So glad I found these forums! The wealth of info here is awesome! I have 2 boys and my little girl gymnast is stuck in the middle. She took gymnastics when she was 3 and it was like watching the coach herd cats so we quit. She begged for years and so we started back a year ago, January 2014. I am worried I waited too late. She turned 11 in November. She had only been taking a month when the coach asked m to move her from beginner to intermediate. I resisted because I worried it was too soon. So after another month the coach insisted because she (the coach) wasn't able to work with her on newer skills in the beginner class. So we moved her to intermediate. After one lesson the gym owner asked her to compete on level 1 (it was the time of year all girls were finding out if they made team/moved up a level). I let her move up and now a year later we are in the middle of meet season. Her very first meet she got 3rd in AA. Second meet she was 6th and third she was 5th. Her scores keep improving. She's only gotten two 8s, everything else has been over 9. It's hard for me to judge how "well" that is or isn't because all the girls on her team have been in the gym at least 2-3 years. I'm just glad she is consistently improving. I was not a competitive person until the first meet and somebody handed me a score sheet. I AM able to "hide" my competitiveness from her and other parents but boy do meets stress me out. I want her to keep enjoying it but I want her to be dedicated to a sport SHE chose. I can see the excitement in her eyes when she learns a new skill or when her coach encourages her. Anyway, it's great to find a place to learn things as a new gym mom!