MAG I love boys gymnastics.

[GymBeeMom]

I have a dd level 7 and a ds moving to level 5. I love boys gymnastics. My ds is in a great program, he has a decent level of talent and has grown in his commitment to the sport. What I enjoy is the lack of stress I feel in his sport. It looks like he has all the time in the world to develop, compared to girls gym where they are old before they learn to drive. If he repeated every level I wouldn't care because I know it doesn't effect his future in the sport if he chooses to stay in it. I truly get to enjoy his pace and skills, wherever they happen to be at any given moment. It is even obvious in that the boys got a week off since public school had spring break. Coach said one week off wouldn't hurt him one little bit, meanwhile I can't imagine my dd getting a week off just because schools were out. The two sports have some similarities but really are so very different. The intensity of dd's gym program is exciting and always a nail biter and I enjoy it...BUT, with my ds I love the entire process and find it so stress-free. I am blessed to experience both sides of the gymnastics world.

 

[2G1B]

it really is amazing how different the boys are from the girls. This is my second year with DS competing and my first year with both of our DDs competing.

The hair alone makes boys so much less stressful! For DS, I get him up, tell him to put on his uniform and we head out the door. I have to get the girls up MUCH earlier so that I have time to do their hair, then I have to tell them not to rub their heads all over their seats on the way to the competitions!

 

[skschlag]

LOL! I don't have girls, but having worked girls' meets and having friends with girls, I couldn't agree more! MAG just seems like so much fun! So much more laid back. I hope it stays that way!

 

[sjm2b3]

This is so interesting to me because I have both a DD and a DS. My DD is younger by 20 months, but is now going more hours and I do think she will surpass DS in her skills if they both stick with it in the next two years or so (not because she's 'better', but because she is pushed harder by her coaches and goes more). It definitely is more laid back and has less of the 'who is moving up, etc. drama' on the boys' side. The one thing that makes me sad is no matter what, the boys' team will never get the attention and support as the girls' team will--it's just the way that it is.

 

[2G1B]

This is so interesting to me because I have both a DD and a DS. My DD is younger by 20 months, but is now going more hours and I do think she will surpass DS in her skills if they both stick with it in the next two years or so (not because she's 'better', but because she is pushed harder by her coaches and goes more). It definitely is more laid back and has less of the 'who is moving up, etc. drama' on the boys' side. The one thing that makes me sad is no matter what, the boys' team will never get the attention and support as the girls' team will--it's just the way that it is.

This s one of the things that I love about our gym - the boys actually get just as much attention as the girls.

 

[profmom]

I love how with the boys, we all (parents and coaches) have this feeling that we're kind of in it together, helping our boys to excel as they walk this road less traveled. It's so cool to see the boys' coaches really interacting warmly with coaches at meets from other gyms and cheering for their boys long before anyone is thinking about upholding the honor of our state at regionals. I'm just glad that on the girls' side, we don't have any CGMs and everyone really pulls for everyone's girls at every meet. I gather it's not like that for every parent group at every level. But that is just a given for the boys, at least as far as I've seen by the end of my son's second competitive year.

As for the hours, in our gym they ramp up on both sides when the kiddos hit optionals, but with the girls it's more of a slope up and with the boys it's a sheer cliff.

The boys' program does leave some room for the compulsory boys to do other sports to "get it out of their systems" before they get to optionals and have to commit fully to gym. I was kind of sad when DS told me very seriously that he did not want to play baseball this spring because he does not want it interfering with his uptraining. We mentioned this to his senior coach, and he said, "well, you got a gymnast there."

I agree that the girls' hair is a slightly worse bargain than the boys' white pommel pants. But those pommel pants are bad!