Parents Any advice appreciated! (competitive pathways)

[Gymnast2017]

Hi!

I am please looking for some help from some those much more informed than myself!

My daughter is 7 years old (2017), and is currently enjoying two recreational classes per week (4 hours) at her club. The club so happens to be very successful, with great facilities. She’s been at the gym since she was 2, in a pre-school class.

Lately she has noticed the other gymnasts in squads have things such as comp Leo’s, floor routines to music, set routines etc. These kids are clearly on an elite pathway, and have been from a young age. The club doesn’t seem to compete in much else.

I really don’t think the gym is overly interested in my daughter, as the quality is just so high and the club popular. I have emailed to ask about what they look for in development gymnasts, but I didn’t get a reply… which said it all!

I have enquired at another club who were interested in offering her a trial to possibly compete performance 1 next year when she turns 8. However this gym is very small and lacks in equipment, the skill level of their best gymnasts is still relatively low.

I am so hesitant to move her because she loves the gym, and the facilities/coaches are amazing. However, I just really don’t see the club competing with her and I don’t want to hang around until she’s “out of age”.

I did gymnastics myself as a child and started too late, by the time I finally got my grip on the cooler skills (giants, twists on floor etc) it was a bit too late and I gave it up to do usual teenage things.

I want to offer her the best chance, but I’m so stuck on a decision. I also have a son who will start gymnastics if he enjoys it, the club she is currently in is much better equipped for boys. I’m not the kind of parent that thinks my kid is incredible and will be the next Olympic superstar, but I truly believe her discipline, natural flexibility and focus could take her far. Any help appreciated!

 

[Klaws]

Stop emailing and start fronting up to the head coaches. Once you’re in their face, they have to answer. Request a trial at the time, then follow that up with an email.

 

[Carly]

It seems like a lot of gyms are notorious for poor communication so a lack of response to an email is not necessarily surprising. I would politely let them know in person that your daughter is interested in competing and ask how they select gymnasts to compete.

 

[USmominHK]

Stop emailing and start fronting up to the head coaches. Once you’re in their face, they have to answer. Request a trial at the time, then follow that up with an email.

This is 100% spot on. You have to be really active and put your kid on their radar.

 

[rd7]

UK coach here. Yes, a conversation with your current club is needed and if you can't get an answer then go where your daughter will get a chance to compete if that is what she wants. They have to be aged 10 in the year to compete Performance 1 so I would guess you mean Preparation 1?
Is the new club concentrating on good basics and conditioning? Are their gymnasts performing skills with straight legs and good tight shapes? If not then do you have other options?

 

[Gymnast2017]

UK coach here. Yes, a conversation with your current club is needed and if you can't get an answer then go where your daughter will get a chance to compete if that is what she wants. They have to be aged 10 in the year to compete Performance 1 so I would guess you mean Preparation 1?
Is the new club concentrating on good basics and conditioning? Are their gymnasts performing skills with straight legs and good tight shapes? If not then do you have other options?

Thank you for your reply. Yes, I did mean preparation 1, sorry! The new club is a bit hit and miss, they have a couple of very good little ones but it seems to phase out in their older gymnasts. Chucking back into tumbles and some questionable bar work, but again this is in the older children. Their facilities could not be further from her current club, I could see her struggling to gain more difficult skills as she got older. I am going to have a look around but a few clubs have said she’s too old for them to offer a trial? I thought they could only compete the year they turned 8, which is March 25 for my daughter. Is it correct that if she doesn’t compete her grades next year that she’ll be out of age from then on? I think a difficulty for us is that the clubs that are local just happen to be higher level or very low level, not much in between!

 

[Gymnast2017]

Stop emailing and start fronting up to the head coaches. Once you’re in their face, they have to answer. Request a trial at the time, then follow that up with an email.

I will try to do so, whenever I have asked before I normally get told the coach that’s in charge is too busy to speak

 

[rd7]

I am going to have a look around but a few clubs have said she’s too old for them to offer a trial? I thought they could only compete the year they turned 8, which is March 25 for my daughter.

The first year they can compete grades is the year they turn 8 but they can do in house and invitational competitions in the meantime. Most grades gymnasts will have started in a development squad around the age of 5-6 but that doesn't mean that talented gymnasts can't start on the grades route when they are 7 or 8.

"Is it correct that if she doesn’t compete her grades next year that she’ll be out of age from then on?"

Not really, British Gymnastics have tried to move away from that. It only really affects those on the Elite route that are trying to qualify for the British Championships or National Team. That said, it's easier to get into a squad when they are younger as that's where the available spaces tend to be.

"I think a difficulty for us is that the clubs that are local just happen to be higher level or very low level, not much in between"

Yes that does seem to be a problem in some areas of the UK. You could look at trampoline, tumbling or acro if there really aren't any other artistic competitive options. The first thing to do is find out whether there is any chance of a trial at your current club and then take it from there.

 

[Gymnast2017]

It’s frustrating because when I asked at age 5/6, they kept telling me that she’s still young and to give it time. Now it feels like a rush to squeeze her in somewhere so she can do grades and levels!

I will definitely ask, though my hopes are minimal as the club just has so much talent to choose from.

Thank you very much for taking the time to reply and explain things for me!

 

[Gymnast2017]

It’s frustrating because when I asked at age 5/6, they kept telling me that she’s still young and to give it time. Now it feels like a rush to squeeze her in somewhere so she can do grades and levels!

I will definitely ask, though my hopes are minimal as the club just has so much talent to choose from.

Thank you very much for taking the time to reply and explain things for me!

Hi @rd7 … I asked and the head coach said she’d talk to my daughter’s coach and we could take it from there. That was on Monday, I’ve not heard anything since.

She also said there’s no such thing as in or out of age now? That they all just compete. I didn’t get a chance to ask… because from looking online there seems to still be in and out of age. Any ideas?

 

[AnotherGymDad]

We have exactly the same "everywhere near us is either very very very good or not much above recreational" problem where we live (in SE England). Ended up having to travel further than is ideal to find the right fit. And we have also found the entire squad set-up and GB competitive structure to be bafflingly opaque. If clubs and coaches want to operate like cold war-era MI6, mysteriously recruiting by giving people a tap on the shoulder, then I suppose that's up to them. But is it really beyond BG to produce a guide to their own structures and pathways written in language that parents new to the sport can understand? Apparently so... Oh, and we have daughter almost exactly the same age as yours, born April 2017, and we too struggled for quite a long time to get her in a competitive programme because she "started too late" - as a result of everywhere being closed for two years due to the small matter of a global pandemic.

 

[rd7]

@Gymnast2017 have you heard anything yet? Whilst there isn't in and out of age anymore the competition organisers still need to break down the age groups into categories so I think some are still calling it that. To be realistic it is unlikely that a club will have 11 year old Preparation 1 gymnasts so there is still some truth to the out of age idea but it isn't as rigid now.
It is definitely not too late for your daughter to find a squad place somewhere though. Please come back and let us know how you get on.

 

[Gymnast2017]

Hi,

I see, that makes a lot of sense! The head coach really didn’t say much when I asked, just that she would ask my daughters coaches and come back to me. That was Monday, she was in training last night and didn’t hear a thing. I’m starting to think the gym will just not get back to me, and hope I take the hint. Very frustrating when my daughter has been there since 2, and loves it there. Having to leave is sad but the lack of communication is frustrating as hell. She has two trials at two different gyms over the next few weeks… so I’ll hold out for those!

 

[Pineapple_Lump]

Maybe more UK gyms

Hi,

I see, that makes a lot of sense! The head coach really didn’t say much when I asked, just that she would ask my daughters coaches and come back to me. That was Monday, she was in training last night and didn’t hear a thing. I’m starting to think the gym will just not get back to me, and hope I take the hint. Very frustrating when my daughter has been there since 2, and loves it there. Having to leave is sad but the lack of communication is frustrating as hell. She has two trials at two different gyms over the next few weeks… so I’ll hold out for those!

Given that this communication topic comes up over and over again about GB gyms - perhaps some succinct google reviews regarding communication will make make life easier for other parents in future.

 

[Gymnast2017]

@Gymnast2017 have you heard anything yet? Whilst there isn't in and out of age anymore the competition organisers still need to break down the age groups into categories so I think some are still calling it that. To be realistic it is unlikely that a club will have 11 year old Preparation 1 gymnasts so there is still some truth to the out of age idea but it isn't as rigid now.
It is definitely not too late for your daughter to find a squad place somewhere though. Please come back and let us know how you get on.

We had our answer tonight! They’ve decided that she’s not strong enough. They would need her to do ten consecutive pull ups, and ten consecutive toe touches as a minimum to get into squad. Not sure why that wasn’t said to me when I first asked, but oh well. We’re off to a trial for another club over the weekend, so fingers crossed for her. I don’t think waiting for her to get ten chin ups would be a good idea, not a clue how long that would take!

 

[Scream4IceCream]

At least you know now and can proceed accordingly. (I once had a boss who said no was his second favorite answer.) Good luck to your daughter at her trials! I hope she finds a place where she can compete.

 

[rd7]

@Gymnast2017 Hope it goes well over the weekend, I would love to hear how she gets on.

 

[Gymnast2017]

Hi everyone! Me again… My daughter got into a squad over the weekend at another club. They want 8 hours per week, with a plan to ‘work towards’ competing her first grade in spring 2025. Her current club are still to get back to me formally. Obviously they have told my daughter she isn’t strong enough to go into competition squad, but I haven’t received the recreational invite as usual. This now has me wondering if maybe they are considering a development group for her? I feel like I literally can’t ask again, but my daughter is pestering me to check before we leave. The new club don’t seem to want to commit that she’ll definitely be competing next year, I’d hate to move her just so she can compete then they don’t enter her anyway. Thoughts appreciated!

 

[rd7]

I would be honest with your current club and tell them you have an offer of a place somewhere else but that you would rather stay with them. See what they say.

 

[rd7]

Don't leave it too long to accept the place in the other squad though as it seems that mid range squad places are hard to come by in your area.

Well done to your daughter for a successful squad trial.