13/14 year old beginner progress to level 5 in a year?

[gymsparkles14]

I keep hearing about 13-14 year old who just started gymnastics and progress level 5-6 in a year. This seems amazing to me! I suppose they do this because they don't want do be in a class with 7-12 year olds. Being a late 13 year old starter and 14 years old currently in level 3. I wonder, is there is a fast track progression program gymnasts do to achieve this? The gymnasts who do achieve this must be very talented!

 

[bookworm]

Level 5 is still a beginner level so i don't think much "fast tracking" is needed..

 

[fliptwisttwirl]

The more hours you get in, the better you get! If you only have practice 2 or 3 times a week then practice at home everyday--conditioning and flexibility if you don't have the space to do anything else. Work as hard as you can during practice and push yourself more further than anyone thinks you can go.
Good luck

 

[MaryA]

Level 5 is still a beginner level so i don't think much "fast tracking" is needed..

5 may be a beginner competition level, but still, those skills require a lot of strength and flexibility and I suspect it takes the average person just starting out a while to get there. It probably depends on where you're coming from. If you have taken rec gymnastics for a while, or are coming from a dance background or something like that, I would think you might get there more quickly, but for a true beginner, it will take time. I would think that older kids have an easier time focussing and making corrections quickly, so that might give you a "leg up" (no pun intended) on the younger kids in your class. Good luck!

 

[coachmolly]

No fast tracking, it just depends on the gym and the individual athlete. Some gyms are more open to working with older beginners and helping them progress through the levels than others. And just like younger kids, teenage beginners come with all skill levels. Some with some background in sports, cheer, dance or just a lot of natural ability pick things up ridiculously fast and many already have some base skills for coaches to work with. Older girls, at least those with some ability, can also typically understand and make corrections better than younger children because of increased focus and ability to understand corrections.
I've had 14 year olds come in and work up to a level 4/5 skill level within several months because they were given the opportunity and had some level of innate ability. I've also coached girls that age who take forever to learn a cartwheel correctly. It just all depend on the kid and what the coaches are looking for.

 

[CoachTodd]

It depends on the kid. Many times they have the strength, they have great body awareness due to maturity and they have a great work ethic because it is something they really want to do. I've had older kids learn skills very quickly. I've had other... well not so much.

 

[kimskids]

Some gyms don't compete until level 5 so I guess if you were training skills year round as soon as you started it could happen. Practicing all the lower level routines definitely takes time away from learning skills. At gyms where they compete from say a level 2 on it would be difficult to do though....

 

[Mack_the_Ripper]

You should ask your coach about this. You don't want to work really hard and have your sights set on level 5 and then find out that your gym requires that everyone do a year at each level, or something like that. I know at my gym they would probably have you in Xcel (prep-op) due to your age unless you specifically requested to be on the JO team and they thought you had enough talent/drive. Most older gymnasts are looking for a more casual experience.

Of course there are super-quick success stories. One of my friends is a level 7 who has only been doing gymnastics for 2.5 years. Another friend did level 5 her first year on team, and then did both level 6 and 7 the next year. BUT most level 6 gymnasts have been doing gymnastics for at least 3 or 4 years, and the jump between level 5 and 6 is bigger than you think. Progressing through the lower levels really fast typically happens to people who are "born to be gymnasts" and obviously I don't know if you are or not. Don't worry about it, though. I started gym seriously at 13, like you, and I wanted to get to level 7 as quick as possible...it still took me 3 years, but I learned so much in the process. I wouldn't want to go back to practicing with 7 year olds now, but it's just something you have to work through if you want to stay in gymnastics.