WAG 7 year old Level 4,5 or 6?? Coaches input needed

[munchkin3]

Any 7 year old who has moved up that quickly and is scoring 37+ in optional levels is an outlier. Probably in the neighborhood of top 1% of gymnasts her age. So, I agree that for the average talented 7 yr old, 20 hours is probably excessive, but this sounds like an exceptional child...

There are a few at our gym. One girl is exceptional- 8 yo....regular program/ she goes about 16hrs training L7. Won almost every compulsory meet with 38s.
Another, home school- 30+ hrs a week. She went from L3 to L7 in one year, scoring out several levels.....is training L8.... 9yo.

They are both headed for the same success....maybe with a years difference?

Guess which one smiles a lot more?

 

[GymDad9.9]

Well I guess there are enough parents that think 20 plus hours a week in the gym is OK for a seven year old to make it "not uncommon." That's five days a week in the gym for four hours a day. I just think we've all gone a little bananas if we think that's OK.

I am actually a strong advocate of both education (teachers in the family) and sports. A close family member is an elite athlete in a different sport -- one of the lucky ones where talent, hard work, opportunity, sacrifice, parents able to pay for it, and a bit of luck and a lot of being smart about staying healthy in the long term, and the stars all aligned to let them achieve their dream. So I've been a part of, well at least the family cheering section through all the years and am unbelievably proud. This girl though was doing several sports up through age 9, and thankfully was not putting in 20 hours a week into one sport in second grade. I'm pretty sure she would have hung it up instead of ramping it up at eleven/twelve if that had been the case. And that pile of cheering section shirts in my closet would be in someone else's closet.

I don't think a kid needs to be putting in 20 hours a week in the gym at age seven if they have the talent to "go all the way." But if it's become the new normal, well huh, it just makes me dislike the sport a little...

My child can play any sport she wishes yet she has picked gymnastics and is passionate to inv

There are a few at our gym. One girl is exceptional- 8 yo....regular program/ she goes about 16hrs training L7. Won almost every compulsory meet with 38s.
Another, home school- 30+ hrs a week. She went from L3 to L7 in one year, scoring out several levels.....is training L8.... 9yo.

They are both headed for the same success....maybe with a years difference?

Guess which one smiles a lot more?

The happier one?

 

[Deleted member 18037]

I get it. Some kids thrive with high hours. My kid would not.

I think what everyone needs to be clear as parents, is that it is truly about the child.

And this is not in any way pointed at anyone on this thread but the reality is there are many parents out there where it is more about the parent then the child.

For me personally its something I make sure I tease out when making parenting decisions. How much of this is about me vs her. And if the answer is me, I recognize I need to do some work and perhaps rethink the choice or be really clear why I think its worth it and am I prepared to look my kids older self in the eye and explain my thinking when she asks "Why did you make me................ ?"

Again, I have a kid who would not do well with more hours. She has a decent amount of talent/natural gift (pick your word). And I hear a lot that she is "behind". And I have to not get caught up in that. And I get it, coaches look and go if she went x hours more she would be further a long. But then I have to remind them, that doesn't make her behind. It makes her on target for her personal path. JMO

 

[jjsmom]

So I wanted to FINALLY give an update.....final decision was to go as a 6, she competed as a 4 in November and won AA then one week later competed 5 and won AA. She finished her compulsory career undefeated in AA.

First level 6 meet was a disaster, looong story! But she won her second meet (huge meet) and it was decided she would move to level 7. She qualified to State, then qualified to regionals, and she did great!! She was the youngest at both State and Regionals, but she held her own and scored 37.525 AA

She is 8 now and just starting training TOPs so we will see where that takes her. Again thanks for everyone's advise and comments, so many of them stuck with me all season and definitely helped us make the best choices!

Kudos to your dd for a successful season! My dd had a similar progression and is now training level 8 as a 9 year old. It's been a big jump with some bumps along the road so my advice to you would be to stay clued into how she's feeling emotionally about gymnastics, give her ample time for balance in her life, and know that she has plenty of years ahead of her to accomplish whatever gym goals she has; whether it be elite or college. Enjoy the ride...it can be a crazy one!!

 

[UnoMas]

Good luck to your daughter. Sounds like the plan has worked out very nicely for her so far. How wonderful for her. She sounds extremely talented and I'm glad you shared an update with us.

I know a child who was on a quite similar path...skipped levels...picked up skills without much effort...won lots of meets...regionals...the whole thing. She was supposed to compete L9 this season as a 10 year old. TOPS, the ranch, national TOPS stuff, the whole bit. Lived in the gym. Privates on top of 20-25 hours a week of training. Everything was going great until fears set in on beam and quickly spread to every single event. Now, she is dealing with emotional/physical issues related to stress from "failing" at gym. She is now barely 11 and isn't able to even set foot in a gym. She may never train again let alone compete.

I know and have known some other "outliers" who seem/seemed to be headed in the same direction. Some of them are moving maybe not quite as quickly due to some caution on the part of their coaches, but still on a very fast track. Some of them, where caution was thrown to the wind, are already out of the sport or struggling with fears as they are reaching 10/11 years old.

7-8-9 year olds simply do not have the fear factor in their little minds which is great for being super amazing super young, but how many of them actually survive past that age without injuries/fears/burnout? Sure, some do. Talent is great, passion is great, love for gym is great and so is coaches' enthusiasm and all that, but be careful. If gym is her love and her passion and she's truly destined to be one of the "ones", it will happen if she's in the right hands and all things magically line up perfectly. But think long term about your daughter's longevity in the sport...if she loves it, you want her to stay in it. As others have said, gymnnastics is a great sport, for so many more reasons than what level a kid ends up at or how many meets she wins or whatever.

Not questioning you, your coaches, or anyone else involved but just wanted to share a cautionary tale from someone who's watched a lot of gymnasts progress over the last 10 years.

Best of luck to you and your daughter!!

 

[JoyAvenueMom]

Reality is, you probably won't know until she is about 11yo how the current path has affected her. It's all fun and games until it's hard and scary. That turning point will be cartwheels on beam for some and double backs on floor for others. But...sooner or later it will happen. A seven year old can't grasp that broken necks can happen in gym. Older kids do. I've seen tops A kids fizzle and burn out, while others keep going. I've seen kids sidelined with stress fractures from overuse. 8yo, 9yo, 11yo, all on the same schedule. Some get stress fractures, and some don't. Kipper doesn't have the talent OP has described, but she has "sold" much her childhood for this sport. I agree with what so many others have said, OP's dd has MANY years left in this sport and there is no rush to spend every spare moment in the gym. She may love it, but eventually, you will may find that you just miss her. You just want to be with her. Childhood passes and you are left with the memories of raising your children. It is you who may miss out, not her. Sooner or later, she will have to spend 20+ hours per week in they gym. Flash forward 4 years, and you may question why you encouraged it at such a young age. Can she handle it, sure. Is it necessary, absolutely not. Just a different perspective. No judgement.

 

[lovemygymnast]

Reality is, you probably won't know until she is about 11yo how the current path has affected her. It's all fun and games until it's hard and scary. That turning point will be cartwheels on beam for some and double backs on floor for others. But...sooner or later it will happen. A seven year old can't grasp that broken necks can happen in gym. Older kids do. I've seen tops A kids fizzle and burn out, while others keep going. I've seen kids sidelined with stress fractures from overuse. 8yo, 9yo, 11yo, all on the same schedule. Some get stress fractures, and some don't. Kipper doesn't have the talent OP has described, but she has "sold" much her childhood for this sport. I agree with what so many others have said, OP's dd has MANY years left in this sport and there is no rush to spend every spare moment in the gym. She may love it, but eventually, you will may find that you just miss her. You just want to be with her. Childhood passes and you are left with the memories of raising your children. It is you who may miss out, not her. Sooner or later, she will have to spend 20+ hours per week in they gym. Flash forward 4 years, and you may question why you encouraged it at such a young age. Can she handle it, sure. Is it necessary, absolutely not. Just a different perspective. No judgement.

Exactly where I am right now!! We never encouraged it, but we have allowed it to progress. We are very proud of her, she's 8 training 6/7. I'm thinking/hoping she'll stay on 6 just because she's already there so much (20 hours during summer but drops to 16 when school starts back). It's just a lot of time away from our family. Every time I plan a weekend away or vacation, she cries because she doesn't want to miss gym but I remind her (and myself) she'll have many years in the gym and NEEDS vacations.

I don't have a gymnast like OP in that she's not a 7 year old L7 or 8 but she's pretty good. I keep thinking about how I don't want her pushed, I want her to stick with gym as a teenager because she loves it and it will keep her busy and hopefully out of the teen drama that so many go through. But if she peaks at 10 or 11, where will it leave her?? Will she want to quit? This whole gym parent thing is a huge mix of emotions and decisions. It's really hard!!! But in the end, OP you know your child better than anyone. If you think she wants to keep pushing through, then go with your gut. I don't think I would want mine to skip so many levels but my humble opinion.

 

[raenndrops]

Well I guess there are enough parents that think 20 plus hours a week in the gym is OK for a seven year old to make it "not uncommon." That's five days a week in the gym for four hours a day. I just think we've all gone a little bananas if we think that's OK.

I am actually a strong advocate of both education (teachers in the family) and sports. A close family member is an elite athlete in a different sport -- one of the lucky ones where talent, hard work, opportunity, sacrifice, parents able to pay for it, and a bit of luck and a lot of being smart about staying healthy in the long term, and the stars all aligned to let them achieve their dream. So I've been a part of, well at least the family cheering section through all the years and am unbelievably proud. This girl though was doing several sports up through age 9, and thankfully was not putting in 20 hours a week into one sport in second grade. I'm pretty sure she would have hung it up instead of ramping it up at eleven/twelve if that had been the case. And that pile of cheering section shirts in my closet would be in someone else's closet.

I don't think a kid needs to be putting in 20 hours a week in the gym at age seven if they have the talent to "go all the way." But if it's become the new normal, well huh, it just makes me dislike the sport a little...

As a 7 year old in the 1970s, my out-of-school commitments added up to more than 20 hours a week and I wouldn't have given up a minute! We didn't have a gymnastics program in the area, but I played football in the summer/ fall (3 hrs x 4 days a week), baseball spring/summer (2 hrs x 5 days a week … more if it was a game day), roller skate club all year (4 hrs / 1 day a week), swimming in the summer (3 hrs x 3 days a week), Girl Scouts during the school year 2 hrs x 1 day a week), "training" in the winter… worked skills and drills for baseball and football (2 hrs x 5 days a week). My days were busy, but I had a blast… even in the summer when I would sometimes have 8+ hours of activities in one day… and I did NONE of it to please my parents - in fact, my stepmom would have preferred if I didn't do the "boy" sports and my dad only LET me because I pulled the "women's lib" card… If my big brother can do it, why can't I?

 

[Midwestmommy]

Yeah, those were the good old days when kids got to do all kinds of stuff and didn't start specializing in first grade. Even in the 80s there were lots of 3 sport athletes in high school.. That's still out there but not as common, particularly if they are shooting for Div 1 in college sports..

 

[raenndrops]

Yeah, those were the good old days when kids got to do all kinds of stuff and didn't start specializing in first grade. Even in the 80s there were lots of 3 sport athletes in high school.. That's still out there but not as common, particularly if they are shooting for Div 1 in college sports..

But I would have played either football or baseball all year long if it was a possibility. I would come home from practice and get into pick up games in my yard… often played one or the other until dark (I would stop to eat dinner - briefly).

 

[B&M's mom]

Many of us have heard those words from coaches about how talented our very young children are. We've deliberated, worried and been forced to make decisions about our children's childhoods that most of our peers don't understand. We understand where the OP is coming from but also because we've walked the road, want to offer some of the things we've learned. Every family's experience is different but they all generally start from the same place. My DD is almost 16, at the age of 6 I was told how talented she was and that she should go into an elite training program. She, at the age of 6, informed me that gymnastics was "her passion" and it truly has been.

We made decisions about keeping her in lower hours training program because we wanted her childhood to be more than the gym and more importantly because of the potential for long and short term injuries. Once she started elite training, she experienced numerous injuries. High hour/high intensity training is extremely hard on the body, especially young developing bodies. Training at that level is also hard on the psyche. Nothing is ever good enough. Once you master a skill now you have to move onto a harder one. Going to the Ranch was not fun, rather it was more intense work as you were being evaluated on everything all the time.

Some of her teammates couldn't handle the pressures of this type of training. As it turned out it was my daughter's body which couldn't handle it. She still loves the sport but looking long term she may have issues that she'll just have to live with and which may force her out of the sport.

And there are all the issues of how this impacts the rest of the family and of course, money because this is not cheap!

Good luck with this road. I sincerely hope it turns out to be everything you hope for.

 

[bookworm]

Well greetings from my phone, as I still can't get on here with a computer, but I digress...

I've read through this thread and the OPs daughter's progression seems similar to my daughter's... As most of you know, she scored through the lower levels into level 10 when she was a 10 year old....and while that may seem to be a lot of pressure for a kid, it really wasn't... She just moved up the levels because she was able to....she had mastered the skills of the prior level so would be moved to the next. She was young but there were other kids on the young side so she did fine with that.

I think sometimes people fixate on the age of the gymnast but my daughter's coaches were always focused on her skill development, not how old she was. Age was never an issue for us and doesn't have to be for the OPs daughter.

There are folks that mention burnout with a quick ascension through the levels but that didn't happen with us as we always made sure she went to school and had a life outside of gym...she literally just hung up her grips when she graduated from college!

 

[Deleted member 18037]

^^^ again bookworm, I agree. I think it is 2 things first making sure as a parent you are making sure its about your kid and not you. Then it is about knowing your child.

Some kids thrive with high hours, some don't.

 

[bookworm]

Some kids thrive with high hours, some don't.

Oh I agree...and I think that was part of it too as my girls never did high hours as a rule...they were generally , for most of their careers, in the 20 hours a week range. ..

We only ventured above that when we were in the gym run by Eastern Europeans who didn't even want us to take Thanksgiving or New years off ( we did)...in that gym it was 6 days a week...and as noted, some thrived in that atmosphere and some were crushed by it...

 

[Deleted member 18037]

Oh I agree...and I think that was part of it too as my girls never did high hours as a rule...they were generally , for most of their careers, in the 20 hours a week range..

Interesting clearly everyone's perception of high hours and too many days of the week is different.

I am one of those folks that think 20 isnon the high side and yet you don't.
I'm also not a fan of more then four days a week in the gym as a rule.

 

[bookworm]

I am one of those folks that think 20 is on the high side and yet you don't.
I'm also not a fan of more then four days a week in the gym as a rule.

Well I guess it's the context as well...I have had at least one of my girls as an upper level optional ( level 9+) since 2005 so 20 hours at those levels seemed about right to me, and except for our foray with the Eastern Bloc coaches, it was 5 days a week....when they were in compulsory levels back in the day, they were in the gym 12-14 hours a week/4 days a week...

 

[LJL07]

There are a few at our gym. One girl is exceptional- 8 yo....regular program/ she goes about 16hrs training L7. Won almost every compulsory meet with 38s.
Another, home school- 30+ hrs a week. She went from L3 to L7 in one year, scoring out several levels.....is training L8.... 9yo.

They are both headed for the same success....maybe with a years difference?

Guess which one smiles a lot more?

The one who goes 16 hours FTW!!!
^^ Now that's just super exceptional talented.

There are quite a few 30+ hr/week homeschoolers who can make the leap from l3 to l7/8 at age 9. All you have to do is go on Instagram for 5 minutes. There are dozens. Talented kids, no doubt, but not prodigies.

And guess which one has the better chance of staying in the sport long term?