College scholarship discussion MOVED from 'Should DD quit due to lack of progression'

[MarR99]

Holy off topic Batman! Bri I blame you for starting it!!


Very interesting reading though. You, Bri, might consider splitting it so the OP's discussion doesn't get lost in the NCAA info.

No worries from me (the OP) The hopes of a college scholarship was one of the things keeping me hopeful for this investment of time, energy and money. So it is a very valid part of the decision making process for us.

 

[bribri514]

I know I'm so sorry bog!! This morning I was thinking of splitting the thread to NCAA then had to run to class so I'll try that now.

dunno and NGL, I just know some girls who had 1 year renewable scholarships who lost them because they got injured. The one girl on our team who got hurt before the season started had her scholarship pay out for that year but the following year she had to find something else to do. I know other sports athletes at another D I school (not to name any name about really bad athletic departments that are in the news for scandals all the time buuuutt University of Colorado! lol) and they had partial scholarships to the track team even though they were nationally ranked athletes (politics within the "rank" of coaches in track, distance v. sprints or something like that from what I was told). One got hurt twice, one injury was pre-existing, a joint fusion she did in high school and nothing related to that was covered for insurance. She dislocated her knee cap at a meet though and the NCAA covered that. But these injuries led up to her not completing the season and she got her scholarship cut at semester, it turned into a big deal apparently. For 4 year scholarships there's usually an insurance clause, like I said it just depends on the type of scholarship and the conditions, etc. etc. So yeah you're definitely both right!! It's just not true in every single case from my experience.

Really if you want your kid to get a solid full ride athletic scholarship HAVE THEM PLAY FOOTBALL! lol (not putting a personal bias after all i <3 the football players at my old school, go aggies!) But really they are cutting more and more athletic department budgets and programs... except football and basketball obviously. So schools are scaling back on scholarships, both in the number of girls and the amount they give. Some schools are losing their gymnastics teams entirely (Berkley)

And to connect this back to the OP's thread (see bog!!!) you will most likely spend more money on your child's gymnastics career from age 5-18 then you will ever on college (unless tuition keeps rising 10% for instate students a year... or you send your kid to an ivy league school or private liberal arts school... but gym tution keeps going up I think so there's no win win!) and even then the odds of you actually getting a full ride gym scholarship aren't much less than making elite in the scheme of things. it's a better mindset to think of the OTHER things your daughters gain from gymnastics, communication, dedication, perfection, work ethic, toughness, grace, etc. Those things will help him/her get a scholarship for other things and get into all sorts of schools. So don't be swayed by knowing a scholarship is rare, just know gymnastics is giving your child other valuable skills for the future, as long as they're healthy and happy doing it!!!

 

[MarR99]

And to connect this back to the OP's thread (see bog!!!) you will most likely spend more money on your child's gymnastics career from age 5-18 then you will ever on college

I saw an article on MSN a month ago about the cost of raising a child (housing, food, clothing etc...)to age 18 being $226,000, after which there was much debate to the validity of that amount. I said, "With gymnastics it is easy to get to there!"

 

[bribri514]

I saw an article on MSN a month ago about the cost of raising a child (housing, food, clothing etc...)to age 18 being $226,000, after which there was much debate to the validity of that amount. I said, "With gymnastics it is easy to get to there!"

So true!!!! It's soooo sad how unaffordable school has become. I have friends who work multiple jobs to pay rent and groceries and fall asleep in class, other friends who are $40,000 in debt with a degree but no job! It goes on and on and I can't imagine what it will be like in 10 years. So it is important to think about that stuff now!

A lot of it will depend on what kind of school she wants to go to. I'm from Colorado but none of the in state schools (where my mom wanted me to go) have gymnastics. Except Air Force but I would make the worst soldier ever lol. Too girly. And they don't let Deaf people fly planes I don't think. Anyway! So I went to Utah State which has a middle of the road D 1 gym program I'd say. We did very poorly last season but they're still a decent enough team ranking wise. I had not done gym my sophomore and junior year (took time off to cheerlead until I realized how much I really really did love gymnastics). I qualified for L 10 when I was 11 so 6th grade and competed through 9th grade at that level, qualifying and placing at nationals. When I started training again I picked things up fairly quick since I was still tumbling and working out on my off time but I definitely was behind and had to work really hard. I originally was trying to get a cheerleading scholarship (i know, CRAZY me!! i think back and wonder what I was drinking all the time lol!) The summer before senior year I sent in videos of my tumbling and cheers to a few coaches. Floor/tumbling/vault were always my strong points. I still had a double arabian pike and was working on a full in full out but it was no where near competition ready. USU saw my video and said their cheer team is very music and dance based, so it wouldn't be the best place for me. But they did send the video to their gymnastics coach

They contacted me and said they liked what they saw and would love to have me on the team if I was interested in returning to gymnastics. Since I could now drive (I live in a ski town and the closest gym is an hour away over a 12,000 ft above sea level pass) my mom was okay with it since that was one reason I had to stop club gym originally. I worked with my coach soooooooo hard, all my weekends were dedicated to gym. I was there pushing 40 hours a week. I made it out of the state meet and did well but throughout the season i was battling with ear infections. The cold, altitude and gym chalk make mine worse and I have to constantly have drainage tubes put in my inner ear like babies do). On top of being sick I get crazy dizzy which is bad b/c my balance isn't my number 1 talent. Long story short at regionals I misjudged my beam dismount and landed upside down on my head on the beam and knocked myself out and had a really nasty concussion and had to withdraw from the meet. Oops. So the coach still wanted me but unfortunately I could not get an athletic scholarship right then. I had already applied and was accepted. I then started looking for other scholarships like a community based scholarship for disabled students, and combined with the federal financial aid I got (FAFSA) I was able to pay for school. The coach said I could walk on to the team and if I performed well I could earn a scholarship. I trained with the team and was ready to compete (not AA though, no more beam for me!) but the week or so before the first meet (an intra-squad thing) my back flared up. I had a stress fracture on my L 5 vertebrae when I was 12 and everyone thought that was it. I couldn't compete and instead spent the school year. Saw an orthopedic specialist that summer and I was diagnosed with spondylolisthesis, high grade, and had to have surgery this past summer and couldn't do gymnastics anymore. I stayed on with the team because I loved them all and was a pseudo assistant team manager, nothing was paid for for me, but I went to all the meets and a lot of practices and helped out.

So moral of this story (I've been in a major sharing mood the last couple days, sorry everyone for posting entire novels about my life as comments) is that no matter how sure a gymnastics scholarship seems... it isn't. I was on the path to elite, couldn't do that for family reasons, on the path to a D I scholarship in HS, got hurt, got back up and walked on a D 1 team and got hurt again and had to quit gymnastics for good.

But gymnastics has helped me figure out what I want to do with my life for sure, open up and manage/coach a gym for Deaf/hearing impaired kids, their siblings, kids of Deaf adults, anyone who uses ASL/sign to communicate. My major in school has always been physical education for K-12 plus some sort of athletic coaching minor. I switched from USU after my sophomore year because over time I didn't feel AS connected to the gymnastics team since I wasn't training with them long at all and I was having a hard time fitting in on a huge college campus. I've only gone to "normal" schools my whole life but I'm now at Gallaudet, the top university for the Deaf and they have no gymnastics at all.

I just want to assure you, even if ___ university's women's gymnastics program doesn't pay for your daughter's tuition, the skills she gains in gymnastics will help. They'll help her excel in school, find scholarships, focus in college and exceed after she leaves school. So it really is a good investment in her future. It's great you really care about your daughter's higher education. I just wanted to share my story so you can know that gymnastics scholarships aren't a guarantee but it helps so much in life. (sorry if this was repetitive!)

 

[MarR99]

bribri514

What a story of tenacity. I am sure your family is incredibly proud of all you have accomplished in spite of disabilities, setbacks and injuries. From your story you were showing incredible promise and commitment even at age 11 though. I am sure that gymnastics was "fun" for you too, but it seems that you have an ability to set goals and reach them in spite of obstacles thrown your way. Maybe your original goal was not to open a gym, but I am sure you will accomplish it from all you have done so far!

If I had a daughter showing such a commitment and drive to do gymnastics like you did, I would have been happy to support you in your dream. I am torn with my own though.

With our dd, in the past I have seen more determination from her. She only competed level 4 half a season after starting competitive gymnastics at age 8 1/2. After a couple of meets in the Spring she went straight to level 5 in the Fall and then to level 6 the next year. She was determined to work hard and learn new skills. It was only at level 6 that she put the brakes on. She started getting intimidated by some of the harder skills, especially cast handstands and back walkovers on beam. She did OK, scoring 34 to a low 35 all around last year so we decided she needed some breathing room. I thought that it would give her more time to overcome some of the fears that are probably natural in the sport.

So here we are a year later. She still does not really want to get up to handstand on bars. She is more comfortable on beam, thankfully, but it is hard to see how motivated she really is. I see some of the other girls with more drive and determination. Knowing we are on the brink of her moving on to Optionals there are many things to consider. Maybe she "thinks" she wants to move up only to find she really has too many fear issues to overcome. I don't really want to invest more time and money to find out a year from now she really isn't even ready to do level 7 yet. I know, these are things I need to sit down and discuss with our coaches. They will have more insight, but they might just want me to continue writing the gym checks too. I know, each gymnast has their own path and I know that there are many things that are beneficial for being in the gym other than high scores, higher levels and even the hope of a college scholarship. But as parents, paying the $8000 a year or more that I just calculated it might be, the decision might need to be based on what we are willing to sacrifice at this point.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

wow. so many things said.

1. no such thing as a 4 year scholarship. they are all renewed year to year. although recently the NCAA is now talking about making them 4 year deals. it will be awhile before this happens.

2. NGL, that may be the policy on pregnancy at the school you are referring too. this policy does vary from school to school. i can't go in to a couple of recent stories here on this site. suffice, they lost their scholarships. 1 was due to quitting altogether and going home to have her baby and going to school locally. each case is different.

3. and i love me some brit noble. she's the best! beautiful gymnastics! and a great mom and dad. and yes, she is now on a medical. now i won't say that it has never happened...but the only stories i know of when someone lost their scholarship due to career ending injury is when the kid quit altogether. some stayed at the school and some went home. the scholarship became a moot point. the school did not pull the scholarship...the kid quit.

if you all think of something else post it up.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

Just had to add something that is a bit misleading in your post Bri. Correct me if I'm misunderstanding what you are trying to say. If you do have a full scholarship to a D1 school and you are injured badly enough that you are unable to compete ever again, it is unlikely you will lose your scholarship. They will be put on a medical scholarship in most cases. Girls will lose their scholarship for not performing up to par, but that is usually after many issues with fitness, attitude etc.



I just didn't want people to have the impression that if a gymnast does everything they are required to do and their performances are great and they have a fluke injury that they will be kicked off the team and sent packing. You will see many girls each year, unfortunately, put on medical.

this is correct NGL. ^^^^^^^

 

[bribri514]

dunno, I totally stand corrected on the no 4 year scholarships if that's true across the board. I just had been told by friends at various schools on various sports scholarships that they'd signed scholarships that last multiple years, especially a few football players who played Pac 10 (now 12), Big 12, Mountain West, etc. They're all pretty reputable people who were on the equivilant of the national team for their sports or at the very least ranked nationally at the high school level I know the NCAA changes details every single year, I still get e-mails allllll the time from the NCAA union players association because even though I hadn't signed a financial scholarship I still was registered and cleared with the NCAA for the ability to participate in competition. I'm not sure if it's just a gymnastics thing that doesn't give longer scholarships or if it's all sports and there were communication details I've had with friends and teammates. It definitely would not be the first or last time something got changed from english to ASL lol!!!!! I know I was offered a possible 1 year renewable at the end of each year scholarship for gym like you said is the standard. I just wanted to share as much information as I had about NCAA athletics, not just gymnastics.

 

[bribri514]

I think I figured out the best way to say what I have wanted to get across. There's the official technical NCAA rules and dunno is right about that. But I just wanted to share the full behind the scenes picture where the technicalities are obeyed... technically. But things in the Ivys like likely letters and sway are not technical NCAA policies and coaches getting kids athletic scholarships when they're a bit behind. Some people are just guaranteed on a team for a scholarship to be extended longer, even if they had issues, others aren't, it's all up to the coaches. I'm not saying all sports are like football and people will get Hummers LOL we all know what happens then. It's nothing you should ever count on ESP as curious parents and high schoolers hoping to go the college route but def. things that happen allll the time in DI. So obviously the technical rules are top dog, I just wanted to share everything I've experienced with the NCAA to emphasize that it is REALLY complicated sometimes.

 

[NGL780309]

wow. so many things said.

1. no such thing as a 4 year scholarship. they are all renewed year to year. although recently the NCAA is now talking about making them 4 year deals. it will be awhile before this happens.

2. NGL, that may be the policy on pregnancy at the school you are referring too. this policy does vary from school to school. i can't go in to a couple of recent stories here on this site. suffice, they lost their scholarships. 1 was due to quitting altogether and going home to have her baby and going to school locally. each case is different.

3. and i love me some brit noble. she's the best! beautiful gymnastics! and a great mom and dad. and yes, she is now on a medical. now i won't say that it has never happened...but the only stories i know of when someone lost their scholarship due to career ending injury is when the kid quit altogether. some stayed at the school and some went home. the scholarship became a moot point. the school did not pull the scholarship...the kid quit.

if you all think of something else post it up.

You directed #2 at me, but I think it was bookworm who actually was saying they were told a kid wouldn't lose their scholarship for that.

 

[bribri514]

Oh yeah, I forgot the whole issue with number 2 does vary a lot. I knew 2 kids on scholarship at CU Boulder for cross country. The older boy got the freshman girl pregnant. They kept the baby and their scholarships and a 4.0 for the remainder of their college careers. They're both professional distance runners now, and the guy just won the USA National Cross County title. Absolutely crazy! But I believe another girl on the same track team a couple years later got kicked off the team for being pregnant, the same year a football player with two kids from two different girls got awarded the school's athletic character award. Even crazier...

 

[Deleted member D3987]

what is being discussed and what i alluded to earlier upthread:

NCAA to Consider Sweeping Changes in Athlete Aid and Eligibility Rules - Athletics - The Chronicle of Higher Education

 

[BlairBob]

I'm late to the game but I've heard the initial post being said by many coaches with elite gymnastics at sessions at USAG or Regional Congresses.

8-12 years of paying anywhere from 2-7 grand not including gas which could easily bump it up per year. You get away with paying up to or less than 4 or 5k a year for the first few handful of years but expect at least 5k once they hit optionals.

That being said, I've known a handful of girls doing collegiate gymnastics. Shoot for 1st year L8 in 8th grade. They'll probably need at least 3 or 4 years in L9/10 during HS.