Parents Excel → DP? Rookie Gym Dad Asking Smarter People for Help

[Rookie Dad]

Hello all! I’ve been lurking here for the past few months trying to learn this sport, and I finally worked up the courage to post. As my username implies, I am very new to the competitive gymnastics world, so apologies in advance if I misuse terminology, make incorrect assumptions, or commit other rookie-parent offenses. Please feel free to correct me—I promise my ego will survive.

This is a longer post, but my hope is that by giving enough context, you veterans can help steer me in the right direction. That’s honestly why I finally registered instead of just lurking.

The Athlete​

My daughter is 11 (6th grade) and will turn 12 in the spring. We’ve always encouraged her to try a variety of activities—cheerleading, soccer (briefly), choir, theater, Girl Scouts, dance, (probably forgetting others) and gymnastics. At first, gymnastics wasn’t the thing. But after one of her coaches in pre-team (I think?) told her she needed to either take practice seriously or move back to rec, something clicked.

She was placed in the Excel track (at the time we had no idea there were different tracks), competed Bronze, then Silver last year, and somewhere along the way she caught the bug. Since then she’s been extremely focused. At practice she mostly ignores the social side—if other kids are chatting or milling around, she’s stepping up for extra reps. We have been told by coaches she takes corrections and feedback well.

She’s small (5–10th percentile for her age), very fit, and the youngest on her team. I understand she may be behind the curve when it comes to the “Level 10 by high school” timeline, and we’re realistic that club gymnastics may ultimately be the right fit.

That said, she wants to move into the DP program because she’d like a chance—however slim—to continue gymnastics in college. Her mom and I fully understand the odds, the risk of injury, burnout, changing interests, etc. But we’ve told her we’ll support her giving it an honest try as long as she’s happy, healthy, and her grades don’t suffer. She knows it may not happen—she just doesn’t want to look back and wonder “what if.”

The Gym​

Her team practices 3x/week. She attends an optional practice every other week and does 2–3 one-hour privates per month. The owners are kind, but organization can be hit or miss. There are only about 10–15 optional girls (levels 6–8). Pre-COVID there were more, but it seems many girls transfer out at higher levels to gyms with deeper experience and college pipelines.

Those gyms exist near us—but the commute would be very hard on two full-time working parents (time-wise more than financially). I do have some concern that the gym may not push athletes up aggressively because higher-level transfers are more likely. Her former Silver coach seemed very invested, whereas the Gold group is coached by a mix of owners and staff. It’s not a revolving door, but it’s not always clear who’s coaching which apparatus on a given night.

Side note: Until early 2025, I had no idea DP even existed, let alone how any of this worked. Neither did my wife. Neither did my daughter. So… yeah. That’s where we’re starting from.

The Progress​

Last year she placed 3rd in her age group at Silver at the Florida state meet (around 38.5 AA, roughly top 100 out of ~900—scores and placements intentionally imprecise). Ironically, bars—usually her strongest event—was her weakest that day. Most of the season she scored mid-37s; the year prior in Bronze she was mid-36s.

The Plan (this is where I really want feedback!)​

When we raised the idea of DP, the coaches said she would compete Gold this spring and then move to Level 4. Her former Silver coach felt she could likely test out of 4 and into 5, possibly even 6.

Based on my deep dive into message boards, Google, and “new gymnastics dad anxiety,” here’s what I’m thinking—and please tell me if this is reasonable, naïve, or totally backwards:

1. Focus on the Gold season first. Continue optional practices when allowed, mixing in with Level 6/7s (see what I did there?!), experimenting with new skills, and sharpening basics. Keep privates focused on Gold routines.
2. Mid-season assessment. After winter break, request a private with her trusted former Silver coach to assess which Level 5 and 6 skills she currently has on each apparatus. (I believe Level 4 should already be covered.)
3. Post-Gold season DP discussion. After Gold ends, meet with the gym owners about transferring to DP. Once she turns 12, request video submissions to score out of Level 4 in the spring so she can train with Level 5s while concurrently working toward Level 6. Then, if she and the coaches believe she’s ready in late summer or early fall (after attending a couple of college camps), submit videos to test into Level 6.

If she makes it—great. She’ll work incredibly hard and keep progressing, or repeat Level 6 if needed. I understand repeating a level can be valuable. My (possibly flawed) thinking is that it’s better to stretch and potentially repeat than not try at all—but I’d really appreciate hearing other perspectives on this.

I promise I’m not trying to over-engineer this (even though it may look that way). I’m just trying to learn fast enough so my daughter isn’t limited by my lack of knowledge—or our inability to easily move gyms.

Thank you in advance for any advice, perspective, or reality checks. And yes, I fully accept that I may be “that dad.”

 

[Coach Kate]

I love how much research and thought you've already put into this!

I truly find privates unnecessary on a regular basis at these low levels. Yes, it can be fun, but I don't really find them beneficial. As a coach, I typically use them for something very specific when an athlete is trying as hard as they can at practice, and still not quite getting it, OR if the rest of the team has moved on from drills and one athlete still needs them (most recently for jumping to high bar). They should be rare, temporary, and specific in my opinion. If you need regular privates to make progress at a gym, you need better coaching.

I would actually start with a conversation with your child's current coaches. Scores and placements at entry levels don't really say a lot about potential. Some of the best elites struggled in compulsories and some of the girls scoring 38s in level 3 never make it to level 6. Your child's coaches should be able to tell you whether or not they see her being successful in DP, and if they would consider moving her over at their gym.

Based on that conversation, you'll have your next move. If they say they wouldn't ever see her doing DP at this gym, I would probably seek out an assessment at another gym if you're truly interested. If they have reasons why they don't think DP is a good fit for her, listen to them and weigh them with what you know of about your child.

Again, I really do love how far you've gone for your child already and recommend starting with talking to your current coach and letting that decide next steps.

 

[GymDadWA]

Would advise she does the season in gold that the current coach has set her up for and not worry about any other levels at this time.

Next summer she can work on transitioning to DP since she will be old enough to petition into 6, or do test out meets for 4 and 5. That is something for the off season not competition season, the gymnasts and coaches have far too much on their plate to organize and prepare for that right now.

Overall just take it one season at a time. Trying to plan too far ahead will get you into trouble when things don't go as planned.

 

[NutterButter]

I absolutely agree with everything @Coach Kate says. One thing I would add is that when you talk to her coaches is to make sure you are also talking to a decision maker within the DP program. Including a beloved former coach in the conversation is fine but if they have no sway with the DP program it's rather moot. Some programs will take a hard pass on a 12 year old no matter the overall potential. Some programs will generally not let a kid move from Xcel to DP but will make an exception depending on the kid. Other programs allow movement back and forth. You will need to determine the gym's philosophy on this. Don't be discourage if you are told no...you can look elsewhere.

I agree re: private lessons not being necessary. Another potentially concerning thing you mentioned is that the gym looses higher performing athletes to other gyms that can provide coaching for levels 9 and 10. Your DD would already have a difficult road ahead just getting to L10 by her senior year. She will have to have a unique mix of talent, work ethic and just plain luck because time won't be on her side if she is sidelined by injuries or has to repeat levels. Some skills for L9 and L10 take years to develop and my concern is that if your gym doesn't have any kids above L8, that they may not be capable of getting them there. Gymnastics gets very hard and scary after L8 and my observation from 10+ years in the sport is that you don't always know which kids will successfully make that transition. Ask any experienced parent here and all of them will have stories of the 'most talented' kid in their child's group getting burned out, injured, scared around L8. There's a huge drop off at that point. Often it's the ones with the most grit and determination (and a healthy body) that stay in the sport till graduation.

With all that said, it's entirely possible for your DD to make the change to DP assuming you can find a willing gym. My DD competed one year of Silver in 5th grade then moved to L4 for 6th grade. She was on track for L10 her senior year but opted to stay L9 after a couple of significant injuries slowed her progress down. She ended up spending 3 years as a L9 but still made it to a D3 gymnastics team because she had some desired L10 skills that were of interest to college coaches.