- Jan 7, 2023
- 76
- 9
Hello,
I've found that my child's gymnastics club lacks the competent staff to grow kids to level 6+ and strings people along for profit. For example, the coaches all haven't participated in further than level 6 gymnastics and lack the credentials to teach skills they themselves cannot do. Therefore I'm finding a dilemma in the process as the club seems to be operating more for revenue. The feedback given for advancing to competitive groupings 12-15 hours seems to be justified by who has paid more money, and duration at the club, instead of skillset or potential based assessments. Coaches can pick their favourite kids or families to get more 1 on 1 or be advanced with extra hours. Groups with vast ranges in skillset are made, where many kids cannot even complete Level 1 skills are in the same group as kids ready to complete level 3 or 4 skills. Initially I thought it was to give my kid more attention to correct fine details, but I'm quickly realizing it's quite possibly a club that has no idea what they are doing. Questions about the pathway are often met with non-answers and hostility, to the point where all parents have no idea what the plan is for their kid or what their goals are for the year. This kind of confuses me, because if they're working 9-12 hours per week, there becomes an inflection point where base level conditioning is maxed out and maybe it's time to move onto a gym that can provide a better pathway.
I'm finding that my kid (7 this year) is able to be corrected semi-okay at the Level 1, 2 range but for Level 3 Skills, I'm finding the gym isn't very good. The coaching levels are clearly obvious when you compare the ODP preparedness from some clubs such as “club x” who seem to have their stuff together, and other clubs who's kids last year couldn't even lift themselves over the bar. The kids from Burlington for example, appear to all have the little details corrected, even presenting with smile and the kids fully aware of their expectations to perfection in competition, where as our club, I wonder what actually goes on in terms of appropriate preparation. This opinion of mine can be validated when looking at the club rankings online for last years competitions at each level, where this club barely features at all for any level, and scoring extremely (bottom 10%) at the lower ranks level 3.
My question here is for the experienced parents:
At what age do kids outgrow young and inexperienced coaches with lower level experience?
Is there a greater experience to be had at the clubs turning out athletes in level 7,8,9,10 vs a club that taps out at 6? When does that experience matter?
Is it worth the extra drive to provide your kid an opportunity to reach their full potential?
Thank you for your replies and I'm not writing this to slight the club she's at, but to clearly identify how gymnastics operates. In my mind, a world class chess player doesn't become world class working with recreational players. Families pay good money but most importantly the kids invest a lot of their time. I'm trying to understand gymnastics and how to maximize my child's potential.
I've found that my child's gymnastics club lacks the competent staff to grow kids to level 6+ and strings people along for profit. For example, the coaches all haven't participated in further than level 6 gymnastics and lack the credentials to teach skills they themselves cannot do. Therefore I'm finding a dilemma in the process as the club seems to be operating more for revenue. The feedback given for advancing to competitive groupings 12-15 hours seems to be justified by who has paid more money, and duration at the club, instead of skillset or potential based assessments. Coaches can pick their favourite kids or families to get more 1 on 1 or be advanced with extra hours. Groups with vast ranges in skillset are made, where many kids cannot even complete Level 1 skills are in the same group as kids ready to complete level 3 or 4 skills. Initially I thought it was to give my kid more attention to correct fine details, but I'm quickly realizing it's quite possibly a club that has no idea what they are doing. Questions about the pathway are often met with non-answers and hostility, to the point where all parents have no idea what the plan is for their kid or what their goals are for the year. This kind of confuses me, because if they're working 9-12 hours per week, there becomes an inflection point where base level conditioning is maxed out and maybe it's time to move onto a gym that can provide a better pathway.
I'm finding that my kid (7 this year) is able to be corrected semi-okay at the Level 1, 2 range but for Level 3 Skills, I'm finding the gym isn't very good. The coaching levels are clearly obvious when you compare the ODP preparedness from some clubs such as “club x” who seem to have their stuff together, and other clubs who's kids last year couldn't even lift themselves over the bar. The kids from Burlington for example, appear to all have the little details corrected, even presenting with smile and the kids fully aware of their expectations to perfection in competition, where as our club, I wonder what actually goes on in terms of appropriate preparation. This opinion of mine can be validated when looking at the club rankings online for last years competitions at each level, where this club barely features at all for any level, and scoring extremely (bottom 10%) at the lower ranks level 3.
My question here is for the experienced parents:
At what age do kids outgrow young and inexperienced coaches with lower level experience?
Is there a greater experience to be had at the clubs turning out athletes in level 7,8,9,10 vs a club that taps out at 6? When does that experience matter?
Is it worth the extra drive to provide your kid an opportunity to reach their full potential?
Thank you for your replies and I'm not writing this to slight the club she's at, but to clearly identify how gymnastics operates. In my mind, a world class chess player doesn't become world class working with recreational players. Families pay good money but most importantly the kids invest a lot of their time. I'm trying to understand gymnastics and how to maximize my child's potential.
Last edited by a moderator: