Anon Does your gym allow athletes to go to camps?

[Anonymous (c2d5)]

We are thinking about a gym change, but one thing holding us back is that the new gym has a strict policy of prohibiting attendance at outside camps. Is this a red flag?

The rationale is that they attract plenty of college recruiters to the gym and don’t want gymnasts picking up bad habits.

My kid will probably be on the cusp of being recruited only if the next few years come together just right. So the only experience she might have that’s even college gymnastics-adjacent is going to a college camp. Is it common for gyms to have this policy? Our current gym has a close relationship with the area D1 program so the girls always attend that camp as a group, and we see most other local gyms there, so I assumed going to camps was normal.

 

[Anonymous (ff16)]

I don't think it is a red flag. Probably they have a very clear technique they want to teach and don't want kids picking up a different one or a bad habit as you mention.
That being said, if you feel attending camps is important for your daughter you'd have to ponder what that gym offers vs the camp thing.

 

[Anonymous (fe52)]

Not an all a red flag.

 

[Anonymous (d64d)]

My daughter's gym doesn't have any issues with them going to college camps. I don't think they are too keen on the week long overnight type, but they certainly don't forbid them or anything.

But I do agree it's not exactly a red flag. Just a sign that the gym might not be the right fit for your daughter.

 

[Geoffrey Taucer]

Eh... I'd maybe look at it as a yellow flag?

I mean, I can see the rationale behind it, but it feels a bit overly controlling to me.

IMO, as a coach it's not my business whether or not to "allow" anything outside practice. I'll give suggestions where I think it's warranted, but ultimately they get to exist as kids and have outside lives and do whatever they want when I'm not coaching them; if it's not happening with me at practice, then it's outside my jurisdiction.

 

[txgymfan]

Could you ask if that specificly includes short ( less than a week) college camps? Personally, I think it would be beneficial for a gymnast to get a better feel for the colleges that she is interested in attending.

 

[Anonymous (c2d5)]

Could you ask if that specificly includes short ( less than a week) college camps? Personally, I think it would be beneficial for a gymnast to get a better feel for the colleges that she is interested in attending.

It was quite clear, actually! They stated any and all camps and even included a sample list of camps that aren’t ok, such as 1-day clinics at our local d1 school and 3-day camps at the nearest higher ranked program.

 

[Anonymous (9fe9)]

Not a red flag at all, and pretty common at gyms with high level athletes. Our coaches don't want girls going to "unapproved" camps. There are some girls that go anyway, and its not like the coaches kick you out or anything, but they aren't happy about it. They have good reasoning, they are worried about developing mental blocks or fear, injuries and learning things incorrectly.

They do allow college camps, but only once the gymnasts are at recruiting level. So they don't like level 8s going for example. And even level 9/10s that aren't up to the level of the college they only "allow" one per summer. They give the reasoning that these gymnasts need to be in the gym with them for the summer working on their skills to get them up to 10.0 NCAA level routines. Any time taken out for camps is time not in the gym. And college camps aren't set up to learn new skills, they are more for fun for lower level, and showing off what you can do for recruitable athletes.

 

[Anonymous (9fe9)]

Could you ask if that specificly includes short ( less than a week) college camps? Personally, I think it would be beneficial for a gymnast to get a better feel for the colleges that she is interested in attending.

Our coaches don't like gymnasts to go to more than one college camp per summer until they are "up to the level" of the college camp they are going to. Reason being the time is better spent in the gym working skills to get them up to that level.

LSU camp might be fun, but lets be real, they aren't looking at the average level 10 that goes to camp there.

I agree with the coaches, but also as a parent of a high schooler, I'm starting to feel like we're running out of time to visit campuses and see how they like the feel of the school.

 

[Anonymous (9fe9)]

GAGE doesn't allow ANY camps other than their own. They are very strict.

 

[Anonymous (1051)]

Ya, not a red flag at all. Especially if the coaches have a track record of getting girls to college and have established contacts with college coaches. The more time I spend in this process the more that I can definitively say a well connect club coach is worth their weight in gold in the context of getting to college. Anndd my personal opinion is college camps are of much less benefit. The most benefit is if your child has never been to campus and to see the facilities.