Women Advice needed - 7 year old xcel bronze

[DebraNC]

My seven year old did preschool gymnastics, took a year off because of bars fear and started tumbling last year, in October she tried gymnastics again. She started in a beginner class and right when she was about to move to intermediate she was offered team for bronze. She wanted to do it so she started in January and with several privates was able to compete this season in three meets. She was always playing catch up with the other girls who had been together much longer. This started to turn into her feeling not good enough and we've had some mean girl stuff to the point she left practice in tears the other night and isn't interested in going back. We had already started looking at other gyms. I am finding that there is a huge difference between the gyms in our area and how they coach as well as the skills that girls at the same levels have.

Gym 1- Offers same xcel program, she is going back for a second work out there because they want to get her in the right spot. This gym trains several levels higher than the girls compete. Most Bronze girls I noticed have front handspring vaults and kips on bars. She ran into things she wasn't familiar with and felt a bit awkward but loved that they have high bar over pit and she was swinging on it and dropping without fear. Coaching seems great and there is very little down time during practice. I tend to think they are either going to advocate a year of their pre team team or since we're coming up on summer have her come on and repeat bronze.

Gym 2 - Has a rec team as well as a compulsory program. Their rec starts at AUU Level 3 and she doesn't have a couple skills on bars and beam for that level. There was actually a coach there who also coaches at her current gym who advocated for them to let her do the rec team instead of going pre team for a year because it's coming up on summer and she picks up things quickly. Her feeling was any issues they see with her are based on the previous gym's coaching and she can correct it easily. My daughter really liked this gym because the girls seemed nice and I think because she knows a coach already.

Gym 3 - Going on Tuesday though she previously took classes there last year when she wanted to add a second gymnastics class. They have a very positive coaching style and it had been recommended to get on the pre team track there which fizzled when she ended up doing bronze. I actually had thought the reason she had improved so much was because of this gym. I believe they have both AAU and Xcel in addition to compulsories starting at level 3 or 4.

Thoughts on her going straight to team again or should I push to put her on a pre team track for a year? Any gym strike you as better than the other? I don't want her to feel like she's struggling or constantly trying to catch up.

Skills she has are -
Floor - back bend, bridge kickover, round off, cartwheel, handseand roll - working on back walkover - has front handspring and robh on tumletrack but not floor
Bars - pullover, cast, back hip circle, straddle glide, working on front mill circle with single leg shoot
Beam - handstand dismount, forward roll, full turn, leaps - working on handstand and cartwheel
Vault - decent handstand fallback

 

[txgymfan]

The right gym has nothing to do with the level she will compete. The right gym has everything to do with a coaching style that fits your DD, a location and schedule that fits your family, a safe and supportive atmosphere, qualified caring coaches and many other factors.

 

[CLgym]

I second the post above -- look for a gym that seems to "fit" based on gym vibe (philosophy), coaching quality and demeanor, location/schedule, etc. -- and let the level (pre-team vs. Xcel Bronze/Silver vs. AAU Level 3) sort itself out later. A lot of gyms won't be making final level decisions until later in the summer anyway. Your daughter is young, so even if she has to repeat a level or spend a year in pre-team, it's not a big deal in my opinion. It is more important that she feels happy and excited about gymnastics again. Also, at least based on your descriptions, you have several good options available. You had positive things to say about all three gyms you are considering.... which is great. Sounds like each gym does things a little differently, but one option doesn't jump out to me as obviously better than another.

My only other question is whether you think your daughter will most likely want to stay in an Xcel or AAU program for the foreseeable future? If not, and you think it's likely she will want to move to JO soon, then I would ask whether the gyms offer a JO program and allow mobility between teams (Xcel to JO, for example). Not necessarily a deal breaker, but one more factor to consider. My DD did rec/pre-team (age 6) and Xcel Bronze (age 7) at one gym, but then moved to a different gym in order to compete JO (which was what she wanted). We wouldn't have done things differently (first gym was super close to home and we had no plans for any kind of team track when DD enrolled in rec), but it was kind of stressful having to make a gym switch.

 

[DebraNC]

The right gym has nothing to do with the level she will compete. The right gym has everything to do with a coaching style that fits your DD, a location and schedule that fits your family, a safe and supportive atmosphere, qualified caring coaches and many other factors.

That makes sense, go with the gym that is the best fit leaving placement completely aside. Her old gym was very laid back with lots of down time. She needs an encouraging coaching style with little downtime for shenanigans. Thank you!