Parents Do you hope for a D1 scholarship?

[2G1B]

Both of mine want to do college club gymnastics. I've always pushed that academics are more important than a sports scholarship. My son does seem to want to get a sports scholarship though, so has recently added cheer stunt classes to his weekly schedule to see if he would want to do that, but he wants his 3 years as a L10, so it would be tough to manage both sports. Gym is his passion, so I don't see him actually swapping. My DD is currently planning to stick with gym through high school, though she won't make L10, and then do club. I'm guessing she will do diamond next year, she hopes for L7 or possibly L8 if she could avoid injury and start increasing skills.

Mostly my kids do it because they love it. They aren't rockstars though, so have known that D1 was likely never in their future.

 

[CuriousCate]

Personally, no. I don't really want my kids doing college level sports except college club sports (still VERY competitive). I did collegiate swimming and it was a mediocre experience. I rowed crew on club and it was WAY more enjoyable...much more camaraderie and still got to do fun trips etc. While my young gymnast loves the idea of doing college gym now and I would never say anything negative about doing college sports, I do hope she transitions to high school gym (without club) and then some lifelong sport like rock climbing, swimming etc.
That being said, I still LOVE JO gymnastics so far and she is getting so much out of it. All the strength and conditioning will transfer to any sport later on! And the mental focus and overcoming fears and challenges are going to be lifelong skills.

Yes. This. I ran track for a D1 school and mediocre is the perfect word to describe the experience. I ended up quitting midway through fall season junior year and playing club field hockey and being a much happier and much more fulfilled person. So for me, I’d be cool if my kid did it in college so long as they always know that can stop at any point without repercussions.

 

[John]

My DD wants to do college gymnastics. I support her dream. I feel the lessons learned trying to accomplish a dream/goal will make her a better adult, one who understands what life has in store for her.

Studies are important but you can't make a child love school. That is something that like gymnastics and everything else in lide must come from within.

The one trait I tell my daughter that is most important in life is Kindness. Be Kind and happiness follows.

I wonder if gymnasts find gymnastics FUN. I tend to think not. It is something they love. Athletes who are successful are wired a little differently that most. They do not need FUN to continue, they have inner drive and goals that most can not understand.

 

[duyetanh]

I wonder if gymnasts find gymnastics FUN. I tend to think not. It is something they love. Athletes who are successful are wired a little differently that most. They do not need FUN to continue, they have inner drive and goals that most can not understand.

I respectively disagree. Because these girls are wired differently, I feel it is honestly fun for them to dissect themselves and their skills daily. And once they hit the tween age and up, heck yes it helps to have a bit of fun to continue. A little goes a lonnnnng way. The key is if your kid at a gym that really gets the balance. Not saying yours is not btw. If it wasn’t fun for my kid she would have quit long ago. She lives to go to practice, and practically runs out of my car with a smile on her face. When they get to a high level, there really HAS to be some fun involved for them to stay the course. They spend a high percentage of their time awake in the place! Not said snarky at all. It’s a different kind of fun then at lower levels, but it’s there. And imho excellent coaches realize this and include bits of fun in their program.

 

[John]

We can disagree it is ok. (even though maybe we are actually almost on the same page)

I think they have fun, but that fun comes from a different place, I think that place is the gym family. It is not coming from the hours daily of conditioning or the hours of body pounding practice. To make it to the upper levels and beyond these kids must love the sport. And with most loving relationships they have ups, downs, joy, and sadness. If anyone is relying on something or someone to make them happy instead of happiness coming from themselves they are in for disappointment. They love it so they do what it takes to succeed. I just hope most of these athletes have a kind caring support system at their gyms.

 

[GymDadWA]

Mine doesn't even grasp what is so special about a scholarship or even the the whole scale of how much higher education costs/puts you in debt, but she loves watching UCLA/UTAH/PAC12 gymnastics on TV and would love to experience the atmosphere of D1 gymnastics performing in front of a big crowd (seriously youtube a UTAH home match). Even more so than Olympics or international competition (not that she would ever qualify) but the atmosphere of collegiate gymnastics is so positive and fun that she wants that.

That being said I know the numbers and while that is a fun dream I think she also would make a great coach someday and her coaches that are also going to college have all said that it worked out really well for them, they can take classes in the morning and coach at night, the pay is better than your standard college job, and they get to keep involved in sport. So that is kind of where I think she will be one day, using gymnastics to get a decent college job to get help her get her degree.

 

[JumpingQueen]

No. If I'm hoping for anything with gymnastics (assuming she stays with it, big IF, she's only 7 now so who knows) is that her dedication and accolades (if she gets any, lol) will help with college applications and help set her apart. I know statistics, and aint no scholarship happening here. Also, if I'm being honest there are only 2 maybe 3 d1 schools I'd want her to go to.

 

[JumpingQueen]

I'm also hoping to win the lottery, to find the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, that gravity will reverse and push my old body upwards, that traffic will disappear and that karma is really a thing.

I love this so much.

 

[duyetanh]

I love this so much.

Oh we believe in karma over here....

 

[gymgal]

No. If I'm hoping for anything with gymnastics (assuming she stays with it, big IF, she's only 7 now so who knows) is that her dedication and accolades (if she gets any, lol) will help with college applications and help set her apart. I know statistics, and aint no scholarship happening here. Also, if I'm being honest there are only 2 maybe 3 d1 schools I'd want her to go to.

Just curious - which ones? I can think of at least 7 highly academic schools D1s, including the 4 ivies

 

[profmom]

You may find that when your child reaches the age to apply, they go in very different directions than you would have anticipated. That was true of eldest for us and is looking to be true for my DD as well. Neither was/is willing to assume significant debt for undergrad; eldest plans at least an MS but more probably a doctoral degree, so he didn't even look seriously at schools that, even with merit aid, would have caused him to take on debt. I guess I had always assumed that my offspring would go to similar undergrad institutions to the ones that hubby and I attended, but that looks not to be the case, and for them, I think it's the right decision.

 

[JumpingQueen]

Just curious - which ones? I can think of at least 7 highly academic schools D1s, including the 4 ivies

So, after I posted this I went to look and I also counted 6 or 7! All the Ivies plus Stanford and Cal and UCLA. All the other schools are great also, I just would pick a uc (we are in California) over just about any of those far away schools for my family at this moment. Again she's 7, so who knows.

 

[profmom]

If you're in California, having the residency edge to get into a UC puts you in one of the most fortunate positions on the planet with regard to access to excellent higher education.

 

[JumpingQueen]

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If you're in California, having the residency edge to get into a UC puts you in one of the most fortunate positions on the planet with regard to access to excellent higher education.

We have a great system, although I’ll say, I hear a lot about uc accepting more and more out of state and international students just to get that extra tuition.

 

[profmom]

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We have a great system, although I’ll say, I hear a lot about uc accepting more and more out of state and international students just to get that extra tuition.

It's an issue for many state systems. Bringing in out-of-state and international students who pay higher rates helps to backstop the loss of state support for the residents. I don't think very many state universities are getting more than 10% of their operating budgets from the state these days. However, most state legislatures pay attention to the proportion of in/out-of-state students, and many institutions are most actively recruiting for professional graduate programs, which already charge higher tuition.

I both work at and am a customer of our state's higher education system. It really is a bargain for in-state residents, and many of our undergrad degree recipients go on to do fantastic things. It's unfortunate, however, that there's only one major college gym program for men in my entire state. /hijack!

 

[wandrewsjr]

So, after I posted this I went to look and I also counted 6 or 7! All the Ivies plus Stanford and Cal and UCLA. All the other schools are great also, I just would pick a uc (we are in California) over just about any of those far away schools for my family at this moment. Again she's 7, so who knows.

Depending on the program of study, UC Davis is also right up there close with UCLA and Cal academically, and has a D1 gymnastics program.

 

[JumpingQueen]

It's an issue for many state systems. Bringing in out-of-state and international students who pay higher rates helps to backstop the loss of state support for the residents. I don't think very many state universities are getting more than 10% of their operating budgets from the state these days. However, most state legislatures pay attention to the proportion of in/out-of-state students, and many institutions are most actively recruiting for professional graduate programs, which already charge higher tuition.

I both work at and am a customer of our state's higher education system. It really is a bargain for in-state residents, and many of our undergrad degree recipients go on to do fantastic things. It's unfortunate, however, that there's only one major college gym program for men in my entire state. /hijack!

We were just talking about the lack of men’s programs. I hope that changes!

 

[mommyof1]

We have a great system, although I’ll say, I hear a lot about uc accepting more and more out of state and international students just to get that extra tuition.

The UC system will give you a great education, but in some majors it can be difficult to graduate in four years due to limited availability of courses. It takes a lot of personal initiative and luck to develop the types of personal relationships with professors that are common at smaller schools. And the alumni network is nothing like what you'd get from a smaller school of similar selectivity.

I have attended a top UC, a selective private college, and a small selective public university, and based on my experience I am encouraging my daughter to focus on smaller public and private schools.

 

[profmom]

The UC system will give you a great education, but in some majors it can be difficult to graduate in four years due to limited availability of courses. It takes a lot of personal initiative and luck to develop the types of personal relationships with professors that are common at smaller schools. And the alumni network is nothing like what you'd get from a smaller school of similar selectivity.

I have attended a top UC, a selective private college, and a small selective public university, and based on my experience I am encouraging my daughter to focus on smaller public and private schools.

I had to learn the hard way that my children aren't me. I did very well in a highly selective private university for undergrad. My son said "no way" to that and is very happy in his large public school, albeit in the honors college. I think the best way to go is to help them find the best fit for their interests and personalities, ideally in a way that enables them to graduate without a lot of debt for undergrad, particularly if they plan to attend graduate school.

 

[JumpingQueen]

I had to learn the hard way that my children aren't me. I did very well in a highly selective private university for undergrad. My son said "no way" to that and is very happy in his large public school, albeit in the honors college. I think the best way to go is to help them find the best fit for their interests and personalities, ideally in a way that enables them to graduate without a lot of debt for undergrad, particularly if they plan to attend graduate school.

Makes sense! Best case scenario they have all the choices and find their "place". Love all the insight.