kipkiphooray
Proud Parent
- Mar 24, 2024
- 6
- 1
Would appreciate perspective and advice - whether it be actual guidance or to or talk sense into me!
and apologies for the length of this.
My central question is whether it is realistic for a 9 year old L4 to get to D1 down the road? (I would say Elite, too, but college level is aiming plenty high enough for the purpose of this post)
I don’t mean is it “possible”, I'm asking if it is a goal that is genuinely attainable? - generally speaking, since I get that there a million variables.
I know this is a bit of an opaque and loaded question...more about why I am asking:
My 9 yo daughter is moving up to L4, and only just started JO in L3 last season. She loves this sport. It is her passion - and has been going back even before she started JO - and SHE wants to be great. Kids can be fickle and we've been mindful to see whether this is all just a phase. It is not a phase. She's only nine but she is now old enough to know what makes her happy and to set goals. She proactively talks about wanting to be a college or elite gymnast, and so far has been willing to take any opportunity to improve that she's been given - and asks about wanting more training. She’s found her “thing”.
However:
To help her I've been trying to educate myself about the sport and along the way I’ve learned enough to understand how incredibly competitive this sport is and how far behind she is compared to the best kids her age.
For example -
All things considered she did incredibly well in L3. As of last August she had never competed in a gymnastics meet in her life. Then she consistently placed at every meet including at State. With this perspective in mind we were SO happy for her and she was very proud, as she should be. And she seems to already be getting her L4 routines down.
But then...we’ll watch videos of 9 year old level 8s who started formal training when they were 4, or look at things like TOPs testing requirements, or look at the credentials/progression of college recruits - and it is clear she is well off the pace. I usually wouldn’t over Index on comparing to other kids. But in this case it really is the benchmark, and a reality check.
So, I regret not starting her sooner. I don't have many legitimate “regrets”…but this is one.
We intentionally held off on getting too serious about gym (or any sport) at a younger age. We emphasized trying different activities and having fun, believing we were doing the right thing and that this would be best for her overall development and health in the long run. She's been in gymnastics "classes" going back to age 3 but it was all recreational until recently.
But now because of this, in my worst moments I can’t help but feel that by not putting her in a position to be competitive earlier I’ve let my daughter down and ruined (or at least severely handicapped) her chances of achieving her dream before she ever really got started. I wish I could turn back the clock.
^^^^^^^ Doing some soul searching, the point above is probably at the core of why I am posting this in the first place. My wife and I just want to enable our kid and give her the opportunity to succeed, and I know that I feel like we may have unintentionally screwed that up while thinking we were doing the right thing.
A bit more about her specific situation:
What advice would you have?
This is definitely a topic we plan to discuss more with her coaches too, but curious to get other perspective too.
Thanks. and if nothing else it has made me feel better to write all of this out, ha!

My central question is whether it is realistic for a 9 year old L4 to get to D1 down the road? (I would say Elite, too, but college level is aiming plenty high enough for the purpose of this post)
I don’t mean is it “possible”, I'm asking if it is a goal that is genuinely attainable? - generally speaking, since I get that there a million variables.
I know this is a bit of an opaque and loaded question...more about why I am asking:
My 9 yo daughter is moving up to L4, and only just started JO in L3 last season. She loves this sport. It is her passion - and has been going back even before she started JO - and SHE wants to be great. Kids can be fickle and we've been mindful to see whether this is all just a phase. It is not a phase. She's only nine but she is now old enough to know what makes her happy and to set goals. She proactively talks about wanting to be a college or elite gymnast, and so far has been willing to take any opportunity to improve that she's been given - and asks about wanting more training. She’s found her “thing”.
However:
To help her I've been trying to educate myself about the sport and along the way I’ve learned enough to understand how incredibly competitive this sport is and how far behind she is compared to the best kids her age.
For example -
All things considered she did incredibly well in L3. As of last August she had never competed in a gymnastics meet in her life. Then she consistently placed at every meet including at State. With this perspective in mind we were SO happy for her and she was very proud, as she should be. And she seems to already be getting her L4 routines down.
But then...we’ll watch videos of 9 year old level 8s who started formal training when they were 4, or look at things like TOPs testing requirements, or look at the credentials/progression of college recruits - and it is clear she is well off the pace. I usually wouldn’t over Index on comparing to other kids. But in this case it really is the benchmark, and a reality check.
So, I regret not starting her sooner. I don't have many legitimate “regrets”…but this is one.
We intentionally held off on getting too serious about gym (or any sport) at a younger age. We emphasized trying different activities and having fun, believing we were doing the right thing and that this would be best for her overall development and health in the long run. She's been in gymnastics "classes" going back to age 3 but it was all recreational until recently.
But now because of this, in my worst moments I can’t help but feel that by not putting her in a position to be competitive earlier I’ve let my daughter down and ruined (or at least severely handicapped) her chances of achieving her dream before she ever really got started. I wish I could turn back the clock.
^^^^^^^ Doing some soul searching, the point above is probably at the core of why I am posting this in the first place. My wife and I just want to enable our kid and give her the opportunity to succeed, and I know that I feel like we may have unintentionally screwed that up while thinking we were doing the right thing.
A bit more about her specific situation:
- I would not say she is some diamond in the rough prodigious talent, but she does genuinely have talent and ability
- Her coaches agree she has potential (at least enough to tell us “she has potential” lol)
- She is a fast learner who has picked up skills quickly so far, perhaps partially because she is a little bit older than some of the other kids. This is helping her play “catch up” a little
- Perhaps her best asset, IMO, that may serve her in this case is that she has drive, focus and resilience - in training and at meets. We aren’t pushing her to do any of this, it’s all her. This may be what has impressed me the most and cemented that she is serious about this sport. She seems to mean business.
What advice would you have?
This is definitely a topic we plan to discuss more with her coaches too, but curious to get other perspective too.
Thanks. and if nothing else it has made me feel better to write all of this out, ha!
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