Parents college dreams

[gymmomma07]

Is it possible to train at a gym that hasn’t really had any athletes from it end up being recruited by a D1 and your child still have a chance?? I was recently talking to my daughter’s mentor who asked if I have considered a well known gym that is known for coaching some great D1 athletes. The gym my daughter is at i think has only had one gymnast go on to a D1 college team. Does it matter?? They have a few but level 8-10 girls, but not a lot, I think a couple of the optionals have made it westerns but that is it….

The closest gym that has is well over 2-3 hours away from us , so moving gyms is not very easy. Does this mean if my daughter chooses when she gets to that age, if she wanted to try and get on a D1 team it may be near impossible??

 

[Lobster]

I wouldn’t worry about it until your daughter is a much higher level. It might be a non issue.

 

[TravelingCoach]

Is it possible? Yes. Is it a priority or expectation of the gym? Probably not.

Do what you think is best for your child but also understand that going to a different gym doesn’t guarantee your child a scholarship and that the training methods involved in trying to get your child said scholarship could be detrimental to their long term mental or physical well being.

I really wish people would stop looking at this sport as a college pathway. It isn’t that for 99.9% of the gymnasts in the sport and it isn’t healthy to try and force that on them. People putting their kids in abusive clubs at the hope that their kid will be given a college scholarship only to find out that their kid is broken and burnt out before they even make it to optionals.

I get it as a coach and former gymnast. It’s easy to hear the stories of the few that made it and think that it could be you. And honestly it could be. I don’t know your situation and I don’t know your gymnast but the odds are always against you and it isn’t something that you should ever bet on.

This is a sport of small victories and not final pay offs. That double double was the result of a thousand small victories that started with the first backwards roll that was landed on feet instead of knees. And there are so many branches from that first backward roll to the final double double that will have a large impact on the child that is expected to do that final skill.

It’s so frustrating seeing people talk about college or Olympics and moving gyms for aspirations that they do not fully understand. There are so many people that “want” things without fully understanding what it takes to get what they think they want. This is not an easy sport and it only gets harder, scarier, and more dangerous as you get better at it.

Clubs that cannot support you will usually recommend that you move to somewhere that can and if they don’t then they either don’t know what they are doing and you were lost from the get go or your child just isn’t as special as you think they are.

Your child has a 90 some odd percentage chance of not being special. Does that mean that they shouldn’t do gymnastics? Absolutely not because it will make them better at whatever they end up doing. But no one should bet it all on this sport or any sport for that matter.

I apologise that I’m venting right now and I’m sure you mean well. I just want people to understand that the odds are always against you and the top gym doesn’t always have your best interest at heart. Anyone that comes into gymnastics expecting to be an Olympian or to get a college scholarship is coming into the sport for the wrong reasons and the best gymnasts/parents I have worked with were the ones that were oblivious to expectations and were just along for the ride.

 

[gymmomma07]

Is it possible? Yes. Is it a priority or expectation of the gym? Probably not.

Do what you think is best for your child but also understand that going to a different gym doesn’t guarantee your child a scholarship and that the training methods involved in trying to get your child said scholarship could be detrimental to their long term mental or physical well being.

I really wish people would stop looking at this sport as a college pathway. It isn’t that for 99.9% of the gymnasts in the sport and it isn’t healthy to try and force that on them. People putting their kids in abusive clubs at the hope that their kid will be given a college scholarship only to find out that their kid is broken and burnt out before they even make it to optionals.

I get it as a coach and former gymnast. It’s easy to hear the stories of the few that made it and think that it could be you. And honestly it could be. I don’t know your situation and I don’t know your gymnast but the odds are always against you and it isn’t something that you should ever bet on.

This is a sport of small victories and not final pay offs. That double double was the result of a thousand small victories that started with the first backwards roll that was landed on feet instead of knees. And there are so many branches from that first backward roll to the final double double that will have a large impact on the child that is expected to do that final skill.

It’s so frustrating seeing people talk about college or Olympics and moving gyms for aspirations that they do not fully understand. There are so many people that “want” things without fully understanding what it takes to get what they think they want. This is not an easy sport and it only gets harder, scarier, and more dangerous as you get better at it.

Clubs that cannot support you will usually recommend that you move to somewhere that can and if they don’t then they either don’t know what they are doing and you were lost from the get go or your child just isn’t as special as you think they are.

Your child has a 90 some odd percentage chance of not being special. Does that mean that they shouldn’t do gymnastics? Absolutely not because it will make them better at whatever they end up doing. But no one should bet it all on this sport or any sport for that matter.

I apologise that I’m venting right now and I’m sure you mean well. I just want people to understand that the odds are always against you and the top gym doesn’t always have your best interest at heart. Anyone that comes into gymnastics expecting to be an Olympian or to get a college scholarship is coming into the sport for the wrong reasons and the best gymnasts/parents I have worked with were the ones that were oblivious to expectations and were just along for the ride.

Sorry i find this very rude and condescending. Couple of been a much simpler answer. I do not think my child will go to the olympics, I never said anything about olympics, I said college. I am fully aware of the very small percentage that actually get recruited to college, I know the odds are never in the kids favor. I didn’t start her in this sport for that, frankly there are other sports with a better chance of going to college to play that are less expensive than gymnastics, but my daughter loves this sport with her whole self, she chooses it every time. She has sense she was 2! I simply want to know if it makes a difference and is something to consider later on down the road as I want to make sure I at least do what I can to give her the slightest chance for opportunities she wishes for.

Maybe not take whatever frustration you have out on random parents you don’t know and don’t know their background. Be kinder…

 

[sun]

Sorry i find this very rude and condescending. Couple of been a much simpler answer. I do not think my child will go to the olympics, I never said anything about olympics, I said college. I am fully aware of the very small percentage that actually get recruited to college, I know the odds are never in the kids favor. I didn’t start her in this sport for that, frankly there are other sports with a better chance of going to college to play that are less expensive than gymnastics, but my daughter loves this sport with her whole self, she chooses it every time. She has sense she was 2! I simply want to know if it makes a difference and is something to consider later on down the road as I want to make sure I at least do what I can to give her the slightest chance for opportunities she wishes for.

Maybe not take whatever frustration you have out on random parents you don’t know and don’t know their background. Be kinder…

Which part was rude?

 

[Sebastian12]

I think you are at a pretty solid gym. Going to an “NCAA feeder” gym almost always equals to more hours, more chances of needing home school, more chances of burn out and more chances of getting injured. I literally just had a discussion with a friend whose daughter is in a “best” gym - what you see is the gymnasts who made it, what you don’t see is the gymnast that quit along the way. It is by no means abusive, but even in a healthy supportive gym, years of long hours from very early on will inevitably lead to burn out and injuries.

However, if you do want to make the switch, make it before she turns level 7/8. Many gyms don’t take kids who are way settled and don’t want to spend time fixing things the don’t like.