Parents Can you "create" a superstar gymnast?

[e'smum]

i started mine in dance. i had acro dance in their future (too many dance moms shows). my oldest loves it and does competitive dance (with 5 dances and different teams this year). my gymmie - not so much. she hated it and insisted on gymnastics. she'd done a mommy and me class for a few months when she was 2. then she had done a few months of a rec class only b/c a friend asked me to bring my two girls for a free try out class. then after that, back to dance where she announced she was quitting. i made her finish the year but let her go into a tumbling class and she even took a couple of privates with the HC (back when the gym was brandy new) to get her BHS. she will never be a superstar but each kid should be able to pick what they want to do and not do what the parents insist upon.
mine certainly didn't have a rec class "advantage" and she progressed fairly quickly. starting to compete as soon as she was old enough to with only a a few months training on lvl 3. i've also read other stories on here about girls who started late but progressed quickly. if your kid doesn't have the talent and/or desire, pushing will only get them so far.

 

[Lizandkatiemama]

My dd did ballet, soccer, swimming, etc as a younger child. Started training gymnastics when she was 8.5. Competed (old) L4 right after she turned 9. Many said she was too old and turned her away, but by 13 she was a L9, so I’d say not necessarily and like so many things in life...it depends. I wouldn’t call her a superstar though— she’s done well, but she’s on a normal path to L10 at this point, so starting late didn’t matter.

Same path. Did ballet, swimming, soccer & ice skating then started gymnastics a few weeks before turning 9. Made new L3 team 6 months later & competed it as a 10 year old (fall birthday). She's in L9 this year as a 14 year old. Not a superstar but certainly not a traditional path to upper levels. She can do 2 years at L9 & still have 3 years at L10. She hopes to do collegiate gymnastics.

 

[John]

@Lizandkatiemama I assume your DD gym let her skip levels? Is that something they do frequently?

 

[Deleted member 18037]

@Lizandkatiemama I assume your DD gym let her skip levels? Is that something they do frequently?

Not lizandkatiemama but 9 to 14 is 5 years. There is no skipping levels, but one score out likely 4 or 5 and there are your 5 years. That’s pretty common.

 

[mom2557]

I have 3 daughters. All started gymnastics around the same age. Same gym, same parents... Only 1 is still doing gymnastics. In their case, it's clear that desire and natural talent kept 1 in gymnastics and led the other 2 to other activities. If however, you take 2 kids with equal talent and desire and 1 is at an elite gym and the other is not, who has the better chance of going down the elite path? So I'd say creating the "superstar" also has to do with coaching and exposure to opportunities that may be available at one gym but not the other.

 

[Muddlethru]

I don't think you can "create" a superstar but you can improve on what is naturally there by additional opportunities, good coaching, hard work, etc. But providing those opportunities at too early an age does not guarantee success later on either and in my opinion is really a waste of money for anyone less than 7 years old; and I said 7 years old just because if someone has elite aspirations, they start the fast track at that age. But personally, I still think that is too early. I think opportunities will be better served probably by Level 7-8 if you truly want to provide that. The only thing I would recommend at such a young age is to find a gym that has exceptional coaches. That way your daughter is coached properly and appropriately from the start. Bad habits, wrong technique can be difficult to correct. And if she has talent, they should be able put her in the correct track that best suits her. Getting an edge over other 3-4 year olds will only mean you have an edge over 3-4 year olds, nothing more. If you want her to be the superstar at 3-4 years old, that is one way of doing it. But realize, it does not mean she will remain a superstar as she moves up the levels despite the added opportunities. You can maximize her abilities but as you get up the levels a lot more comes into play.

 

[Deleted member 18037]

^^^^ a million times.

 

[mom2557]

I don't think you can "create" a superstar but you can improve on what is naturally there by additional opportunities, good coaching, hard work, etc. But providing those opportunities at too early an age does not guarantee success later on either and in my opinion is really a waste of money for anyone less than 7 years old; and I said 7 years old just because if someone has elite aspirations, they start the fast track at that age. But personally, I still think that is too early. I think opportunities will be better served probably by Level 7-8 if you truly want to provide that. The only thing I would recommend at such a young age is to find a gym that has exceptional coaches. That way your daughter8/0 is coached properly and appropriately from the start. Bad habits, wrong technique can be difficult to correct. And if she has talent, they should be able put her in the correct track that best suits her. Getting an edge over other 3-4 year olds will only mean you have an edge over 3-4 year olds, nothing more. If you want her to be the superstar at 3-4 years old, that is one way of doing it. But realize, it does not mean she will remain a superstar as she moves up the levels despite the added opportunities. You can maximize her abilities but as you get up the levels a lot more comes into play.

Agreed. In my previous post I had (age 10/11 - level 8/9) but deleted it...