MAG age for comp teams

[sally]

Hi just wondering if anybody could tell me for boys what is the average age they start taking boys into comp teams. thanks

 

[emorymom]

Well at one gym around here I know, they divide the preteam up into
3 hour preteam, under 8
5 hour preteam, 8+

I suspect they do not start much before 8.

 

[zoemurr]

our gym

you can start training with the team at 5 and competing at 6. My son is 8 and is the oldest Level 4 on our team. At this point you are expected to train 3 days a week for 3.5hrs each but they are flexible on that.

I believe that it is a USAG rule that you must be 6 by Sept 1 to compete. At competitions we have seen level 4's as old as 12, but most are 8-9.


HTH

 

[sally]

thanks for that. I am only just starting to figure out the wag, now my son is coming up behind he is 5 in september, and is starting to show an interest in this field.

 

[Pineapple_Lump]

I am sure this is Australia wide, but it could just be my imagination that children must be five years of age on the first of January in the year of competition. Aussie Coach will probably be able to confirm/correct this. What really matters is getting him involved in a club; some clubs won't take boys into competitions as early as girls.

 

[sally]

yes I have found that out. he is with a club and they have put him up in a rec program but with all school aged kids for an 1h half, he really enjoys that as he was in kinda gym, but found that really boring. He is an active kids and needs to burn a lot of energy.

 

[themonkeysmom]

Our gym seems to identify boys for pre-team around ages 4-5 (and occasionally older). They train 2 hours a day, 2 days a week.
The boys that will be old enough for competition the following year are evaluated in the Spring to see if they will be ready to move to level 4 in the fall.

 

[kbuhler]

Son, 9, on Level 5

Hi, my son is 9 is a level 5. He was 7 as a a level 4 and then 8 as a level 5. He went to regionals last year. We kept him in another year so he could improve his skills. Hoping to be a level 6 next year. Good luck to your son!

 

[Aussie_coach]

We start the boys in team anywhere from about age 4 to age 9, Its not an age thing as much as an ability thing. We start competing them at 5 years old.

If he is bored and needs more of a challenge. Speak to the coaches and let them know, most gyms are happy to work a bit to find the right class for a kid.

He is too young to compete but some gyms may put him on the team anyway and train him for 2011. Or you could even consider having him compete tramp and tumble for a year. They only need to be 4 on jan 1st to compete that. It would give him a challenge to help him get through the year without being so bored he chooses to quit.

 

[sally]

thanks for that, I don't think they do tramp at his club, but I will look into that. The problem is he way too much energy and the kinda gym just wasn't enough and challenging, and the other thing is having mum in there, he does so much better when I am not in there. He concentrates better instead of mucking around because I am there. I totally agree of not having parents watch. Kids listen and try much better when we are not there. I mean once they are able to handle doing it by themselves.

 

[emorymom]

My son is turning 5 this week. He made the pre-team at a local gym but he is the youngest and the coach is concerned about his maturity level. Being in a pack of flippy boys does not aways bring out the most attentive in him. There are no competition pressures and they usually start competing level 4 or 5 when they are older.

 

[Aussie_coach]

At 4 most clubs are flexible and will allow a child who seems to need the challenge to move into the class with the kids who are of school age and out of the Kindergym if they feel its best for the child. A lot of kids at this age do better with parents around, as they aren't used to being in an environment like school where they don't have Mum close by. Also so they get the one on one supervision they need. But there are also a lot who do better without Mum around. Each child is individual.

In Australia boys don't start competing at level 4 or 5. They start competing at level 1 or 2.

 

[coachinkal]

The problem is he way too much energy and the kinda gym just wasn't enough and challenging, and the other thing is having mum in there, he does so much better when I am not in there. He concentrates better instead of mucking around because I am there. I totally agree of not having parents watch. Kids listen and try much better when we are not there. I mean once they are able to handle doing it by themselves.

As a coach I prefer boys to be 8yo+ to compete, I find they are just more mature by 8yo. There are always exceptions of course.

I find that boys seem to behave better when parents are watching, especially if the parents discipline for poor behaviour after the class. For the younger boys who have very high activity levels and poor behaviour I actually insist parents attend.

 

[sally]

thanks for that. My son is really enjoying being in the older class, he is actually climbing the rope all the way up to the ceiling now, since he is allowed to do it. In kindagym they weren't allowed to climb just swing.. The problem is because of the cut of for school he has to wait another year for school. I have the same problem with that as well, as he is mentally and physically ready for school. I am just lucky that my daughter's old prep teacher gave me some worksheets to do with him for this year. He is listening really well now, since I am not going around with him, but watch from a distance. Every now and again I get a " Look mum , look what I can do" and he shows me his little thing. I think him going in this older class has been a god send for me.

 

[coachinkal]

My youngest son missed out on the school year by 11 days, so I know how that feels!

 

[sally]

I know it is stupid. They should be able to test the children that their parents feel like they are ready, if they are 5 that year. Now he gets left out because he has to do things like his gymnastics in kinda gym. Thank fully we have changed gyms and they allow him to move up. The other club said no because of his age. They really need to go on the level of the child not just ability but mental ablity as well. He would of just went off into wonderland if he was to hang out with the little 3 year olds, but not just that, I would have been afraid that he would knock a little kid over, as if there is running involved he goes a million miles an hour . He needed to be with the older kids,

 

[MRSIII]

My son is 7 and this is his first season of competiton. There is one other little guy on our team that is younger. He is 6 years old. But, the majority of our Level 4 Boy's team are 8 and 9 years old.

 

[coachinkal]

My youngest son who is 8yo is training level 5.

When he competes there are no age splits. He has competed against 12 and 13 year olds. This is really tough. Especially table vault.

Having coached a range of boys aging from 5yo to 14 yo, I find it generally easier to coach as they get older. They are usually far more coordinated, pick up skills faster, have better skills of self correction and better body awareness. These skills seem to develop with age.

There are always exceptions to the rule of course.

My oldest son who is now almost 14yo decided to come to gym last night and do a bit of training. He has done no training since stopping gym 3 years ago after competing level 3 and working some level 4. Last night he did some very nice level 5 table vaults. He then did the complete level 4 rings routine, p/bars, and pommel. I think he actually looked better than when he was competing. Amazing what a few years can do! Pity he is so wrapped up in footy, basketball, girls, facebook and his phone!

 

[Scuba]

USAG is broken into levels 4 thru 10. The levels are intended to have an age progression.

The progressions are as follows:

Level 4 - 6 to 7 years old
Level 5 - 7 to 9 years old
Level 6 - 8 to 9 yeas old
Level 7 - 10 to 11 years old
and so on

Keep in mind that this is really just a guide line put in place by USAG, all levels have a 12+ age group. I coach a level 5 & 6 boys team and their ages are from 9 to 13. As to the age when they should start competing i would say 8 years old as long as they are ready, maturity plays a big part and there are always exceptions.

 

[coachinkal]

I totally agree that 12+ should be in a separate group. There definately seems to be a substantial change in upper body physique and strength by the time most boys are around 12 yo onwards. I have petitioned for changes, but nothing has changed.

Our competitions are split by numbers only, and numbers tend to be less the higher the level is. The only group so far which has competed with an age split has been level 3.

We have two boys this year competing level 4. One is 13 and the other will be 12 when he competes. They both came in top 3 AA last year, level 3. This year they will be competing against some 8 year olds. Good for our club but seems a bit unfair for the other clubs.