Parents New Parent, Totally Overwhelmed

[RyanS]

I joined this forum because I am feeling really overwhelmed. This seems like an active community, and I'm hoping someone here will be patient with me and help me out.

Our 8 year old son recently "passed off" level 3. His coach is suggesting we get him evaluated to move him to level 4. I've read a little about levels on the USAG site, but my knowledge is extremely limited. Computers are my thing. I know almost nothing about gymnastics. Maybe that's a good thing?

I've started by reading some of the posts in this forum. Particularly about what parents can do to support their children. I think my wife and I have this part down. We are totally clueless and don't know enough to be pushy gym parents even if we wanted to. We are worried about two things: safety, and if our son is enjoying it. I don't really care about anything else but those two things right now.

I want to support our son as he experiences new adventures with gymnastics. We are super thrilled for him, and he looks like he really has a blast at the gym. I want to try and explain the competition team process to him so he can make good choices, but I don't even understand it myself. Below are just a few of the bazillion questions I have. Please remember that I don't know what I don't know. If there is some additional advice for us, please share it. Also, if I accidentally step on any land-mines my apologies. I am truly ignorant right now and I'm looking for basic advice. If you can point me to additional resources, that would be great.

Questions:

• It seems like gymnastics is 99% girls and 1% boys. How many boys do this? What things do we need to worry about with a boy, specifically? The only thing our son has mentioned is how many stares he gets from all the girls. That's a problem I think he can grow to live with.
• Our gym is saying L4 team will require 6 hours a week of practice (2 hours x 3 days). That's got us just a little concerned that we don't have a clue what we are getting in to. The gym mentioned that L5 is 9 hours a week. How deep is this hole!?
• What is the typical cost for a boys L4 team program? Beyond the practices, they are suggesting that it might be another $700+ in competition fees, plus uniform, etc. Are these typical expenses? Is $3000+/year a "low end" for competition teams? How high can the costs get?
• We don't have anything at home. He is using just regular clothes for practice right now. I guess if I have a weakness it is that I want my son to have everything he needs to get the most out of this experience. What stuff do you recommend we get him? Does he need some kind of boys gym clothes? Where do you recommend we buy stuff like that? What is the best stuff to get? What do we avoid? Beyond that, do we need to have anything else at home so he can practice if he wants? Is there anything you wish you would have purchased (or not purchased) when your first child went through this?
• How much practice is done outside the gym? Do boys at this level do much at home in terms of stretching, strength exercises, etc? I'd like to know if this adds additional time commitments.
• Can someone give me the 'dummies guide' for how a typical team process works? What I've figured out so far:
  • Pass an evaluation given by the boys team coaches.
  • If evaluation passed, move to L4 team.
  • Once on L4 team, compete with other kids in the same gym to find out who will be on the "team, team?" The real competition team. Whatever that means.
  • The "real team" are the kids that incur the extra expenses of meets, travel, and so forth.
  • Anything else? Help with the lingo and terminology would be great.
• I am sure each child is different, but is there a general rule of thumb for how long a kid usually stays in a particular level? Is this something that can change over months, or is he likely to stay at L4 for 2 years?
• I don't know how to word this one... how "serious" is this sport taken at L4? I guess a good example is kids soccer. My other kids play soccer and they chase the ball around and have a good time. No one really cares if they win or lose. This gymnastics thing, however, does NOT seems like that. It seems like this is really taken seriously to some degree in terms of competition and commitment. Am I misreading the situation? Is this still just young kids goofing off, or is the cultural expectation that at this level kids start to get a little more serious in terms of competition?
  
• If we do find ourselves with a son on a competition team... What can we expect?

Any other advice you can offer is very much appreciated. As I said, my main concerns are that our son is safe and enjoys himself. Thank you very much in advance for your help! I am thankful places like this exist for parents like me to ask our silly questions.

 

[skschlag]

Whew. I am exhausted just reading that!

First, welcome to MAG! (Men's Artistic Gymastics!) We are a smaller group, but we make up for it you have a ton of questions, which is understandable. Gyms run in many different ways.

Gymnastics is an expensive, time-intensive sport. But if they have the bug, it seems like nothing else will satisfy it!

Things to wory about with a boy: Not burning him out, and making sure he has fun.
Practice Times do increase as levels do. My son is a level 8 and works out 15-18 hours a week.
Home: My son likes to work out in compressions shirts, adn he has pommel pants for when he does pommel. At level 4, shorts and tshirt is great. Pommel pants would be the only thing to consider. We did have a mushroom and paralletes at that age, but it isn't necessary.

Now, my son does LITTLE practice outside the gym. He should still jsut be alittle boy that does gymnastics. go to the park, and play. If he wants to do something, that is great!

Team process varies by gym, so you will have to see how your gym does it. Same for levels. My son did 1 year at 4 and 3 at 5. Some do 2 at 4 and 2 at 5. some do one a year. Some skip.

TO me level 4 should still be about fun. But some gyms are very serious about it. As long as your son is enjoying it and having fun, then that is the important part!

So that is some answers in a nutshell! Welcome

 

[RyanS]

Thanks for the reply. I am sorry my post was long. I figured 'in for a penny, in for a pound' and went for it. I had to google several terms in your reply. Never heard of pommel pants before, so I looked those up. Where is a good place to buy some? Is Under Armor a good brand for boys compression shirts? It looks like they have a sizing guide we could use.

I was reading a prior post about costs and just about fell on the floor. I think we've got L4 covered. One step at a time. Having two children in this sport would be out of the question for us.

 

[curlymop]

If you go over to the MAG forum, you can read through some of the old posts and even search for specific terms. I found that to be very useful last year when my son started competing. I had no clue what we were getting into, so it was helpful to read everyone else's experiences.

Have you been to any team practices? That would give you an idea of what they are expected to wear. Some gyms require compression shirts, etc. Ours doesn't. It's primarily t-shirts and shorts. My kids usually end up with shorts and no shirt, but I've read on here that some gyms don't allow that. I wouldn't go out and buy pommel pants just yet.

It sounds to me like L4 is treated differently depending on where you live. Here it seems like most gyms take it pretty seriously, but at the meets there was a wide range in skill level. I would have preferred it to be a little less formal, honestly, as the whole experience was a little intense for my 6 year old. He loves gymnastics and practicing with his teammates, but the competitions are not really that fun for him until they're over.

At home we have a pull-up bar and a mushroom, but we don't push him to work on anything specific at home. Neither are necessary, but mushroom circles can be so tricky to learn, and it helps to have some extra time to work on them. My son uses his sporadically, but the little bit he has used it has made a difference.

Welcome!

 

[Dr Maleficent]

Welcome! It is all very overwhelming at first, but you quickly get used to it and start dropping gym terms into everyday conversation!

The positives are that this sport is great for boys - it helps them to expend their energy and teaches them discipline, listening to instructions and how to work hard and overcome challenges. Plus they develop great muscles which they really love to show off!

The downsides are the expense and that some young kids find that the need for each move to be really perfect before moving on is a challenge as this requires patience and lots of conditioning which at least initially can be a shock for some as they move from rec to competition gymnastics.

You can save some money by buying second hand stuff - we bought our mushroom from ebay, my husband made some parallettes from plumbing tubing using instructions he downloaded from the internet, and older boys in the gym handed down their outgrown gym clothes (you will probably still need to buy the competition kit and definitely the grips though which are pricey!).

Don't worry about doing stuff outside the gym for now - it should stay fun, and also you risk undoing the good work of the coaches for certain things and worse, getting injuries. If he is really keen, keep it simple- stretches, handstands etc. A mushroom does make a big difference but I believe many coaches say the boys should have 2 decent circles on the mushroom at the gym first so that they understand how to do them properly.

Do come to CB with any questions or concerns - there is a wealth of experience and knowledge on here and there is pretty much someone for any question - lots of excellent coaches and parents who have been through it all!

 

[profmom]

Gymnastics is a great sport for boys. They truly can, as the USA Gymnastics motto says,"start here, go anywhere." It's different from a lot of other sports, though, in that it takes a long time to learn even the most basic skills. I have a fairly serious soccer player too, so I feel entitled to use soccer as a comparison. After a little bit of basic instruction, almost any kid can learn to dribble and can understand the basic principle of the game. You can have an organized soccer game that looks a little bit like soccer with five year olds who've only had a few months of low-key instruction. Getting a good handstand or roundoff takes a lot longer, and learning to do circles on the mushroom can take years!

So, what you need most when you're starting out is patience. It's a marathon, not a sprint, you will hear over and over. The kids who are awesome little L4s who can do everything perfectly aren't necessarily the ones who will stick it out and be awesome L9s or L10s. I remember being really freaked out when our little L4s, who were practicing 5 hours a week, went to a meet to compete against a team that had their L4s in there almost 20 hours a week, but just about all of those small boys who were DS's teammates back in 2011-12 are getting ready to be L6s now, and they will be very competitive with other teams.

Most of all, enjoy it. It's a fun sport for parents, watching your boys grow and mature and learn how to work hard and fail repeatedly, how to hold themselves to high standards, and how to be proud of accomplishments they've had to earn themselves.

 

[seoulmama]

I don't have a son in gymnastics, so I can't answer everything but I can answer some of your basics.

UnderArmour is very popular, they partnered with USA Gymnastics so most kids in the sports know the brand. You can buy regular UA stuff at sports stores, but a good gymnastics brand is GK Elite. I am not affiliated with them, but they make tons of the gear you see on gymnasts.

Your son's training hours will go up as he progresses through levels, those hours can vary dramatically from gym to gym. No one can say for sure-some levels kids do in one year, often there are levels that many kids will repeat. The hole is very deep!

As for costs, look at what the rec classes cost and break that down by hour. You'll see that team fees are usually less, although eventually you have to add in the cost of the competition wear (warm-up suit, often a bag for their gear) and meet fees. We pay in the high $300's a month for team fees, and our dd goes 20 hours. Our gym offers a discount for teachers, which is awesome. Our gym adds in meet fees and coaches fees throughout the season on top of our team fee, we get a breakdown in the fall so we know what to expect.

With regard to meets, usually gyms charge a coaches fee on top of the meet fee-this varies by gym, we pay $200 a season for coaches fees, if memory serves. Our gym used to not break it down for us so we were just charged a meet fee. Meet fees can range from $75-$125 in our area. Don't forget you also have to pay to go to the meet as a spectator, that can change whether you bring siblings or not! We end up paying a fortune if we bring DD's older brother-the snacks alone add up, not to mention the entrance fee! When dd was in lower levels, the meets were generally meets we could drive to in a day. Now we have the option of going to a few travel meets, which is fun. It makes it more of a family adventure. Keep in mind that gymnastics is a year round sport. We do take a week off in the spring and one in the summer, but that's about it. Those travel meets count as our vacations! That's one thing I didn't realize when we started-there's no break in gymnastics, there might be an off-season, but that just means there are no meets, the gymnasts are busy in the gym training new skills.

Hope this helps! Welcome to this crazy world!

 

[Ginger]

As for the compression shirts, my son owns several from Target ('C9 by Champion' brand). They are less expensive than Under Armour, $15 on their web site right now but I think we got ours off sale rack at the store so it was probably well under $10. Our gym doesn't require them though, any kind of T-shirt and shorts would be OK in our gym.

My son is 7 and supposed to do L4 AAU this season (AAU has the same routines as USAG, just less serious and less expensive, but still quite expensive). It is mainly for fun, I don't expect him to stay long-term in gymnastics, but maybe he surprises me. Anyway, gymnastics will give him a great fundamentals for any other sport he may want to do in the future.
Higher levels in our gym do USAG I think.

As for doing gymnastics at home - handstand is a basic skill leading to many further skills, and you can do these everywhere and no equipment needed

 

[profmom]

The only practice clothes you really need are pommel pants, and some gyms may not even insist on that. My beloved child insists on singlets, but that's largely because his sister was the first one in the door, and by the time he started team, she already had an extensive leo collection and he had to catch up. You can get pommel pants, and if you want, gym compression shirts and singlets and shorts at 10.0 as well as GK. If you go with street shorts and pants, try to find ones without pockets, and for street shirts, the tighter fitting, the better.

 

[Sasha]

Welcome to MAG!

I have a 7 y/o son who has done 1.5 years of training in pre-team/L3 and is now going to start his very first competition season in level 4 (L4) this Spring. I have learned so much from Chalkbucket (CB) and from talking to other parents of older boys, etc. Hope something I can share will help you, as I remember feeling lost may times. I also have a girl who is currently competing.

Questions:

• It seems like gymnastics is 99% girls and 1% boys. How many boys do this?

Lots of boys! Nothing builds strength, coordination, determination, and discipline like gymnastic!! Most parents would agree these are things they want for their sons (and daughters). And walking all over the place on his hands and throwing a few backflips (once well practiced, of course!!) when he gets older is a pretty sure way to impress boys and girls alike. My son is highly popular for his ability to beat older kids in arm-wrestling and his handstand-walking on the playground.

Our gym is saying L4 team will require 6 hours a week of practice (2 hours x 3 days). How deep is this hole!?

6 hours is probably average for L4. Ours does 9 hours for L4/L5, then moves to 12 at L6/L7 and 16 at L8+. It takes more time in the gym as they get older and more advanced to continue to condition for more strength and practice more complicated skills.

Are these typical expenses? Is $3000+/year a "low end" for competition teams? How high can the costs get?

I wish ours was anywhere close to only $3k a year. We live in an expensive area. Soooooo, yeah that's not bad. Do plan for increasing travel expenses as your son moves to upper levels, such as for State and Regional competitions. National level doesn't start until Level 8, so that's a ways off. Some gyms travel very little, while others travel a lot. The sport is expensive, but we have to remember why for perspective. Retaining qualified coaches takes a fair salary - not just anyone can teach gymnastics like they can for soccer, baseball, etc. A regular parent, even an exceptionally intelligent and athletic one, just can't sign up to teach kids to fly off of high bars. Gym facilities need to be large enough (high rent/utilities), and equipment is expensive and needs to be maintained to be safe. Also, at competitions, judges aren't just some parent volunteers. The must be trained, certified, and are paid professionals. Coaches must also attend for safety of the competitors, and so are also paid for their time, housing, and a small salary. Class sizes must be reasonably low to be safe and effective. So, yes, it's expensive because it has to be. It's not like many other more common sports.

What is the best stuff to get? What do we avoid? Beyond that, do we need to have anything else at home so he can practice if he wants? Is there anything you wish you would have purchased (or not purchased) when your first child went through this?

Just ask the coach what he needs for training. Pommel pants are great. I buy mine new off of eBay, honestly. But if your team practices in shorts, then that's fine. Anything too baggy can get caught on equipment (safety issue). Baggy, untucked shirts can ride up when upside-down and obscure their vision. Our gym requires the pommel pants as the boys get scrapes on their legs from mushroom/pommel otherwise, and it prevents baggy shorts getting caught on handles, etc. My son loves the UA compression sleeveless tanks, and he has several other close-fitting (but not compression) tank tops/muscle shirts from Target/Sears/etc. Long enough to be tucked in. He likes his arms not to be encumbered by sleeves.

We do have a home mushroom. I recommend that the right time to get one is once he can do about 1.5 circles on his own. Until then, it's not very self-rewarding to practice. Once he gets 1.5, he is much closer to "circling" and more likely to get something out of home practice. You can also build your own if you google "DIY Gymnastics mushroom." We do also have a panel mat (4 x 10) at home that is well used.

How much practice is done outside the gym? Do boys at this level do much at home in terms of stretching, strength exercises, etc? I'd like to know if this adds additional time commitments.

Probably nothing formally assigned. Mine was pronouncedly inflexible, so we did a reward chart for stretching. Mine, like many, like to 'play' gymnastics at home or on the playground, but I would simply make sure your son knows what is safe and permissible (cartwheels, bridges, handstands...) and what is not safe (back handsprings, other tumbling/flips), and enforce rigidly any infractions (for safety). Beyond that, never force or overly suggest any practicing unless it comes from the coach. Head/handstands everywhere are fine

Can someone give me the 'dummies guide' for how a typical team process works? What I've figured out so far:

• Pass an evaluation given by the boys team coaches.
• If evaluation passed, move to L4 team.
• Once on L4 team, compete with other kids in the same gym to find out who will be on the "team, team?" The real competition team. Whatever that means.
• The "real team" are the kids that incur the extra expenses of meets, travel, and so forth.
• Anything else? Help with the lingo and terminology would be great.

Each gym has their own process for selecting their team. In ours, and I think many, there is no competing internally to pick a final 'team team'. If you're in L4, you're "on the team" and compete with the team. We sign a contract that says you understand the rules and expectations (like not missing competitions without advance notice, showing up for training, etc) and agree that we understand and will pay the team fees. We do not have a 'booster club' that helps fundraise across families, but many gyms do. You can inquire about that.

I am sure each child is different, but is there a general rule of thumb for how long a kid usually stays in a particular level? Is this something that can change over months, or is he likely to stay at L4 for 2 years?

Varies widely by gym. Ours waits to let boys compete L4 until their form is very precise and they have many "bonuses" that score extra points in the routines. So they seldom repeat L4 or L5. They will repeat upper levels, though. Other gyms compete boys at L4 with very basic skills, and so they are more likely to repeat lower levels. Since there are only 7 levels (L4-L10), everyone repeats somewhere. Repeating is not a bad thing.

I don't know how to word this one... how "serious" is this sport taken at L4?

I'm sure you've seen a few "Crazy Soccer Parents" that take it way too seriously. There are some of those (maybe a few more) in gymnastics as well. Here on CB, they are called Crazy Gymnastics Parents (CGPs) or CGMs or CGDs for Moms/Dads. Your son should be having a blast in L4, focusing on just doing his best, listening to the coach, learning great life lessons, and feeling like part of the team. He'll take home ribbons and/or medals, and learn how hard work pays off. If it's not fun, something is wrong. Post on CB for advice. That said, because gymnastics involves flipping, flying, spinning, etc, which can result in injury to self or others if not done properly, it is essential that boys learn not to horseplay and goof around in class when being instructed. So in that sense, class may seem more 'serious' than some sports programs where goofing off doesn't hurt anyone. But the discipline/behavior this structure teaches is great for boys, imo.

If we do find ourselves with a son on a competition team... What can we expect?

Expect to be amazed at what you son learns to do, and to watch him rise to the occasion of performing in front of hundreds of people when most start out quite nervous about this. Expect a formal-feeling environment, with supportive, encouraging coaches who either high-five or hug them no matter the score. Expect his confidence to soar and his focus and discipline to improve. Expect to see kids who barely fumble through a routine, and kids who look like they were born with perfect posture and have been tumbling since birth. Expect your kid to be somewhere in the middle of that, and expect that that can change as boys who rock L4 don't necessarily rock L8 (and vice versa). Expect to drop other sports, most likely, just for sheer time involved. Expect to build mini-vacations in hotels with pools around meet locations. Expect to start questioning the judging and getting invested in the scores, but then coming back to CB and reminding yourself that L4 isn't the Olympics (just yet) and to relax and just enjoy watching your son do his thing.

 

[Sasha]

oops that was waaaay longer than it looked while I was typing it. lol.

 

[magmom]

I started this afternoon on a long response, and came back to it this evening. Now, I can just reduce it to... "What Sasha said."

 

[Muddlethru]

Gymnastics is tough, expensive, labor intensive, overwhelming, difficult to understand (coaches, scoring, judges, skills, name it.). Unlike you I dove in head first. The first time my daughter was asked to be in the team and they increased the hours, tuition etc., I was so shocked. Then by the time I was able to adjust to the sticker shock and hours shock, it kept on accelerating that I just went with it. Had I been given all the answers you seek, I may have nipped it in the bud. Glad I didn't and glad my daughter is still doing gymnastics. It is a class in of its own. I like your post and its innocence. I hope you stay as laid back and supportive throughout the journey. I don't know anything about MAG, but I know I went from paying $120/month to paying a total of $10,000 last gymnastics season. My daughter is a 13 year old Level 10. She had one sole leo for a full year and now she has close to 40. Our vacations revolve around her gymnastics schedule. My daughter has very little time for anything other than gymnastics and school. One thing I know that is important is the child has to LOVE the sport in order for it to be worth it. Good luck.

 

[RyanS]

This is great advice. Thank you all very much for the helpful information. I feel a little more sure about the process now. Sasha, thank you for taking the time to answer each question. That was extremely helpful. I work with computers, as I mentioned, and can type about 100 wpm. My posts and e-mails tend to get a little long as a result. I'll do my best to trim it up in the future.

Knowing what to expect helps me set realistic expectations and begin planning for the financial & time commitments. I'm not sure how long my son will want to do this. Right now he's having a great deal of fun. I hope that doesn't change for him as he moves in to this new experience.