Parents Help! Feeling burned by gym's preteam

[gymmiemom14]

My 8 year old daughter was on preteam this year (once a week, 2 hours). We recently found out (not from her coach directly but through word of mouth) that she was not invited to team tryouts. Most of her preteam class wasn’t.

Gym grade school director told me my daughter is very close to team (maybe a few months away from Level 3 JO), but coach feels she should sign up for preteam again to work on her focus. Her three close friends who had done intermediate recreational gymnastics with her last year (and were not moved up to preteam like she was) moved up to Bronze Excel or Level 2 team for next year. She can’t understand how her friends (who in her mind are at a lower level of class) got promoted and she didn’t. She is devastated.

My problem is that we had absolutely no communication from her coach all year. Her coach changed mid year and no one ever told us. My daughter didn’t get feedback on her progress either. I later find out her gym is under new management and almost all the coaches are leaving. They didn’t promote many this year because there is no JO coach yet. The outgoing Grade School Director has acknowledged my concerns and even used terms like “ridiculous” to describe what has happened for this preteam group this year. (Again, most of them didn’t even try out for team). She can’t guarantee me anything about next year’s preteam because they don’t have a coach for that yet either. BTW, this gym has, until now, had a strong reputation and routinely places girls at state and regional competitions.

My daughter really wants to be on a team, and a year is a long time for an 8-year-old to wait while all her friends are on a team. Plus her friends on Bronze Excel will surpass her quickly as they practice substantially more (2 times a week, 3 hours). Her gym considers her too “old” for a Level 2 team. Do I try to find her a Level 2 team somewhere else, or do I send her for another preteam year at a competitive, slightly stricter gym? How can I tell if a gym has a legitimate “pre” team? Is preteam just a sort of placeholder/moneymaker for girls not strong enough to get pulled out of the recreational program? I’m new to gymnastics but I’m feeling burned.

Please help explain! And I welcome any suggestions to boost the confidence of an 8-year-old aspiring gymnast who feels very defeated but still loves gymnastics.

 

[Amusibus]

Wow that stinks. If it was me I'd start looking at other gyms. They sound disorganized. Btw, my 8 year old is doing level 2 this year. Not all kids are superstars at a young age and that is fine!

 

[IreneKa]

Take her to couple other gyms for evaluation and see what they say.
My DD was an 8 year old L2 last season, and even though her age group was usually the smallest, it's not unheard of.
But, if she is "a few months away from Level 3", she might even be excepted to L3 team somewhere else. The competition season doesn't start for a few months in most states, and her hours would probably increase from 2/week, to something like 8-10. So, she might just as well get all her L3 skills by September.

 

[SurpriseGymMom]

Playing devils advocate from a coaching standpoint.... Is it possible that the coach does see something in her and does indeed see her going to team, BUT her focus and attention (coachability) needs improvement before that can happen successfully? A kid who has skills or strength but lacks focus isn't going to be a good candidate for team, at least not at our gym. Could be that they truly want these kids to work on that a bit more before going into L3... Seen it happen here many times and for good reason, but it's the rare parent that acknowledges that and agrees.
Of course I know nothing about your situation other than what you wrote and there could be lots of reasons, some legit, some less so. If you're overall happy with the gym, I would stick around and see how it plays out. If you're concerned about the changes at this gym, it doesn't hurt looking around. Good luck!!

 

[gracyomalley]

I guess I'd at least look around at how other gyms in the area are run - the coaching situation is very concerning to me. 8 year old still working L2 skills is not a problem (although I see that taking the time to compete at L2 at that age may be a bad idea for many - being as the first level of required competition for JO is L4 - still your DD would be a 10 year old L4 if she went a level a year, which is not at all old, a bit above average, but absolutely fine!) but doing so because of a disorganized gym and lack of coaching would be.

What makes you tied to this gym? Friends? Past reputation? Geography? (all of which may be reasonable but I just suggest you look at it). If she really loves gym and begs for more , I'd look for a program where she could get more hours of training (no matter what level they want to call her) - pre-team if actually a step to team at 8 years could easily be more like 6-9 hours and should be working fundamentals and form, plus L3-4 skills/drills, I would think

 

[wallflower]

Have her try out at another gym and see what they say.

 

[pullover]

Have you asked if she could join the xcel bronze team for next year? If so she might be able to move from that into JO 3 or 4. It sounds like a year at bronze would be exciting and fun for her and help her improve her gymnastics since the hours are much more than preteam.

 

[bookworm]

I'd try to go the Excel route as Pullover suggests versus another year at Level 2...if they won't take her on an Excel level, then I'd be out the door...

 

[LIGYMMOM]

This happened to my dd when she was 7. She didn't get chosen for team while 3 of her 7 yr old friends did, and they reason they gave me was that they had decided to choose only older kids that year (um...), and I didn't know what to tell her when she watched her friends walk in for team on their first day. It was so demoralizing for her.
I think that there is such a difference in training/correction at the team level, and sometimes that is what a kid really needs to get their focus on the right track. My dd was bored, not being coached well, and when I moved her to a bigger, more organized gym, she learned the entire (old) L4 bar routine within months.
If you feel that your dd needs more than what she's getting, I would look around. Your situation might be different than mine was, but I got tired of the song and dance of hearing (since she was about 5) about preteam, team, etc. with it never actually realizing. Good luck!

 

[gymmomtoo]

I'd be worried about the future at this gym with the coaches all leaving and there being no communication. Those two combined would encourage me to look at another gym.

 

[SeasonedGymDad]

The same thing happened to my youngest. We tried out at a different gym, and it was obvious within a few days that it would be a better place for her. She made team, progressed rapidly during the season (33 at first meet, 37+ at states) and will be a happy 8 year old L4 this fall. Try out at a couple other gyms, and see how your daughter takes to the coaches.

 

[Seeker]

Yeah...I agree. Go to a few other places to try out and see what they say. This gym seems to be going thru an upheaval and it may be a while before they get themselves sorted out.

 

[tooootsie]

IMO Pre-Team is not a place holder to make money, most gyms use this to get the girls polished up on their skills and then move them to team. Many gyms have kids do Pre-Team for years (3 to 4) before the girls actually move to team. Both of my kids did pre-team for 3 years prior to moving to team, I think this is common. Actually I left our previous gym that we were at for 5 years because they did not have enough coaches or kids to even have a pre-team for my then 4 year old and they would be putting her in a level 2 rec class. FORGET THAT. We left the gym to a gym that is actually MUCH closer to our house and I am so glad we did. My DD's have flourished at the new gym and are both on L3 team together. This would have been another year for ODD and 2 more years or NEVER for YDD. I spoke to a friend whose kid was on YDD pre-team and she got lost in the rec track now and hasn't learned really any new skills. and her kid was a fantastic gymnast. She is switching gyms now. I would maybe be patient, OR check into a new gym.

 

[3rd_time_around]

My 8 year old daughter was on preteam this year (once a week, 2 hours). We recently found out (not from her coach directly but through word of mouth) that she was not invited to team tryouts. Most of her preteam class wasn’t.

My daughter really wants to be on a team, and a year is a long time for an 8-year-old to wait while all her friends are on a team. Her gym considers her too “old” for a Level 2 team. Do I try to find her a Level 2 team somewhere else, or do I send her for another preteam year at a competitive, slightly stricter gym?get pulled out of the recreational program? I’m new to gymnastics but I’m feeling burned.
.

Ugh! I hate it when I hear of a gym that thinks any age is "too old" to be on a team or certain level. It's just not true. My dd's gym had girls up to age 12 on levels 1 and 2, and they were very pleased to be there. Not to mention, they helped the team scores because they did so well. (All of our compulsory teams were undefeated and state champions this year!). Some will now get to skip a level or 2, so they will be just fine. There is no age limit for gymnastics, only skill limits as defined by what is needed at each level.

I don't know what to tell you except that there seems to be a long year ahead for you with a lot of uncertainty. It might be a good time to find a different place to train if that is feasible for you. Good luck. (PS: Usually pre-team means they are being trained for team, so I don't understand her not making the team.)

 

[3rd_time_around]

IMO Pre-Team is not a place holder to make money, most gyms use this to get the girls polished up on their skills and then move them to team. Many gyms have kids do Pre-Team for years (3 to 4) before the girls actually move to team. Both of my kids did pre-team for 3 years prior to moving to team, I think this is common. Actually I left our previous gym that we were at for 5 years because they did not have enough coaches or kids to even have a pre-team for my then 4 year old and they would be putting her in a level 2 rec class. FORGET THAT. We left the gym to a gym that is actually MUCH closer to our house and I am so glad we did. My DD's have flourished at the new gym and are both on L3 team together. This would have been another year for ODD and 2 more years or NEVER for YDD. I spoke to a friend whose kid was on YDD pre-team and she got lost in the rec track now and hasn't learned really any new skills. and her kid was a fantastic gymnast. She is switching gyms now. I would maybe be patient, OR check into a new gym.

Wow, 3-4 years on pre-team?! our gym does max of 1 year. They don't get on pre-team unless they have the potential for team. My dd was only on pre-team for 6 weeks before being put on the level 4 team. This is the first I ever heard of it taking so long on pre-team. Sorry if I'm going on too much, but I'm just in shock. didn't mean to go off topic.

 

[tooootsie]

Wow, 3-4 years on pre-team?! our gym does max of 1 year. They don't get on pre-team unless they have the potential for team. My dd was only on pre-team for 6 weeks before being put on the level 4 team. This is the first I ever heard of it taking so long on pre-team. Sorry if I'm going on too much, but I'm just in shock. didn't mean to go off topic.

My youngest started pre-team or "hot shots" when she was 3 years old. My oldest was 5. My youngest was not old enough for team even after a year. Where we live it is common for pre-team to last a couple years

 

[Amusibus]

Pre-team at our gym is typically two years.

 

[SurpriseGymMom]

I think this is the first year (in my memory, I have only worked there for 4yrs) that we have had an actual pre-team. Our usual route is get the rec kids that show promise into TOPs, condition them for a while and transfer them to compulsories or national tOPs when ready... So basically, condition them until they are ready for team. This year we have quite a large group of girls drafted from rec that didn't want to do TOPs or were too old, and the general idea is that they will be competing L3 this upcoming season. They have been training anywhere from 6-12mo.
Our TOPs girls spend anywhere from a few weeks to a couple of years in the TOPs program, depending on age and ability. My own kid spent 5 mo in TOPs and went into L4 this season, some kids spent a lot longer in TOPs and went into L3, some that joined TOPs when she did are still there 18mo later and will be moved into the appropriate levels team when they are ready.

 

[SurpriseGymMom]

Double post, sorry!

 

[mommyof1]

Wow, 3-4 years on pre-team?! our gym does max of 1 year. They don't get on pre-team unless they have the potential for team. My dd was only on pre-team for 6 weeks before being put on the level 4 team. This is the first I ever heard of it taking so long on pre-team. Sorry if I'm going on too much, but I'm just in shock. didn't mean to go off topic.

Preteam at my daughter's gym is typically 2 - 3 years. Some of this is probably a result of poor coaching at the preteam levels in previous years, but preteam also begins at a very low level--as in, most kids start preteam without a pullover or even a decent cartwheel. The rec program is not designed to lead anywhere, so kids that the gym eventually wants on team are usually pulled out of rec within a couple of months after they walk into the gym. I don't think this is a very good model, but that's the way it is.