Anon Gym hours increasing at what point is it diminished returns

[Anonymous (e788)]

My 4th grader is currently a level 5 she also plays a competitive team sport that is also mostly year round. In the fall and spring she essentially has no days off in the winter/summer can focus more on gym. She averages between 9 and 14 hours a week at gym. We've been discussing how long she can continue to do both. She's been successful enough at gym (I believe she has more potential at her other sport) can safely do skills and has some upper level skills too but isn't the most polished. She's leaning more towards gym because in her words she could quit that and come back but she couldn't do that with gym. She's recently said she has the goal of getting to level 10 but then backtracked. I often wonder how much more progress / cleaness would there be with increasing priority and hours at gym and at which point does that increase not provide any tangible increase where continuing another sport provides that as a viable backup if gym doesn't work out.

 

[Anonymous (f350)]

Around L5, I asked my DD who's a social butterfly, to choose between gym and cheer/other extras. Up to that point, I let her do as much as she could handle to avoid FOMO, but there's only so many hours in the day. I made it clear I'd be 100% behind her decision. She chose gym.

As to your Q about about whether there's a tangible increase with more hours...it's really up to her. My DD also has some issues with form, but she's happy upgrading her skills. She's not an all-star, but she occasionally gets on the podium and is all smiles. I tried forcing my way prior, and it didn't work so I let DD lead. Your kid may be different as she's a little younger than my DD was at L5. Good luck with you and your DD's decision.

 

[Anonymous (4270)]

My guess is that you are right on the cusp of your DD's hours increasing significantly in the gym when she moves to optionals, especially if her gym skips L6 and moves to L7. Many gyms will be supportive of a kid pursuing two sports in the lower levels but as the skills progress in difficulty, it becomes a safety issue to consistently miss practice and train fewer hours. This is separate from the debate within the sport on how many hours are necessary at each level. For example, some gyms L10 train 32 hours a week while others accomplish the same results with 20 hours. But even if you are at a gym that trains the lower end, that leaves no time for another year round sport.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that when she reaches L7 (which could be as soon as this summer?) she will likely face backlash from the gym if she is consistently showing up for just 9 hours each week while she is doing her other sport.

Could she switch to a rec league for her other sport? Or switch to Xcel if she wants to do both sports?

 

[Dahlialover]

Because of variations in training efficiency, it is difficult to specify how many hours is enough. There are some gyms where the kids spend the majority of their time waiting around and there are gyms where kids are actively training the entire practice. If practices are run efficiently, you can get level 5 accomplished in 12 hours per week, especially if there are other sports contributing to general fitness. At a less efficient gym, it could require 16+ hours to train level 5. I have found that injuries really start accumulating when gymnasts increase to 20 hours, even at an inefficient gyms.

 

[Anonymous (4a48)]

Agree that training efficiency is a big factor here. For conversations sake, my daughter moved from a very non-competitive gym where she was a successful xcel platinum training 11 hours a week (she was podium finisher at regionals). She's now at a new gym training 16 hours a week as level 7. We've seen DRASTIC improvements in her form, strength and stamina. I think it's in part to the increase in hours but mainly because of the way practice is run - there is not any standing around, ever. They are doing drills, working independently, spending 1:1 time with coaches on each event, etc. Her muscle tone has always been impressive to me but now she's absolutely ripped and it all helps with her gymnastics performance. At her new gym, optionals are not permitted to be in another year round activity. They will make exceptions for seasonal activities but I wouldn't say they really like that either.

 

[Anonymous (e788)]

Because of variations in training efficiency, it is difficult to specify how many hours is enough. There are some gyms where the kids spend the majority of their time waiting around and there are gyms where kids are actively training the entire practice. If practices are run efficiently, you can get level 5 accomplished in 12 hours per week, especially if there are other sports contributing to general fitness. At a less efficient gym, it could require 16+ hours to train level 5. I have found that injuries really start accumulating when gymnasts increase to 20 hours, even at an inefficient gyms.

She is currently able to do level 5 (but on all events she is only scoring mid to high 8's ) between the 9 and 14 hour range. She is getting more skills during this winter time of being able to go 14 hours more consistently though. I would say the gym efficiency is dependent on which coach is for that practice. Half of her practices are much more efficient while the other half are more fun it seems to be a good mix as both are sometimes needed. But she does say she prefers the practice with the stricter coach and smaller size and does not want to miss that specific practice for games anymore.

 

[Anonymous (e788)]

My guess is that you are right on the cusp of your DD's hours increasing significantly in the gym when she moves to optionals, especially if her gym skips L6 and moves to L7. Many gyms will be supportive of a kid pursuing two sports in the lower levels but as the skills progress in difficulty, it becomes a safety issue to consistently miss practice and train fewer hours. This is separate from the debate within the sport on how many hours are necessary at each level. For example, some gyms L10 train 32 hours a week while others accomplish the same results with 20 hours. But even if you are at a gym that trains the lower end, that leaves no time for another year round sport.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that when she reaches L7 (which could be as soon as this summer?) she will likely face backlash from the gym if she is consistently showing up for just 9 hours each week while she is doing her other sport.

Could she switch to a rec league for her other sport? Or switch to Xcel if she wants to do both sports?

I wish! I have suggested a lower tier travel club that would have less expectations and she argues there would be no point because she wouldn't be getting better. Xcel was also a no go but it's a fluid discussion

 

[Dahlialover]

I wish! I have suggested a lower tier travel club that would have less expectations and she argues there would be no point because she wouldn't be getting better. Xcel was also a no go but it's a fluid discussion

It sounds like she has made her choice and I think it is a good one. She’ll probably need to increase to 16+ hours per week in level 6 and drop her other sport. There is plenty of time for her to go back to other sports later. Level 6 is a good time to try out going all-in on gymnastics. Level 6 (and especially up-training for level 7) is really where gymnastics changes gears. The skills become more difficult, more physically demanding, and more scary. Some gymnasts thrive on this and do better than they ever did in compulsories and some gymnasts discover that it’s no longer fun for them. I think it’s a great idea to give it a go and see if that’s where her passion lies. If it turns out that it’s not, then she’ll have plenty of time to pivot to something else.