T&T Help me understand

[1canadiangymmom]

Ok, so DD is a level 8 artistic gymnast at present, but has decided that it is time to try something, new, and has decided on T&T as she still loves floor and flipping. I have taken her to 2 different gyms for tryouts, and 1 more set up for next week. Both gyms so far have offered her a spot to train with their national level teams, so I am assuming to work towards getting the skills in time to compete next season with them? Is that really doable? Level 8 Artistic is nowhere near national level here. Also, she said its so chill, like relaxed, fun, no stress and really easy. Is this typical of T&T? I know the hours are lower, she is used to 4.5 hour practices and this one was only 2.5, but if she is finding this too easy, does it mean I should be looking for a more serious T&T gym? Any insight into this world would be so appreciated.

 

[John]

The T&T at DD gym trains 3 hours 3 days a week. That is all I know. I do like to watch them when tumbling on the rod floor.

 

[MILgymFAM]

T&T is more laid back and does train less hours, generally speaking, than artistic. The actual amount of hours can vary a good bit, but I’ve not seen the kind of hours seen in upper JOs. Often people transitioning from artistic are ahead of the curve and pick up new skills really quickly. We personally know a senior elite currently on the US national team who trains about 8 hours per week, though that seems to be on the lower side, it should give you an idea.

 

[Deedee]

I agree artistic transitioning into tumbling find it a lot easier as their bodies are already conditioned for tumbling and may even have increased strength and flexibility compared to others already in the program as artistic gymnasts need to condition their whole body including upper body strength. It’s completely doable. T&T may be able to do less hours for the level required to compete as artistic gymnastics has to focus on all 4 apparatus which use different body strengths as well as the hours needed to prepare the body for all different apparatus and flexibility whereas tumbling and tramp focuses on similar strengths for most of their apparatus. Have a look at the T&T gyms competition records and where their higher gymnasts are at. If they have a good competition record then they should know what they are doing and be able to place your dd in the correct program and the correct hours they believe she needs. If she’s finding that too easy then speak to the coach. Different gymnastic disciplines also do the same skills in different ways so if she if finding a skill easy and similar to a skill she has done previously in artistic the coaches may be trying to train her body to be doing said skill the way that their discipline does it and this may take some time Due to her muscle memory.

 

[trampolinemom]

Good for your daughter that she found a nice environment. Usually artistic gymnasts with good form will pick up trampolining skills pretty fast. In our national / elite level team we have a couple of former gymnasts. They used to be at national level in artistic and got to elite level trampolining in about 2 years time. Competition ready (at a lower level) in about 4-5 months. While it is hard to compare since DS trains in the Netherlands. Usually hours are lower when they are lower level and or younger. But in the end junior / senior elites train 22-30 hours a week with us. Usually training hours for one session are shorter with us and at most gyms they never exceed 3 hours. Most gyms in the Netherlands also elite gyms usually stick to 2,5 hours a session. Because you simply get overuse injuries when training more than about 2 hours at a time on the trampoline. Our sessions are 3 hours but 1 hour of those is strength and flexibility training. Older elites go twice a day, 2 hours in the morning and 3 in the afternoon.
DS (11 and elite) is at 5 x 3 hours afternoon only.

But I agree with everything said above. Find out how the gym is doing at this level and maybe what comes next. I hope she will have a good time in this sport.

 

[vbdb]

I spoke to a local T&T gym here at one point when we thought my DD who is a great tumbler may want to switch eventually. Their hours were definitely less than we see in JO, still 5 days but fewer hours in a day and less intense. This is a fairly well known T&T gym which sends kids to Easterns, quite a few of our JO gymnasts have ended up there. They like them to pick two events out of tumbling, DMT or tramp to compete in.
I took my DD to Nationals last year in Oshawa to watch and it scared the heck out of her so we crossed it off the potential retirement activity list. We saw Jon Schwaiger head down the tumble strip at warp speed and it freaked her out haha! Good luck to your DD with her new pursuit!

 

[coachmolly]

I used to coach at a gym that was primarily a T&T gym with very high level, successful athletes and the atmosphere was very laid back. Lower levels were 2-2.5 hours 2-3 days a week and upper level kids came in 4 days/week for about 3 hours (level 10s & elites included). I think there was some flexibility in number of days attended as well. Practices were structured with time for tumbling, trampoline, and double mini, but there was also a good bit of freedom. I don't recall conditioning being nearly as much as it is in most JO clubs.
The rod floor for tumbling is much more forgiving which is great for kids who have struggled with injuries. It really made me wish that there had been a T&T gym nearby when I was growing up. It's also nice that the levels are very flexible- you can be a level 5 in tumbling and a 10 on trampoline (usually the difference isn't that extreme, but it could happen). So if your daughter picks up the tumbling quickly and just wants to slowly wade into the world of trampoline and double mini she can do it at her own pace. But it always amazed me how quickly the kids picked up new skills, especially on trampoline.
She might find herself very happy with the reduced hours over time and appreciate the rest it gives her body. There will also be lots of new challenges to take on with figuring out double mini and the crazy combinations on trampoline, so plenty of mental stimulation!

 

[1canadiangymmom]

Thank you all for your insight. Next question, where would I find the scores for these T&T gyms?

 

[trampolinemom]

Which part of Canada are you at? I found this page for Ontario / Eastern Canada http://www.gymnasticsontario.ca/results/tt-results-2017-2018/