just wondering...training hours/cost for L4

[samsmom]

I would like to get others' opinions on L4 training hours & costs. My dd competed last year as a L3 and for the fall season had been training 9hrs/wk. Now at L4 her summer training hours are 16hrs/wk with a cost of $320/month. Is this on par with other gyms? I'm not so worried about the money, as she loves gymnastics and is advancing well (I think). I am more concerned about the amount of training for an 8yr old at L4. It seems to me to that at some point it's a coaching issue if girls need THAT much training. We have been told that the 16hr training may continue throughout the fall. Her meet scores have avg. 36+ and it seems that we should be happy where we're at, right? Or does it seem too much all the way around?

 

[ejgymmom]

Our level 4's practice 2 days a week, 3.5 hours each day with the option for a 3rd day, same number of hours. So some are going 7 hours a week and some 10.5 hours. It doesn't change in the summer. The cost is about the same as yours. My daughter was asked to join Level 4 but I think we're going to keep her on pre-team due to the huge increase in hours for her (1.5hrs/day now and would jump to 3.5hrs/day). When they go to Level 5 it jumps to 18hrs/week.

 

[lhmom]

Well, just to give you a comparison: DD is a level 4 and during the school year, trains 9.5 hours a week. This summer, it has been upped to 12.5 hours to give them a chance to have a day for uptraining level 5 skills. When school starts again, she will go back to 9.5 hours. The rate for 9.5 hours is $210 and this summer will be $260. JMO, but 16 hours for lv4 seems a bit much. At DD's gym, level 5 team trains 12.5 hours, level 6 team trains 16.5 hours and the optional girls train 20 hours a week.

 

[samsmom]

Thanks for the replies. I guess for the amount of hours in the gym, the cost is probably fair. But, I too, think that it's overkill for a L4 to spend 16hrs in a gym. To me, it's an entry level and I've read that some gyms may not even begin competing until L5. But, I'm also a newbie There aren't any other gyms near us that go to competitions so I can't switch gyms. I really like the coach and so does my dd. I just hope that she doesn't get worn out before gymnastics gets interesting!

 

[NGL780309]

My DD is 12 hours for $225 at Level 5. The hours/cost are the same for Level 4 though. Our hours are the lower end for the area. The gym we left does 20 hours if you aren't homeschooled and 32 hours if you are. The 32 hours costs $480! For Level 4 and 5? I think not!

 

[gym law mom]

One explanation is, you're in TX. TX gyms are known for being on the high end of practice hours. Gymnastics in TX is very competitive and the gyms feel the need to be the best.
Do L4s need 16 hours/week? No. I would be concerned about the money. It will continue to go up as her hours go up, so you're probably going to be close if not at $400/mo for L5. In many other places, a L10 is training for around $400/month.

 

[samsmom]

I have heard that our district in TX is very competitive. I guess that's why our gym has increased the hours. And, you are completely right about the cost being @ $400 for L5...it is! It just seems crazy that this is the 'norm' around here! I'd almost love to check out some other districts/states just to see what the differences in abilities are Our gym girls seem to be at least a little above average at meets but one would think they should be extraordinary with all of the practice they get in! Oh well, at least she's having fun!

 

[lhmom]

Oh, I didn't realize that you are in Texas! That explains it. Glad to hear that your girl is having fun.

 

[kimskids]

At our gym the younger level 4's have the option of going for three 3 hour days. The charge for them is 240. The older level 4's and the younger ones who want to go for 4 3 hour days and pay 265. During the summer the hours for level 4 stay at four 3 hour days for everyone. The younger girls just add a day.

 

[maddiemei]

My dd is a level 4 training for level 5. Their during school schedule was 9.5 hours at 135. During the summer they will go to 4 hours a day, 5 days a week at $150. Everybody on team goes 4 hours a day, 5 days a week during the summer. I'm not sure what the fall hours will be.

 

[Muddlethru]

Wow! 14 hours for a Level 4 seems a lot. But then again, we are not in Texas. Our L4 practices only 9 hours a week (that is 3 days a week, 3 hours a day). The cost is $320. Our L7 to L10 practice only 15 hours a week, with an optional open workout day on Saturday. I've always thought our practice hours were in the lower end. I tried to rationalize it by thinking at least our girls will not burn out too soon. But at the same time, the extra practice hours other gyms have their girls put in is quite evident in their performance at meets.

 

[Danica76]

My DD is a L4 also and she practices 7 hours a week (3.5 hrs a practice, 2x a week) and the cost is $120. We came from a gym that was $170 for 6 hrs a week and like this program much more, so I guess the decreased cost & few extra hours is just a bonus! DD has accomplished SO much since she came to her current gym 6 months ago. She also attends a 1.5 hr "basics" practice once a week. We do have to cover meet fees, leos, warm-ups, coaches fees, etc., but have an awesome booster organization and try to accomplish it all through fundraising.

 

[sportsmom22]

My level 4 DD goes 5 hours a week--2x a week for 2.5 hours. We pay around $140?--not sure exactly, it's always been drafted out of hubby's account. Our gym probably goes the least amount of time of any gym around, but they are very competitive. They do very little uptraining, and they let girls compete (at level 4) if they are anywhere close to being ready. My oldest DD moved to the level 4 team without her back handspring, backbend kickover, or beam dismount--she had all her bar skills though and the coaches believed the rest would come--it did. At our gym, you might hang out at level 4 for 1, 2, or even 3 years, but once you get your level 5 skills, they let you move up. Not included in our monthly fees for classes, we pay $200 to booster club for the season in coaches fees, and have to buy 2 leos around $130, and pay for meets $50-$90 per meet and there usually 7-9 meets per season. I am thankful for a great gym!

 

[gymcoach26]

9 hours a week at $260 for our level 4s

 

[MaryA]

My daughter is on a Y team, so it's a different beast as far as hours and cost. Even though I would dearly LOVE it if our gym would add more hours, or at last the option for more hours (6 hours a week at levels 4 & 5, 7.5 for 6 and up), and hopefully we are working in the direction of getting our own space so that we don't have to leave in time for Zumba and such, I will tell you that from what I have seen, at least at the compulsary levels and/or with younger kids, there is a diminishing return on hours in the gym once you reach a certain point. There was a dad sitting next to us at level-5 sectionals whose 8-year-old daughter practiced 25 hours a week, and about the same percentage of the girls on her team qualfied for states as on our little Y team. I just think that (and this is just my personal opinion, not based on any research) if you graphed the improvement of the average gymnast at this age/level based on number of hours in the gym per week, improvement per hour would probably go up pretty sharply for the first 8-12 hours or so and then start to taper off. I doubt, for your average 8-year-old level 4 gymnast, that they get a whole lot more out of 15 hours a week than they would out of 10. Again, just my opinion, and I'm sure that varies depending on gym, gymnast, and coach. I also think that the long hours are born more out of fear of "falling behind" than out of any solid evidence in young gymnast developement. If Little Suzie is going to be competing against gymnasts who spend 20 hours a week in the gym, well then Suzie should spend AT LEAST that much time in the gym or else those other girls will have an unfair advantage over Little Suzie!

 

[Bella's Mom]

then Suzie should spend AT LEAST that much time in the gym or else those other girls will have an unfair advantage over Little Suzie!

At least until she starts kipping....

 

[Deanna]

The L4s at DD gym train 12 hrs in the summer. Either 3 four hour days, or 4 three hour days. However is best. Then once school starts back (fall) they drop back to 9 hrs. 3 three hour days. The cost is 185 for 12 hrs and 160 for 9.
Kadee (training L3) will go 8 hrs this summer, 2 four hour days or 4 two hours days. At 155 a month. Then in the fall drop to 6 hrs 2 three hour days or 3 two hour days at 135 a month

 

[Lissy]

My dd is 7 years old and a level 4. She trains MWF for 2 hrs 15 minutes each of those days. So a total of 6 hours and 45 minutes. Same for level 5. We pay $145.00 a month. Our gym does very well in competition as one of the top teams in the state, even though our girls probably train less hours. Dd just started tops a couple months back so you could add a total of 3 more hours to her training. So far we haven't paid any more money for tops training.

 

[Aussie_coach]

In Australia (similar to USAG Level 4) our levels 4's train on average 12-16 hours per week. Kids usually work out 4 days a week for 3-4 hours a day. The average would be 14 hours a week with 3 1/2 hour work outs, 4 days a week. Some will train 20 or more.

This schedule is not just designed to create successful gymnasts at level 4, but to create successful future gymnasts. When you think what must be worked on each week - warming up, conditioning, body shaping, strength, flexibility, fitness, muscle twitch speed, dance/ballet, vault, tumbling, floor, beam, bars, aerial awareness, tramp work and so on.

Focus also needs to be on practicing the basic skills, developing the body, working compulsory skills and routines, learning higher level skills and beginning drills for the next stage above that. Its a lot to squeeze in. Its a full on sport.

 

[samsmom]

At least, we're not alone with the long training hours! I was beginning to wonder . It is surprising to see the differences in costs. Oh, the things we do for our children! Our gym does allot over an hour each day "just" for conditioning so I suppose that is one reason for the extended times. At least, she is getting an amazing exercise regime in during her tender years!