Parents Making a financial decision about whether to continue

[Deleted member 18037]

I’ve read a lot of “quirky” sports give full rides to level 9 and 10 gymnasts. Sports like rowing, pole vault, diving, acro-tumbling…. If you .

First those are not quirky sports. They are legit sports.

Next yes, gymnadts transition well to those sports among others.

Many of the gymnasts at our old gym made it to L8/9 and went on to get rides (from Div 1-3) in other sport, diving, pole vaulting etc….. BUT They transitioned to these sports in high school. They competed in their sports to the high school state level. You typically just don’t go direct from gymnastics to college sport. Exception might be tumbling/cheer

 

[GymDad00]

First those are not quirky sports. They are legit sports.

Next yes, gymnadts transition well to those sports among others.

Many of the gymnasts at our old gym made it to L8/9 and went on to get rides (from Div 1-3) in other sport, diving, pole vaulting etc….. BUT They transitioned to these sports in high school. They competed in their sports to the high school state level. You typically just don’t go direct from gymnastics to college sport. Exception might be tumbling/cheer

First those are not quirky sports. They are legit sports.

Next yes, gymnadts transition well to those sports among others.

Many of the gymnasts at our old gym made it to L8/9 and went on to get rides (from Div 1-3) in other sport, diving, pole vaulting etc….. BUT They transitioned to these sports in high school. They competed in their sports to the high school state level. You typically just don’t go direct from gymnastics to college sport. Exception might be tumbling/cheer

I should have said “less popular”. I did say before junior year of highschool she should look to transition to one of those sports. If they are like my daughter I have her playing baseball, tennis, volleyball, basketball, golf ect with me for fun on weekends. She loves sports in general and is an all round athlete, but unfortunately a 9 year old level 7 doing 20 hours a week of team gymnastics can’t play those other sports in a structured way. But yeah, a lot of gymnasts due to their training hours are going to be faster, stronger and will catch up to other athletes quickly in sports like track, diving ect. I think pole vault and rowing would be the way to go if your athlete gets too tall for gymnastics. I have no clue how to properly train my kid in tennis or golf… so those would be long shots unless she quit gymnastics tomorrow and wanted to focus on those sports where you also need to start young and pay for private coaching to lock in good form at a young ages.

Anyway, my point was seeking out the sports you can start late and catch up quickly based on pure athletic ability from being a high level gymnast. That would be your best best for a college scholarship post-gymnastics.

 

[Dahlia]

I should have said “less popular”. I did say before junior year of highschool she should look to transition to one of those sports. If they are like my daughter I have her playing baseball, tennis, volleyball, basketball, golf ect with me for fun on weekends. She loves sports in general and is an all round athlete, but unfortunately a 9 year old level 7 doing 20 hours a week of team gymnastics can’t play those other sports in a structured way. But yeah, a lot of gymnasts due to their training hours are going to be faster, stronger and will catch up to other athletes quickly in sports like track, diving ect. I think pole vault and rowing would be the way to go if your athlete gets too tall for gymnastics. I have no clue how to properly train my kid in tennis or golf… so those would be long shots unless she quit gymnastics tomorrow and wanted to focus on those sports where you also need to start young and pay for private coaching to lock in good form at a young ages.

Anyway, my point was seeking out the sports you can start late and catch up quickly based on pure athletic ability from being a high level gymnast. That would be your best best for a college scholarship post-gymnastics.

She'd need to try them before junior year and be making states in her junior year to be looked at by colleges, especially for spring sports. Most kids are recruited junior year. While gymnasts make great pole vaulters and divers, it's rare for a gymnast to train for a few months and hit high level in that sport starting the first year they compete. Not impossible, but I wouldn't pin a college scholarship on that. Xcel is a great option for gymnasts who want to continue gymnastics but also want to compete other sports. My daughter is continuing to compete xcel while setting her sights on a college scholarship or at least a college competitive experience in pole vault (she started training for pv in 8th grade). A lot of gymnasts who do this compete in gymnastics through at least sophomore year. Those who are really good will often retire from gymnastics to focus on their new sport due to the crucial junior year. Some continue to do both. Just depends on the athlete.

 

[GymDad00]

She'd need to try them before junior year and be making states in her junior year to be looked at by colleges, especially for spring sports. Most kids are recruited junior year. While gymnasts make great pole vaulters and divers, it's rare for a gymnast to train for a few months and hit high level in that sport starting the first year they compete. Not impossible, but I wouldn't pin a college scholarship on that. Xcel is a great option for gymnasts who want to continue gymnastics but also want to compete other sports. My daughter is continuing to compete xcel while setting her sights on a college scholarship or at least a college competitive experience in pole vault (she started training for pv in 8th grade). A lot of gymnasts who do this compete in gymnastics through at least sophomore year. Those who are really good will often retire from gymnastics to focus on their new sport due to the crucial junior year. Some continue to do both. Just depends on the athlete.

What is the history of doing a gap year for young athletes to get an extra year of club gymnastics L10 training before going to college? My DD is very young for her grade… just missed public school cut off.
Due to the pandemic year where a lot of compulsory gymnasts quit the sport, I’m seeing a weaker pool of athletes the year after she graduates highschool. Wouldn’t mind having our then 17 year old train for an extra L10 year and take an academic gap year before applying possibly in a far less competitive recruitment class.

 

[RTT2]

What is the history of doing a gap year for young athletes to get an extra year of club gymnastics L10 training before going to college? My DD is very young for her grade… just missed public school cut off.
Due to the pandemic year where a lot of compulsory gymnasts quit the sport, I’m seeing a weaker pool of athletes the year after she graduates highschool. Wouldn’t mind having our then 17 year old train for an extra L10 year and take an academic gap year before applying possibly in a far less competitive recruitment class.

No idea what the stats are on that, but I can offer a case study of two in my area who did gap years while competing another year of 10 and both got onto college teams. Not scholarships but did get spots when I'm assuming they didn't get any offers during their graduating year. If you have a kid who will be young entering college, I don't think it's a bad idea at all- for many reasons.

 

[mom2newgymnast]

What is the history of doing a gap year for young athletes to get an extra year of club gymnastics L10 training before going to college? My DD is very young for her grade… just missed public school cut off.
Due to the pandemic year where a lot of compulsory gymnasts quit the sport, I’m seeing a weaker pool of athletes the year after she graduates highschool. Wouldn’t mind having our then 17 year old train for an extra L10 year and take an academic gap year before applying possibly in a far less competitive recruitment class.

Wait, earlier in this thread you said your daughter was a 9 year old level 7. I do not think you can make any assumptions about there being a weaker pool of athletes the year after your daughter graduates at this point. You're talking about girls that graduate in 2032 or so and are currently ~8? And it sounds like your daughter is on track for 5+ years of level 10 as it is? I definitely would not be thinking about this quite yet.

As for the original poster, she never mentioned anything abut her daughter getting a scholarship for another sport. I think it is understandable to question the financial aspects of gymnastics. I am sure the OP knows how it is has benefitted her daughter over the years and that is why she is unsure of what to do. I also kind of disagree with the suggestion that colleges would view stopping a long term sport such as gymnastics in 9th grade unfavorably. I think you can definitely spin a commitment such as gymnastics favorably, but with 3 years left of high school and so much more free time, there would be a lot more opportunity to get involved at school, in clubs, sports, student government, theater, etc. Even to get a job and save some money for college herself. I know my daughter, who is also in 9th grade, finds it pretty challenging right now to fully participate in high school because of her 5 days of week of practice right after school.

But I personally think a lot of parents on this board overestimate the sport and it's impact. I love the sport as much as anyone, but honestly for most kids it's just a sport. Something they are good at and enjoy hopefully. But there are tons of other activities and things that they might enjoy and the majority do not have such a high cost in terms of money, time, and injuries. And you read all the time on here and other groups, about kids that have moved on from gymnastics and how they have found new passions and are often happier. I do think the main thing is to make sure it's what your child wants though.. making anyone quit any activity that they are still passionate about would feel unfair and I wouldn't be able to do it myself. But as I said before I totally understand the feelings behind the OP and I personally think it is very valid to question.

 

[Aussie_coach]

In general gymnastics is very good for the body and develops strength and good posture.

But at the highest levels, which would definitely include level 10 in the US, there is quite a toll on the body.

That toll can have life long consequences. Doing many, many years as a level 10, to get a scholarship may not be worth it.

 

[cmg]

What is the history of doing a gap year for young athletes to get an extra year of club gymnastics L10 training before going to college? My DD is very young for her grade… just missed public school cut off.
Due to the pandemic year where a lot of compulsory gymnasts quit the sport, I’m seeing a weaker pool of athletes the year after she graduates highschool. Wouldn’t mind having our then 17 year old train for an extra L10 year and take an academic gap year before applying possibly in a far less competitive recruitment class.

My daughter took a gap year to get her first year of L10 in because she missed two years with a bad ankle injury that took forever to heal. She got on a D3 team and quite frankly even that was a lucky occurrence. She didn't start doing real gymnastics until December of 2022 and went ahead and competed starting in mid January 2023. She had a very up and down season, but she did compete all around except for states in which she competed floor and vault and qualified for regionals with her vault (just barely).

She also got a part time job working as a PT technician at a large Physical Therapy company and made enough money to move out of our house into a very small studio. We still help her with some of her expenses, but she is paying probably 70% of her living expenses (not including gymnastics). But she has grown up, figured out she wants to major in exercise science, got on a D3 college team, and will be ready to go in the fall.

Between Covid lock downs for almost two years (half of sophomore and all of junior year of HS) and her broken ankle, she totally needed to take her gap year to have any hope of getting on any gymnastics team. She focused mainly on D3 schools because that was her reality. I can't wait to see her finally have a full year of practice and hopefully have a great freshman year in college. Obviously, she will need to compete to get on one of the rotations, but hopefully she can do that but if not, then she will be practicing at a new facility with teammates who want to be there and hopefully great coaching. Oh, and the school is well known for its exercise science programs and it was the school I really wanted her to go to (but I couldn't tell her that because then she wouldn't want to go!!) I am so happy she took her gap year.

 

[andjs]

Is she passionate about wanting to compete in college? If not, perhaps a change to XCEL could keep her at the gym but save some money?

For scholarships.... for the 2024 year, I found that 6 percent of the athletes with two years of L10 experience received scholarships. That number jumps to 23 percent for girls with three years of experience. So the numbers are small, but not nonexistent. Of course, it depends upon what skills your daughter is competing and how she's scoring.

Could always do a gap year after HS to get in another year of L10 and take the moon shot for a scholarship, but that might not be realistic for a family, for a whole host of reasons.

There's also the possibility of completing her basic education at a community college, then transferring to a UC (assuming she wants to stay in-state). I know a number of people who did this, and it does save a substantial amount of money, while still conferring the benefits of a UC degree.

Just a few (possibly ridiculous) thoughts.

ETA: It's definitely time to sit her down and talk reality with her, though. Let her know what resources she can expect to draw upon for school, and what different choices could mean for her future and her long-term non-gymnastics goals.

Curious about your comment about the gap year. My daughter has a June birthday so is one of the very youngest in her grade. It's definitely the right place for her academically and socially, but I've often thought about whether she could market herself (if and when the time comes) as a recruit for the following year (the year after she graduates HS) instead of her actual graduation year. It's tough sometimes seeing girls her same age having the potential for a whole additional year of level 10.

 

[mezzamare]

Curious about your comment about the gap year. My daughter has a June birthday so is one of the very youngest in her grade. It's definitely the right place for her academically and socially, but I've often thought about whether she could market herself (if and when the time comes) as a recruit for the following year (the year after she graduates HS) instead of her actual graduation year. It's tough sometimes seeing girls her same age having the potential for a whole additional year of level 10.

My knowledge of this approach sort of begins and ends with experiences I have read about here on CB, such as cmg's story posted above. If you search "gap year" in the forums you'll find some discussion about it, although much of the information is out of date.

You can read about NCAA Delayed Enrollment here. The linked handout only mentions D1 & D2. I think D3 allows for more than one year of delayed enrollment; someone will hopefully correct me if I am wrong.

While not for everyone, it's certainly a possibility, and in certain circumstances makes a lot of sense, if the core goal is college gymnastics. We have a middle school gymnast who is a successful competitor, but definitely on the older side for her goals. Delayed enrollment is something we might consider if she's still passionate about college gym in a few years but has unanticipated setbacks.

 

[mommyof1]

I also kind of disagree with the suggestion that colleges would view stopping a long term sport such as gymnastics in 9th grade unfavorably. I think you can definitely spin a commitment such as gymnastics favorably, but with 3 years left of high school and so much more free time, there would be a lot more opportunity to get involved at school, in clubs, sports, student government, theater, etc. Even to get a job and save some money for college herself. I know my daughter, who is also in 9th grade, finds it pretty challenging right now to fully participate in high school because of her 5 days of week of practice right after school.

I was the one who mentioned colleges' view of extracurriculars. I don't think it's quitting an activity that's the problem; it's that there won't be enough time to get to a high level in the new activity. My daughter gave up gymnastics at the beginning of her sophomore year and picked up one new extracurricular at that time and two others her junior year. With college applications due in the fall of senior year, that left her two years in one activity and one year in the other two to build skills and a resume. That just isn't enough time, especially in the type of activity where you are expected to "pay your dues" and where many kids enter high school with previous experience, or where there is a lot to learn. For a freshman L9, gymnastics is likely to turn into at least a tier 2 extracurricular (state-level honors) and possibly even a tier 1 activity (qualifying to regionals/nationals). If she drops gymnastics and picks up a new activity it will be very hard for her to get to tier 2 unless she starts her sophomore year and chooses something where she can excel very quickly, such as pole vault or diving.

I also question the idea that there will be cost savings. All the money we were spending on gymnastics tuition is now going to voice lessons and membership at the climbing gym (which will not go on the college resume but is how she keeps in shape without gymnastics). Sequined show choir costumes are every bit as expensive as competition leotards. We have also spent $$$$ on summer arts intensives, dance classes, and so much paint and canvas.

All this goes to say that I think it is shortsighted to force her to quit for financial reasons. If she's done, that's a different story.

 

[mom2newgymnast]

I was the one who mentioned colleges' view of extracurriculars. I don't think it's quitting an activity that's the problem; it's that there won't be enough time to get to a high level in the new activity. My daughter gave up gymnastics at the beginning of her sophomore year and picked up one new extracurricular at that time and two others her junior year. With college applications due in the fall of senior year, that left her two years in one activity and one year in the other two to build skills and a resume. That just isn't enough time, especially in the type of activity where you are expected to "pay your dues" and where many kids enter high school with previous experience, or where there is a lot to learn. For a freshman L9, gymnastics is likely to turn into at least a tier 2 extracurricular (state-level honors) and possibly even a tier 1 activity (qualifying to regionals/nationals). If she drops gymnastics and picks up a new activity it will be very hard for her to get to tier 2 unless she starts her sophomore year and chooses something where she can excel very quickly, such as pole vault or diving.

I also question the idea that there will be cost savings. All the money we were spending on gymnastics tuition is now going to voice lessons and membership at the climbing gym (which will not go on the college resume but is how she keeps in shape without gymnastics). Sequined show choir costumes are every bit as expensive as competition leotards. We have also spent $$$$ on summer arts intensives, dance classes, and so much paint and canvas.

All this goes to say that I think it is shortsighted to force her to quit for financial reasons. If she's done, that's a different story.

While I understand what you are saying, I guess I just disagree with the premise that it is necessary to achieve a tier 1/2 level in another activity. I've never actually heard these terms to be honest. I guess maybe it could depend on what kind of colleges you are applying to? But the OP never said she was hoping to get a full ride out of a new sport or anything and I didn't think that was the intention.

My daughter has many friends that have quit in the past few years (pretty much all of them honestly). Most have gone on to try other sports. Just for fun and to stay in shape though, not to get scholarships. They've done volleyball, cheerleading, stunt, lacrosse, track, etc and mostly joined the JV teams at school. If my daughter were to stop gymnastics, that is what I am envisioning for her. Their parents are saving a ton of money compared to gymnastics. They aren't going to get athletic scholarships, but they probably weren't if they stayed in gymnastics anyway. I am confident they will all get into good colleges, because they are all smart, good students and well rounded. Maybe not the best of the best schools, but again they probably wouldn't if they had stayed in gymnastics either.

 

[Deleted member 18037]

I was the one who mentioned colleges' view of extracurriculars. I don't think it's quitting an activity that's the problem; it's that there won't be enough time to get to a high level in the new activity. My daughter gave up gymnastics at the beginning of her sophomore year and picked up one new extracurricular at that time and two others her junior year. With college applications due in the fall of senior year, that left her two years in one activity and one year in the other two to build skills and a resume. That just isn't enough time, especially in the type of activity where you are expected to "pay your dues" and where many kids enter high school with previous experience, or where there is a lot to learn. For a freshman L9, gymnastics is likely to turn into at least a tier 2 extracurricular (state-level honors) and possibly even a tier 1 activity (qualifying to regionals/nationals). If she drops gymnastics and picks up a new activity it will be very hard for her to get to tier 2 unless she starts her sophomore year and chooses something where she can excel very quickly, such as pole vault or diving.

I also question the idea that there will be cost savings. All the money we were spending on gymnastics tuition is now going to voice lessons and membership at the climbing gym (which will not go on the college resume but is how she keeps in shape without gymnastics). Sequined show choir costumes are every bit as expensive as competition leotards. We have also spent $$$$ on summer arts intensives, dance classes, and so much paint and canvas.

All this goes to say that I think it is shortsighted to force her to quit for financial reasons. If she's done, that's a different story.

Everyone of the kids my daughter has done gym with have gone on to other sports in HS. All right to the varsity level. Most have gone onto sports in college at the D1-3 level. No idea if they were scholarship or not. Lots of section and state qualifiers at the high school level.

 

[LadyJ]

I'm really learning how much I don't know about the college application process. I've never heard of tier 1or 2 activities. When I went to college, it was just an application questionairre and SAT or ACT, and I went to a univeristy who's name you would recognize.

Quick update, I did speak to DD. She does not want to switch to Xcel, she wants the challenge of DP. So the plan for now is to continue as is. We are not looking to get any other sporting scholarship, hoping to get at least something for academics, but not counting on any financial aid. She is going to start seriously looking at the schools and what programs they offer. Once we have a list, we'll go from there.

 

[mommyof1]

While I understand what you are saying, I guess I just disagree with the premise that it is necessary to achieve a tier 1/2 level in another activity. I've never actually heard these terms to be honest. I guess maybe it could depend on what kind of colleges you are applying to? But the OP never said she was hoping to get a full ride out of a new sport or anything and I didn't think that was the intention.

Here is an explanation of the four tiers of extracurriculars. https://blog.collegevine.com/breaking-down-the-4-tiers-of-extracurricular-activities

Many of the schools my daughter is looking at have said they want to see at least a Tier 2 activity. Making a varsity sports team is Tier 4. My daughter has gotten to Tier 3 in her new activities but simply did not have time to rack up any Tier 2 achievements before college applications are due (thanks in part to an administrative error on the part of a teacher, which wouldn't have been such a problem if she'd had more than one year to try). She has the potential to hit Tier 2 in one activity her senior year but it will be too late to include on applications. OP is proposing to pull her daughter from gymnastics before her junior year. A kid who picks up a new activity in her junior year will not be likely to have time to make all-state that first year or to get selected to a major leadership position for senior year.

The main point I am trying to make is that if you are going to force her to drop gymnastics do it ASAP so she has time to catch up elsewhere.

 

[NutterButter]

I'm really learning how much I don't know about the college application process. I've never heard of tier 1or 2 activities. When I went to college, it was just an application questionairre and SAT or ACT, and I went to a univeristy who's name you would recognize.

Right?!? I just googled 'tier 1 college activities' and learned there are actually 4 tiers. Who knew. This could mean my youngest (a junior) is screwed next year. Ignorance is bliss...

 

[RTT2]

Here is an explanation of the four tiers of extracurriculars. https://blog.collegevine.com/breaking-down-the-4-tiers-of-extracurricular-activities

Many of the schools my daughter is looking at have said they want to see at least a Tier 2 activity. Making a varsity sports team is Tier 4. My daughter has gotten to Tier 3 in her new activities but simply did not have time to rack up any Tier 2 achievements before college applications are due (thanks in part to an administrative error on the part of a teacher, which wouldn't have been such a problem if she'd had more than one year to try). She has the potential to hit Tier 2 in one activity her senior year but it will be too late to include on applications. OP is proposing to pull her daughter from gymnastics before her junior year. A kid who picks up a new activity in her junior year will not be likely to have time to make all-state that first year or to get selected to a major leadership position for senior year.

The main point I am trying to make is that if you are going to force her to drop gymnastics do it ASAP so she has time to catch up elsewhere.

Very interesting! I'd never heard of this before.

 

[mezzamare]

I dunno. I think the fact that most of the articles that come up regarding extracurricular "tiers" are on college admissions advising sites suggests this may partly be yet another way to freak parents out about their kids coming up short for college admissions.

While it may be a new idea to explicitly quantify or label a kid's involvement or achievement in whatever non-academic activities they're involved in, it's always been intuitively understood that longer term commitments to activities and rising up the ranks within those activities is smiled upon by colleges. And that makes sense. Graduating college requires commitment, focus and the ability to ride out challenge.

By the way these sites are phrasing things, you'd think unless your fifteen year old won a Nobel Prize in medicine while training for the '24 Olympics and performing as a soloist with the New York Philharmonic, they just aren't going to be admitted to college. It's a little histrionic, if you ask me.

What I read in some of those articles that actually made a lot of sense was having juxtapositional interests, like staying engaged with both sports and music, or the arts and leadership. Things that show both breadth and depth.

 

[NutterButter]

Many of the schools my daughter is looking at have said they want to see at least a Tier 2 activity. Making a varsity sports team is Tier 4. My daughter has gotten to Tier 3 in her new activities but simply did not have time to rack up any Tier 2 achievements before college applications are due (thanks in part to an administrative error on the part of a teacher, which wouldn't have been such a problem if she'd had more than one year to try). She has the potential to hit Tier 2 in one activity her senior year but it will be too late to include on applications. OP is proposing to pull her daughter from gymnastics before her junior year. A kid who picks up a new activity in her junior year will not be likely to have time to make all-state that first year or to get selected to a major leadership position for senior year.

The main point I am trying to make is that if you are going to force her to drop gymnastics do it ASAP so she has time to catch up elsewhere.

This is all fascinating to me...in all the years I've been listening to college readiness discussions, tailoring activities to the Tiers has never once come up among any of my friends (mostly a mix of urban and suburban families, a handful of them being VERY fanatical about micro-managing their kids extra curriculars).

My kids are in a high-achieving public school in a district that has high poverty and overall low graduation rates. Equity has been a big thing in the last 5 years. For sports teams this means that seniors who have participated all 3 years prior may be 'gifted' a spot on the Varsity team even if their level of play is not competitive at the varsity level. I think the reasoning is that all the kids who ARE competitive at Varsity have been training their sport year-round for years and not all kids have had access to that level of training. This also means that it's not uncommon to see talented kids on the JV team for 3 years depending on the size of the Senior class in the sport (and the number of 'gifted' spots).

My son's freshman year was mostly online due to the pandemic. They were among the last of public schools to resume in-person in our state. They went back to in-person school in April only to have more online school because of civil unrest concerns during the George Floyd murder trial. He had one month of consistent in-person school. I do wonder if admission counselors are taking into account the amount of online schooling kids had during the pandemic and how this impacted their ability to even join clubs, etc. ETA: Even my son's sophomore year was impacted online learning - 7 weeks total! 3 for covid when cases in our city were high and then 4 for a teacher strike.

 

[NutterButter]

I dunno. I think the fact that most of the articles that come up regarding extracurricular "tiers" are on college admissions advising sites suggests this may partly be yet another way to freak parents out about their kids coming up short for college admissions.

Totally agree with this entire post.