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.

 

[Anonymous (57f5)]

I agree with it being a yellow flag. I get that they train a certain way, but there needs to be time for kids to be kids. If the family chooses to go to camps during the summer then that should be fine.

The things learned at camp go far beyond just gymnastics. Do they allow non-gymnastics camps?

 

[Anonymous (9fe9)]

I agree with it being a yellow flag. I get that they train a certain way, but there needs to be time for kids to be kids. If the family chooses to go to camps during the summer then that should be fine.

The things learned at camp go far beyond just gymnastics. Do they allow non-gymnastics camps?

Yes our gym doesn’t care at all about non gymnastics camps, other than them not wanting the girls to miss too much gym in summer. Most families miss a week somewhere anyway for vacation.

 

[redwindyskies]

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.

Huge red flag!!! As a level 10 sophomore gymnast who's looking at recruiting right now, going to college camps are the BEST way to get recruited outside of going to Nationals or Easterns/Westerns. At a point in your gymnast's career where she's looking at recruitment, there's not a lot of technique she's going to pick up from camps. It's less of an actual gymnastics camp, more of a way to get noticed and test out the college. Camps are so so helpful for recruiting and any gym that prohibits camps does not have your gymnast's best interest in mind!

 

[Anonymous (c2d5)]

I agree with it being a yellow flag. I get that they train a certain way, but there needs to be time for kids to be kids. If the family chooses to go to camps during the summer then that should be fine.

The things learned at camp go far beyond just gymnastics. Do they allow non-gymnastics camps?

Non-gymnastics camps are allowed but they have to take place during the 1 week summer break. I don’t know how other summer absences are handled but the parents at the gym I’ve talked to hinted that it’s quite strict.

 

[Anonymous (c2d5)]

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

Since I first posted my comment, I’ve observed that this gym is like GAGE in a lot of ways that seem to be below the surface, which might be a positive for some but is a negative for us. Probably going elsewhere if we have a choice.

 

[CoachPow]

Depending on the host/level of the camp, what bad habits are they really going to be learning? If you're going to hold a successful camp, the last thing you want to do is send kids home worse off than they came! We were of the mindset that a reputable camp is always worthwhile. More often than not it's beneficial for kids to hear from other good coaches. Don't recall anybody coming home with any noticible issues. I've also been on the recieving end-we had a couple of clubs that would call us whenever their kids signed up for our camps, encouraging us to turn them away. We never did. Kids always seemed to have fun, and learned a few things-heck, we even fixed one's back-tumbling mental block!

 

[Anonymous (4104)]

My granddaughter (11 yrs) has been going to a college camp the last 2 years for moving into level 6 & 7. ( Georgia and Stanford). She usually goes the first week out of school in late June. This year she’s going to LSU, moving into level 8. She loves seeing the facilities and working with the coaches and college gymnasts. It’s given her a good idea if this is the path she wants to work toward. It’s not prohibited but not openly encouraged. I don’t know what the level 9 & 10’s do. I think it broadens her horizon to see what is out there in different parts of the country.

 

[Anonymous (fe52)]

Since I first posted my comment, I’ve observed that this gym is like GAGE in a lot of ways that seem to be below the surface, which might be a positive for some but is a negative for us. Probably going elsewhere if we have a choice.

I chimed in early on that it was not a red flag but I've been thinking about it since then and while I still mostly agree with my earlier comment I also got to wondering what other rules the gym may have which when taken as a whole would be all sorts of red flags.

I'm glad you are questioning and digging beneath the surface and looking for a gym that meets your DD's needs.

 

[Anonymous (9246)]

My daughter is an 11-year old optional gymnast and her weeks at FlipFest are the best weeks of her life, every year. Her coaches don't love it (she's not the only one who goes) but every year she's able to work with new coaches on whatever skills she's working on and ALWAYS comes back with things in better shape than they were before. Given it's 8 hours of practice a day, this is not a surprising outcome. Also - the guest coaches come from high-performing gyms from around the country. All that to say, she's going to continue to go until she doesn't want to anymore. It's the best of both worlds for her in that it provides a true sleep away camp experience coupled with gymnastics.