MAG Boys Gymnastics More Laid Back Overall

[Deleted member D3987]

the other thing that seems very different, and laid back is during the meets. I notice the guys wiping out, crashing, and messing up routines and they generally laugh it off. I am not saying they don't take it seriously, they just handle it differently. The girls tend to start freaking out and getting all serious and even crying. The age difference is a huge factor, 18/20 YO Level 10 men, vs. 14/16 YO L10 girls......they handle this stuff waaaay differently. But I much prefer the way the guys do it.

And I agree with profmom. I know several kids on these future stars programs, where ALL the kids are awesome, and NOT ONE is laughing about wiping out. They are homeschooled and working 6 days a week. I will keep my personal feeling about this to myself but then again, I do not have one of these types of kids so what do I know.
As my DS current gym put it at the beginning of the season, there are about 50,000 boys in the USAG JO Program.......8 make it to the top.[/QUOTE

ummm...that is a gross hyperbole. that would be a little less than half of all kids across all disciplines that are registered USAG athletes. there's approx 3,000.

 

[profmom]

So I am curious, @dunno. What do you think is the best way to train the ambitious boys given the tension between their slower developmental trajectory and the intense competition to secure one of the very few remaining spots doing college gymnastics? I feel like DS's gym mostly has it right -- the L4s and L5s, who are mostly under 10, do not do a lot of hours and with the exception of last year, have not been the top compulsory athletes in the state, but the L6 and up guys do more and push more aggressively. But if you look at Future Stars, I just don't see how a boy is competitive in that program without doing a lot of training at a young age. I've had people tell me before that the routines are "pretty easy" so that the emphasis is much more focused on form, but to my less knowledgeable eyes, some of the skills in the 11-14 year old routines seem hard when I look at our cohort of pretty solid but not superstar 9-10 year old guys. Yet I would assume that this program is what USAG sees as an ideal progression for boys.

If a boy wants to be in a position to "get good" at this, is it enough simply to be progressing along at a rate where he's hitting all the necessary elements as he moves through L8, L9, and L10 based on age? Or are the crazy programs and parents right, and they should be debuting L8 routines with start values close to 14 and taking minimal deductions? I don't think it's possible to achieve that without a LOT of hours in the gym from a pretty young age, but of course you then risk more injury and burnout.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

So I am curious, @dunno. What do you think is the best way to train the ambitious boys given the tension between their slower developmental trajectory and the intense competition to secure one of the very few remaining spots doing college gymnastics? I feel like DS's gym mostly has it right -- the L4s and L5s, who are mostly under 10, do not do a lot of hours and with the exception of last year, have not been the top compulsory athletes in the state, but the L6 and up guys do more and push more aggressively. But if you look at Future Stars, I just don't see how a boy is competitive in that program without doing a lot of training at a young age. I've had people tell me before that the routines are "pretty easy" so that the emphasis is much more focused on form, but to my less knowledgeable eyes, some of the skills in the 11-14 year old routines seem hard when I look at our cohort of pretty solid but not superstar 9-10 year old guys. Yet I would assume that this program is what USAG sees as an ideal progression for boys.

If a boy wants to be in a position to "get good" at this, is it enough simply to be progressing along at a rate where he's hitting all the necessary elements as he moves through L8, L9, and L10 based on age? Or are the crazy programs and parents right, and they should be debuting L8 routines with start values close to 14 and taking minimal deductions? I don't think it's possible to achieve that without a LOT of hours in the gym from a pretty young age, but of course you then risk more injury and burnout.

yes, the college coaches don't want them broken.

 

[munchkin3]

So from Level 3 to Level E, what is the total number of competing JO boys? I am curious.

So THAT is what my DS is doing.....rolling around in a barrel......sounds about right!

 

[Deleted member D3987]

So from Level 3 to Level E, what is the total number of competing JO boys? I am curious.

So THAT is what my DS is doing.....rolling around in a barrel......sounds about right!

approx 3,000 registered boys.

 

[munchkin3]

THATS IT???? Wow, i thought it was much higher.....I guess he was exaggerating! LOL
I guess this means my son HAS a chance to make it then??? (hee, hee)

 

[gracyomalley]

How many in Level 7 and up? In our state probably 80% of kids never get past L6.

 

[gracyomalley]

boys that is...

 

[profmom]

Has USAG ever released an update from these stats in 2009? Link Removed

 

[Aussie_coach]

Attitudes are very different in boys gymnastics. M

Of course there are the general issues that the are less boys, and that boys have more time to make it to elite and are in less of a rush to get through the levels.

Another big issue is that boys coaches are far more mindful of keeping them in the sport. For every girl you have on team there are usually several more waiting to take her place when she quits. For a boy there is often pressure to play other sports and you need to keep them in the gym much longer.

Young girls are different to boys. You take girls to a meet and their coaches have trained them to walk and salute and sit in perfect unison, and the girls all comply. While young boys forget that they are supposed to be taking it seriously and start jumping around like monkeys.

I think one of the big issues is though that girls gymnastics is taken too seriously. Coaches and gyms forget that 99% of their girls are here for fun and not to make the Olympic team.

 

[profmom]

The retention thing is interesting. I was curious, so I looked at our state meets from last year. There were about 500 level 4 girls and 70 L10s competing at states. Compare to about 150 level 5 boys (skills are comparable) and 18 L10s. I know some of that is the difference in the way the programs run -- boys can compete L10 based on age even if they are missing skills on some events -- but I was still somewhat surprised at how much lower the ratio was for girls from 4 to 10 than for boys from 5 to 10. But I understand that retention is more of an issue for boys than girls because there are so few of them to start with.

Young girls are different to boys. You take girls to a meet and their coaches have trained them to walk and salute and sit in perfect unison, and the girls all comply. While young boys forget that they are supposed to be taking it seriously and start jumping around like monkeys.

I don't think this is about inherent differences between girls and boys. I think it's about what coaches train and expect from their boys and girls. Every year, our program director spends between 45 minutes to an hour teaching the new L4s how to present and salute individually and as a team. They then have this reinforced throughout, to the point where the L6 guys do it almost reflexively when they are running routines. I have a great picture of our boys from a meet last year in the middle of a rotation watching a teammate, all lined up in a row sitting up straight with their legs straight out and their toes pointed. Their coach had taught them that they needed to look like champions at all times. He wanted the team to seize the attention of the judges and form an impression of them as serious athletes from the moment they walked out into the venue as a team.

 

[samsmama]

Our team does the same thing profmom -- the L4s sit quietly, walk in a nice, straight line between rotations, just in general take meets very seriously because that is what they have learned from our coach.

I don't agree that young boys are inherently less able to focus and be serious, but a lot of what Aussie_coach says makes sense in terms of retaining boys and being less in a rush. I do think that makes a big difference!

 

[skschlag]

oh, see, I will disagree a bit. Meets should be a fun, celebration of all the hard work they have put in over the season. I love that our boys are loose and having a great time. They are not inappropriate or unsafe...they are just having fun. We have had others comment on how they love how much they are having fun, loving gymnastics, and doing well.

 

[profmom]

oh, see, I will disagree a bit. Meets should be a fun, celebration of all the hard work they have put in over the season. I love that our boys are loose and having a great time. They are not inappropriate or unsafe...they are just having fun. We have had others comment on how they love how much they are having fun, loving gymnastics, and doing well.

The same coach instructed them that each was to perform an original interpretive dance any time a score of 11 or over was achieved. I wish I had videoed this at states, where all of them were hitting like crazy.

Somewhere there's exactly the right balance. I think they should be somewhat professional out there when they are presenting and competing, but they should feel like they can be loose enough to shout for their teammates and be exuberant when they hit.

 

[skschlag]

The same coach instructed them that each was to perform an original interpretive dance any time a score of 11 or over was achieved. I wish I had videoed this at states, where all of them were hitting like crazy.

Somewhere there's exactly the right balance. I think they should be somewhat professional out there when they are presenting and competing, but they should feel like they can be loose enough to shout for their teammates and be exuberant when they hit.

Our boys, once they salute, are all business...until they salute again THen back to fun!

 

[OwlGalLiz]

That brings to mind a quick conversation I heard at DS's competition this past weekend. One mom was cheering for her son, and a friend of hers/teammate parent asked if it was ok to do so. She responded yes, they do that at these meets. The gentleman was taken aback saying "I'm not used to this. At her events (pointing to daughter) we need to keep quiet." I'm not sure if daughter was a gymnast or not, but there is plenty of positive cheering going on at the meets we've attended with our son.

 

[sce]

That brings to mind a quick conversation I heard at DS's competition this past weekend. One mom was cheering for her son, and a friend of hers/teammate parent asked if it was ok to do so. She responded yes, they do that at these meets. The gentleman was taken aback saying "I'm not used to this. At her events (pointing to daughter) we need to keep quiet." I'm not sure if daughter was a gymnast or not, but there is plenty of positive cheering going on at the meets we've attended with our son.

At girls meets, while you can clap and cheer for your athlete, it does need to be less enthusiastic. The reason being is that there are girls on beam and if there is yelling etc, it can be quite disruptive.

 

[profmom]

Nah. Pommel horse = beam, except it's not as high up. If you're in an area where people cheer, the girls adjust just fine. Only problem if it's so loud they don't hear their floor music start.

 

[Deleted member 10727]

Between @dunno and my son's newish coach, I am learning a lot about men's gymnastics. My son's coach says the same thing: he doesn't want my son broken. It takes much longer to reach their peak than it does for a girl, and there is no hurry, I would think.

 

[alongfortheride]

I'm shocked that there are only 3,000 boys. I can't understand why the sport isn't more popular for boys. I mean, yes, it's expensive, but so are other sports. (And, as a side note,the boys develop great muscles. . .my little 7 year old level 5 has most of the girls in his class at school swooning over him. LOL )