WAG Coach "Shunning" Xcel Girls

[coachmolly]

We do have both programs and yes, Xcel is considered a "step down" from JO. Not necessarily in a bad way, there are great coaches, but the program itself was designed as a less intense track and that is true in our gym. It is for the girls who want less hours, less cost, less intensity. I love the program and love that it offers a spot in this sport for kids who (for whatever reason) cannot be all in like the JO track. They practice completely separately (time and space, gym can only accommodate so many groups/kids at a time!) and do have different leotards etc (again, going for less cost...). We have movement between the groups, often older JO girls who want less hours go Xcel and some younger Xcel girls who show promise move to L4/5.

I think that is a totally reasonable, productive, and healthy way to deal with Xcel. I visited a pretty big name club that did something similar with their Xcel team (which was huge). They didn't have the elite/level 10 coaches, but they also didn't have high schoolers or parents with a vague knowledge of gymnastics. Their coaches were qualified, knew their stuff, and were committed to their kids. The Xcel kids practiced in a separate group, but were incorporated into the event rotations equally and given fair time and use of the equipment for the amount of hours they were in the gym. Once kids reached a certain level (maybe Platinum?) they were given the opportunity to train to move over to level 7 if they wanted and had the skills. The kids were happy and successful. They got to compete and do what they loved without the immense time commitment of the JO optionals and that's really the point of Xcel and I am totally okay with that.
It's just the gyms that treat Xcel like 2nd class citizens that really get me- inadequate coaches or coaches who change frequently, getting kicked off equipment, JO kids getting threatened with Xcel or given the message that Xcel kids should be looked down upon, that kind of stuff.

(I know some people will not like this post, but at Regional Congress, the Xcel program director reiterated that Xcel is NOT a platform to get to optionals and should not be treated as such. It's NOT a platform to skip compulsories either.)

I'm glad something is being said about that. I feel like that's becoming increasingly common in some areas and it's totally not the purpose of the program and unfair to the true Xcel kids. Though I don't mind as much in the case of a late starter or late bloomer in the sport who starts in Xcel and then sort of "comes to life" and optionals become a better fit so they jump over.