Age of starting team & long term progress

[Natasha]

Hypothetically speaking, you have an above average young gymnast who shows some talent and seems to have naturally good form. Do you think there is really a long term difference (think upper optional levels) in whether she starts team at say age 6 vs age 8? Or age 5 vs age 7? Assuming the team is in an average gym, no Elite aspirations and no "fast track" or other options, just a general team, starting competition at L4 and earlier.
Do you think a gymnast starting earlier is actually more likely to reach higher optional levels earlier, or do you think they get those harder skills when their bodies are physically and mentally ready to do them, regardless of what age they started?

 

[gymgal]

Interesting question...

Well, if your in a gym that does absolutely no skipping and you are talking about an average talented gymnast who we would expect to go through the levels 1 year at a time, then obviously, the younger she starts (within reason - 6 for a L4) the further she would be after a certain amount of years. For most girls, strength and focus/maturity will not play a part past age 6 compared to their older teammates, but social maturity can still play a part especially if the rest of the team is much older and the younger child isn't fitting in. The Coach may hold her back to let her catch-up age wise a bit. As for the older gymnast, fear will certainly be an issue, and the older you are, in general, the more you will have.

Now, having said that, say the goal is college scholarship. Does it really make a difference if a girl has competed 5-6 yrs of level 10 or only 3-4? I would think not and I would venture a guess that the younger child would be more likely to quit before reaching college age, if she didn't move to elite because of the boredom of not progressing past a certain degree of difficulty, as well as the greater chance of injuries due to performing those level of skills for so long.

I hadn't really thought about it before, but I'm sure coaches do factor the above paragraph into their thought process when determining the future path of their gymnasts (given they are not going elite, of course).

 

[Deleted member D3987]

Hypothetically speaking, you have an above average young gymnast who shows some talent and seems to have naturally good form. Do you think there is really a long term difference (think upper optional levels) in whether she starts team at say age 6 vs age 8? Or age 5 vs age 7? Assuming the team is in an average gym, no Elite aspirations and no "fast track" or other options, just a general team, starting competition at L4 and earlier.
Do you think a gymnast starting earlier is actually more likely to reach higher optional levels earlier, or do you think they get those harder skills when their bodies are physically and mentally ready to do them, regardless of what age they started?

no and yes.

 

[Natasha]

THanks Dunno, that's what I think too. So here is my question for you, why the push to start so early?? (assuming no elite aspirations- and not really talking about that level of talent- more your average to above average team gymnasts.)

 

[Faith]

At what age do you say a child won't make elite though? Is it really that obvious so early?

I have read that there is a "window" for improving flexibility, around age 5-7, so ideally gym should be started before 7. However I do think it depends on a child's ligaments, I have seen exceptional cases start after 11, and go from average to contortionist within 6 months.

 

[Natasha]

By no elite aspirations, I mean neither the gym nor the parents have that goal in mind.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

THanks Dunno, that's what I think too. So here is my question for you, why the push to start so early?? (assuming no elite aspirations- and not really talking about that level of talent- more your average to above average team gymnasts.)

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but the long term benefits to the athlete have to do with fall training. the more time they spend in the gym early on just playing and falling will benefit them as they get older and doing more difficult gymnastics. my experience has been that those in it the longest are injured the least.

 

[gymnut1]

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but the long term benefits to the athlete have to do with fall training. the more time they spend in the gym early on just playing and falling will benefit them as they get older and doing more difficult gymnastics. my experience has been that those in it the longest are injured the least.

Now that is interesting. If I had to guess I would have said that being in the gym longer would lead to more injury.

 

[Natasha]

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but the long term benefits to the athlete have to do with fall training. the more time they spend in the gym early on just playing and falling will benefit them as they get older and doing more difficult gymnastics. my experience has been that those in it the longest are injured the least.

But do they need to be on team to experience this, or can they benefit from rec classes, fun camps, etc? It seems to be that they get more experience playing and falling in rec classes than they do on a "pre team" where it is more disciplined and focused on strength and conditioning.
I guess I keep hearing about little 5 and 6 year olds training 9+ hours a week and I just wonder why.

 

[AmandaLynn]

Now that is interesting. If I had to guess I would have said that being in the gym longer would lead to more injury.

Overuse injury, possibly. But if the gymnast is with coaches that understand how to best prevent overuse injury and are in the business of keeping gymnasts in their program for the long haul rather than burning through tons of gymnasts in search of "the one", you should be fairly "safe" from those types of injuries.

Note: I'm not saying that they *won't* occur. Just that overuse injuries are less frequent in programs that are aware of the fact that the sport lends itself to these types of injuries and do what they can to prevent them.

 

[Gymmonkeymomma]

Interesting question.

DD#1 started team at 7, had first L4 meet on her 8th birthday. One level per year until L8, age 12. Repeated at 13, Just could not get those harder skills (giants, tsuk gave most trouble). She grew 4 inches PER YEAR, having to "adjust" to her new body constantly. After 2 years at L8 and one year at JOGA, she retired at 14.

DD#2 started team at 5, first L4 meet just weeks after turning 6. Repeated level 5. Had big skills by Level 7 (giants, fulls) which sister had trouble getting. Now training 9, will be 12 next month. I'll let you know in a couple of years if she outlasted her sister!