WAG Giving the opportunity to a late starter

[gymisforeveryone]

I just heard that there is a 13 year old girl who has done two rec classes a week and is way too advanced to be there no longer. She has never been in a competitive group. I was asked if I could take her in my team which includes girls the same age as she but they are 2-3 levels above her. I thought about it for a minute and then said yes. I really want to give her opportunity! I haven't met her yet but I heard she is pretty advanced and all but of course she needs more strength for bars (no kip yet) especially. She does aesthetic group gymnastics as well but prefers artistic.

The only problem is that even if she could train the same things that my other girls do she have to start competing from the lowest possible level and score out from 2-3 levels before being in the same level as my other girls. She is 13 and usually kids compete the lowest level (B) at age 7-10. I'm afraid she will feel embarrassed competing with little ones... And I'm also a bit worried how the other girls in team will react when they hear that we allowed a girl from rec to join their team (in which they have been for years and years)

Do you have any experience with very late starters?

 

[OzZee]

We have an early teenage girl that moved over to the competitive side at our gym last year. She is so lovely and great with the younger girls. I think if they have the love they are happy to train and compete with younger kids to get to do what they love.

Mostly the younger girls have loved having her on the team though there were a few comments at the first in-house pre-comp from one child.

I think it's great you are giving this girl a chance.
I don't get the whole it has to be all or nothing thing with gymnastics. You don't have to be a 5 year old hotshot with dreams of the olympics to love the sport and get fit and healthy doing something you love. It's not about the level you attain but the benefits you gain from gymnastics.

 

[gymgurl]

Give her the chance!! I am 18 and will be 19 by the time state comes around and I'm not the slightest bit embarrassed about competing against kids that are up to 6 years younger. It all depends on the kid. For me my love of gymnastics is greater than my concern that I'm too old. She could be an awesome role model to the younger girls, it's always really important to have a good role model. I don't see the problem putting her with girls her age if you as the coach can cater to her needs. She may look back and think 'I wanted to give it all I had but the gym wouldn't let me' if you don't give her a chance and that would be a shame. She may thrive under better coaching and improve drastically when she wants too 'catch up' with the other girls

 

[bogwoppit]

Totally, if she wants to why not let her.

 

[CreateMagic]

Talk to her, and give her all the information--just what you told us. She's old enough to know how she'll feel and decide if she's ok with that.
FWIW, I did a rec class at age 16 (almost 17, just got my license at the time), and was invited to do the prep-op novice team my senior year of high school (age 17). It would have been my first year competing, had I taken the opportunity. I chose to stay with competitive cheer instead, but it was a difficult decision!

 

[iwannacoach]

Talk to her, and give her all the information--just what you told us. She's old enough to know how she'll feel and decide if she's ok with that.
FWIW, I did a rec class at age 16 (almost 17, just got my license at the time), and was invited to do the prep-op novice team my senior year of high school (age 17). It would have been my first year competing, had I taken the opportunity. I chose to stay with competitive cheer instead, but it was a difficult decision!

Don't worry about the age thing. It hasn't been a problem for her so far, and if, or when, she has an age problem it should be based on her feelings, not the impression or feeling of others. It seems you have no problem other than concerns for her, so way to go! Put her on your team now.... before she gets away, as she just may be the most undeveloped "advanced kid" you'll ever work with. The story reminds me of a few kids that ended up being "the biggest dog on the porch" after three years of coaching.

Go for it!

 

[catou]

You know, these late starter kids can be the ones who will stay involved in the sport for a long time... So let her try, at this age, she will be able to see and decide for herself.

 

[sglemon]

We have always had 16 yr olds on our level 4 team. It has always been a very positive experience for the younger girls, because they seem to take on that mother hen role. They always set a wonderful example, and provide a positive energy to the team.

 

[Kiwi]

A similar thing happened at our gym. One of our rec girls was so good, our coach brought her across to competitive. I believe this girl was extremely motivated and practiced a lot in her own time because she already looked like a competitive gymnast not a rec gymnast. She was 11 or 12 I think, she was put into step 3 (who were mostly 8 to 10), did brilliantly in competitions and skipped a step, so is now step 5. Her bars were quite weak at first, but she has caught up and is now doing well on all events. I say good on you for giving this girl the chance!

 

[gymgirl2013]

I will say that I was that girl. I started rec at almost 16 and then asked if there was something more for me. At the time I could barely bridge but they gave me the chance. I ended up competing USAG level 4 and was quite successful (37.5). My teammates ranged from 6-10 other than me, and even the oldest girl in my age group all year was 14. Now as a senior in high school I moved into prep-op/xcel gold. Even now I am still the oldest but I have come so far.

My advise would be to lay everything out to her and let her make the ultimate decision. I would encourage her to at least try because you never know what could happen Best of luck

 

[gymisforeveryone]

A little update:

I met this girl (let's say Sara) today and I'm quite happy I allowed her to come. She's VERY flexible and has beautiful oversplits and perfect bridge. She also has beautiful lines and always pointed toes, feet together and straight etc. She had nice round-offs and front handsprings on floor and could easily do a backward roll to push up position.

On vault it was a bit different story. She had never seen a vault table before. We worked on running (she runs like a ballerina because of she does aesthetic group gymnastics) and hurdles and hitting the board. She did some straight jumps onto 125cm vault table and at the end we moved to handstands (she didn't go over, just a handstand). But I can imagine that with a hard work she will become excellent vaulter one day. As a side station the other girls did yourchenko timers and she wanted to try it too. She did pretty well actually and surprised me!

On bars she was a bit lost. The other girls did their routines and we started from the very beginning. Sara could pullover and do casts. I made her go through back hip circle progressions and she did so well that at the end she could almost do them by herself. It was SO EASY to give her corrections and she always asked clarifications if she wasn't sure if she understood what I wanted to see. She made a huge progress within just 30 minutes. And she has never ever even did a back hip circle! One of the other girls let Sara use her grips and it was amazing how easily she got used to them.

During conditioning I noticed her upper body is weak. She couldn't do pull-ups by herself. But I think she'll gain more strength if she works hard.

Sara will participate our practices 4 days a week but will miss something because she also does that competitive group gymnastics 4 times a week. I'm not sure how she will handle all this but I hope the best