Parents Gymnastics Body Type?

[JoyAvenueMom]

Gyms that focus on building strength first, then skills, can help even an a modestly talented kid become a beautiful gymnast. You should see Kipper's gym line up pics. The tallest kid in the gym is a 10yo L6. She is taller than the 15-17yos! She does not score as high as the petite kids her age, but she does well, and is a beautiful gymnast. Gyms who do not focus on strength are only going to see success from the naturally strong kiddos.

 

[mOm2gymnast<3]

My dd is not naturally gifted when it comes to gymnastics. But she works really hard. She's working lv6. She did awesome at state this last season. And yes, she's strong and has a great upper body strength to do bars. But she's stocky and built like a bulldog, not fat at all! But oh so muscular and short and doesn't have a good body lines compared to the ones that are slender.

 

[LizzieLac]

There is a gym in our state, not too far away, that all of our parents are convinced only take naturally thin, low body fat, ectomorphs.

They are quite successful, but I wouldn't say it is solely on the body type they select. The coaching is good. But I would not go there if given then chance. I love the fact that our gym welcomes EVERY girl regardless of physical appearance and if they want to compete, all are given a spot on our bronze Xcel team at a minimum.

This other gym would never have taken my daughter. My DD, as a taller, stockier gymnast has still had lots of success in this sport. I believe that most girls can have some success regardless of body type. Much comes down to strength to weight ratio. Larger kids just need to build more strength proportionately to the smaller kids because they have more "mass" to move through space.

We have had lots of heavier girls and "non-gymnast" bodies do great and even win states. I realize it is the discretion of coaches and owners who they take on team, but I really treasure that our gym is inclusive!

 

[mommyof1]

Gyms that focus on building strength first, then skills, can help even an a modestly talented kid become a beautiful gymnast. You should see Kipper's gym line up pics. The tallest kid in the gym is a 10yo L6. She is taller than the 15-17yos! She does not score as high as the petite kids her age, but she does well, and is a beautiful gymnast. Gyms who do not focus on strength are only going to see success from the naturally strong kiddos.

This is such a good point. My daughter started at a gym that did zero conditioning in rec and was inconsistent with conditioning on preteam. They mostly selected kids who came in naturally strong and having "taught" themselves to do back handsprings on the backyard trampoline. The lack of conditioning was a barrier to skill acquisition for many of the kids who were not naturally strong, including my daughter. Now she is at a gym with a strong focus on conditioning, and the difference is amazing. The kids generally seem to get their skills faster than at the old gym. And my daughter enjoys regularly beating all the boys in her class at pull-up contests--including a boy gymnast from another team.

 

[JoyAvenueMom]

@mommyof1 , we had a similar experience. I'm a believer now that proper conditioning is the biggest advantage "winning" gyms have. And it is the great equalizer, allowing everyone to attain skills that only naturally strong kids could reach without it.

 

[Seeker]

@mommyof1 , we had a similar experience. I'm a believer now that proper conditioning is the biggest advantage "winning" gyms have. And it is the great equalizer, allowing everyone to attain skills that only naturally strong kids could reach without it.

It is absolutely essential. Having been at 3 gyms (first change by choice, second due to a move) -- I have some perspective on this. The focus on conditioning and basics is often the beginning of the great divide: those gyms that consistently produce quality high-level gymnasts and those that don't. You simply cannot do the higher levels skills safely and well without a strong basics and conditioning program to support you.

 

[my4buffaloes]

The thing I love about gymnastics is that people of all shapes and sizes can do amazing things and succeed! Find a new gym that will allow your dd to grow. At the current gym she will be stuck at this level forever because the coach doesn't see her as worth it.

 

[tmbm1019]

My DD has been on the xcel team as a gold for 2 years now. I believe they were hesitant to have her on the team because of her age (then at 10), but with persistence she got on it as a trial run. She proved herself and then some! Two years later she is now 5'6" and doing great. Still xcel gold but hopeful she will move up to JO or platinum at the end of this season. Her height has never been an issue, if anything the coaches love her long slender body because it makes everything look that much more graceful. The challenge is more on the gymnasts' part because the taller you are the more challenging the events are. She has to work harder at it due to her height. Don't let your daughter give up & don't give up finding a place that will be happy to have her on their team!

 

[kayjaybe]

We have girls of all shapes & sizes all the way up through L10.

Look at other gyms to make sure you are allowing her to reach her full potential.

 

[tooootsie]

I have 2 girls on team. One little tiny 7 year old and one taller 9 year old (4'3" which really is average, but when you compare to tiny girls she looks huge) last parent meeting the coach told me that my oldest is probably too tall for JO which shocked me considering she competed the last two seasons. I kind of ignored it because she works really hard and scores well. I hope they don't bring it up again.

To op I agree find a gym that will take her in at least as an xcel. Best of luck!

 

[munchkin3]

We also have all types of optionals and they are ALL well conditioned and strong. Some are taller and thinner, which the coach feels is a big asset for bars since taller girls look very graceful on bars. Some are not as graceful but are explosive, which is good for vault.....some are very flexible etc.....We have one girl who really should be in basketball, as she is just tall and thick but she manages to compete well.

One big factor is ability to gain muscle. One or two of the lower level 2/3 have really low muscle tone and it might take them a bit longer to advance. For most of the gymnasts I've seen by the time they are in L5 they look different than an average kid and are in seriously good shape. You can't get far without the strength relative to body size....there also are a couple of L3s that are bundles of muscle and they have been pushed ahead faster.....it all depends.

But everyone is welcome and everyone is afforded the same training, and they can progress at their own pace.

 

[B.Gold]

last parent meeting the coach told me that my oldest is probably too tall for JO

This really bugs me! Good for you.... Ignore, ignore, ignore!!! The key word is "probably" that coach doesn't have a crystal ball.... And frankly strength is more important than height.

 

[tooootsie]

@B.Gold
Thank you. We switched from another gym to this one 3 years ago. Other gym had my taller dd on JO track. Other gym is more successful which I'm sure is why they kept her in that path. But I agree if she is strong and works hard that is all that matters

 

[Sasha]

I have 2 girls on team. One little tiny 7 year old and one taller 9 year old (4'3" which really is average, but when you compare to tiny girls she looks huge) last parent meeting the coach told me that my oldest is probably too tall for JO which shocked me considering she competed the last two seasons. I kind of ignored it because she works really hard and scores well.

I am just laughing at your "too tall" 9 y/o because my 9 y/o is 4'10" !!! And another girl on the team just turned 10 and is 5'3!! (was prolly 5'1 or 2 as a 9 y/o).

I guess according to your coach, probably 80% of our JO team girls would be "too tall for JO". lol.

 

[mom2newgymnast]

I am just laughing at your "too tall" 9 y/o because my 9 y/o is 4'10" !!! And another girl on the team just turned 10 and is 5'3!! (was prolly 5'1 or 2 as a 9 y/o).

I guess according to your coach, probably 80% of our JO team girls would be "too tall for JO". lol.

I was going to say the same thing. 4'3 at 9 is not tall. My dd is 4'2, maybe 4'3 by now, at 8 and she is one of the smallest on her team. In her class at school, she is not the shortest, but is definitely in the bottom 25% height wise. Your dd's team must be really small!

 

[tooootsie]

Two of the 10 year olds are 50" tall. Peanuts! Most are very short with the exception of my oldest and another girl the same height as her.

 

[Sasha]

Two of the 10 year olds are 50" tall. Peanuts! Most are very short with the exception of my oldest and another girl the same height as her.

Better check the water in your area - that's an unusually short group of kiddos!

 

[gymbeam]

But let's remember, the coach didn't say height alone was the problem. The coach also said she was awkward which translated into gymnastics terms probably means "lacks necessary body awareness." I know there are lots who do rule out for height, but the OP's coach isn't.

His choice of words was poor and my heart definitely goes out to the OP because it had to sting a bit. That being said, not everyone really is coordinated enough to put it all together so without knowing this coach and without watching this gymmie, it's really impossible to know if he was right or wrong.

For all we know he may have been trying to protect the child from future disappointment if he thought she wouldn't be competitive at all.

 

[duyetanh]

Any updates OP? Hoping you figured out something for your child, one way or the other...

 

[munchkin3]

So, just for fun......this picture is the L6 team at DD gym......

My DD is the smallest on the team, but she is 6 months older than the tallest girl all the way at the other end.

Funny huh?