MAG Boys MAG competitive tryout - what to expect?

[Treptow]

Hi everyone, I'm new to this forum.

My son (8) has been in rec gymnastics for about a year now. He has been asking me since the Fall if he can try out for a competitive stream, so I recently reached out to a coach from a different gym which actually has a boys program and he agreed to have him in for testing. Gymnastics is new to me and I have no clue what to tell my son in terms of what to expect. The coach and some online sources say things like strength, flexibility, confidence, etc., but nothing about the nuts and bolts of what they will ask him to do, or what the expectations are in terms of a pass/no pass. Would anyone mind filling in the details? I told my son I honestly do not know if he will make the cut and not to be disappointed, he can still do gymnastics at the rec level and that's perfectly fine.

Thanks for any info or advice!

Edited to add: I did ask the MAG coach what skills he needs to already have because I wanted to know if he should even bother trying out at all and the coach said its not skill based (which surprised me!!)

 

[Aussie_coach]

Skills are definitely not the priority when selecting a new gymnast for team, for either MAG or WAG.

The priority will be strength.

Other things they will look at will be flexibility, speed, technique and willingness to follow instructions.

They will probably look at skills too, but if he is missing a few skills for their first competitive level, it won’t rule him out if he is naturally strong, fast, flexible, technical and coordinated.

Each gym will do things differently. Some just bring them in for 10-15 minutes one on one and look at some things. Other gyms may have him to a class with the team and see how he keeps up. Other gyms may have a group tryout for an hour or so.

 

[Madden3]

Yes I agree with Aussie_coach. It is really going to depend on the gym what exactly they are looking for. Gymnastics is a progressive sport, with the lowest competition level being very basic, and some gyms even havea "preteam" group before that. The boys in MAG compete based on skill level, not age. (Although in general the youngest kids are at the lowest level and it progresses from there.) It's been a couple years since my sons left the sport, but unless something has drastically changed, competition season in the US is winding down now, so in the US (sorry I don't know if this applies to you) spring is the perfect time to try out, if he makes the team, he will have months to train to develop the skills needed for whatever competiton level the coach wants him to compete at next season.

When my sons were in MAG, team tryouts were held in June and were like a big practice and it was a mix of new kids trying out and boys already on the team. But that was a team tryout, not "testing." Testing might be different- in any case, what he probably will at least get, hopefully, is feedback on what he needs to work on.

His best bet is to go in there and have a great attitude and listen to the coach, be respectful of the coach and also of the other boys and the gym safety rules, and consistently make his best effort with everything he is asked to do. Good luck to your son!

 

[Dahlialover]

At our gym, the main criteria is ability to listen and follow directions. They can teach almost anyone to do level 3 gymnastics but they can’t have kids running around the gym being disruptive or unsafe.

 

[Treptow]

Thanks for all the comments and explanations! It's nice to have a clearer picture heading into the evaluations process, much appreciated.