Parents DP to XCEL

[margoko]

Yeah, it sounds like a homework problem rather than a practice problem. My 7yo only gets a weekly packet plus the daily reading, but if it’s a zillion basic word problems or “demonstrate your thinking using words, circles, and an astrological chart”, I just do it for her and make her do some supplementary math instead (the latter is optional lol). You can ask the teacher for the worksheets ahead of time so she can do them on the days she doesn’t have practice. If she’s not enjoying practice, though, maybe better to cut back and see if she ends up missing it.

Also, are there parts of her routine that could be made more efficient? My kid does 12hrs and reads in the car to/from practice (if the child gets carsick, audiobooks are nice as another commenter mentioned). We read more complex books together while eating dinner. She’s a zombie in the morning, but sometimes procrastinates her homework and manages to dash it off while I feed her breakfast. We also bake “math lessons” into everyday activities and do 10min/day multiplication tables or mental math (whether or not she has practice), which makes it easier for her to blast through the homework. I’d also see if she’s doing the work efficiently - my kid can just as soon take an hour to finish a simple worksheet because she keeps getting distracted.

 

[Mom9024]

My DD transferred to XP after her L5 season, although it was her choice to do so. And she loves it, although she may Xfr to optionals next season if she's comfortable with her skills. If your DD is not enjoying practice, I'd encourage her to give XB a try. At age 6, her future is wide open. I also agree with OP on trying new activities over the summer.

 

[glitterrays]

Lol, in my state, that 8-year-old would have to do 303 days at 3 hours a day.
The state requires 910 hours a year for K-6 and 1001 for 7-12.
Several years back, they shut down an online school because they didn't have proof of students getting all of their hours in, so all the other online schools had to change how they track hours so they could show how many hours each student was doing their schoolwork.
It included parents having to learn how to submit time for school stuff done offline (like reading actual books, practicing flashcards, writing, etc).

o thats interesting, never heard of that b4

 

[raenndrops]

o thats interesting, never heard of that b4

I was student teaching when the investigation began. My cooperating teacher's co-teacher was engaged to someone involved in hiring for the online school in question. I was supposed to reach out to her once my teaching license came through. I got my license the week they got shut down.
Apparently, some students were enrolled but did little or no work. Some students moved out of state and didn't notify the school. There were a LOT of other problems, too.
I tutor students from another online school, and they had to install tracking software on all the computers. They also had to show parents how to add offline work time to the system (then a teacher had to approve the time). Now, as long as the student is working on their school-issued computer, most of their time is tracked. If they work on another device, they have to make sure they log in to the online platform and follow links from there to other programs.
All schools in the state (online and brick-and-mortar) must meet the state's hours requirements to receive state funding. It used to be that 180 days was a school year, but with it being hours-based now, it is possible to have shorter school years when they go longer hours than needed.

 

[Dsbass]

My daughter had a similar experience around that age. She loved gymnastics but as soon as she got put on pre-team (our gym didn't do level 2 so probably similar), she started complaining and avoided going. It wasn't a school work issue, some of it was not wanting to wake up early, but also she didn't like the strictness of it. This was also right around the covid shutdown so when the gym wanted us to login to zoom for virtual workouts 3 times a day I just couldn't manage it. The coach suggested we switch to xcel bronze. At first she wasn't sure but once she joined that team she never complained about going to practice. They moved her to 8 hours a week and then skipped her to gold the next year at 12 hours a week and she was excited to be there! In her case I think it was the coaching style and strictness more than the actual hours that were the issue. She has been very successful and was supposed to be competing diamond this year but had to move down to platinum due to a back injury. I think some people love to be pushed and work towards perfectionism and for some people it ruins all the fun. Xcel has been a great experience for her even though we still go to a gym that requires a lot of hours.

 

[milkcookies]

Hi, everyone. My daughter started gymnastics in October of 2024 at age 6, learned very quickly in her rec class, and was asked to join the level 2 developmental team in March 2025. I was concerned with the long hours of practice (6 hrs a week) but she said she wanted to do it so I let her. She has learned so much in a short period of time considering she's so new to the sport and is doing well at competitions
.

The trouble is that she's already having a hard time balancing schoolwork and practice. She struggles after school trying to complete homework and eat before practice. Required daily reading is usually never done. She hates feeling rushed and I feel like we're always behind. She doesn't like going to practice and doesn't try half the time she's there but will give her all at competitions.

The XCEL bronze team only meets one weeknight a week plus one weekend day. It's still the same number of hours. My husband wants to stop everything all together after this season is over and I'm torn on what to do. If I were to ask my daughter she'd tell me she'd want to do level 3 even though she's in tears every week trying to do it all. I feel like I have to make the decision for her own mental health. Has anyone successfully made the transition and is your child happier with the move? Any advice would be appreciated for this new gymnastics mom. I'd really love for her to just do rec once a week like before but I don't think she'd accept that drastic a change.

I do think the Xcel program can be very healthy to find a sport-life balance again, but I don't think this is the underlying issue here. I'm concerned that a 7 year old has so much homework (or issues with time management, which is not her fault as that is something to learn) that 6h/week of practice is enough to cause tears.

Hi, everyone. My daughter started gymnastics in October of 2024 at age 6, learned very quickly in her rec class, and was asked to join the level 2 developmental team in March 2025. I was concerned with the long hours of practice (6 hrs a week) but she said she wanted to do it so I let her. She has learned so much in a short period of time considering she's so new to the sport and is doing well at competitions
.

The trouble is that she's already having a hard time balancing schoolwork and practice. She struggles after school trying to complete homework and eat before practice. Required daily reading is usually never done. She hates feeling rushed and I feel like we're always behind. She doesn't like going to practice and doesn't try half the time she's there but will give her all at competitions.

The XCEL bronze team only meets one weeknight a week plus one weekend day. It's still the same number of hours. My husband wants to stop everything all together after this season is over and I'm torn on what to do. If I were to ask my daughter she'd tell me she'd want to do level 3 even though she's in tears every week trying to do it all. I feel like I have to make the decision for her own mental health. Has anyone successfully made the transition and is your child happier with the move? Any advice would be appreciated for this new gymnastics mom. I'd really love for her to just do rec once a week like before but I don't think she'd accept that drastic a change.

In general, I do think Xcel is a good way to find a balance again between school and socialization vs sports. However, I think that here, the underlying issue may be time management/problems focusing and stress at school, instead. I don't know where you live but I don't think having this much stress and/or homework as a 7 year old training 6h/week is healthy or normal. If she is having struggles going to the gym twice a week, I don't think changing to going once a week would help significantly. How much homework is she getting every day? Does she express stress over going to school?Does she have issues concentrating or switching between tasks in general? I am very surprised because even when I was a high schooler taking AP classes, we did not get more than 2-3 hours of homework a day.

 

[milkcookies]

I do think the Xcel program can be very healthy to find a sport-life balance again, but I don't think this is the underlying issue here. I'm concerned that a 7 year old has so much homework (or issues with time management, which is not her fault as that is something to learn) that 6h/week of practice is enough to cause tears.

In general, I do think Xcel is a good way to find a balance again between school and socialization vs sports. However, I think that here, the underlying issue may be time management/problems focusing and stress at school, instead. I don't know where you live but I don't think having this much stress and/or homework as a 7 year old training 6h/week is healthy or normal. If she is having struggles going to the gym twice a week, I don't think changing to going once a week would help significantly. How much homework is she getting every day? Does she express stress over going to school?Does she have issues concentrating or switching between tasks in general? I am very surprised because even when I was a high schooler taking AP classes, we did not get more than 2-3 hours of homework a day.

Sorry, I don't know why my messages sent twice. I think my screen glitched and I assumed my first one got deleted