happygymmum
Proud Parent
- Jun 6, 2015
- 11
- 7
HI all.
I am having a little 'head vs heart' issue with my dd. She's 9 and does 4 piece competitive gymnastics in the UK. She only made the team this year but has progressed loads.I'd say she's probably a level 6/7 in the States. She loves her gym, her teammates, coaches etc and she's very driven and determined. Her current gym is small, with outdated equipment and overcrowded. She trains 12 hours a week but would happily train over 20 given the chance. My dilemma is....she has the chance to join a huge, purpose built three story gym with state of the art equipment and train hard with elite coaches. She'd probably start at 12 hours and work her way up to 20+ hours per week. I realize she's never going to make the Olympics so this is a matter of letting her follow her dreams and reach her full potential - something she won't be able to do at the current gym. As I mentioned before - her current gym is lovely. She's made great friends and the coaches love her and do the best they can with the facilities they have. The new gym is also considerably farther away and more expensive so it will be some what of a life style change. What do you think? When you know your dd's gymnastics journey will probably end after highschool do you support her desire to train hard for long hours (with possible risk of injury given she'll be learning more difficult moves at new gym) or do you encourage her to enjoy what she already has and count herself lucky for such great teammates and coaches? I would hate to burn bridges but at 9 years old I think it's now or never!
I am having a little 'head vs heart' issue with my dd. She's 9 and does 4 piece competitive gymnastics in the UK. She only made the team this year but has progressed loads.I'd say she's probably a level 6/7 in the States. She loves her gym, her teammates, coaches etc and she's very driven and determined. Her current gym is small, with outdated equipment and overcrowded. She trains 12 hours a week but would happily train over 20 given the chance. My dilemma is....she has the chance to join a huge, purpose built three story gym with state of the art equipment and train hard with elite coaches. She'd probably start at 12 hours and work her way up to 20+ hours per week. I realize she's never going to make the Olympics so this is a matter of letting her follow her dreams and reach her full potential - something she won't be able to do at the current gym. As I mentioned before - her current gym is lovely. She's made great friends and the coaches love her and do the best they can with the facilities they have. The new gym is also considerably farther away and more expensive so it will be some what of a life style change. What do you think? When you know your dd's gymnastics journey will probably end after highschool do you support her desire to train hard for long hours (with possible risk of injury given she'll be learning more difficult moves at new gym) or do you encourage her to enjoy what she already has and count herself lucky for such great teammates and coaches? I would hate to burn bridges but at 9 years old I think it's now or never!