Parents Frustrated with DD's rec class

[newbiemom]

I've posted before about DD really wanting to join the Pre-Team program, but so far she's not been asked. I am fine with waiting and trust the coaches to know what is best for her development.

I just feel really frustrated with her rec experience. She goes twice a week, but she's not learning anything new. She goes to the tumble clinics the twice a month that they are offered, every time and she comes back from that half hour clinic SO excited about gymnastics. She learns a new skill or sharpens it every time. She has learned more in the past two months of attending these clinics about floor than she seems to have the past year in her class.

The reasonable part of me knows that it's because there are usually only about 6 kids in the clinic, most cheerleaders, so the coaches are able to spend some time focusing on her learning something. One week she got her roundoff looking 100x better, another week she learned her back bend, last week she finally got the backbend kickover with just her feet on the small mat. After class last week she was showing me her kickover and the coach was saying that she could tell she is practicing a lot and has come a long way in the past few weeks and she told DD that she would be able to do that kickover by her Monday class. I asked DD if they do kickovers in class, knowing the answer was no, they don't work on those. When she learned her backbend she asked the rec coach if she could do it during stretches and she told her no. The developmental program coach came over later and told her she could show her rec coach the backbend and she did.

About two weeks ago, the coach over the developmental program had her work out with her group (not sure what group that was, it wasn't pre-team, they come a different day) and DD said they did a handstand to bridge and she couldn't do it, but learned at the last tumble clinic and tumbling around our backyard (with that coach's approval). Again, she was so excited and kept saying how much she loves gymnastics.

I just get frustrated that her enthusiasm only comes from the clinics or time she got to work with the other group. There are no clinics for bars, beam or vault, so she doesn't get the chance to focus on any harder things on those. For bars, she has her chin up pullover (which she worked on at a open gym, with help from one of the other coaches). She did say on Monday that she did a back hip circle by herself.

I dont know what my point of my post is really, but I'm just frustrated for her.

 

[Gymmommy71]

For bars, she has her chin up pullover (which she worked on at a open gym, with help from one of the other coaches). She did say on Monday that she did a back hip circle by herself.

This sounds like good progress towards preteam if you ask me. How high above her head was the bar when she did the pullover? Does she have all three of her splits all the way down? How old is she? The bar stuff is great progress so hopefully the coaches noticed her doing those things.

 

[newbiemom]

I honestly don't know. The bars are in the back of the gym. She's not very strong but a really hard worker. They get a certificate when they get the pullover and she was so excited. Lol. She doesn't do pull ups well at home but she's getting better.

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[MaryA]

It sounds as if the rec program has no real plan for progressing... no 'this skill leads to that skill which leads to this other skill.' That the rec program is more of a place where you do fun things using gymnastics equipment to help you stay active and fit, but not necessarily to develop gymnastics skills. Is that accurate? If that's the case, and she actually wants to learn gymnastics, then it sounds like this is the wrong program for her. Can you present it to the coaches or the gym owner or whoever in the same way you told it to us? If they don't have a program that is able to challenge her and allow her to progress (whether it's pre-team or not) then I would look for someplace that does.

 

[newbiemom]

She has the other two but her middle split is about three inches above the ground.

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[Quadqueen]

She has the other two but her middle split is about three inches above the ground.

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no worries....kids don't need 3 splits all the way down for pre-team, or team for that matter

 

[IreneKa]

Have you talked to the coaches about pre-team at all? I wouldn't just wait to get asked, you should talk to them and let them know that you are interested. Now is the good time, because at least at our gym they are finalizing pre-teams\teams around this time - May, early June. I know that in out gym if you don't make it now, you have to wait all year for your next chance, they won't transfer you to pre-team mid-season.

 

[Gymmommy71]

In gyms that are eager to get girls into preteam I find the following combo is usually enough to get an invite to a "regular" team track:

Right age (7 or under)
Right body type (not unusually tall or overweight for age)
All splits down, or at least 2 while being very close on the 3rd
Pullover w/ the bar far enough above the head that the kid is essentially doing a chin up to get up there...
Back hip circle
Ability to walk back and forth across the high beam w/o major fear issues
Able to hold a handstand well and w/ good form
Cartwheel and roundoff w/ good form (no bent legs or flexed feet, straight, good power in the round off)
Front and back walkover are a bonus, but a good standing backbend and then a kickover will do most times too.

If a kid has these things and isn't being invited onto preteam, then the gym must have some extreme selectivity criteria that's beyond what I've experienced in my years of watching things transpire at gyms, or they really just don't want any new kids in preteam at this time. Usually the bars are what weed most kids out.

 

[newbiemom]

She will be 7 in August.
She is very small for her age- about 43 inches and barely 40 lbs. She's got genetics against her to be very big.
She has no fear on the beams, she loves beam. She did do a forward roll on the high beam a few weeks ago. She was excited about that. I just love seeing her excitement. She has a decent handstand, she's working on holding it better. I really dont know how her form is, because I dont know much about gymnastics. It's hard for me to determine.
I spoke with the developmental director about her desire to compete one day and she suggested two classes a week, so we started that in February. I asked if the clinics would benefit and she said yes, so we do all of them that we can.

I'm really crossing my fingers that she gets asked to try out for Pre Team or at least moved up to the intermediate class so she can be challenged. The developmental coach does take a big interest in her and the day she coached the clinic she was very enthusiastic that DD handled the conditioning with the bigger kids and never complained, tried her best to keep up, etc.

I just hate that it's all so subjective in getting them on teams. I've mentioned to my husband that we could find another gym that would allow more team training oportunities if these don't pan out, but this gym is literally in our neighborhood, the owner is so nice etc, we would just really like for it to work out here.

I need to help her get stronger on bars. She will be going to their summer camp program this summer for our childcare, and I know she will get a lot of extra time in the gym and get stronger, only problem is that is after when I assume they do the pre-team evaluations based on the late may- early June timeline.

 

[Ex member]

I understand your frustration, my dd is in rec and goes twice a week for 1 hour each. My dd has just quit competitive cheerleading as she wants to do gymnastics (she is 6), she has just competed in her first rec gym competition and really enjoyed it and wants to take part in a regional rec competition that they have being given the chance to do.

My dd quit cheerleading as she prefers gymnastics, it seem as the next step up is advanced rec then team. I am going to see how she does in the next competition - if she improves her scores then I will approach the gym to see if she is suitable for the advanced class. These are her skills:

Left leg splits,
Middle splits around 3 inches of the ground,
Straight leg Bridge
She can put her feet on her head while doing a "seal"
She can do a back hip circle with a little bit of help
She can walk along the high beam well with little jumps
Backwards Roll
Forwards Roll with knees together
Forwards and Backwards Rolls to straddle
Straddle stand to headstand several times (head on floor, feet in straddle lifting both feet in air and bring together and then come down in straddle)
Half decent Handstand
Half decent handstand forward Roll
Cartwheel
Back bend
kickover from low mat
Front support on Bar with a dismount
Skin the cat

She is now adding "pretty arms" when she does stuff and adds a pose at the end (not required but something she likes to do when she does her rec class)

 

[2G1B]

Honestly, I would give it one more chance with a talk to the coach and then if nothing happens I'd look at other gyms. Like a previous poster mentioned, a lot of teams are finalizing their rosters right now. If you wait much longer, she might have to wait until next year.

I'll share my experience... My son was on team at a gym. His twin sister was rec there, as was little sister. Twin sister really, really wanted to be on team. I had mentioned it to her coaches and they always said, "not quite yet". Then she was taking a tumbling class that happened to be coached by the head coach. He asked her to join the cheer squad. She said no thanks, she really wants to do all of the events and wants to concentrate on gymnastics. At that point he told me that she should be on pre-team and it must have been an oversight that she hadn't been invited long before then. I had never talked to him about her desire, just her normal class coaches.

Due to other stuff we had to change gyms. Both twins were placed on the new gym's team and their little sister was put on preteam. There was no talk at the old gym of her being on pre-team. If we hadn't swapped gyms, best case scenario wold be that the twins were on team and maybe little sis was moved to preteam just a few months ago instead of her being there last summer, and on up to team in the fall.

 

[newbiemom]

Would you suggest asking again? I spoke with the recreational program director in January. That's when they suggested the two classes.

I don't want to be pushy or anything. I'm also not sure who to even talk to.

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[MaryA]

Asking weekly is pushing. Asking in January and then again in May is not. Ask around and find out who to talk to. As 2G1T has said, making sure the right person knows that you are interested can make all the difference. Maybe start with the developmental coach and ask her if you should talk to someone on the team side? Or ask how recommendations are made from rec to pre-team/team so that you understand the process?

 

[Gymmom495]

It sounds to me from everything that your in a perfect position to get started on pre-team. She's the perfect age, sounds like perfect body type, and love and drive for the sport along with beginning skills already in place. A lot of times the gym that is best will not be in your backyard. I pass 7 or 8 maybe more gyms to get to the one we go to, and believe it or not some parents at our gym drive over an hour and a half without traffic one way to get to our gym. Sounds like you may want to research a few other places just to see what's being offered. Sounds like she has talent, and she needs a place that will challenge her.

 

[gymmomtotwo]

I've been through this. Gym has super secret, nontryout,unpublished method of picking gymnasts for developmental and preteam classes. Parents sit in lobby wondering what their kid has to do to get invited. Alot of it depended on who the coach was for the class, whatever. It's a mystery. The gym encourages you to do extra super expensive rec classes twice a week. Parents wonder constantly what does the kid need to do.

Fastforward to new gym. Totally different atmosphere. They have team tryouts once a year and also you can do a private evaluation for preteam any time through the year. Kid gets a decent cartwheel and handstand in rec classes, it's time for the coach to encourage the kid to join either the xcel or JO team depending on where they think the child will fit. Their goal (stated on the website) is to give every child that wants to a chance to compete. They actively encourage kids out of the rec program onto teams, and it's amazing how fast even the lowest level XCEL kids improve with the extra practice each week.

Which gym do I prefer? The one that gave my kid a shot at developmental/ preteam (the other gym wasn't going to) and now she is slated to begin the new level 4 in a year at 7 years old. She is 6 and also practicing TOPs. There is a difference from gym to gym. The gym you are at may not be the right one.

 

[newbiemom]

Gymmomtotwo I wish I could find a gym like that! I'm going to look for an opportunity to talk to them again at open gym this weekend. It's very crowded in the small lobby and hard to talk during the week.

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[Committed]

I would definitely ask again right now. It sounds like some coaches have noticed your DD and are taking note of her new skills.
Just make sure to talk to the right coaches.

 

[level9mom]

Maturity, too, may play into selection. My dd is level 9 but I assisted with rec classes for a couple of years (helps pay the bills, you know) and some kids have the skills but not the attention span to handle longer classes. One thing that always helps is strength training and that is easy to do at home. Do pike, tuck and straddle holds, hollow holds, chin ups, etc. my dd had limited flexibility but excellent strength and she skipped quickly from rec to mini team to level five. In today's gymnastics, power is essential.


Every awful story begins with "we were on beam and..."

 

[gymdog]

Is there another gym in the area? If there's one anywhere in driving distance, I would try to get an evaluation and see. They may accept her to their preteam, or have a better rec program. Our rec program works on back bend kickover and back walkover every class, assuming the child has a handstand, decent bridge (not like scary on the head bridge), and cartwheel. I have once a week rec kids who can do back walkovers and front walkovers.

It sounds like the developmental coach has seen her. I would just politely inquire about the possibility, making it really clear that you aren't trying to push it, just wondering what your expectations should be and if there's anything she doesn't have already. One issue to consider (which they might tell you), is that after the success of the American Olympic team, many gyms had a huge surge in demand for classes in August, and I know at my gym that carried over to our developmental program because after a few months we had many more kids with potential and now have no space. So there could literally not be an available slot until June (many team programs will move kids up in June).

 

[BlairBob]

Yep, try to talk to that developmental coach once in awhile. Doesn't have to be every practice but once in awhile, besides her coach.

If she is weaker in her arms and core, get her a pullup bar. Pullups and leg lifts when you are around. Or hang a rope off of it and have her do pullups where she picks her butt off the ground. Make a cheap set of parallettes and she can practice L and straddle-L sit and pushups. I prefer dips for bars, but to be honest most kids need to get better at pushups early on before worrying about dips.