Parents Developmental class vs pre team

[onebusymama]

Ok I am pretty "green" when it comes to gymnastics. I have read on here about kids in "developmental" gym classe, and I have read about kids on pre team. My question is What is the difference? I know pre team at our gym starts at level 2/3. So that being said, what would be the developmental class?

 

[Quadqueen]

It varies widely by gym. Pre-team and developmental team are both terms used to describe pre-competitive levels, but mean different things at different gyms. Some gyms have kids in pre-team/developmental for a year, some for a few years. Some gyms start competing at level 2, some at level 3, 4 or 5, so their pre-team/developmental program would be the level(s) that come prior to their first year competing.

 

[sglemon]

Developmental classes are more "fun". They work on basic skills, and the kids in developmental or rec classes will have a wide variety of abilities.

Preteam is more structured, working on specific skills for that level, and will have more conditioning. The girls in preteam levels, will have more similar abilities

 

[Natasha]

Really depends on the gym and how they use the terms. At our gym, all our "rec" classes are called "developmental classes" and the kids work on the L1-L5 skills and move up to the next level when they show varying degrees of mastery of the skills in that level. (Really depends on the teacher) Pre-team is specifically for kids on team, intending to compete in the next year or so. Other gyms may distinguish between "rec" classes and "developmental" classes.

 

[Jaks]

Development class in the uk is similar to pre team, they do more hours and they focus more on conditioning, strength and learning the skills correctly and they also try and keep it fun as development class start at 4 years ( when they start full time school) and they also do an advance pre school class, all the development and the advance pre school classes are coach invite only.

My dd was in rec gym class when she was 5 for a year and 4 months, she has just gone into a developmental class.

Rec Class 1 hour
20mins playing a game and warm ups followed by 10 mins each on floor, beam, bars and vault. The rec class my dd went to didn't separate the kids by ability but by age.

Development class 2 hours+
start off by running around the gym followed by warms ups and conditioning, they then go round the different stations depending on the lesson plan, they are grouped by ability. They end the session with cool downs and fun time.

 

[Moxiegrl83]

Developmental classes are more "fun". They work on basic skills, and the kids in developmental or rec classes will have a wide variety of abilities.

Preteam is more structured, working on specific skills for that level, and will have more conditioning. The girls in preteam levels, will have more similar abilities

Ours is run pretty much like this. The only difference is our developmental is called a Hot Shots, and is basically just an advanced rec class for a certain age group. These kids would have the best chance at getting a pre-team invitation though, generally speaking.

 

[kwnative]

At our gym, developmental is a part of the team program, but they don't compete. But it is definitely a more intense program than the rec. classes. It is by invitation only....when my daughter moved to developmental, they chose her out of her rec. class, but this year they did tryouts for the developmental team. I think this is the first year they have done it that way. My daughter was on developmental for about 6 months, then moved to L3. A few girls went straight from developmental to L4. But most of them stayed in developmental for a while longer. So I guess it is what I see a lot of people calling "pre-team", but our gym really makes those girls feel like they are part of the team program. They get to go to the Christmas party, are included in the emails only team members get, etc.

 

[suebee]

My dd is in what is called "pre-team" at our gym, but I think this is the equivalent of a developmental class at other gyms. She started out in rec and after a few months, was asked to move to pre-team. The coach said it's for kids who are thinking about becoming team gymnasts. The class is faster paced, with more attention to form and conditioning, compared to rec classes. However, at our gym, level 2 and 3 do some meets, so they're considered to be "team", but I think in many gyms, level 2 and level 3 don't compete and would be considered pre-team.

At our gym, all the pre-team times are in the early afternoon, during the school day. I get the impression that it's all preschool and kids who are in half-day K. I have no idea what the gym does with kids in full-day K or older, since they clearly can't go to preteam.

 

[Amusibus]

At our gym, developmental is a part of the team program, but they don't compete. But it is definitely a more intense program than the rec. classes. It is by invitation only....when my daughter moved to developmental, they chose her out of her rec. class, but this year they did tryouts for the developmental team. I think this is the first year they have done it that way. My daughter was on developmental for about 6 months, then moved to L3. A few girls went straight from developmental to L4. But most of them stayed in developmental for a while longer. So I guess it is what I see a lot of people calling "pre-team", but our gym really makes those girls feel like they are part of the team program. They get to go to the Christmas party, are included in the emails only team members get, etc.

Ours is just like this. Developmental is team, use team entrance, team mailboxes and parties and meetings (and fees!), they just don't compete yet. Ours is a feeder for TOPS kids, although coach says only about 20% of them choose this route.