Is there a "magic year" (age 6, 7, 8 ?)

[emorymom]

Is there a year where your average girl in the lower levels will tend to "pull it together"? E.g., better body awareness, form, etc. Or is it more of a gradual progression than something that happens in developmental spurts?

What is the role of training for the average young gymnast versus just getting older?

Is the answer different for dance? Other sports?

Musing tonight ...

 

[hawaii_gymnast]

Well i think it is generally different for everybody and who there coach is. For me i had one when i was 11, and another one that brought me to the next level when i was 14. Those who go to a strict gym and want the olympics might have an earlier time in which they spurt. One 7 year old moved from our gym to do something more serious (our gym is more of fun), and after 6 months of going there she went from pre competitive to pre national. So it depends. Probably once you start to have a good concept and once puberty hits because you gain muscle easier so can learn lots of new skills.
Hope this helps

 

[Linsul]

I don't know if there's a magic year. I wish there was, would make things easier haha!

I would say that if you start with good conditioning and basics, with an abundance of movement exploration, anything is possible. Once kids make the mental connection that they can do a lot of things, and do them well, with the bodies that they put so much effort into is when the magic happens. Associating effort with results on one thing done well with the 'big gymnastics picture' encourages them to broaden their efforts. It can even be contagious! If they're observant or talkative then even more so.

One of the things coaches try to do at an early stage is help them see these connections so they explore them further. For example, say a young gymnast locks their legs and points their toes when doing a handstand for the first time. Pointing out that it was great and made the skill better is a start, adding 'I'm so glad you did that! You can make lots of skills better if you remember how you just used your legs. Your casts on bars, cartwheels on floor and beam, kickovers, and handsprings on vault are all done with legs like you just showed me.' Asking them to verbalize what they did differently, and describe how it changed the way the skill felt are also good ways to get the magic wheels turning.

 

[NotAMom]

I don't know if there is a magic year but as I pointed out before in the sport of gymnastics, the mentality of USAG is to push the talent the earlier the better.

I will answer the part (partly) about another sport, one sport in particular. In the sport of alpine racing, USSA/FIS don't start pushing kids to be competitive until they are at least 13yo. The so called talent scouting (the academy equivalent of TOPS) starts at about 14. (doesn't stop the parents to call their kids true champions at the age of 7 or 8 though) In fact, many pros/veterans would consider ski racing younger than say 16yo to be just playing/training.

Of course, we are not quite comparing apples with apples here because of the shorter career of a gymnast. But, nonetheless, from a child's standpoint, a 6yo is a 6yo (and the maturity of) no matter what he/she is partaking.

 

[Aussie_coach]

There is no magic year. Kids all develop at different rates. Some gives develop early and are very talented and together gymnasts as young as 6, others peak older than average and it all clicks at 10 or 12.

Early talent does not always mean best talent. Some kids just develop early, and when they are very young they tend to stand out. Many of these kids stop standing out in a few years as the other kids develop and come into their own, and they then just become one of the pack. A child that develops early won't necessarily be elite material.

As a general rule if you are talking Olympics you'll want Level 10 by about age 11. So at the ages of 6-8 they should be levels 4-7.

If you want college gym, they generally need level 10 by age 15-16. So ages 6-8 should be at least levels 2-4.

 

[emorymom]

I don't know if there is a magic year but as I pointed out before in the sport of gymnastics, the mentality of USAG is to push the talent the earlier the better.

I will answer the part (partly) about another sport, one sport in particular. In the sport of alpine racing, USSA/FIS don't start pushing kids to be competitive until they are at least 13yo. The so called talent scouting (the academy equivalent of TOPS) starts at about 14. (doesn't stop the parents to call their kids true champions at the age of 7 or 8 though) In fact, many pros/veterans would consider ski racing younger than say 16yo to be just playing/training.

Of course, we are not quite comparing apples with apples here because of the shorter career of a gymnast. But, nonetheless, from a child's standpoint, a 6yo is a 6yo (and the maturity of) no matter what he/she is partaking.

I think swimming is the same as alpine racing.

 

[Shelovesthebars]

I ask myself this question all of the time!

 

[Bobby]

I think men's gym is much the same as alpine skiing and swimming and most other sports.
BUT - whilst the strength and mental advantages of that age kick in at the same time for female gymnasts as to any other athlete - this is also the age that physical development throws in disadvantages for female gymnasts but not other sports (which are usually benefitted by age/growth).
As a female gymnast - when your body changes, your centre of gravity does too (it usually lowers as your hips widen). It's a bummer - especially for somersaulting in the air under your own steam (whereas even divers and aerial skiiers would be less affected by comparison).
I think it's like predicting who will be an elite basketballer - many just don't make a mininal height. Ditto women's gymnastics. Some young superstars just grow too much and/or too fast and they can no longer maintain development and may even lose skills (or quality of skill). I know that's one of the reasons Oz coaches take build (and even parents' size) into consideration when streaming 5 y/os into state/national/international development programs.
Many female gymnasts "peak" pre-puberty. Even though big training hours often delay puberty, I think that's why the current age cap at OLympics is a problem. In reality (and history), 14-15 y/os usually beat 17-18 y/os.

 

[Shelovesthebars]

Happyfacetwin- So what height would they consider to be ideal for say a mother of an international track gymanast? Would it be around 5 foot or even shorter?

 

[Aussie_coach]

I think the 14-15 ear olds beating older gymnasts era is ending. As Women's gymnastics develops it is changing, the girls' are looking for harder moves to impress the judges and are taking on many of the skills done in Men's gymnastics. The emphasis on flexibility is declining while the emphasis on strength is increasing. A Woman does not peak in strength in her early teen years. Her strength develops as she grows through her teen years and continues to grow throughout her 20's and early 30's. We are seeing more and more gymnasts stay with the sport for cycle after cycle, well into their 20's and some even into their 30's.

The key will be whether they have the body to continue with the sport. But this is the case in any sport, you must be tall to succeed as a basketball player, overweight to succeed as a sumo wrestler and so on. The people who will go on to successful elite careers will be those who were never destined to be very tall and don't grow much during puberty, those whose bodies remain small and petite and many do.

I think the thing that loses our kids during puberty is not so much the body change as the life change. Kids want to start hanging out with friends, popularity becomes more important, that party is the most important thing in the world. parents think more time should be spent at school and they don't want their kids training 20-30 hours a week anymore, and kids aren't prepared to do it. After puberty we are left with the more driven kids. Then as they develop through their teen years other things also come into play. They want to get boyfriends, part time jobs and so on and again don't want to spend their lives in the gym. Life takes away our gymnasts more than body.

 

[Aussie_coach]

Happyfacetwin- So what height would they consider to be ideal for say a mother of an international track gymanast? Would it be around 5 foot or even shorter?

Yes, 5 feet or shorter for the parents would be ideal. Here in Australia we choose our elites at the age of 4-6 and then train them in a totally separate system. We do look for the tiniest girls, and the tiniest parents. And there are plenty around. I am in my 30's and less than 5 feet tall.

 

[Bobby]

Aussiecoach would be the one to answer that!!
Add: Hehehe - see!! I responded too soon.

 

[Linsul]

Awww Aussie...I was totally going to down this glass of wine and go for that one

 

[MissBear]

No magic year - no magic realisation.
The connection between hard work and improvement is a good one - I mainly see that 'click' between 5 and 8.
Body awareness seems to increase in spurts and stops too.

On the question of development,
I don't think level is the best indicator either. Aussie_coach talks of 6-8 year olds being levels 4 - 7. However, i know of several elite-producing gyms where the 5 year olds are not training handstands, because those gyms believe they should have the shapes absolutely correct before they start handstands. Even the 8 year olds on the elite pathway do no skills on beam other than handstand, split handstands, cartwheels and lots of split jumps, split leaps, sissone jumps etc. They are not yet training BWO. So the skills may be behind what you would see the talented kids trainng at other gyms, but this is just a different coaching method. The gymnasts are just as talented.

 

[MdGymMom01]

Ballet

I do know that they do not start looking at kids to go en pointe until they are at least 11 or 12 years of age. The reason for this is because going up on toe is extremely hard on the feet and ankles and takes a tremendous amount of strength to do this. Some dance studios start their pre-pointe training at age 10 so that their feet and ankles get strong for when they do go en pointe.

**Any dancer's out there please correct me if I am wrong in my above explanation. Thanks!!

 

[Linsul]

I do know that they do not start looking at kids to go en pointe until they are at least 11 or 12 years of age. The reason for this is because going up on toe is extremely hard on the feet and ankles and takes a tremendous amount of strength to do this. Some dance studios start their pre-pointe training at age 10 so that their feet and ankles get strong for when they do go en pointe.

**Any dancer's out there please correct me if I am wrong in my above explanation. Thanks!!

It's true, pointe is hard on the feet! Before 11 or 12 feet are still in important formative years and the stress of pointe isn't an option for hours at a time. The pre-pointe years are great for building that strength and give a dancer focused time on developing their turnout.

 

[ZJsMom]

For both my kids, one boy and one girl, there was something about 7. The did both seem to become more coordinated and have things click at 7. That's the age when both of them got back handsprings. From my experience, there does seem to be another period, at least for girls, around 12 when they become better at dance and seem to be ready to learn harder skills. I'm sure it's varies a lot between individuals. I did find it interesting that both my kids got back handsprings at 7. Dd had only been in gymnastics for 6 months, whereas ds had done it for over a year, but they just seemed to be "ready" at just about the same age.

 

[MdGymMom01]

For both my kids, one boy and one girl, there was something about 7. The did both seem to become more coordinated and have things click at 7. That's the age when both of them got back handsprings. From my experience, there does seem to be another period, at least for girls, around 12 when they become better at dance and seem to be ready to learn harder skills. I'm sure it's varies a lot between individuals. I did find it interesting that both my kids got back handsprings at 7. Dd had only been in gymnastics for 6 months, whereas ds had done it for over a year, but they just seemed to be "ready" at just about the same age.

That is exactly the age where my dd got her BHS and the confidence started coming--age 7. But, it seems like 8-9 was the magic year for fear issues for my dd .

So, to take this thread a bit further--is there a "year for fear" to start?? It seems like 8 years old was my dd's year.

 

[MdGymMom01]

It's true, pointe is hard on the feet! Before 11 or 12 feet are still in important formative years and the stress of pointe isn't an option for hours at a time. The pre-pointe years are great for building that strength and give a dancer focused time on developing their turnout.

Linsul-- I LOVE your avatar---so cute!! Sorry to digress...carry on!

 

[Aussie_coach]

Actually the reason dancers can't go on pointe too young is because the bones are not ossified enough. If there is still too much growth and development to do then there is risk of severe, life long injury. This is the same reason why it is very dangerous to overtrain young gymnasts.