DD will be 5 in a few months. She is currently on what her gym calls preteam, but this is the equivalent of developmental classes at most gyms. Her gym has level 2/3 compete some meets, so level 2/3 at her gym is considered to be team.
I chose her current gym largely because her friend was going there. She and her friend did rec together, but dd was invited to join preteam and friend wasn't, so they aren't doing it together any more. I think the gym is a good gym. They do very well at the optional levels, but not as well at the compulsory levels. However, they don't seem to train as many hours at the compulsory levels as other gyms. They do train a lot of hours at the optional levels.
The main issue for us with dd's current gym is that it's 20-25 minutes away when there's no traffic during the school day, which is when she currently does preteam. However, she starts full-day K in the fall, and if she continues at this gym, it will be after school. We're almost certainly to hit traffic, at least one way, but probably both ways. With traffic, the drive is 45+ minutes.
I haven't visited other gyms yet, but I have been asking other parents in my town about their experiences with other gyms that are closer. Apparently the couple of gyms that are closer have their high school gymnasts coach the pre-team and the lower levels teams (2/3) that dd might be on. DD's current gym has a very experienced coach for the pre-team and the level 2/3 team.
My initial reaction is that having high school aged gymnasts coach the lower levels may not be a good thing, but I'm not sure why. I guess I fear that they may not have a lot of experience coaching or with young kids, although I'm sure some of them might be great. I would feel better if the high school aged coaches were assistant coaches, under the direct supervision of a more experienced head coach, but as I understand it, this is not the case. There is a head coach, obviously, but the head coach is not out there supervising practices for these lower levels, just the high school age coaches.
How would you evaluate the coaching at these gyms in this situation? If the coaches are high school age gymnasts, I'm also thinking that whoever is coaching now may not be coaching next year, if they are graduating, etc.
DD is still young, and although she loves gym now, I'm not sure if she'll continue to love it and how long she'll want to pursue gym for. I think that if she was to really pursue it fully, I'd keep her at her current gym, but since I'm not sure, I have to say that I'm really considering a closer gym to make it easier for me.
Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.
I chose her current gym largely because her friend was going there. She and her friend did rec together, but dd was invited to join preteam and friend wasn't, so they aren't doing it together any more. I think the gym is a good gym. They do very well at the optional levels, but not as well at the compulsory levels. However, they don't seem to train as many hours at the compulsory levels as other gyms. They do train a lot of hours at the optional levels.
The main issue for us with dd's current gym is that it's 20-25 minutes away when there's no traffic during the school day, which is when she currently does preteam. However, she starts full-day K in the fall, and if she continues at this gym, it will be after school. We're almost certainly to hit traffic, at least one way, but probably both ways. With traffic, the drive is 45+ minutes.
I haven't visited other gyms yet, but I have been asking other parents in my town about their experiences with other gyms that are closer. Apparently the couple of gyms that are closer have their high school gymnasts coach the pre-team and the lower levels teams (2/3) that dd might be on. DD's current gym has a very experienced coach for the pre-team and the level 2/3 team.
My initial reaction is that having high school aged gymnasts coach the lower levels may not be a good thing, but I'm not sure why. I guess I fear that they may not have a lot of experience coaching or with young kids, although I'm sure some of them might be great. I would feel better if the high school aged coaches were assistant coaches, under the direct supervision of a more experienced head coach, but as I understand it, this is not the case. There is a head coach, obviously, but the head coach is not out there supervising practices for these lower levels, just the high school age coaches.
How would you evaluate the coaching at these gyms in this situation? If the coaches are high school age gymnasts, I'm also thinking that whoever is coaching now may not be coaching next year, if they are graduating, etc.
DD is still young, and although she loves gym now, I'm not sure if she'll continue to love it and how long she'll want to pursue gym for. I think that if she was to really pursue it fully, I'd keep her at her current gym, but since I'm not sure, I have to say that I'm really considering a closer gym to make it easier for me.
Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.