Parents Newbie Parent of 4 yr old with ?'s

[Shinybanana]

Hello!! I'm Shiny Banana for privacy sake! I want to start this with I know my kid is 4 and most 4 year olds are all over the place but my kid spends most her spare waking time on her gymnastics bar at home. She lives to be on that bar, the trampoline and also loves our local american ninja warrior course.

My kid is 4 and doing well in her classes at the local gymnastics gym. She was in the preschool classes but is being bumped up. They are interested in having her on the Trampoline and Tumbling team but since shes so young we are going to try her in a regular trampoline class (above the preschool class) to get her used to the structure. Recently she was also evaluted to be moved into a pre-recreactional class that is above preschool gymnastics but not in with the over 5 yrs old groups.


On the artistic gymnastics competition side I noticed that the excel and compulsary teams have lower levels that accomodate the smaller bodies and lower skill. However with T&T the littles are still required to get above the red line on the double mini with no assistance or accomodation for competitions? The team coach said that she would most likely not place for a while bc of this? Does anyone have any insight on this? If the artistic side is accomodating the smaller bodies why isn't T&T? How do I find out what skills she needs to learn? I like to know the names so that I can talk with her about what she learns in class and finding out doggie was a position on the trampoline just sounded super odd like my kid was making it up!

Is there a huge different in the USTA and the USAG in programs? Does it depend on what gym you attend?


In reference to her recreational class on artisitc gymnastics, her gym has 5 levels. Is that common in all gyms or are they allowed to pick how their own recreational levels go? Again I'd like to learn what the moves are called, this is so that I can make sure shes doing them safely and accurately at home.

She loves the BAR and trampoline but wouldn't be able to commit to both styles of gymnastics as she got older right? She would have to pick one?

 

[Jenny]

She wouldn't have to choose between them for a while so don't worry about that yet. She likely will like one side more as she gets older and that will help her choose.

Yes is it common to have levels within recreational gymnastics and each club likely develops their own system. I can't help you with T and T Sorry.

 

[Milomom]

Even with xcel and DP, there is an age cutoff for each level that you have to be at before the season starts. For DP, all the girls do the same routine for DP 1-5 - so there isn't really an accommodation based on age, it's more just the skills building on previous ones. For T&T, they can be competing at different levels for each event - so there is some adjustment that is allowed if they are progressing more in one event than another. I believe T&T also competes based on age like DP and Xcel do, but it's based on the ages at the meet - so one meet 6 year olds may only be competing against 6 year olds, and at the next it might be 6-8 year olds together. Typically, we didn't know how the age groups would be divided ahead of time (except for states).

 

[Loopy]

She'll probably end up liking one more than the other at some point - so as long as you have the time and money, do both! One of my eldests team mates does both - she's competing level 6 in both WAG and trampoline this year (but isn't doing tumbling). It can get tricky if comps clash but otherwise it seems to work ok.
My youngest started with WAG but switched to trampoline (just big tramp and double mini - no tumbling) at 6 as she did just to try something new and loved it. She's now 9 and hopefully going to pass level 3 this year - she competed it last year but only passed it on double mini.
I'm in Australia so its probably a big different, but level 1 is fairly simple, big trampoline its things like seat drops, half turns, open pike, tuck jumps - and similar on double mini, with straight jump as the other skill (so like a straight jump open pike for pass then a tuck jump straight jump for pass 2). The trampoline routine is a set compulsory routine but DMT isn't, so just go with what your coach tells you to do.
Level 2 adds a back drop and front drop to big trampoline, DMT is just a harder combination of the same skills as level 1 but there is usually a full turn in there too.
Level 3 is where there is a compulsory and optional routine for big tramp - you can do the compulsory one twice though. Its similar to level 2 but the front drop has a half turn entry (aeroplane), and the back drop has a half turn exit, there is also a half seat rotation. For the optional routine you can add some basic flips. DMT can be half and full rotations (mine did half turn half turn, and full turn full turn, or include basic flips. Mine just repeated the compulsory routine for big tramp as she doesn't have her flips yet.
Level 4 (not that we have got there yet) is similar to level 3 but they must have flips.

Ours doesn't separate out ages for comps (just training - the classes go on age, not skill level unless they are good for their age they might get bumped up - mine is in an 11+ class though she's not quite 10 yet) - she is competing against kids much older. But they are all at the same level. Our club tends to start older kids straight at level 2 or 3 so level 1 is just the littlies (4-7 year olds), level 2 is more 6-9 year olds and level 3 8+, though sometimes they get there there a bit younger.

 

[Loopy]

Doggy position - i think thats just a descripter rather than an official move? Is she learning front drops?
Some teach front drops from the hands and knees (doggy) position first. I guess its a bit like angry cat, happy cat, stretchy cat in gymnastics - makes it easier for the kids to visualise what to do. Of course, doggy position is used in other places too.

The names at the lower levels are pretty simle and quite descriptive, like straight jump (jump with your arms straight in the air and body straight), closed pike (like sitting in the air with your legs out straight in front), open pike (similar but legs apart, tuck (legs tucked up in the air), seat drop (land in a sitting position), front drop (land on your front), back drop (land on your back), half turn (turn around half way in a jump), full turn (turn around the full way in a jump). Its only once you get to higher levels that they start having names that aren't descriptive.

 

[Shinybanana]

Doggy position - i think thats just a descripter rather than an official move? Is she learning front drops?
Some teach front drops from the hands and knees (doggy) position first. I guess its a bit like angry cat, happy cat, stretchy cat in gymnastics - makes it easier for the kids to visualise what to do. Of course, doggy position is used in other places too.

The names at the lower levels are pretty simle and quite descriptive, like straight jump (jump with your arms straight in the air and body straight), closed pike (like sitting in the air with your legs out straight in front), open pike (similar but legs apart, tuck (legs tucked up in the air), seat drop (land in a sitting position), front drop (land on your front), back drop (land on your back), half turn (turn around half way in a jump), full turn (turn around the full way in a jump). Its only once you get to higher levels that they start having names that aren't descriptive.

Okay so yes she is doing all those drops that you mentioned in the second paragraph. The doggy drop might be what you are describing however I've never heard of angry cat/happy cat/stretchy cat - but they sound funny lol. So she was jumping and do seat drops then shes supposed to come up and then land in doggie drop, but I'm not sure if shes supposed to be on all fours or sitting like a puppy LOL. THey say she has all her drops (that you listed) down well and they are now teaching her front flips and back flips INTO the pit, plus a twist jump.

My friend with a daughter who competes as a level 3 on the artistic side (also dif gym) is super concerned about this? She is saying that on the artistic side they would teach her other pre req skills first before going into those flips? She did say she doesn't know the TNT side but she said I should ask to make sure? Do you have any insight on that?

 

[Loopy]

The are probably working on seat drop to front drop then - with doggy an intermediate step between to start.
i asked by daughter and she reminded me that they also starr learning flips from that position, especially when younger - the older kids go straight into it.

Do you mean flips into the pit from jumping on a trampoline or from standing on the edge. Mine started doing front flips into the pit from standing before she had all her drops - it was pretty much straight away (actually, she did one her first lesson as she thoughts thats what they meant her to do and got told off doing for it). But they were doing it jn class not long after. They've not done back ones but do backwards rolls down a ramp into the pit. But they wait until the have the technique right first and also don't really start allowing them to do it on a trampoline until they've got all the level 2 skills (which it sounds like she has).
Ours have to complete a routine to grade though - so they have to be able to do a sequence of the skills with no intermediate jumps - just having the skills individually is not enough.

Ours start with flips on the big trampoline or double mini - probably as they are easier to spot on, but on a trampline into the pit sounds fine too. Mine has not started back flips as our coach likes them to get their front ones first and she's not landing it consistantly yet - but some kids pick this up much quicker than she does (she's not actually naturally sporty and it can take her a while to get things - but persistance does pay off and she gets there eventually). Her friend who is the same age started straight in the level she did (level 2 - so they were working on front and back drops then) and got her front flip pretty much the first lesson they started working on them and has now moved on to back flips etc.

So it sound fine to be learning flips at where yours is now - she just sounds adavnced for her age and like she picks it up quickly.

 

[Shinybanana]

Yeah she totally does pick things up quick. I have video from her at 18months putting herself upside down on her own in a recliner and loving it.

They are with her doing the front flip from a standing position not on a trampoline, but on the floor. The back flip they are assisting IN the flip part, again from floor to pit. Twist jumps are on the floor into the pit as well.

I'm not there at these practices but her dad is and took video this week. Idk how to share it here. LOL. But I think since all the drops you listed above are good and not a new skill they are adding this in? Not that she doesn't need refining in those skills or to practice them bc they are the basics but still important.

 

[Loopy]

Yeah, that sounds totally fine then. They do it for quite a while standing on the edge into the pit before they do it off a trampoline (how long depends on how quickly they get the technique right) - these are the drills to learn the harder skills. I've seen them do it from 4 in the 4-7 year old class at my gym (my daughter started it at 6 though) Trampoline and tumbling are mostly about flips and landings where gymnastics has a lot more skills to learn - so they will get into it a lot quicker in trampoline.