Age groups

[superflipgirl]

Well this doesn't really go on at our gym any more, but whenever I think back on this, it gets me really upset. The first year I came on the rec team at my gym, we split up into age groups, back then it was like 1 group with 9-12 year olds and another group with 13+ year olds. I didn't really like this because I liked working with girls who were older than me. Not only that, but the older group got more privileges! They got to make up their own floor routines and we had to all do the exact same routine! And we always did two rotations during practice. One time, the older girls did beam for the first rotation, and vault for the second, and guess what we did? For the first rotation, we had to all learn the same beam routine on the floor and then go on beam for the second rotation! So unfair! And the older girls got to have their own beam routines! And they got to learn harder skills too! One time, a new coach asked our head coach had taught us sole circles in case we fell on our squat ons and she said "No, but maybe we'll teach the older group." And one time a girl in my group, who was doing swings to her back onto a mat under the bar(that flyaway drill), she asked if she could do them off the high bar so she could get more swing, and my coach said "No, the older group does those, but you're not allowed." It makes me so mad just thinking about it! And sometimes our coaches went out of the way to split us into age groups, we only had a few people and they wanted to put us in groups anyway. Most of the kids in our group were more advanced than a lot of kids in the other group! It made me feel so babyish! Does anyone else have an opinion on this because I think it was unfair! I actually would be in the older group now, but all the older girls aren't on the team anymore!

 

[gymgurl]

I think that it should really be ability because there can be an older uncoordinated person but a younger super coordinated person

 

[superflipgirl]

But we weren't that young! We were 9-12!

 

[CoachTodd]

Age doesn't determine the skills being worked on. I have every thing from a 3'8" 9 year old to 5'6" 13 year old in the same work out group. The skills they work are strictly based on what they have already achieved.
My lower level team is split by age mainly due to the size differences but they all still work the same skills.

 

[Mack_the_Ripper]

They were probably spending more time on the same routine with young girls because it can be hard for younger kids to learn a routine, remember it, and perform it properly. Obviously for the older kids in the young group, this is frusturating, but it can also be a good time to work on perfecting your form. As for the girl who wanted to do a skill on the high bar but only the older group was allowed, it may be dangerous for a younger/smaller person to be higher up while it may be necessary for an older/taller person to have more room for their longer legs.

Younger kids generally have more opportunities in gymnastics, so it seems that your gym was trying to reverse this unfairness and encourage older kids to do gymnastics, stick with it, and be good at it. I'm sorry you go the short end of the stick.

 

[superflipgirl]

I understand, but like I said before, we were 9 to 12 years old, and very coordinated. There were even a few younger girls in the older group because they had been on the competitive team before, and they got to make up their own routines. We did have quite a lot of people on the team that year, but guess what? THE DIFFERENT AGE GROUPS WENT TO DIFFERENT COMPETITIONS! And none of the other teams did this, and they had more people, and one time when a few people from the younger group actually did go to a meet with the older group, we only had 9 people and they still split us into different rotations based on age group!

 

[Mack_the_Ripper]

Huh. That does seem funny. I don't wonder if the coaches were in fact dividing you not based strictly on age but on something else...at my gym we have one younger and one older group because it is easier for bars and vault settings and can be better socially. Perhaps there was an effort to keep some friends in the same group? I know you say that you were the same or better skill-wise as the older group, but it's possible that the coaches were looking for something else. I.E., the younger group could do hard(er) skills or was more flexible, but the older group was more precise and hence got higher scores or had better technique or whatever. But you're all in one group now anyway! Lots of kids quit gym when they get to junior high or high school.

 

[bogwoppit]

In my girls group there are 9 girls with one coach. The oldest is 15 and the youngest is 8. Their skills range from about a L4 to a L6/7. They compete in 4 different levels and two different leagues. It is that way because we cannot have a group for each level. The coach is more than capable of challenging and meeting each childs needs.

There are other groups in the gym with girsl the same age and level as the girls in this group, but this is how the coach feels it is best to deal with them.

However it would be awesome if every child could be in a group of girls the same level and the same age, but there are just not enough girls for that. Which is why they love going to summer camp as that does happen there.