- Jun 13, 2019
- 11
- 41
Hello everyone - what an interesting and knowledgeable forum!
This is just a vent and it’s long - we live in Europe, and our problem is very very specific to our national federation‘s rules - so not much point in asking for practical advice, but I could really do with some sympathy, given that I don’t tolerate wine well, so I’ll hope you stick with my novel.
I was an atrocious gymnast myself - started much too late, at 12, did rec level competitions only, but loved the sport until I had to drop out to fear issues. However, I figured that my short (25th percentile), stocky, super strong, physically fearless, bouncy D8 might actually make something of the sport if I got her in early enough. Seems I have already failed.
At just turned 6 I brought her to fall tryouts at the local gym 5 min away. They basically dragged her away from me to the floor and told me to remove myself to the balcony even though I told them she‘d need me close for a few minutes to get comfortable.
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They fetched me down after 10 min or so because they couldn’t get D to stop crying and participate. I couldn’t either so I told them we’d come back next year. Fine, they want kids to start by 6 or 7, so there was time, or so I thought.
Next year, just turned 7, there were no fall tryouts - classes are full, it was said. I managed to enrol her in a 5 - 8yo rec level class one hour a week. It was way below her energy level, and the girls weren’t nice, but she liked it and won the inhouse meet at the end of the year, competing rec level 4, the maximum allowed for her age group (roughly US level 1/2). Still was asked to come back to rec level only.
Just turned 8, she refused to go a few weeks into the year even though a friend had started to come, too, because she had completely outgrown the class. I asked the head coach if she could tryout once more for competitive level and he told us when and where to come in October. We showed up, and the women’s coach threw us out without even looking at her - she hadn’t been told, would have had to approve, and anyway the classes were full, and so were rec classes for 8 and up. Bye. On the way home, D said I’m not sure I want to go there. I said I’m pretty sure I don’t want you to go there!
I have heard stories since of fat shaming and mean girling in her classes, and parents not being allowed to watch, which make me think we probably dodged a bullet there, but still, it felt like the last chance saloon for me - because when I inquired at the only other competitive gym in town (specifically, the other end of town) in November, I was told that 8 was too late, period. Because competitive gym in our country has age groups only, not skill levels! And by January, she would have to compete with the 9 yo age group, and their compulsories are roughly comparable to US levels 4/5. FHS on vault, both kips on bars, BHS and BWO on beam, with BT dismount, BT and FT on floor - you get the picture.
So, I started looking at competitive aerobics, trampolining, rock climbing, when the head coach from other-side-of-town emailed me back to say they were setting up a class for the 7 to 8 age group, 90 min twice a week, and would she like to try it? I had to bribe her to go, first with rock climbing classes (which she loves, too, then leotards.
Fast forward to today, 6 months later, and she LOVES it. The coaches, two high school girls, occasionally helped out by the head coach, are lovely, the other girls are nice, the gym is public and they could care less if whole armies of parents were milling about on the balconies and I am super impressed with their philosophy of doing loads of strength and conditioning, lots of handstands on walls and trampolining onto mat stacks, and only letting them attempt a skill once they feel they can do it safely.
The frustrating thing about it I can’t really assess her level because they let them do so few skills as of now. No RO BHS yet, but otherwise she could be do very well in level 5, roughly comparable to US level 3, when this class ends in July.
The most frustrating thing? They won’t commit to continuing with the class in fall, mumbling about starting a new one for 5 yo, and the only other class on offer is just age group 9 doing their flips, and age group 10 next year would be all layouts. There appear to be so few of them I’m not sure they can even field a team for the age group. I LIKE that they take what they do so seriously, and D likes it too, but at 8 she’s over the hill, unless they get over themselves to keep on offering a competitive rec class. I don’t think I’d even want her at the age group level, I think it’s insane, basically elite track by kindergarten, but why oh why is there nothing in between?!
Everything else in town appears to be what I’d call rec rec level. Basically structured running around, with a few forward rolls and cartwheels thrown in, no good apparatuses or safety equipment. I found ONE class that tries to compete at rec levels, and she is on the wait list and will try it out soon, but they meet ONCE a week.
D now considers herself a gymnast. She presented it as her main hobby for show and tell in school, complete with the trophy from the rec class and pictures of her airborne, doing the front tuck from the trampoline onto the mat stack that she is very proud of and will get her exactly nowhere. She WANTS to be corrected so she can learn. She wants to compete. She’d go every day if she could. If she had to, she has said she‘d give up all her other hobbies first.
What have I done?
This is just a vent and it’s long - we live in Europe, and our problem is very very specific to our national federation‘s rules - so not much point in asking for practical advice, but I could really do with some sympathy, given that I don’t tolerate wine well, so I’ll hope you stick with my novel.
I was an atrocious gymnast myself - started much too late, at 12, did rec level competitions only, but loved the sport until I had to drop out to fear issues. However, I figured that my short (25th percentile), stocky, super strong, physically fearless, bouncy D8 might actually make something of the sport if I got her in early enough. Seems I have already failed.
At just turned 6 I brought her to fall tryouts at the local gym 5 min away. They basically dragged her away from me to the floor and told me to remove myself to the balcony even though I told them she‘d need me close for a few minutes to get comfortable.
Ä
They fetched me down after 10 min or so because they couldn’t get D to stop crying and participate. I couldn’t either so I told them we’d come back next year. Fine, they want kids to start by 6 or 7, so there was time, or so I thought.
Next year, just turned 7, there were no fall tryouts - classes are full, it was said. I managed to enrol her in a 5 - 8yo rec level class one hour a week. It was way below her energy level, and the girls weren’t nice, but she liked it and won the inhouse meet at the end of the year, competing rec level 4, the maximum allowed for her age group (roughly US level 1/2). Still was asked to come back to rec level only.
Just turned 8, she refused to go a few weeks into the year even though a friend had started to come, too, because she had completely outgrown the class. I asked the head coach if she could tryout once more for competitive level and he told us when and where to come in October. We showed up, and the women’s coach threw us out without even looking at her - she hadn’t been told, would have had to approve, and anyway the classes were full, and so were rec classes for 8 and up. Bye. On the way home, D said I’m not sure I want to go there. I said I’m pretty sure I don’t want you to go there!
I have heard stories since of fat shaming and mean girling in her classes, and parents not being allowed to watch, which make me think we probably dodged a bullet there, but still, it felt like the last chance saloon for me - because when I inquired at the only other competitive gym in town (specifically, the other end of town) in November, I was told that 8 was too late, period. Because competitive gym in our country has age groups only, not skill levels! And by January, she would have to compete with the 9 yo age group, and their compulsories are roughly comparable to US levels 4/5. FHS on vault, both kips on bars, BHS and BWO on beam, with BT dismount, BT and FT on floor - you get the picture.
So, I started looking at competitive aerobics, trampolining, rock climbing, when the head coach from other-side-of-town emailed me back to say they were setting up a class for the 7 to 8 age group, 90 min twice a week, and would she like to try it? I had to bribe her to go, first with rock climbing classes (which she loves, too, then leotards.
Fast forward to today, 6 months later, and she LOVES it. The coaches, two high school girls, occasionally helped out by the head coach, are lovely, the other girls are nice, the gym is public and they could care less if whole armies of parents were milling about on the balconies and I am super impressed with their philosophy of doing loads of strength and conditioning, lots of handstands on walls and trampolining onto mat stacks, and only letting them attempt a skill once they feel they can do it safely.
The frustrating thing about it I can’t really assess her level because they let them do so few skills as of now. No RO BHS yet, but otherwise she could be do very well in level 5, roughly comparable to US level 3, when this class ends in July.
The most frustrating thing? They won’t commit to continuing with the class in fall, mumbling about starting a new one for 5 yo, and the only other class on offer is just age group 9 doing their flips, and age group 10 next year would be all layouts. There appear to be so few of them I’m not sure they can even field a team for the age group. I LIKE that they take what they do so seriously, and D likes it too, but at 8 she’s over the hill, unless they get over themselves to keep on offering a competitive rec class. I don’t think I’d even want her at the age group level, I think it’s insane, basically elite track by kindergarten, but why oh why is there nothing in between?!
Everything else in town appears to be what I’d call rec rec level. Basically structured running around, with a few forward rolls and cartwheels thrown in, no good apparatuses or safety equipment. I found ONE class that tries to compete at rec levels, and she is on the wait list and will try it out soon, but they meet ONCE a week.
D now considers herself a gymnast. She presented it as her main hobby for show and tell in school, complete with the trophy from the rec class and pictures of her airborne, doing the front tuck from the trampoline onto the mat stack that she is very proud of and will get her exactly nowhere. She WANTS to be corrected so she can learn. She wants to compete. She’d go every day if she could. If she had to, she has said she‘d give up all her other hobbies first.
What have I done?
