WAG Des Moines

[gymmomtotwo]

Long story short. We are probably moving to Des Moines. We have had several false alarms over the past few years, but sadly I think this might be it. Anyway DD has been with her gym since the beginning, loves her team, lives gymnastics etc. She is 10, just finished her Level 7 season, has met her gym's requirements for 8 next year. Had three meets this winter where she scored between 37.2 and 37.5, Others were in the high 36s. Anyhow, trying to figure out where to try and do tryouts, where to look. She looks good on paper, and she is a good gymnast, but.....there are also things about her that might make a gym (like Chows) not be interested. She is tall and willowy (4'11" and 73 lbs) and she has flexibility issues. (Took tons of work to get good leg and middle splits, shoulder flexibility makes for not the best front and back walkovers). Somehow she manages to swing a beautiful bars even with the shoulders. Her current gym does an amazing job working with and taking advantage of what she is good at. She is spotty on hitting a full 180 in jumps and leaps which is where most of her beam and floor deductions come from. I am worried that she may not fit their mold, and don't want to take her somewhere where they might possibly reject her. It would be devastating for her. Their teams look small, but I don't know if that is intentional, or just not enough talent. It looks like Triad is the other game in town, and I am wondering if that might be a better fit. Or if there is another good fit. I anticipate living in the West Des Moines area based on the schools we are looking at,

 

[ladybird]

Our gym competes against both Triad and Chow's. Definitely have her evaluated at both. You are right, Chow's has a small JO team and a huge Xcel team and I do think it's on purpose.

I personally have seen Triad compete more than Chow's and they have very high quality routines. Personally for my dd I would lean towards Triad.

 

[gymmomtotwo]

Our gym competes against both Triad and Chow's. Definitely have her evaluated at both. You are right, Chow's has a small JO team and a huge Xcel team and I do think it's on purpose.

I personally have seen Triad compete more than Chow's and they have very high quality routines. Personally for my dd I would lean towards Triad.

Thank you!
If you are from Des Moines, do you have any other gyms to recommend? I mostly looked at the state meet just for gym names. Triad and Chows were the obvious standouts.. DD would definitely not be interested in Xcel. Sapphire is another name that looks good. Thanks for any input. I will also hit up DD coaches for advice when the time is right. I appreciate the input.

 

[lovofu]

Long story short. We are probably moving to Des Moines. We have had several false alarms over the past few years, but sadly I think this might be it. Anyway DD has been with her gym since the beginning, loves her team, lives gymnastics etc. She is 10, just finished her Level 7 season, has met her gym's requirements for 8 next year. Had three meets this winter where she scored between 37.2 and 37.5, Others were in the high 36s. Anyhow, trying to figure out where to try and do tryouts, where to look. She looks good on paper, and she is a good gymnast, but.....there are also things about her that might make a gym (like Chows) not be interested. She is tall and willowy (4'11" and 73 lbs) and she has flexibility issues. (Took tons of work to get good leg and middle splits, shoulder flexibility makes for not the best front and back walkovers). Somehow she manages to swing a beautiful bars even with the shoulders. Her current gym does an amazing job working with and taking advantage of what she is good at. She is spotty on hitting a full 180 in jumps and leaps which is where most of her beam and floor deductions come from. I am worried that she may not fit their mold, and don't want to take her somewhere where they might possibly reject her. It would be devastating for her. Their teams look small, but I don't know if that is intentional, or just not enough talent. It looks like Triad is the other game in town, and I am wondering if that might be a better fit. Or if there is another good fit. I anticipate living in the West Des Moines area based on the schools we are looking at,

We are currently at Chows...Sophia is a third year level 10 and we came here after level 9. All gyms have plus's and minus's. Triad is a good gym and would be a fine option. Chows has an amazing booster club and the benefits that go along with that. I would definitely tryout both places!!! Give me a holler if you would like to call and chat about schools etc or gym. Also....no SADLY about moving here...the people are so nice, schools are good and we love it!!! You will be surprised I think.

 

[Nikki4]

We lived in west Des Moines for 4 years and LOVED it!!!! Schools there are still my fave out of the 5 states we lived in. My Dd started gymnastics when we lived there, she was 3. She was at sapphire gymnastics in urbandale, but I'm sure we would have moved to chows before long. We lived about 5 minutes from chows.

 

[ayyyrial]

I always had a good impression of Sapphire's coaches re: team atmosphere and supporting all their kiddos (just from observing at meets). Triad seems to be more competitive. Chow's is definitely very selective - they have a pretty small number of JO kids at each level, with a huge rec/Xcel program.

 

[ladybird]

Thank you!
If you are from Des Moines, do you have any other gyms to recommend? I mostly looked at the state meet just for gym names. Triad and Chows were the obvious standouts.. DD would definitely not be interested in Xcel. Sapphire is another name that looks good. Thanks for any input. I will also hit up DD coaches for advice when the time is right. I appreciate the input.

We are from a neighboring state. Had a couple of friends who lived in West Des Moines and just loved it! One of the families had a daughter at Chow's when she was younger and they were very happy. They had to move for work but I am sure she would have stayed there.

 

[l.c.o]

One or both kids have competed at meets with both Triad and Chow's. Chows' girls are of course absolutely amazing, but the Triad kids are good, too.

Only impression I had of Triad is their boys team parents were LOUD and they wear a lot of spirit wear. Could be a fun atmosphere if you're one of the ones with a kid on their team.

Chows is doing level 6/7 regionals (though Triad does not appear to be), so there goes DD's hopes and dreams, LOL. She loves watching them, though - waxes poetic about their lines (them and Legacy Elite).

 

[gymmomtotwo]

Thanks to all. I have no qualms moving to Des Moines as a place to live. We have friends there and I am a midwestern girl. Give me Des Moines over Boston anyday. I am just worried about the affect on our kids, as we have been in one spot for 12 years, they are all doing well in school etc. and I hate messing with that. So for them, my first choice is still staying put. Thanks for all the input. Wish we were doing the new level 7 regionals to see these Iowa teams in action, but alas we are not. I will talk with our coaches and probably look at all 3 gyms.

 

[jillc]

I am from Des Moines, but pretty new to gymnastics. You seem to have the right list of gyms and the right overall general impressions from what I figured out so far.

Des Moines is a great place to live!!

 

[dave mellinger]

My daughters been at Triad since she joined the team as level 4..one of the best thing I can say about the gym is its stability (at least on the women's team) she's had the same coaches in the gym from day one, and while I can only speak for the teammates within a level or 2 or her (she's a first year level 10), I don't remember a single teammate that has left the gym for another gym..they have retired for other reasons but, none have left to move to another gym that I am aware of..

Chows is great, as well..as stated above, appear to be fairly selective for their JO team, but exceptionally strong gymnasts across the board..Sapphire (where my daughter took her first rec class as a 5 year old) is a solid lower level optional team, but hasn't had numbers at the upper levels in recent years anyway, for whatever reason.

One thing to keep in mind re Triad and Chows...Chows, rightly so, is very focused on the elite track, while Triad focuses exclusively on the college track (no elite program)..Triad has a medium sized team; 40+ optionals..it's located in Ankeny 20 minutes or so from WDM, but lots of the team come from ther western side of the metro so car pooling is a definite option. Very team / family oriented..best of luck! And the best part of Des Moines?..25 minute commute, at a max, from anywhere to anywhere in the metro!

 

[FlippinLilysMom]

We will be at the region 4 regionals this weekend, my DD is on the super 8 team for Minnesota, I'm looking forward to seeing the other super 8 teams from the other states, especially the girls from Iowa. I'll try and remember to keep a close eye on the Iowa super 8 girls and what gyms they are from and can report back to you after regionals. We are looking forward to seeing some awesome gymnastics this weekend!!

 

[CanAmGymMum]

I would explore all of your options and have her tryout at any that you feel would be a good fit. She may also have some input after trying out. Don't worry about her being rejected. If they don't want her, she may not like them either. Kids are resilient. And, you can put a positive spin on any rejections by emphasizing the positives about the ones that want her