WAG Can I post this? 3yr old gymnast on Ellen

[LadyBugGymnast]

Speaking of the clumsy thing, She told Ellen she started when she was 2.5, and Ellen said "Oh so you've been doing this for 6 months, WOW!" No. She is basically 4. From what I can recall her birthday is on Sunday. There is a huge difference between just turned 3 year olds, and just turned 4 year olds.

And also ones who have been slaving away in the gym for 16-20 hours. Crazyness.

Ok, maybe I am in the minority...but were her skills really done impressively?

She is NOT clumsy. She is very coordinated and probably has some talent, but she didn't look like a prodigy to me. If she wasn't on the trampoline, she wouldn't have been able to complete her back headsprings.

Two things...she needs to be a kid! And, she needs to be safe. If she is truly doing 16 hours now, where does she go from there and how does school and friends fit into the picture?

None of it makes any sense to me.

 

[gymnndance]

saw it too - I have been following her for some weeks now.

She is a cute kid but not extraordinary. I guess you could get many girls to this point if you do it right.

However, I definitely think a lot of it is mommy-taught as well as all the words she says. Like a child learns to say "Please" and "Thank You", Emma learnt to say "When I fall I will get back up" or similar things.

If she enjoys it - okay, if she is safe. But definitely not a "olympic hopeful" only because she pulls over on bars and does a kickover...no wonder with 16-20hrs training a week.

I just wish she will be happy and safe and not be mad at her mom when she is a teen

 

[Vivianflips]

It makes me so sad to see little kids do so much way to soon like this. I'm sure she loves gymnastics but 16-20 hours a week is way to much for most kids who aren't 3! I can't imagine doing that many hours at my age, 15! She seems really talented but I too fear that she'll get hurt or burned out before she can reach her full potential. At 3, I think that kids should just enjoy being little and playing all day long not working out long hours in the gym. Especially not making videos for social media!

 

[Gymmommy71]

I'm not impressed at all w/ her skills - my kid has struggled at uneven bars her entire gymnastics career and she was able to do a pull up of that quality almost the first time she tried it (a little before her 5th birthday, so older, but not by much). Lots of kids who join preteam at age 4-5 can do pullovers from that height compared to their body (it's usually a screening test).

The head spring was horrible and on a trampoline - any young fearless kid can do that on a trampoline - I'm sure she's not even close on a floor. Any coach letting her do those in a class is negligent IMO.

Okay, the press is kind of impressive - I'll give her that - but if she's training that much I'm sure many kids would have the same result. And her feet were horribly sickled so the coaches should fix that btw .

All that said, any gym or coach that is training a kid that young 20 hours a week should be getting a side eye from the USAG.

I love Ellen, but why does she always have to give these types people their 15 minutes .

 

[ShesAMonkey]

Yep, I would like to echo everyone here. Is the girl adorable? Absolutely. Does she have some talent? Likely. But that many hours is not good for a child that age. And no back bends! Not till she's older. I hope that the mom takes these comments to heart and sees that she is actually doing her child a disservice.

 

[Mish]

Is it naive of me to think that a credible coach would not even consider 16-20 hours a week for a beginner, let alone a 3 y.o ? I don't care what tricks she can do, she is still a beginner. 16-20 hours a week to what end? So she can be burnt out before she is even old enough to compete!! She will have millions of IG followers soon enough, if not already.

 

[GymDad9.9]

I'm not impressed at all w/ her skills - my kid has struggled at uneven bars her entire gymnastics career and she was able to do a pull up of that quality almost the first time she tried it (a little before her 5th birthday, so older, but not by much). Lots of kids who join preteam at age 4-5 can do pullovers from that height compared to their body (it's usually a screening test).

The head spring was horrible and on a trampoline - any young fearless kid can do that on a trampoline - I'm sure she's not even close on a floor. Any coach letting her do those in a class is negligent IMO.

Okay, the press is kind of impressive - I'll give her that - but if she's training that much I'm sure many kids would have the same result. And her feet were horribly sickled so the coaches should fix that btw .

All that said, any gym or coach that is training a kid that young 20 hours a week should be getting a side eye from the USAG.

I love Ellen, but why does she always have to give these types people their 15 minutes .

Ratings. Pure and Simple.

 

[Iwannabemargo]

oh my, a quick scan of her IG account shows her home equipment, bars mats, beams, wedges,trampolines and her nearly breaking her neck falling off the beam, scary stuff. I hope she makes it to 10 uninjured.

 

[gymgal]

Her mom posted on her IG account that she trains 20 hours a week, but cut back to 16 because her "coach" was going easy on her, because she was the smallest of the group. I believe she has an account here, and had posted once about her not focusing during practice and was worried and seeking advice, just to forewarn anyone.

does anyone remember the post that ladybug is referring to? did the mom mention the girl was at 20hrs a week in her posts? can't imagine that went over well.

 

[dmbgymnast]

does anyone remember the post that ladybug is referring to? did the mom mention the girl was at 20hrs a week in her posts? can't imagine that went over well.

I remember the post, but I think I would recall such a high number at such a young age. I don't believe the exact number was mentioned, but the amount of classes were. That is what got people all riled up.

 

[kimute]

My TEN year old struggles to get enough sleep with 20 hours of gym. Though I guess preschool is less hours than fourth grade... I'm pretty impressed with the press handstand. My dd was considered ambitious getting this at six.

 

[LadyBugGymnast]

One of the other IG moms asked how many hours she trains a few months back, maybe December? I'm not sure. It was in passing and her response was 20, but they switched to 16 because she was tired and the coach was going easy on her. She trains TOPs as well. They may have switched gyms. The response on the hours was ranging from "wow my dd is X age and doesn't even do that" to "omg. What."

I remember the post, but I think I would recall such a high number at such a young age. I don't believe the exact number was mentioned, but the amount of classes were. That is what got people all riled up.

 

[bookworm]

20 hours a week at three? Oh that is heartbreaking!

What whack job coach/gym trains 3 year Olds for 20 hours a week? They should be outed and ashamed....

 

[ladybird]

What whack job coach/gym trains 3 year Olds for 20 hours a week? They should be outed and ashamed....

There's an article in the Las Cruces Sun News giving the name of the gym and the gym's director. Thank you Google!

 

[bookworm]

There's an article in the Las Cruces Sun News giving the name of the gym and the gym's director. Thank you Google!

Unbelievable...I just read the article and looked at some of the IG posts....it looks like she has a full gym inside the house ( beam, bars, mats, trampoline) and a trampoline outside...and she's off by herself in the gym doing "triple back handsprings" to her head! Is there no type of industry monitoring of stuff like this? It seems at the least, irresponsible and at the worst, dangerous....

 

[bogwoppit]

When a gym allows this accident to happen they need looking at. No 3 year old should be flipping in to a pit. This shows what can go wrong all too easily.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BDQNXCRH9OT/?taken-by=emma_minigymnastbigdreams

Is there no safety training at all down there?

 

[meganliz77]

Is it naive of me to think that a credible coach would not even consider 16-20 hours a week for a beginner, let alone a 3 y.o ? I don't care what tricks she can do, she is still a beginner. 16-20 hours a week to what end? So she can be burnt out before she is even old enough to compete!! She will have millions of IG followers soon enough, if not already.

My 8 yo level 6 practices less hours than that per week :/

 

[gymcoach1]

Any coach that thinks its okay for a 3 year old to be practicing 16 hours a week should not be let near children....

 

[ladybird]

Unbelievable...I just read the article and looked at some of the IG posts....it looks like she has a full gym inside the house ( beam, bars, mats, trampoline) and a trampoline outside...and she's off by herself in the gym doing "triple back handsprings" to her head! Is there no type of industry monitoring of stuff like this? It seems at the least, irresponsible and at the worst, dangerous....

Home equipment is understandable to a point because new gym parents don't know any better. Head springs in the gym are inexcusable.

 

[gymdog]

I can't imagine how someone who attempts (key word) to teach three year olds gymnastics on a daily basis could think that a three year old, any kind of three year old, doing a pullover, getting her head up, then doing a cast back hip circle and a stalder press with fairly straight arms is anything short of extraordinary. That is basically the definition of extraordinary. To put this in perspective, most 3 year olds cannot skip and only about 50% can do an unspotted front support forward roll while a good portion can't even attempt it with an iron grip spot.

That said if she really goes 20 hours a week that definitely explains some things to me and makes my head spin. I still don't think "any child could do it" because most children simply couldn't even attend and participate in that amount of practices. It really wouldn't matter.

I would never choose or endorse this path, but she truly is built for gymnastics as such likely will not be as affected by doing this stuff as someone who isn't built for gymnastics. But still, why take the chance and all, I'm 100% on that side but I am compelled to point that out. Because even doing everything "right" someone who is genetically less suited for gymnastics is going to be more prone to injury than someone who is more suited physiologically and messing around. Mostly because I think that reality is sometimes underappreciated. But still yes, for the love of gymnastics, no preschool head springs.