Women High school competitors with optional practices???

[ozonelakesgymnast]

Hi,
Does anyone have experience with a compulsory and optional program that generally filter right into a high school program? This is a new world for me, prior to being a competitive director for this gym, high school and JO did not ever meet ends. Prior to now, this club's program stopped at level 8 and those athletes went to high school teams. This year we have 2 level 9's, 1 level 8, 1 level 7 and 3 level 6's. And a whole whopping 40 high school girls! September forward optionals have their own practice. The former person in my role had them all together for summer training. It does not help the matter that the board is fully high school parents. Am I making a stretch with gym culture to totally separate and have the high school girls here for their own time on separate days? This is a headache for me...suggestions???????

 

[3rd_time_around]

I think you need to get rid of the board and run the gym the way YOU want to run it. My dd's gym has no board, just the owners who make the decisions. For high school gymnastics, the girls come to their regular JO practice and then compete for their high school. There are no girls who come in just to train for high school gymnastics. I think there are too many chiefs there. You need some freedom to make your gym run the way you feel it needs to be. I have anxiety for you just reading your posts. Good luck!

 

[raenndrops]

We have girls who come just to train for the HS team. There has only been a local HS team for 4 years, specifically to give our girls something to work toward.
Our coach is also the HS coach and they pay for our team training until HS season is officially allowed to practice. Then, the HS team practices from 4:30-6:30pm (with the option to stay until our team practice is over at 8pm).
HS team is pretty self-directed, with coaches observing and spotting, if needed, and offering corrections - but conditioning and getting the numbers in is completely on them. Last season, there were about 20 HS gymnasts. They do well on their own because they know there are only so many spots to compete on each event. They push themselves and each other.
We have a few that compete for us at the beginning of the season, then compete HS, then compete for us again. For "our" gymnasts, that is the big goal, but we understand that other sports can get in the way of our overlapping "season," so having them come back even just for the HS team is nice.

With your HS team as big as it is, I would think they would like to have a separate time ... or maybe an overlapping time like we do.

We have about 40-45 team gymnasts ... and about 20 HS during the season (only 2-6 come in the off season, depending on what they have going on in their lives. They practice with the Optionals when they come.).
Lol, for us, Jr. High team is easier even though there are around 20 of them too... because many of the Jr. High girls are on our team still, so when they come (Same times as HS, but August - October), it actually lowers the number of "our" team girls practicing 5:30-8.

 

[Aussie_coach]

I think you need to get rid of the board and run the gym the way YOU want to run it. My dd's gym has no board, just the owners who make the decisions. For high school gymnastics, the girls come to their regular JO practice and then compete for their high school. There are no girls who come in just to train for high school gymnastics. I think there are too many chiefs there. You need some freedom to make your gym run the way you feel it needs to be. I have anxiety for you just reading your posts. Good luck!

I am assuming that since there is a board, then this is a not for profit organisation and if ozonelalesgymnast does not want to run things they way they want, it will mean having to look for a new job.

You need to sell your ideas to them, by telling them how it will benefit their kids. If these high school gymnastics parents running the club don't want the practice seperate sell it to them in a way that they see their own gymnasts will get more time, attention, apparatus etc.

 

[coachmolly]

We have an Xcel only program and most of our kids are working towards high school gym, though the kids on the team typically do both Xcel and high school rather than leaving the USAG team to only do high school. They do a mix of high school/Xcel practices during the season (Nov-Feb) and then do just Xcel for the rest of the year. The kids who only compete high school (some do other sports, some were once on our team and quit) just train during the season and stop in the gym for structured practices every once in a while when their coach decides to hold them during the rest of the year. We do offer a class for off season high school kids as well, but it's only 2 hours/week.
The high school team closest to the gym practices right after school at our gym, the girls who compete Xcel then stick around for their team practice. Even when the gym is shared for practices, the high schoolers are doing their own thing. Girls who compete for other local teams typically split their practice time during the season- some with the high school team and some with the club team. With the number of high school kid you have, I think practices need to be split. I have no idea how you would fit 40 kids of varying skill levels working towards different goals in with your team kids seamlessly.
Maybe you and the coaches could have a meeting with the board, explain the differences between JO and high school and make it sound like it's beneficial to the high school girls to split them up from the rest of the team. That this would allow the coaches to focus on high school specific skill needs, allow them access to all of the equipment without having to share, etc. High school rules are different from JO, and many JO coaches are not knowledgable about the rules, nor do they really have the time to invest in learning them. In most JO settings, the coaches are just going to help the athlete learn what is best for their progress in the JO system not necessarily thinking if it will be beneficial for high school. A dedicated high school practice would mean the focus is just on what is going to make their child the best high school athlete they can be. You could also try to sell things like schedule flexibility, ideal practice times for high school aged kids who often have other activities going on, etc. Get them thinking that a split is the best possible thing for their children's success and they will buy in.

 

[Deleted member 18037]

Our high school gymnasts train with their home gyms, compete for school.

Not sure if they have the occasional practice on our school equipment, I assume they do. But we are 2 years away from that, so it's not on my radar.

 

[gymmomx2]

I am assuming that since there is a board, then this is a not for profit organisation and if ozonelalesgymnast does not want to run things they way they want, it will mean having to look for a new job.

You need to sell your ideas to them, by telling them how it will benefit their kids. If these high school gymnastics parents running the club don't want the practice seperate sell it to them in a way that they see their own gymnasts will get more time, attention, apparatus etc.

Agree with this. The best thing a new head coach can do is to build a good relationship with the board of directors, sell them your ideas and get their support! If your board is made up primarily of parents it might help for the future to encourage parents from other programs to run for board positions - ideally you would have representation from Excel parents, MAG parents, compulsory parents, even rec parents. The board is supposed to serve all gym customers. This can be hard if board positions are long held. Changing gym culture can take time, wishing you all the best with this endeavor

 

[Vivianflips]

In my hometown, there is only one gym. The high school team practices are completely separate from the optional practices and it seems to work just fine. Sadly we do not have high school gymnastics where I currently live or I'd probably be doing that!

 

[aerials]

There are a couple of gyms here that have the the high school girls work out with the levels. They also allow these girls to compete in JO level meets before and after the high school season. Most girls compete at state for both high school and JO. There are several level 10s who do both.

 

[Dahlia]

I find this interesting. We've been with 2 different gyms, both have the policy that JO atheletes cannot compete on the high school team. I didn't know other gyms allow both!

 

[momof2gymmies]

Ay our gym the JO kids are not allowed to compete high school. Gym rule. The xcel kids are allowed. They typically have high school practice where ever the high school team practices, right after school, and then go to gym for regular practice on the days that they have it. Our gym does not have any high schools use it for practice.

 

[Deleted member 18037]

Seriously, gym decides about HS sport??? Yeah that wouldn't work well with here...........

And the no JO but Xcel OK even more annoying................. Yeah No

 

[coachmolly]

Ours kids compete against a few teams that have club level 9/10s who compete for their high school and JO teams simultaneously. Some of them have even gone on to get college scholarships. I think most of them have pretty good agreements with the high school team that allows them to practice mostly with their JO team and just pop into a high school practice every now and then, but it's absolutely doable at high levels if all parties are willing.

 

[seoulmama]

In our previous gym's handbook, JO athletes were not allowed to participate in any HS sports without the permission of the JO Head Coach-which was never given at the optional level. Exceptions were made for compulsory athletes.-mostly for soccer. DD is now in Xcel as well as at a new gym, and it is not an issue-most of her team also competes HS. Our state does not allow anyone to miss practices excessively without a doctor's note. If you miss before a meet, you are not allowed to compete. If you miss a certain number of practices, you are unable to compete for the rest of the season. The rules are enforced-so you are not allowed to go to your club practice and skip HS practice. Nor can you miss a HS meet for a club meet. Again-these are state rules that govern all high school sports.

 

[raenndrops]

In our previous gym's handbook, JO athletes were not allowed to participate in any HS sports without the permission of the JO Head Coach-which was never given at the optional level. Exceptions were made for compulsory athletes.-mostly for soccer. DD is now in Xcel as well as at a new gym, and it is not an issue-most of her team also competes HS. Our state does not allow anyone to miss practices excessively without a doctor's note. If you miss before a meet, you are not allowed to compete. If you miss a certain number of practices, you are unable to compete for the rest of the season. The rules are enforced-so you are not allowed to go to your club practice and skip HS practice. Nor can you miss a HS meet for a club meet. Again-these are state rules that govern all high school sports.

In Ohio, you can't compete for your club once you start competing for the HS until after your last HS meet of the season. AND, there is a cut-off date by which the gymnast has to start competing for the HS (Last year, it was Jan. 18) … meaning they can choose to compete for their club up until January 17 OR they could stop competing for their club at the time of the FIRST HS meet of the season (in December).
I know that in Indiana, you can compete for both (but only, I think, 2 club meets AND you have to fill out a form to let them know) but you can't choose a club meet over a HS meet.

 

[Deleted member 18037]

Our state does not allow anyone to miss practices excessively without a doctor's note. If you miss before a meet, you are not allowed to compete. If you miss a certain number of practices, you are unable to compete for the rest of the season. The rules are enforced-so you are not allowed to go to your club practice and skip HS practice. Nor can you miss a HS meet for a club meet. Again-these are state rules that govern all high school sports.

Hate arbitrary rules. My boyfriend ran spring and winter track. He also did other spring and winter sports. He hardly went to track practice. All he had to do was run fast. Once a week (if that) he practiced starts and baton hand offs on the relay. He holds/held multiple state records. And he wasn't the only track person doing multiple sports.

 

[seoulmama]

Hate arbitrary rules. My boyfriend ran spring and winter track. He also did other spring and winter sports. He hardly went to track practice. All he had to do was run fast. Once a week (if that) he practiced starts and baton han
d offs on the relay. He holds/held multiple state records. And he wasn't the only track person doing multiple sports.

The state rules here do not prohibit athletes from competing in multiple school sports, what they prohibit is someone playing, for instance, town hockey/club hockey that misses their high school practices. for their town/club team. That rule makes sense to me.

 

[Deleted member 18037]

That rule makes sense to me.

Why?

If a kid is practicing somewhere. Why should it matter?

And I am assuming the kid makes some of both teams practices. It clearly shouldn't be never work out wth a team and show up for games/meets.

 

[seoulmama]

Why?

If a kid is practicing somewhere. Why should it matter?

And I am assuming the kid makes some of both teams practices. It clearly shouldn't be never work out wth a team and show up for games/meets.

I am not sure of the reasoning but for me, part of being on a team is showing up to practices. If you can't commit to your HS team practices, why play? That day-to-day camaraderie is important. It's only when the club season and HS season are concurrent and it doesn't say you can't play both-it just states that you cannot miss HS practices or games/meets for club sports practices or games/meets. I think it's up to the athlete to decide-if they want to talk to their club coach about it, they can try to figure something out. Or they can chose to concentrate on club.