Parents 11 year old level 9 -should we consider elite?

[DP gymnast mom]

My 11 year old is competing level 9 this year. Should we consider elite? Her coach seems to think so but we are on the fence. We don't think we can handle it financially.. And not sure if its the right thing.

 

[JBS]

If you have an 11 year old with big vault & tumbling ability... maybe. If she is more of a bars / beam kid... then it would be harder.

Here is a quote from an email (from national staff) that I have from long quite some time ago... you'll get the idea...

There are two major factors to being invited:

1) A perfect handstand on every event. As I said numerous times at the Ranch, "Straight is straight. It is non-negotiable." Any pike in the hip, chest out or shoulder angle is not straight and therefore not impressive to ******.

2) Good legs. It is not so much that the gymnast must have a lot of hard tricks. What matters is she is very bouncy and whatever she does she does high and fast easily. Fast and bouncy can be improved but for the most part it is either natural or not. Teaching girls how to swing bars with good technique is much easier than teaching girls how to tumble high.

 

[Dahlialover]

Are you at a gym that has a proven track record of supporting junior elite or elite gymnasts? Are there other similar-age gymnasts there on the same track to form a peer group for your child? Does your child want it more than anything else on the planet?


I’ve never been through this myself but I think those would be important considerations for me if I were faced with this decision.

 

[JBS]

Also... you can always get off of the elite track... but you can't always get on it. If you are looking to try... then now is probably the time.

I coached my daughter through it until she decided to be done with it... it is very hard. COVID really ended it for her... she would have been able to qualify elite if it were not for that. She is now doing college gymnastics and had several full ride offers.

 

[chelbing]

What does she want to do? If my daughter really wanted to try it, I would give it a go. That way there are no regrets. As someone else said, you can always leave that path.

 

[txgymfan]

If you don’t think you can handle it financially then don’t start.
The extra training, fly away meets with no or few teammates to defray the costs, extra physical therapy to deal with little injuries, bejeweled leotards and other expenses add up quickly. Elite gym is expensive and if you have any doubts, don’t do it. You don’t want to resent the sport your daughter loves. Even if you try to hide it, she will be aware of your feelings.

Also consider how she deals with criticism because in elite gymnastics nothing is ever enough. Skills can always be higher , or cleaner and when they are at maximum then another flip, twist or connection is added. The Elite level for all sports means always pushing for more.

 

[HopefulGymnast]

I think there's a few very important things to think about

- Motivation: Most important in my opinion: how does your daughter about it. If she doesn't want to do Elite, then imo that's a simple answer: don't do Elite. If she kinda maybe sort of wants it, then probably also not? (Unless she really really wants it but is too scared to say so, maybe). If she wants it, or really really wants it, then I think you need to look at the other factors and see if you can make this work.

- Skills: Does she really have what she needs for elite? What do her coaches think of her prospects within Elite? Personally though, I think at this age it'd be hard to tell because she still has so much time to grow.

- Practical aspects: Would she be able to train this at your gym? Do they seem well qualified? What practical impacts do you expect this to have in your life?

- Financial: Depending on how much she wants it, you can see what the options are, if there are any. There may be funding programmes, or sponsor options. Discuss this with the people who know more about it. (I'm not from US so I wouldn't know where you'd start for that). I feel like "we're not sure we can handle it financially" can mean a lot of things. That can mean anyhthing from "We can't fly to beliz anymore in the hollidays" or "we had to put in effort, find sponsors, and save on groceries but if it's really what she wants we will make those sacrifices" or "We will need to take a second mortage on the house and sell a kidney on the black market". Of course these examples are a bit extreme, but my point is that it matters what your options are and just how tight finances are. I'm not saying in any of these cases you have to do it or you have to not do it (except the third case, which of course don't do that). I'm just saying... Look at your options, see if its just as bad as you feared, or much better, or much worse. Look at what this would mean for your life, and then make your choice.

- Keep in mind siblings: I don't know if there are any, but remember to keep them in mind too in all your considerations

- Finally: if it seems maybe doable and she does want to do it, can you try it and back out if it turns out too hard on any of you? Is that an option, or are there choices involved that there's no going back from.

For some reason I'm unsure of even posting this, but if you think my opinion isn't helpful you can always just ignore it

 

[DP gymnast mom]

If you have an 11 year old with big vault & tumbling ability... maybe. If she is more of a bars / beam kid... then it would be harder.

Here is a quote from an email (from national staff) that I have from long quite some time ago... you'll get the idea...

This is very interesting. Yes, she is actually a vault/floor and beam girl. She has very high tumbling and is extremely fast twitched. She is also a dancer so she rocks it in floor with her bubbly personality.

 

[DP gymnast mom]

I think there's a few very important things to think about

- Motivation: Most important in my opinion: how does your daughter about it. If she doesn't want to do Elite, then imo that's a simple answer: don't do Elite. If she kinda maybe sort of wants it, then probably also not? (Unless she really really wants it but is too scared to say so, maybe). If she wants it, or really really wants it, then I think you need to look at the other factors and see if you can make this work.

- Skills: Does she really have what she needs for elite? What do her coaches think of her prospects within Elite? Personally though, I think at this age it'd be hard to tell because she still has so much time to grow.

- Practical aspects: Would she be able to train this at your gym? Do they seem well qualified? What practical impacts do you expect this to have in your life?

- Financial: Depending on how much she wants it, you can see what the options are, if there are any. There may be funding programmes, or sponsor options. Discuss this with the people who know more about it. (I'm not from US so I wouldn't know where you'd start for that). I feel like "we're not sure we can handle it financially" can mean a lot of things. That can mean anyhthing from "We can't fly to beliz anymore in the hollidays" or "we had to put in effort, find sponsors, and save on groceries but if it's really what she wants we will make those sacrifices" or "We will need to take a second mortage on the house and sell a kidney on the black market". Of course these examples are a bit extreme, but my point is that it matters what your options are and just how tight finances are. I'm not saying in any of these cases you have to do it or you have to not do it (except the third case, which of course don't do that). I'm just saying... Look at your options, see if its just as bad as you feared, or much better, or much worse. Look at what this would mean for your life, and then make your choice.

- Keep in mind siblings: I don't know if there are any, but remember to keep them in mind too in all your considerations

- Finally: if it seems maybe doable and she does want to do it, can you try it and back out if it turns out too hard on any of you? Is that an option, or are there choices involved that there's no going back from.

For some reason I'm unsure of even posting this, but if you think my opinion isn't helpful you can always just ignore it

Thanks for this. Yes, there are 2 other siblings in the mix who also happen to be gymnasts.. . I assume we can always go back from the decision. She is very motivated but is a free spirit and would probably be OK to try and then if it didn't work out, be OK with that. It just seems like such a big undertaking. Financially, yes we would probably have to take a second mortgage

 

[DP gymnast mom]

If you don’t think you can handle it financially then don’t start. The extra training, fly away meets with no or few teammates to defray the costs, extra physical therapy to deal with little injuries all add up. Elite gym is expensive and if you have any doubts, don’t do it. You don’t want to resent the sport your daughter loves becoming she will be aware of your feelings. Also consider how she deals with criticism because in elite gymnastics nothing is ever enough. Things can always be high, or cleaner and when they are at maximum then another flip, twist or connection is added. The Elite level for all sports means always pushing for more.

Thanks. Yes she is used to criticism. She has Easterm European coaches that push her and criticize to no end. She is a very optimistic person and bounces back very quickly. I think as far as personality goes, it's a great fit. It's more about how are we as a family with 3 young girls going to deal...

 

[DP gymnast mom]

Are you at a gym that has a proven track record of supporting junior elite or elite gymnasts? Are there other similar-age gymnasts there on the same track to form a peer group for your child? Does your child want it more than anything else on the planet?


I’ve never been through this myself but I think those would be important considerations for me if I were faced with this decision.

She definitely wants it. Gymnastics is her life. She has a learning disability and so doesn't do very well in school but gymnastics gives her confidence because she really excels at it and she does very well in meets.

 

[Ty’s Dad]

If you already think you can’t afford it, then you don’t want this life. I’m telling you from experience, if we knew how much this would actually be we probably would have tried to talk our daughter into just staying on the JO/DP route. And it’s not just money (even though the price is crazy) it’s more so the time she’s away and our lives are around this elite world. Now it’s too late and we are too deep into it.

Good Luck

 

[Coach Kate]

If you already think you can’t afford it, then you don’t want this life. I’m telling you from experience, if we knew how much this would actually be we probably would have tried to talk our daughter into just staying on the JO/DP route. And it’s not just money (even though the price is crazy) it’s more so the time she’s away and our lives are around this elite world. Now it’s too late and we are too deep into it.

Good Luck

I loved watching your daughter this summer though! Thanks for being honest about how difficult this is for the entire family.

 

[Ty’s Dad]

I loved watching your daughter this summer though! Thanks for being honest about how difficult this is for the entire family.

Thank you

 

[SupportingHerDreams]

If you have an 11 year old with big vault & tumbling ability... maybe. If she is more of a bars / beam kid... then it would be harder.

Here is a quote from an email (from national staff) that I have from long quite some time ago... you'll get the idea...

Thank you for sharing that!! So interesting and encouraging as my daughter is in an elite development class but is slightly behind on bars. She seems to be a strong tumbler and vaulter though... maybe there is still hope!