MAG Age?

[alongfortheride]

Is age as big a deal in men's gymnastics as it is in women's? I know I see discussions where people wonder if their child is "too old" to be good in gymnastics? Can't anyone do well if they try hard? I am new to this w/ my son. He is a 7 year old, going to Future Stars this June, and competing level 5 next year. Is there a specific age he's "supposed" to be at certain levels? Just curious. I never realized it was an issue until reading these forums, although obviously female gymnasts are typically fairly young. . .but I know most male gymnasts can compete longer (older), true? Is age something that matters to coaches? Judges?

 

[magmom]

From what I've gathered, age is much less of a "thing" for boys than it is for girls. Girls in this sport peak much, much earlier. Your son is on the very, very young side for his level. (And I thought future stars didn't start until age 8?)

For perspective, Sam Mikulak was a ten-year-old level four.

 

[alongfortheride]

RE: Future Stars. His coach got him permission to go a year early. He's on the young side for it.

 

[Sperkowsky]

Age doesn't matter that much and being your son is in a what seems to be good gym he's gonna do well

 

[sce]

Fortunately, for boys there is more time to progress and growth is desirable. ie boys build muscle mass after puberty. One challenge for boys is longevity. ie too much too soon. Sounds like your son is talented. As long as they are building his foundational skills well, he i most definitely ahead of the curve.

I do see being older a bit of a challenge. My ds is 12yo, his competition age this year was 11yo. He was level 5. He still has a lot of time to progress, but is considered old and will have less chances of nationals unless he skips levels.

 

[Aussie_coach]

As does not need to be a big deal in either MAG or WAG, there are plenty of people who are outside the norms.

But yes in general Men's gymnastics is less of a rush than Women's Gymnastics. For boys a number of the skills can't even be completed until after puberty when the adult muscle starts to grow. There is less of a rush to achieve it before puberty. However, flexibility is harder to achieve after puberty and is better to be gained at a young age and then maintained as the gymnast grows older.

In general men also compete to an older age than women. Many women retire by 19-20 while men are usually only starting to peak in their early 20's.

 

[themonkeysmom]

The only hang up with age is that a boy cannot compete level 8 until they are 11. I believe there is some sort of exception where you can qualify through the future stars program. A boy that competes level 4 at age 6 or 7 is in no rush.

 

[skschlag]

Right. And you have to be 13 to compete level 9 and 15 to compete 10. . So that gives you lots of time to get skills.

 

[krc]

IMHO, the most important thing to grasp with Mens JO is the idea of age-appropriate intensity. Level 4 and 5 are T-ball and should be treated as such. The boys are learning fundamental skills and understanding the mechanics of a competition. In levels 6 and 7, a little more brain power is required. The kids start to deal with "scary" skills that take more time and more effort. And in meets they begin see how they place and finish vis-a-vis the rest of the pack. This is where the self-awareness starts to emerge. By optionals (13+) the boys will hopefully be fully invested with the process and both understand and work to fix their own deficiencies, becoming full partners in their own training.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with being top of the game at an early age. Just beware the siren song of gold medals and ribbons. If coaches and parents can slowly, over the years, dial-up the intensity with these young athletes their careers will be happier, more successful and significantly longer. I recommend the essay “Winning Isn’t Normal” by Dr. Keith Bell, it is worth googling.

 

[gracyomalley]

I have one boy who is on the younger side and one on the older (they started at the same time and are 4 years apart in age). I love the above "Level 4 and 5 are T-ball" - although by the end of L5 if a kid is getting strong their T-ball looks ready for little league!!!

The younger boy did L4 at age 6 and has some natural flexibility and strength in the harder events that show promise - but just started taking it seriously with a new coach, new team attitude and the chance to move to L6 finally (old coach kept them at a level up to 3 years if they didn't have every bonus for the NEXT level)....DSolder is almost 14 and learning a new skill pretty much every day now that he has muscles and is motivated to try for L7-8 this year...

We've seen so many talented younger boys quit already in the few years the boys have been in gymnastics - I would say WAY more than girls are similar ages (compared to DD team - may be team specific too....) Many went to other sports. There are 2 boys on the team who started very young and are now L9-10....but they did definitely take their time to get there - again very different from our experience with girls gymnastics where getting through the early levels quickly with talented kids is the norm...

Just hope your kiddo has fun and don't push too fast (as in make it too serious - I'm not saying don't let him do "as much" as he wants....future stars, etc - just don't let winning be important - we have two kids on the team who have more talent in their pinkies than my boys - who don't want to move out of L5 after 3 years because they are afraid they will do poorly - I "blame" the old coaches attitude for some of this...

 

[profmom]

And be watchful, because it's usually around middle school that male gymnasts may start to experience some taunting, and sadly in this day and age, gay-baiting.

Physical strength is not the only kind of strength they'll need.

 

[Sperkowsky]

And be watchful, because it's usually around middle school that male gymnasts may start to experience some taunting, and sadly in this day and age, gay-baiting.

Physical strength is not the only kind of strength they'll need.

I have to say I haven't experienced much of that and I'm in high school I don't now if it was just my area but being I was in 3 different schools since 6th grade I don't think it's that common. If anyone did call me such things I would do some handstand push ups

 

[profmom]

That's what I advised the mother of a kid here who's been experiencing it to suggest to her son -- a simple pushup contest would resolve the manliness question to any observer's satisfaction.

 

[2G1B]

My ds did have some friends ask him why he dies gymnastics, they thought only girls did that. He just told tgem , "nope, lots of boys do it; but it is really hard and you have to do it year round, so some boys don't want to deal with it.". They weren't being mean! But he us the only bit in his Elementary school of 1,000+ kids who dies competitive gymnastics, so they were just surprised.

 

[gracyomalley]

my kids are homeschooled. My son's friends think its cool that he's a gymnast. His answer to the above stuff is - just smile and do a couple of stuck standing back and front tucks....

I am happy to say that as a pediatrician I do think this generation is much better at the whole stereotype thing than previous ones, but I am grateful that my kids are comfortable with who they are and have friends who are likewise!

 

[profmom]

It probably doesn't hurt my little guy that both he and his sister set their elementary school's all-time pushup records last year by something on the order of 70 pushups. They both had to be told to stop.

 

[2G1B]

I was typing on my phone earlier, that "!" was supposed to be a ";" and obviously "dies" was supposed to be "does".

 

[Deleted member D3987]

I have to say I haven't experienced much of that and I'm in high school I don't now if it was just my area but being I was in 3 different schools since 6th grade I don't think it's that common. If anyone did call me such things I would do some handstand push ups

and on their face!

 

[munchkin3]

Hah! My son always says to anyone who even insinuates that, 'we will see what your girlfriend thinks in high school'
Its a non issue for him, but we are in a larger city. maybe an issue in small towns??