Parents Drop in hours?

[SHELOVESGYM]

We are considering a switch to x cel from JO which would mean a drop from 12 hours to 6 hours for DD. She does not want to drop in hours but, long story short we feel it's best to get her out of her current gym and x cel at another gym seems to be the best option for her and for our family. I have a few concerns with the big drop -first of all I am wondering how she will handle having so much more time on her hands -will I need to find her other activities? She loves being busy and active. Also, she is used to getting so much exercise and it seems to work well for her. Finally, she's one of those gymnasts that had to work hard to build strength and really it was only when she went from 9 to 12 hours that she started to catch up to others in her group in terms of strength. I am concerned that she will loose all that muscle and stop progressing all together!

Thanks for any thoughts on this!

 

[LouLou]

We had a similar drop in hours this year. It was actually a blessing and great timing. You may need to find other things, but give it a few weeks, maybe a little longer. My daughter never sits still and I was also worried about too much down time. She has taken on another sport "just for fun" that has a lesson once a week in addition to actually having time to continue music lessons. She has really enjoyed more time to work on school projects or craft projects. I would think a kids yoga class or something similar would be a great supplement. My daughter would never do it on her own, but if yours would, she could do some strength work on her days off. I have definitely noticed a difference in her body composition though with the decreased hours. She used to be absolutely ripped, now it's less obvious she's a gymnast.

 

[LindyHopper]

Short Stack hasn't shown any interest in ANY sport other than gymnastics her entire life. Little Bit (her younger sister) started competitive rock climbing about 5 months ago. Short Stack enjoys going to the climbing gym for fun. All of her strength and conditioning get used, but differently. Her favorite thing is to climb the 60ft rope while her dad belays her. (Jaws begin to drop in the climbing gym when they see a "little" girl climbing and not using her legs). Now although I know Short Stack has no desire to be a competitive climber, I know if she experienced a cut in hours, she could use all of the extra energy she has there.

So, are there any climbing gyms in your area? They could be a great activity for your whole family.

 

[Really]

We are lucky to have diving schools near us, and also a couple of circus schools. I've signed DD up for diving in the summer months, which I am hoping she will take to, and the circus school offers one-off trapeze lessons, which DD does whenever there's any down time in the gym. We also have a pool membership which includes an indoor pool, so DD could go swimming year round. And we also ski in the winter months, so that is our family activity. If DD were to lose interest in gymnastics, she has said she would want to take more lessons at the circus school-- aerial silks as well as flying trapeze.

 

[CLgym]

My DD started in Xcel and always wanted more hours. So Xcel coach suggested we add trampoline (which was offered at the same gym where she was already doing Xcel). She really enjoyed it. They placed her on the trampoline pre-team 2x week. That plus Xcel hours (9/week) kept her active and happy. Xcel gym also offered aerial skills, tumbling and event specific classes. Anything like that possible to supplement? Rock climbing and trapeze also came to mind - as mentioned above.

 

[mls529]

I feel like I could have written your post. My daughter is moving from training level 6 to Xcel. She is a super high energy kid, and I am extremely nervous that a lot of extra time is actually going to hurt her focus in other areas of her life. While she is also going to look at diving, we agreed that she will look at cross country too. I felt that she is moving from many, many hours of conditioning a week, so she needed another activity that really burns energy. Divers, at least the team around her, is only a handful of hours per week. Rock climbing sounds amazing -- not sure if that is available everywhere. Good luck to her!

 

[Jenny]

Dance or ballet classes will also help her maintain really good presentation. Love the climbing and cross country suggestions.

 

[raenndrops]

She is young. Do you have a local YMCA? Swimming, soccer, basketball, flag football, martial arts, fit kids (they teach them to use the fitness equipment properly) could all be options if you do.
Or the local parks and rec department may have some of these programs.

 

[IreneKa]

My DD went from 19.5 hours at L4 to 5 hours at Xcel Gold. It was driving her (and me) crazy to have so much free time on her hands all of a sudden. She did take one dance class in addition to gymnastics, but still not nearly enough.

And you are right, such drop in hours does result in loosing strength, flexibility, and eventually skills. In 6 months that she stayed on this schedule she barely got any new skills (flyaway on bars and ROBT on floor). But she did start loosing her skills. Lost her cartwheel on beam, had to replace by something else. Lost her aerial on floor, had to replace by front tuck. Bars suffered the most. It was her best event in L4, had a beautiful straight-armed kip and way above horizontal casts. By the middle of her Xcel season she could barely cast, and almost lost her squat on (could only make it maybe 1/3 of the time).

I mean, I have nothing against Xcel, it's a great program. And it probably works for those who start there from the beginning, their strength and flexibility slowly increasing, and they progress in their own speed. But dropping hours as dramatically as my DD did, it does show.

She ended up quitting after that one Xcel season because of her back, not because of the lack of progress. Maybe if she stayed, she would have eventually adjusted to new hours.

 

[mls529]

My DD went from 19.5 hours at L4 to 5 hours at Xcel Gold. It was driving her (and me) crazy to have so much free time on her hands all of a sudden. She did take one dance class in addition to gymnastics, but still not nearly enough.

And you are right, such drop in hours does result in loosing strength, flexibility, and eventually skills. In 6 months that she stayed on this schedule she barely got any new skills (flyaway on bars and ROBT on floor). But she did start loosing her skills. Lost her cartwheel on beam, had to replace by something else. Lost her aerial on floor, had to replace by front tuck. Bars suffered the most. It was her best event in L4, had a beautiful straight-armed kip and way above horizontal casts. By the middle of her Xcel season she could barely cast, and almost lost her squat on (could only make it maybe 1/3 of the time).

I mean, I have nothing against Xcel, it's a great program. And it probably works for those who start there from the beginning, their strength and flexibility slowly increasing, and they progress in their own speed. But dropping hours as dramatically as my DD did, it does show.

She ended up quitting after that one Xcel season because of her back, not because of the lack of progress. Maybe if she stayed, she would have eventually adjusted to new hours.

Can I ask if she still does gymnastics at all? Did she replace it with another sport or high intensity activity? This is my concern for my daughter too!

 

[IreneKa]

Can I ask if she still does gymnastics at all? Did she replace it with another sport or high intensity activity? This is my concern for my daughter too!

No, not doing gymnastics. Her back is better now, but it's not worth risking re-injury.

We are trying to keep her busy as much as we can. She wants to do competitive dance, so currently taking as many dance classes as we can afford, and hoping to make a team next season. Also, doing school drama club, which keeps her occupied 2-3 days a week after school (more closer to the performance dates). And softball season is finally starting, so will be busy with that 2-3 days a week for the next two months.

 

[Mrs. Puma]

Puma Jr just went from 16 hours to 9 and though I was really worried about it, it's been exactly what she's needed. She is a very busy kid, but she's filled in the time well with playing with her sister and neighborhood kids, which she had very little time for before. She's usually doing active things like riding her bike or even making up her own conditioning routines lol. We've had a lot more time for family game nights, ect too. I don't feel like she's lost strength, but it's only been two months. She says she gets more out of the practices because they are very organized and there is virtually no down time. I think also she's putting more into conditioning at the gym becaus she's feeling better about herself overall. She'll be starting middle school in the fall eek:) so it will be nice to have a little free time if she wants to try a new activity. Once she gets moved to the next level, she may have to go to 12 hours anyway. Good luck!! It will work out!!!

 

[JMACAZ]

My DD did XB and T&T at the same time. Was a great fit for her. Then the hours went up and she had to chose. She chose T&T and he rest is history