There is no problem with being older for your level. I get that it can be frustrating to be the oldest, but you shouldn't be throwing skills that you don't have just to be in a level more girls your age are at. Safety comes before anything.
I understand this. My DD started late and was a few years older than her teammates until her last 2 years of high school. The age difference was most apparent when my DD was in middle school and her teammates still played with American girl dolls but it all all worked out...she became BFFs with her younger teammates and they are still close today even though they are all in college or graduated college and scattered across the country.
Realistically she is just too far behind for that to make sense for both her and the coaches, if it were Level 5 or 6 it would be plausible but she is two+ steps behind on some really important skills. For example she needs connected back handsprings on beam, where she currently isn't even doing a single back walkover on beam. The skills missing take a full year to two years to develop, and it isn't just one skill it's one or two on every event.
Yes, I agree with this. Flipping a vault is a big skill that frequently holds gymnasts back from moving up from 7 to 8. Getting the cast handstand and giants are often a major challenge and take time. Any competitive gym will require a beam series like a BHS BHS for 8, which is a huge step up for a kid who isn't yet competing a single backwalkover. It just sounds wildly unrealistic to get those skills within a short timeframe.
We had a similar issue with my daughter a couple years ago. She was frustrated with the attitude of the girls around her, and was interested in switching to the DP track to be with gymnasts who were more motivated. She did not end up switching to DP, she just learned to put her blinders on and not focus on those around her.
That sucks. Unfortunately some gyms do have age requirements and/or don't want to add new people to their teams but not all gyms are run that way. Are there other gyms in your area? Another option, as others have mentioned, is joining another gym with a more robust or serious Xcel team that gives kids the opportunity to work on more advanced skills. Xcel has a lot of flexibilty in what can be competed in each level but some gyms are more conservative in skill development. I'm sorry if this isn't what you want to hear...sometimes in life we are just limited by what's available to us regardless of desire or talent and you gotta just roll with it or not (and find another activity). This should not take away from her enjoyment of the sport though if she loves it! She just may have to find peace in acknowledging what is or isn't possible.She still has states left so summer training hasn't officially started, she does go to a XCEL only gym. But they have said in the future they might offer 6 or 7. We tried out for another gym, but said she was too old for optionals.
