Hello Everyone

[cjmi06]

I just joined this fabulous site today. Thank you for having me.

So I am the proud mom of a Xcel Silver gymnast in NC Region 8. My daughter came to gymnastics late in the game (took her first class at age 10 back in 2017). Since then she has moved up through the two recreational levels to the Xcel Bronze team where she was for the 2018-2019 competition season. Her coaches and I believe that she is very talented. She was named State Vault Champion and ranked #4 in her age division. Here are some of her bests:
Vault- 9.525
Uneven Bars- 9.300
Balance Beam- 9.575
Floor- 9.300
All Around- 37.100
I guess this isn't bad for her first year.

She was now promoted to the Xcel Silver team because she has mastered all her Bronze skills. My one question is, she wants to pursue a College Scholarship in the future though Gymnastics and I want to support her. Being very new to the Gymnastics scene I have no knowledge of how to guide her. Is she to old? Shuld I ask them to move her to the Level track? I don't know where to start. HELP please. Thanks

 

[amiandjim]

So, she is 12 now and Xcel silver? I’m not going to lie, division 1 NCAA gymnastics will be a very tough task. I’m not saying impossible, but very tough. Typically, most girls that get scholarships reach level 10 by age 14-15 at the latest.

 

[gymbeam]

Realistically, that’s unlikely. Sorry.

This may seem creepy, but I’m in N.C. too so was curious to see what gym you’re at to determine if they even have that potential. I was able to figure it out based on scores and for some reason even though your gym has had some college athletes (one coaches my daughter now!) , their JO team is really small.This may actually work to your advantage though... they may have the time and resources and interest in growing their JO team as much as possible.

I’d just ask the coaches about the potential for fast tracking a bit and see what they say-and where it goes.

There’s another gym in a neighboring town from you (HP) that has a bigger team and more college bound athletes and depending on where you live, the drive may be worth it if she somehow ends up needing more at some point.

Best wishes!

 

[gymbeam]

Oh and also- club gymnastics is a wonderful thing to be involved in at college and this could indeed be an option for her. Keep that in mind and do some research on that.

 

[cjmi06]

So, she is 12 now and Xcel silver? I’m not going to lie, division 1 NCAA gymnastics will be a very tough task. I’m not saying impossible, but very tough. Typically, most girls that get scholarships reach level 10 by age 14-15 at the latest.

I totally appreciate your honesty thank you so much

 

[cjmi06]

Realistically, that’s unlikely. Sorry.

This may seem creepy, but I’m in N.C. too so was curious to see what gym you’re at to determine if they even have that potential. I was able to figure it out based on scores and for some reason even though your gym has had some college athletes (one coaches my daughter now!) , their JO team is really small.This may actually work to your advantage though... they may have the time and resources and interest in growing their JO team as much as possible.

I’d just ask the coaches about the potential for fast tracking a bit and see what they say-and where it goes.

There’s another gym in a neighboring town from you (HP) that has a bigger team and more college bound athletes and depending on where you live, the drive may be worth it if she somehow ends up needing more at some point.

Best wishes!

Thank you so much for your reply. I think I know which gym in HP you’re talking about. Two of our coaches came over from there. That’s great advice as to seeing if they can advance her. Love to get in touch with you

 

[gymbeam]

Thank you so much for your reply. I think I know which gym in HP you’re talking about. Two of our coaches came over from there. That’s great advice as to seeing if they can advance her. Love to get in touch with you

Feel free to message me

 

[Gym Geek]

A girl from my gym was level 10 (for her second season since she didn’t move up to Elite) as a high school senior and she got a scholarship for a Division III school. It depends on what colleges you are looking at, but most likely your DD will not compete for a Division I or II school. And who knows? She could eventually be an Optional and make it to Level 10 and compete for a D II or III college. But for a most girls, gymnastics is a grade school and high school sport that the LOVE, but can’t play for their college. That is okay!

Another option to consider is staying on a club team in college, which can be a challenge, but it is worthwhile if your DD loves the sport.

Trust me, your DD isn’t crazy for wanting to do this. A girl on my Silver team was 15 (high school freshman) during meet season, and both her and her parents think she’s gonna do college gymnastics. Not sure how that’s gonna work out...but she can try!

Overall, your DD is only in 6th or 7th grade (I’m assuming that if you say she’s 12) and has many years until college. She could compete in high school gymnastics, stick with club, or even move on to another sport like cheer or diving. I wouldn’t stress about college until the time comes.

 

[CLgym]

Hi there! Like your daughter, mine started her gymnastics journey in Xcel Bronze -- and, like you, I was trying to figure out the whole gymnastics thing and quickly.

There are two main USAG (women's) programs: (1) Xcel, where your daughter is placed currently. This program is usually fewer training hours and less intense. (2) There is also a Junior Olympic (JO) track -- the "Levels track" you referenced in your original post. There are 10 levels. Level 4 is the first required level, although in my neck of the wood many start competing at Level 3. Xcel Bronze is considered about equivalent to Level 2/3. Xcel Silver is around Level 3/4. (Note: There is a third quasi-track -- geared towards those select few gymnasts who are hoping to become elite. These gymnasts will usually compete JO plus participate in pre-elite programs like TOPs and HOPES.)

Regarding college gymnastics, NCAA Div. 1 gymnasts were pretty much all multi-year, successful Level 10 gymnasts, with a few former elites in the mix. I am not aware of any Div. 1 team taking a gymnast straight from Xcel. BUT, there are a few Div. 2 and Div. 3 teams out there. My understanding is that these teams are more open to Level 9 and/or Xcel Diamond gymnasts -- although truthfully their rosters are probably also filled with lots of Level 10 gymnasts.

If your daughter wants a realistic shot a college gymnastics, then it probably makes sense to move from Xcel to JO. Sounds like @gymbeam can help out with gym selection. My understanding is that Div. 1 teams are mostly looking at girls who hit Level 10 around 9th grade or even sooner. Or maybe 10th grade is OK too. In other words, if your daughter is currently working around a Level 3/4, she's gonna have to hustle! Assuming she competes Level 4 this upcoming year, and moves up one level per year (skipping Level 5 or 6 which is common), she wouldn't hit Level 10 until age 17. And as the skills get harder and harder, moving up one level per year is not a given. Many girls repeat due to injury, fears, or just plain slow progress. But there are also a few rare gymnasts out there who are able to skip levels along the way, so I guess you just never know...

Anyhoo -- I hope I didn't bore you with info you already knew. But it seemed like maybe a quick primer was in order. Good luck! And, for what it's worth, the journey itself is worth something even if the college goal is never reached.

 

[cjmi06]

Thank you all for your plethora of knowledge! I knew that joining this site I would get the right answers!