4 year olds being invited on "team" NEW to sport, need help please =)

[cbone]

gymnut1, it wasn't directed at you. I only mentioned it to let you know why I posted what I did in response to another post that didn't come from you. I did, however, appreciate your in-depth overanalysis of my post that was taken too literally.

Let's get back to taylee now.

 

[Moxiegrl83]

If you were referring to my putting team in quotation, I was intending to note I wasn't sure what "team" they were talking about putting her DD's on (pre-pre team, pre-team, team?). I was not suggesting it was in some way inferior or lacking quality. I think the youngest girls on our competing team are about 7.

Me:
Have you watched the "team" they want to put your DD's on? There is no way a 4/5 yr old could keep up with our competition team training. Is it common to have a team before pre-team?

 

[taylee]

No offense taken =) Considering they are only 4 I would think it a bit odd for them to be on a team with 7 and up girls. I actually asked about the pre-team (thought 2 days a week might be better and it is cheaper which with 2 and they are so young makes sense) but the lady in the office made it clear they needed to be on the team, not pre-team b/c they already had their (I think it was) pullovers? The pre-team from what I understood is for older girls who aren't quite skilled enough to make team and are working towards it? Or maybe for younger girls who don't have some of the skills? I have a lot of questions when I get home from the summer!

I am in Montana for the summer and put the girls in a gymnastics class here sort of for fun, but also I kind of wanted to see how they did in comparison to other girls in another gym. I had a Mom again tonight commenting on their cartwheels. They went last week too and the 2 classes combined I think the girls were 4-6 yrs old and I do see even more now why they were asked to be on team. It was good for me I guess to have more confirmation as to their God-given talent =) Hope that makes sense=). 3 nights a week is a lot but we may just see how it goes.

 

[C's MOM]

No offense taken =) Considering they are only 4 I would think it a bit odd for them to be on a team with 7 and up girls. I actually asked about the pre-team (thought 2 days a week might be better and it is cheaper which with 2 and they are so young makes sense) but the lady in the office made it clear they needed to be on the team, not pre-team b/c they already had their (I think it was) pullovers? The pre-team from what I understood is for older girls who aren't quite skilled enough to make team and are working towards it? Or maybe for younger girls who don't have some of the skills? I have a lot of questions when I get home from the summer!

I am in Montana for the summer and put the girls in a gymnastics class here sort of for fun, but also I kind of wanted to see how they did in comparison to other girls in another gym. I had a Mom again tonight commenting on their cartwheels. They went last week too and the 2 classes combined I think the girls were 4-6 yrs old and I do see even more now why they were asked to be on team. It was good for me I guess to have more confirmation as to their God-given talent =) Hope that makes sense=). 3 nights a week is a lot but we may just see how it goes.

Your DDS are talented. My now 8 yo was also on a level 4 team at 4yo. She was on team with 6-9/10 yo. She survived and yours will too. Keep you "Mom" glasses on. You know what they can take or not. You do have to trust that their coaches have their best interest. They may want them on team now to condition them and get them strong. Mine didn't compete until she turned 7 and was in level 5. She did do three GIJO meets for fun when she was 6 though.

 

[MdGymMom01]

Cbone--it would be very wise to keep your "tone" in check when addressing members on this board. You are just in your second year of team gymnastics with your daughter and you act and talk like you are an expert, almost to the verge of being cocky and often rude. I also took your statement of your dd going "rep for rep" with the older girls at the age of 5 the same way gymnut did (based on your previous posts of how you word things). Just my 2 cents...

 

[Granny Smith]

taylee - something I just want to address to you because when I read your post I see a re-occuring theme... costs. Gymnastics is uber expensive. It does not start out that way, but honestly I could never afford to have 2 children doing team gymnastics. Gymnastics starts out with a small commitment of time and the costs are manageable, but as the gymnast continues on the time commitment becomes consuming and the costs are major and once they are in it and doing well, it's not like you can just pull them out. Well, I guess you can just pull them out, but it kills you to take them out of a sport that they have come to love and are excelling at. At our gym, the girls really don't start travelling until they hit level 7, actually back in my dd's day it was L8. Once we hit that point, the meet fees practically doubled and now I was paying for flyaway meets and meets that required overnight stays, possibly for the entire weekend.

My dd will be competing L10 this upcoming season and I pay over $500 a month. I have to purchase her comp leo which will be $200 and pay her USAG fee $50 this summer. She is attending a camp for girls who qualified to Easterns for her region, which will cost me around $225-$250 (it was $225 last yr). She will go to about 5 or 6 meets, maybe more, where the meet fees will be on average about $100 - $125, per meet. I will have to provide transportation (some driving, some flying) and lodging for these meets. I may get lucky and have 1 or 2 meets that are in-state. This past season alone she ended up missing about 7 days of school because most of her meets fell on a Friday, she took 2 days off to go to Easterns, 2 days off for the flyaway meet and then 3 other somewhat local meets she had Friday report times.

Another thing to think about is right now I am paying for weekly privates for my dd. I do not do this all the time, but she is working a couple of skills she needs a little more one-on-one time to the tune of $100 an hour, she does an hr private.

Gymnastics is a great sport and I wouldn't change anything for the world. My dd has experience much success, she's learned many, many life skills that she will use beyond gymnastics and she has met wonderful friends - as have I. I love my gym family!

BUT, gymnastics comes at a great expense and you really need to know what is involved, cost-wise, because while I have one that at this point I easily pay about $10,000, if not more, a year for her to be in this sport.... you have 2! (I honestly do not want to really add up all the costs I pay in a year's time to get an exact amount.) This is a slow sport that sucks you in as you go. That is not a bad thing, but when you don't know what's a head of you, it can be a real eye-opener! Talk to the coaches, talk to team parents of older/higher level girls. Find out what is involved, time-wise and cost-wise. I do not mean to say all of this to scare you off, but to make you aware. Like I said earlier, I personally could not afford to pay for 2 girls on optional level teams. I know this. Also, just so you know I do live in the Northeast part of the country and I realize that our costs seem to be higher than some other areas, so maybe I may be off on some numbers compared to other areas. Also we do not have a booster club, so my checkbook is always open and the checks disappear quickly.

Take your upcoming 6 weeks to really think and come up with your questions for your return. Talent is obviously not a question in regards to your children, but realize the slow pull into the sport and once you get down the road a little, there really in no turning back until your gymnasts decide to move on, if they ever do. My will be 16 in Sept and has been doing gymnastics for 12 yrs, she is still going strong and I find I am paying even more money as we get closer to the college years for this sport.

 

[Gymmonkeymomma]

No offense taken =) Considering they are only 4 I would think it a bit odd for them to be on a team with 7 and up girls. I actually asked about the pre-team (thought 2 days a week might be better and it is cheaper which with 2 and they are so young makes sense) but the lady in the office made it clear they needed to be on the team, not pre-team b/c they already had their (I think it was) pullovers? The pre-team from what I understood is for older girls who aren't quite skilled enough to make team and are working towards it? Or maybe for younger girls who don't have some of the skills? I have a lot of questions when I get home from the summer!

Not sure what qualifies the "lady in the office" to make the assessment that they "need" to be on team, but having one more advanced (for age) skill doesn't make up for the basics they may not have such as proper form, conditioning, etc. that is important.


My youngest DD was and still is, very young, strong and determined. But USAG does not allow kids to compete Level 4 until age 6. So even if your two were to go on 'team' and train with the older girls, they will be training more than a year and depending on their birthdate and when it falls compared to the season, maybe closer to 2 years, before they can compete. In the meantime, they are watching teammates get their pretty comp leos (which are pricey, so you won't probably want to buy if they are not competing right away), getting ready for meets, coming home with medals. Are your girls the type who might be upset that they can't participate if the other girls are all older? Just something to consider. I've only known one girl (my oldest started team in 2004) who was not 6 when her Level 4 season started, but her birthday is December and back then the L4 season was winter/spring) so she only had to wait a few weeks to compete with her team, not a year or more. And I'm assuming your team competes at L4 (sorry, didn't read all of the posts) but if it's L5 then that's an additional year to wait!

Good luck with your decision!

 

[Gymmonkeymomma]

BUT, gymnastics comes at a great expense and you really need to know what is involved, cost-wise, because while I have one that at this point I easily pay about $10,000, if not more, a year for her to be in this sport.... you have 2! (I honestly do not want to really add up all the costs I pay in a year's time to get an exact amount.) This is a slow sport that sucks you in as you go. That is not a bad thing, but when you don't know what's a head of you, it can be a real eye-opener! Talk to the coaches, talk to team parents of older/higher level girls. Find out what is involved, time-wise and cost-wise. I do not mean to say all of this to scare you off, but to make you aware. Like I said earlier, I personally could not afford to pay for 2 girls on optional level teams. I know this. Also, just so you know I do live in the Northeast part of the country and I realize that our costs seem to be higher than some other areas, so maybe I may be off on some numbers compared to other areas. Also we do not have a booster club, so my checkbook is always open and the checks disappear quickly.

Good points Granny, about the costs! I guess I should consider it somewhat of a blessing that my oldest decided to 'retire' last year (at the ripe old age of 14, lol) because this past season, little DD's total expenses was very close to $10K! And that was "only" one-flight, one-bus trip, one train trip and 4 hotel stays.

 

[emorymom]

I am a wee confused =) From what I understood the lady who explained the team/pre-team said my girls would need to be on team b/c they were already learning pullovers (I think that was it)...I was kind of thinking pre-team sounded better, only 2x a week and cheaper but she was pretty adament they need to be on team...pre-team was for a lil older girls who didn't quite have what it took to be on team and they were working towards that...does that make sense =)? Now after hearing more about the concerns with some of the skills required (kickovers etc.. w/back problem possibilities) in some of the lower levels I am not sure I want them competing in the lower levels...sooo confusing, WHY do they require possibly dangerous skills to compete at these levels?
Thanks for all input =)

I'm sorry it took me so long to respond to this.

If they were at a gym that starts competing at 4 or 5, they would spend a few years in preteam. At your gym it appears that they "need to be on team" because (1) they have the talent profile for your gym's competitive stream and (2) your gym calls their skill level "Level 2 team" and takes them to meets.

What preteam is for will vary from gym to gym. I would love to have my 8yo daughter who's learning her L3 skills in nice solid 2 or three day /week preteam environment until L4 or L5, but it's not a good idea for the family for me to drive that far.

So let's say there was another gym in your area that had a very excellent team program but team does not start until the girls are totally ready to compete Level 5. As a result, instead of learning a pullover on "Level 2 team," and having to go to meets ($$$) and worry about these routines, they would be probably initially be placed in a pre-team practice group that would meet perhaps 2x a week for 1.5-2 hours with the other fast learning little ones. They would gradually work up their skills and when they were ready to learn really clean L5 routines (that is to say the new L4 by that time), only then would they make team. And they would be 7ish.

I didn't think USAG L2 did a kickover. Our state's AAU L2 does, but they have to substitute a safer skill for "nationals," which is sort of a big party near Disney World.

 

[Moxiegrl83]

What preteam is for will vary from gym to gym. I would love to have my 8yo daughter who's learning her L3 skills in nice solid 2 or three day /week preteam environment until L4 or L5, but it's not a good idea for the family for me to drive that far.

Sorry, not sure how to quote just part of someone's reply yet. I think this is what confused me a little. The only experience I have with pre-team is my DD and my niece. Both of theirs were pretty much the same thing but at different gyms. My DD5 goes 3 days a week for 2 hour practices. Her group is 5/6 yr olds mostly. But if they are competing L2, then it makes sense there would be a pre-team for that group. We only compete L3, so she will be on pre-team til next season (maybe a meet at the end of the season when she turns 6 her coach has said).

 

[Natasha]

Pre-team/team varies from gym to gym. At many gyms "pre team" is for gymnasts not competing yet (except maybe some in-house meets) and "team" may refer to any levels that are competing, which may include L2 or L3 or a beginner Xcel level. So, in a gym that competes these lower levels and considers them on "team" then it would make complete sense that a gymnast who already has a pullover and other beginner skills is too advanced for pre-team, as "pre-team" would then be for gymnasts who do not yet have their L2 skills.
Other gyms will refer to anything before L5 (or L4) as "pre-team" (regardless of whether they compete or not) as L5 is the first required USAG level.
The intensity and focus of these beginner levels (competing or not competing) will also vary from gym to gym.

 

[Moxiegrl83]

Thanks gymtiger...makes perfect sense! In our gym her DD's would go on pre-team while they get their L3 skills/routines down pat. I'm so happy I'm not paying meet fee's etc this season. All the moms were talking about them today, but I get another 5/6 months to save my pennies. ;-)

 

[taylee]

taylee - something I just want to address to you because when I read your post I see a re-occuring theme... costs. Gymnastics is uber expensive. It does not start out that way, but honestly I could never afford to have 2 children doing team gymnastics. Gymnastics starts out with a small commitment of time and the costs are manageable, but as the gymnast continues on the time commitment becomes consuming and the costs are major and once they are in it and doing well, it's not like you can just pull them out. Well, I guess you can just pull them out, but it kills you to take them out of a sport that they have come to love and are excelling at. At our gym, the girls really don't start travelling until they hit level 7, actually back in my dd's day it was L8. Once we hit that point, the meet fees practically doubled and now I was paying for flyaway meets and meets that required overnight stays, possibly for the entire weekend.

My dd will be competing L10 this upcoming season and I pay over $500 a month. I have to purchase her comp leo which will be $200 and pay her USAG fee $50 this summer. She is attending a camp for girls who qualified to Easterns for her region, which will cost me around $225-$250 (it was $225 last yr). She will go to about 5 or 6 meets, maybe more, where the meet fees will be on average about $100 - $125, per meet. I will have to provide transportation (some driving, some flying) and lodging for these meets. I may get lucky and have 1 or 2 meets that are in-state. This past season alone she ended up missing about 7 days of school because most of her meets fell on a Friday, she took 2 days off to go to Easterns, 2 days off for the flyaway meet and then 3 other somewhat local meets she had Friday report times.

Another thing to think about is right now I am paying for weekly privates for my dd. I do not do this all the time, but she is working a couple of skills she needs a little more one-on-one time to the tune of $100 an hour, she does an hr private.

Gymnastics is a great sport and I wouldn't change anything for the world. My dd has experience much success, she's learned many, many life skills that she will use beyond gymnastics and she has met wonderful friends - as have I. I love my gym family!

BUT, gymnastics comes at a great expense and you really need to know what is involved, cost-wise, because while I have one that at this point I easily pay about $10,000, if not more, a year for her to be in this sport.... you have 2! (I honestly do not want to really add up all the costs I pay in a year's time to get an exact amount.) This is a slow sport that sucks you in as you go. That is not a bad thing, but when you don't know what's a head of you, it can be a real eye-opener! Talk to the coaches, talk to team parents of older/higher level girls. Find out what is involved, time-wise and cost-wise. I do not mean to say all of this to scare you off, but to make you aware. Like I said earlier, I personally could not afford to pay for 2 girls on optional level teams. I know this. Also, just so you know I do live in the Northeast part of the country and I realize that our costs seem to be higher than some other areas, so maybe I may be off on some numbers compared to other areas. Also we do not have a booster club, so my checkbook is always open and the checks disappear quickly.

Take your upcoming 6 weeks to really think and come up with your questions for your return. Talent is obviously not a question in regards to your children, but realize the slow pull into the sport and once you get down the road a little, there really in no turning back until your gymnasts decide to move on, if they ever do. My will be 16 in Sept and has been doing gymnastics for 12 yrs, she is still going strong and I find I am paying even more money as we get closer to the college years for this sport.

Thank you for the heads up =) The lady that explained team to me did go over the fees for meets etc...which she thought they would be ready to attend by spring. My thoughts were that it would be cheaper to do 2 days/week and do more when they got a little older, especially b/c they are going to a private school this next year that is not cheap so we are just concerned that it would be a lot of new bills rather quickly on top of each other. Thankfully down the road I think we may be able to make it happen for both of them, Lord willing I really do appreciate the explanation however b/c that is very costly. I did travel volleyball when I was younger which included flights/trips etc... and it did add up rather quickly. I would tell my Dad I would get a college scholarship which would make up for it thankfully I did, but I know there are no guarantees where money in =money out for college =) I just want them doing what they love and if it leads somewhere great and if not then they enjoyed it while they did it!
The $200 for a leo does sound insane to me, but then again what do I know!

 

[taylee]

Not sure what qualifies the "lady in the office" to make the assessment that they "need" to be on team, but having one more advanced (for age) skill doesn't make up for the basics they may not have such as proper form, conditioning, etc. that is important.


My youngest DD was and still is, very young, strong and determined. But USAG does not allow kids to compete Level 4 until age 6. So even if your two were to go on 'team' and train with the older girls, they will be training more than a year and depending on their birthdate and when it falls compared to the season, maybe closer to 2 years, before they can compete. In the meantime, they are watching teammates get their pretty comp leos (which are pricey, so you won't probably want to buy if they are not competing right away), getting ready for meets, coming home with medals. Are your girls the type who might be upset that they can't participate if the other girls are all older? Just something to consider. I've only known one girl (my oldest started team in 2004) who was not 6 when her Level 4 season started, but her birthday is December and back then the L4 season was winter/spring) so she only had to wait a few weeks to compete with her team, not a year or more. And I'm assuming your team competes at L4 (sorry, didn't read all of the posts) but if it's L5 then that's an additional year to wait!

Good luck with your decision!

The "lady in the office" I believe is a coach as well, again I am very new to this gym but I saw her out one day working on a routine with the girls and she looks like an ex-gymnast if that makes sense Also I believe the coach they were working with was very impressed with their skills but also how quickly they picked things up and relayed that to the "office lady Also their other (regular) class the other girls in there don't have the best behavior and my girls never get in trouble (at gym anyway =) so I think it was behavior too they take into conisderation.

As far as them being OK with others going to meets, I have no idea....I don't think they even realize this is an option yet...I figure they are only 4 all of the other stuff will come, I just want them to enjoy it and give them the opportunity to succeed if they want it =)
Thanks for the well wishes =)

 

[Gymmonkeymomma]

The $200 for a leo does sound insane to me, but then again what do I know!

HAHAHA, then I won't even tell you what I paid for DD's this year!!!!

 

[gymgal]

HAHAHA, then I won't even tell you what I paid for DD's this year!!!!

Same here!

Taylee, your gym may not require much in the way of competition fees for that level. Many gyms will only do in house meets for the lower levels. And the leos are really basic practice tank leos - $40-50. But if the gym treats their L2-3 like their upper levels, and require long sleeve leos ($$$) and traveling more than 1hr (which to me is a complete waste of parent funds), then you could ask the head coach if the girls could train with the level 2s but not compete for a year or two. That would be a big relief on the wallet.

Sent from my ADR6400L using Tapatalk 2

 

[LizzieLac]

Our gym does not compete until level 4. Pre-team is for girls with potential, they do mostly conditioning in preparation for training for level 4. I don't believe our state has competitions below level 4 either. I am not sure what the components are for the levels 2 and 3 routines, but given the cost and the long-term approach to this sport, I don't personally see a lot of value in kids competing level 2 or 3. Level 3 might hold more value once the new requirements go into effect in 2013, but there is plenty of time for competing over a gymmies life....

 

[Pineapple_Lump]

As a coach I look at it like this: How many skills/physical preparation/body awareness can this child develop in the time it takes to repeat routines until memorised. Practising routines is not learning good gymnastics.

 

[gymnut1]

I think though it does depend on your goal for your children. If you want them to have a great time in gymnastics for a few years having fun with a team then competing early levels 1 to 4 can be a fantastic experience. So for Taylee this could be just what she is looking for for her girls. I don't know how to find the statistics but I wonder if many Hopes girls competed early levels. Not many I would think. So while it is nice I don't think it is neccessary to long term development. If the gym is nice and the girls are happy why not give it a go. I think Taylee said they would be 5 when they started back after the summer.