Parents Level 6 gymnast Might quit

[cp13]

My JO L5 gymnast moved to Xcel in 8th grade because she did not want the stress of optionals and pressure to upgrade. Xcel was great for her for 2 seasons and she did upgrade skills but more at her own pace and upgraded skills she wasn't scared of. She enjoyed the sport and meets and the social time with teammates. In 10th grade she moved to diving and never missed a beat. If your gymnast decides to move on, let her go and hopefully she will find new activities to experience. It's an adjustment for the moms. I was sad when she quit but then I found that I really did not miss meet season this year. I was sort of relieved I did not have to spend the money and and time travelling to meets. I also really enjoy watching her dive and learning about that sport.

 

[rlm's mom]

20 hours at level 6 sounds a lot! I’m sure less hours used wisely would do her good!
Speak to her coaches if there’s an option of less hours and find out how they structure their practices. Maybe she could leave early sometimes?
For reference my level 7 does 14hrs (16 pre-season). My level 10s do 20.

 

[JPC13]

End of season always seems like a slightly boring time for kids. Sure, they up-train but practicing to get your feet right on your routine for the 1,000th time probably is a drag.

I’d see if she’s interested in summer training before deciding to quit.

 

[Pineapple_Lump]

I would also mention your child's feelings (without detail) to the coaches - end of season is hard and sometimes us coaches forget to lighten the mood at points and/or inject a little extra fun/up training into classes when we are so focused on repetition and perfection of those routines.

If they are decent human beings they will 'click' and hopefully make a few tweaks to increase the happiness of the entire team. I personally would rather have the fourth place team that continues in the sport than the gold medal team where half the kids quit.

 

[roundaboutmom]

I love the idea of 2-3 skips, sometimes gymnasts just need a break! And I also totally agree with the fact that her friends may also be occupied with things and the gymnast might be disappointed with the result. Also that she should be doing something else that she is passionate about.

Thanks M

Honestly this sounds like every middle school gymnast I know....they love it while they are there and never want to go to practice when they are home lol. Unless you are homeschooling she is probably at the top of how many hours she will be doing. They may add one more day they may not (at least thats how it is at our gym my level 8 is doing the same amount of hours).

I started letting my kid pick 2-3 practices a month she can skip no questions asked. I just tell her to use them wisely cause if she is out of "get out of jail free" cards she may end up missing out on something important. The other rule I have when she considers quitting is she needs to find another activity to participate in. You aren't going to quit so you can sit in your room on tik tok or texting friends. So "quitting" does not equal unlimited free time. She may also want to investigate how much hang out time her other friends have. IF they are in sports or other activities she may find that they dont have nearly as much free time to hang with her as she thought they did...she may not be missing out like she imagines.

For us it typically comes down to she isn't sure what other sport she would like to do in place of gym. That and her stress is also typically related to a fear of something at gym once we address the fear she is much happier and less interested in quitting.

I think you are having all the right conversations with your kiddo. I would encourage her to come up with a plan of what she wants her life to look like after gym (what activities etc) and maybe do a trial run in the summer. I think summer is a great time to maybe take a break and if it doesn't work out get back into the gym before they get into the heart of competition season. I also always tell my kid she has to decide one way or another before I purchase the expensive leotard (if its a new leo year) or before I pay for the meets (if its not a new leo year).

 

[roundaboutmom]

Thanks for the post - great question. MuggleMom - Thank you for the idea of skipping 2-3 practices a month! I think that would be a great idea for mine. She doesn't want to quit but is struggling with practice everyday because she says she is so bored with the routine. Wants to try new skills but the gym doesn't allow that.

 

[Level 6 Gymnast]

Hi. I am mom of a level 6 gymnast. She will be 12 years old in September. Gymnastics has been her passion since age of 5, has always loved it and always happy to go to practice. She has been successful and has always placed in top 5, on top 100 gymnasts in country, state champ, etc. Coaches all
Love her hard work & dedication. she has not suffered any injuries, has advanced level skills. She has one more competition this season and then states. A couple of weeks ago she expressed to me that she is realizing that as she moves up levels the practice hours increase and will not have a life and that she does not love it as much as she did before. That it is boring as all they are doing are routines for competitions. Right now she practices 5 times per week for 4 hours each. I started asking her routine questions if it was something to do with coaches, teammates etc. Her answer is no. It all seems to boil down to the hours and not being able to do stuff with friends. I started scheduling time with friends on days she does not have practice. She loves that. Told her that all we want for her is to be happy. That we are here to help her work thru this as all her life has revolved around gymnastics. But also that we want to make sure her decision is not one she might regret later. If she wants to try other sports it’s ok, If she wants to take break, cut down hours etc. She does not say anything when I ask her these questions. Seems like she’s processing it all. Told her she does not have to make a decision right away. I did say that she needs to finish out the season for her teammates. I am struggling with how to help her work thru on how to make a decision. She says she does not want to go to practice and has skipped a couple. When she comes out of practices she’s always happy and talks about the future in gymnastics. I’m at a loss on how to help her. Have spoken to other moms of her teammates. They all are going through some sort of struggle but not considering quitting as of now. Have not spoken to coaches yet either. Please help! Thanks!

 

[nocoolusername]

When you say Yes to upper level gymnastics you say No to a lot of other things- serious academics, maybe STEM, theatre, music/band, student government, science projects, robotics team, writing, serious volunteering to help the needy or for church or other causes...

 

[nocoolusername]

Sounds like she knows what she wants to do and the person who needs to process through this is you.

She is having no struggles and has told you she is done. Let her be done.

 

[catchingupmom]

I agree that it is common to question all the time in the gym at that age. We found that when we were shut down in covid, that there was time to think about how much the gym meant to my DD. There are sacrifices when you dedicate so much of yourself to one thing. On the flip-side, gymnasts make amazing athletes in other sports if your daughter decides to move on. You are doing just great in letting her make her own choice and supporting her no matter what. It may be helpful for you to (once she's ready) analyze what the pros and cons are, kids aren't always the most adept at seeing the bigger picture and identifying important results of their decisions.