MAG Late start and path?

[Meadow77]

Newbie questions about late starting level 3

Hi! I’m still learning, go easy on me!

My son is 11.5 and started the competitive path late. He LOVES it. Is obsessed with it. He’s our 5th child and the first one of ours who has had a passion this intense so young. He’s highly driven and detail oriented by nature. (This is actually not my own personality at all!)

He seems to be quite good at it but it’s still so early in the path. He’s a level 3 and just finished his 4th invitational meet, where he scored no 1 all around out of 62 gymnasts. Most were younger. He’s ambitious and very much envisions going as far as he can but the fact that 3/4 of his competitors are younger than him is messing a bit with his mind.

I know boys can skip levels. We LOVE his coach but his gym is not a fancy elite gym at all. The fact that he was able to score so well in his first comp season with only going to the gym 6 hours a week feels impressive. But I’m unsure if he should even get his hopes up that he can advance as far as he would hope. This boy literally watches old men’s Olympics videos for fun every day?

How much should I temper his expectations? I don’t mean about Olympics (he knows that won’t happen) but just about being able to reach a level 9 or 10 by 16 or so?

Thanks!

 

[Dahlialover]

We have two boys in our gym who started as 5th graders and followed the path 3, 4, 6, 9! They are doing well in level 9 this year despite struggling with some injuries. In retrospect, I think they should have skipped 4 not 5. We have a similar boy who started a year after them and he has followed the 3, 5, 8 path.

If you don’t have a mushroom at home, get one and a set of parallettes (I like the tumbl trak ones) and a pull-up bar too. Home equipment was really important for my son until he started training 16 hours per week and then it was no longer necessary. I’d also talk with the coach about his goals and ask if he can increase his training hours. Our boys who skip levels often train with the next level up to get extra hours and more opportunities for up-training.

As far as realistic goals are concerned, familiarize yourself with the GymAct college league. The NCAA may be a long shot for your son (there are only 12 teams) but GymAct is realistic and offers a great opportunity for boys like your son who want to continue in the sport. Don’t crush his NCAA dreams but definitely get to know Gymact too.

Also, just enjoy the ride. This may be a phase, so just enjoy it while it lasts! It’s so much fun.

 

[Meadow77]

Thank you! Yes, we do have a mushroom and paralettes and he does them every day. (His best friend is a level 4, same gym, so he has watched his routines and has that mushroom routine mostly down.)

I didn’t know about GymAct, will dive into that. And thank you for giving an example of a path that skips a level or two. I am planning to talk with his coach soon, right after our state meet in a few weekends. It’s important to me that I come across as encouraging to my son, but also realistic. My older kids all had hobbies but this is my first go around with this level of drive and focus in a preteen, so I’m wanting to make sure I know the landscape .

Appreciate it!

 

[Dahlialover]

You should also join: Our Flippin’ Boys Men’s Gymnastics Facebook Group. There are parents of Gymact, ncaa, and notional team members there. You can learn so much from these parents.