Parents Is this normal?

[LYoungblood]

We are still pretty new to this world. My daughter has been doing gymnastics for 6 months now but has come really far in that time. She has expressed interest, and so have I on her behalf, to join her gyms team. She is currently on the pre team. Her coach has even said she's ready which is great news. We love her coach. She's great and pushes her in the right way and trains her on skills she's ready for despite being "pre team".

Here's the issue I'm having...The people in charge of the team have not made it clear when they will be holding try outs etc. But they have said that they are not moving anyone up right now as they are in the middle of the season and it wouldn't be fair to the coach for various reasons. However, I know for a fact that they did move a girl up to the team who is not ready (her mom even said she knows she's not ready) because her brother is on the gyms boys team.

Is it normal for siblings to get preferential treatment like this? Should I be worried that my kid will be passed by for no fair reason?

Any input would be greatly appreciated. Even if it's that I have nothing to worry about. I just needed to ask before I lose my mind

 

[Flopsygymnast]

If that was happening on a constant basis I would be concerned. If that was a one-off you don't know what happened behind the scenes so I would just leave it. Gyms generally dont move up kids in mid-season. Good Luck!

 

[cogymmom2dd]

Did they move her up to practice with the team or to actually compete? There is a difference if she is just practicing with the team vs competing. It’s possible that maybe they moved her up just to align schedules more with her sibling. I am a mom of 3 gymnasts ranging from pre-team to L7 and this was my first thought.
Also, if she is on preteam and already on the gym’s radar, I wouldn’t think that tryouts would be necessary. Typically, tryouts are for rec kids wanting to start competing or kids from other gyms who are transferring and need proper placement. If she is already working with a coach on pre-team, they will place her appropriately.

 

[LYoungblood]

If that was happening on a constant basis I would be concerned. If that was a one-off you don't know what happened behind the scenes so I would just leave it. Gyms generally dont move up kids in mid-season. Good Luck!

Thanks for that. I just don't like that I was lied to about the situation more than anything. I just appreciate being told things straight up.

 

[skschlag]

Thanks for that. I just don't like that I was lied to about the situation more than anything. I just appreciate being told things straight up.

There could have been a lot of factors at play. Maybe they wanted to move her up earlier, but didn't have room. Maybe the mom was going to have to pull the son out because she couldn't do multiple gym runs. There are a ton of factors here, and really, there is just no way to know. If your kiddo is happy and learning, and progressing, then I would say that is perfect.

 

[LYoungblood]

There could have been a lot of factors at play. Maybe they wanted to move her up earlier, but didn't have room. Maybe the mom was going to have to pull the son out because she couldn't do multiple gym runs. There are a ton of factors here, and really, there is just no way to know. If your kiddo is happy and learning, and progressing, then I would say that is perfect.

She is for sure happy with her coach and the other girls in her group. Although they are pre team they are being trained at level 3+

 

[skschlag]

She is for sure happy with her coach and the other girls in her group. Although they are pre team they are being trained at level 3+

THat sounds perfect then

 

[Carly]

I think that most gyms do not move kids up in the middle of competition season so I would think that there was some other compelling reason.
Some gyms do not have try outs. They just move pre-team kids up after the competition season is over. If you feel comfortable, maybe ask a team parent how it works at your gym. They are usually happy to answer your questions.
For my dd's gym, they invite the pre-team kids to either JO or Xcel in June and they start team practice in July.

 

[LYoungblood]

I think that most gyms do not move kids up in the middle of competition season so I would think that there was some other compelling reason.
Some gyms do not have try outs. They just move pre-team kids up after the competition season is over. If you feel comfortable, maybe ask a team parent how it works at your gym. They are usually happy to answer your questions.
For my dd's gym, they invite the pre-team kids to either JO or Xcel in June and they start team practice in July.

Ok thats good info to know. I would ask the team parents if I saw any of them

 

[LYoungblood]

Did they move her up to practice with the team or to actually compete? There is a difference if she is just practicing with the team vs competing. It’s possible that maybe they moved her up just to align schedules more with her sibling. I am a mom of 3 gymnasts ranging from pre-team to L7 and this was my first thought.
Also, if she is on preteam and already on the gym’s radar, I wouldn’t think that tryouts would be necessary. Typically, tryouts are for rec kids wanting to start competing or kids from other gyms who are transferring and need proper placement. If she is already working with a coach on pre-team, they will place her appropriately.

When does your gym typically place the kids?

 

[cogymmom2dd]

When does your gym typically place the kids?

Typically right during summer break. Our team contract starts in June. They usually have team tryouts sometime in May(ish) with intentions of them starting to practice in June. During a normal year, we have team camp at the end of June with a week long break in July. We are purchasing team leotards and warmups in August and by that time typically have a meet schedule and are paying into our expense accounts. Meet season starts in November and lasts until state meet in March/April but this year is a little weird and we have meets scheduled into May. My DD1 was a transfer from rec program and had to try out. DD2 I put on preteam the summer between kindergarten and 1st grade and they have just placed her each year based on her skill set. She has never had to try out. DD3 was invited to preteam at age 4 by her rec teacher and she will likely repeat preteam again this summer. She needs to mature a little more before I want to commit to team.

 

[cogymmom2dd]

Typically right during summer break. Our team contract starts in June. They usually have team tryouts sometime in May(ish) with intentions of them starting to practice in June. During a normal year, we have team camp at the end of June with a week long break in July. We are purchasing team leotards and warmups in August and by that time typically have a meet schedule and are paying into our expense accounts. Meet season starts in November and lasts until state meet in March/April but this year is a little weird and we have meets scheduled into May. My DD1 was a transfer from rec program and had to try out. DD2 I put on preteam the summer between kindergarten and 1st grade and they have just placed her each year based on her skill set. She has never had to try out. DD3 was invited to preteam at age 4 by her rec teacher and she will likely repeat preteam again this summer. She needs to mature a little more before I want to commit to team.

I should also add that a lot of kids practice up a level during the summer and then resume practicing at their level once school starts. Also, we have a handfull of kids that are practicing with the team because they have the talent but don’t necessarily want to compete for many reasons.

 

[LYoungblood]

Typically right during summer break. Our team contract starts in June. They usually have team tryouts sometime in May(ish) with intentions of them starting to practice in June. During a normal year, we have team camp at the end of June with a week long break in July. We are purchasing team leotards and warmups in August and by that time typically have a meet schedule and are paying into our expense accounts. Meet season starts in November and lasts until state meet in March/April but this year is a little weird and we have meets scheduled into May. My DD1 was a transfer from rec program and had to try out. DD2 I put on preteam the summer between kindergarten and 1st grade and they have just placed her each year based on her skill set. She has never had to try out. DD3 was invited to preteam at age 4 by her rec teacher and she will likely repeat preteam again this summer. She needs to mature a little more before I want to commit to team.

Thank you so much for this! The info really helped me. I'm just gonna take a step back and let her continue to grow in her current class and see where we are come May!

 

[Pineapple_Lump]

Thank you so much for this! The info really helped me. I'm just gonna take a step back and let her continue to grow in her current class and see where we are come May!

Good plan, it may be for other reasons like social harmony/behavior management within the group. So long as your daughter is happy and progressing at her rate - I wouldn't worry.

 

[Sk8ermaiden]

Just wanted to agree with everyone. The gym most likely didn't lie to you. It is pretty uncommon to move kids on to team during the season. They will likely do move ups in the spring or early summer. That parent likely is a long standing gym parent whose kid was already on the list for team eventually, but had issues being at gym even more nights than they already were with a son on team. I find it's best to assume good intentions all around unless you have evidence otherwise. Good luck with move ups/try outs!

 

[M2Abi]

When my daughter was on pre-team, they moved a girl up to Level 3 that was not ready to compete (and my daughter had better skills than she did). I have no idea why they did that and at the time it upset me. Turns out my daughter was better off on pre-team because they were focused on development of skills and Level 3 was perfecting competition routines.

 

[GymnastMomX2]

Unless you’re moving from somewhere else our gym only moves girls onto team in January. Once a year. Since compulsories start competing in August moving up mid-season wouldn’t really work. Sounds like she’s progressing well. My DD went right from pre-team to competing level 4. I remember being frustrated because I knew she had the level 3 skills the year before, but it all worked out and I saved a whole season of $$. LOL

 

[Deleted member 18037]

Fair is not necessarily equal. You don’t know everything about everyone else.

your concern is you and yours. See what their plan is for yours. And go from there.

 

[LYoungblood]

When my daughter was on pre-team, they moved a girl up to Level 3 that was not ready to compete (and my daughter had better skills than she did). I have no idea why they did that and at the time it upset me. Turns out my daughter was better off on pre-team because they were focused on development of skills and Level 3 was perfecting competition routines.

That's good to know. I definitely am feeling better about the situation and excited to see how much more mine grows over the next few months.

 

[LYoungblood]

Unless you’re moving from somewhere else our gym only moves girls onto team in January. Once a year. Since compulsories start competing in August moving up mid-season wouldn’t really work. Sounds like she’s progressing well. My DD went right from pre-team to competing level 4. I remember being frustrated because I knew she had the level 3 skills the year before, but it all worked out and I saved a whole season of $$. LOL

That's a very good point! I dont know why I'm so hurried to spend more money