals. And there are some gyms that actually place their girls that are "fast track" or identified as possible elite potential in the Xcel program and they actually practice more hours. They are also top scoring gyms with high numbers of optionals scoring very well. Our state for the most part uses Xcel like the rest of the country. So, our Xcel gymnasts do not do any out of state competitions because our Xcel gymnasts have less hours and/or less natural talent and then they end up sometimes competing against these gymnasts who are the best gymnasts in their clubs. Very discouraging for our Xcel gymnasts and coaches.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
As I was re-reading this thread I realized the bold that I typed above didn't sound as I wanted it too. I did not mean that the Xcel program would go to a high level when it is nationalized. I am hoping that the "gaming" of the JO system by using the Xcel program will stop. The Xcel program is meant to be a lower hour alternative to the JO system...not an alternative path for the JO program.



I really do hope that when it is nationalized this happens! It is so frustrating for our gym who uses Xcel as it is intended to compete against gyms who are using it as a more intensive program than JO! Our coaches have talked about possibly having to start doing AAU just so that the gymnasts can have an opportunity to do less hours and still experience some success.
 
This is true in most of the country. However, we have 2 neighboring states whose top gyms use the Xcel program exclusively (except to score out) and then enter into JO optionals. And there are some gyms that actually place their girls that are "fast track" or identified as possible elite potential in the Xcel program and they actually practice more hours. They are also top scoring gyms with high numbers of optionals scoring very well. Our state for the most part uses Xcel like the rest of the country. So, our Xcel gymnasts do not do any out of state competitions because our Xcel gymnasts have less hours and/or less natural talent and then they end up sometimes competing against these gymnasts who are the best gymnasts in their clubs. Very discouraging for our Xcel gymnasts and coaches.

This is annoying...wrong...NOT in the true spirit of Xcel gymnastics.

As Xcel is nationalized...USAG must fix this...or JO and Xcel will merge back into one. If USAG does not fix this...JO compulsories will die...Xcel will be high hour...and the kids that need Xcel will be AAU or YMCA or similar. This is a USAG issue...they need to fix it.

I believe they are trying to fix this with the new compulsories and the new lower optional level in the JO program...Level 6.

Getting a 20 hour kid to beat a 5 hour kid is not hard.
 

New Posts

DON'T LURK... Join The Discussion!

Members see FEWER ads

Gymnaverse :: Recent Activity

College Gym News

Back