Niece's coach wants to fast track her by putting her in PrepOp

[bribri514]

I know we've discussed the merits of compulsoraries and prep op in great detail before (I got pretty involved myself lol). I think there's pros and cons to both. I also see the pros rising as prep op becomes more standard at the national level.

Some background. My niece started club gym at the beginning of the summer. She'd been doing rec gym for years through city programs and didn't have the chance to do more structured gymnastics until I moved in! She is 9 and tested into level 5 because she had her kip and is a pretty solid bar worker. She trained really hard all summer and really responded to the structured environment of training. She has her L 5 bar and floor down solid and has got her beam and vault routine competition ready! She was struggling a lot on vault until something clicked last week. She didn't balk on her approaches and didn't hesitate on her entry. She was so excited and after practice she told me that it didn't hurt! Apparently when she was little she was playing indoor baseball at a friends house and running into the pillow base she stumbled and went into the wall. For some reason she thought this would be similar. Goof ball. Anyway we don't have our first meet until December and for the past month she's been uptraining for L 6 on bars and floor and has started working on some beam skills as well. Our team is really small and all the compulsoraries train together.

Her coach approached me the other day and suggested she might try to focus on competing PrepOp this season instead of L5 and L6. Our gym has started training it's optional level girls for PrepOp Advanced (L 6-L8/HS girls in VA) but keeping it's compulsorary level girls at L 5 and L 6. There's not many girls that have L 8 skills. Her coach wants her to be able to maybe compete PrepOp advanced soon. But also she's never actually competed at a USAG meet, so she might balk in competition, who knows! I want her to have lots of experience with competing so she's comfortable.

My thoughts were if she really enjoyed gymnastics and wanted to continue more competitively, she could switch gyms for optionals, but this gym would be great for her for starting club gym. I never thought she'd excel in compulsoraries so much. I'm not sure if working on PrepOp at her current gym will be a good background for going into a solid JO optionals program at another gym. Or she might want to stay at her gym and compete the optional levels instead of PrepOp.

My gym was small and there weren't many optional girls, I was the only L9 and L10 girl. But my gym was small because it was in a rural area and there weren't other options. We're now in DC which obviously has tons of gyms and tons of competition and the gym's size is limited more by gym structure and possibly coaching. We've just joined the gym and she really likes her coach and the girls so I'm not interested in moving her, especially this season! I'm definitely letting her desires and needs guide this whole journey. I just want to help her be set up for as much success as possible whatever she wants to do.

So here are the options:
-DN can compete L 5 this season and most likely score into L 6
then from L 6 she can focus on going to L 7 or she could focus on preparing for PrepOp advanced
-she can compete a L 5 meet maybe or maybe not, but focus on doing PrepOp Intermediate then go to PrepOp advanced

Then there's of course the possibility of moving gyms moving up, instead of being far off down the road. But that's definitely not a focus, this is a good gym for now.

Was hoping this all wouldn't come up so soon and it'd be a nice do L 5.. then move to L 6... then work up to L 7... That's what I'm experienced with lol, I'm too young to feel old.

Thoughts, suggestions, or any input would be appreciated! Especially if you have a DD who's been in a similar situation or jumped between the levels and PrepOp, etc. or as a coach you coach both PrepOp and the levels with your club and how you set it up.

Thanks!!

 

[gymgurl]

Ok it sounds to me you know what you want and I think I agree, When you get to higher levels competitions can be tough and the more experience the better so maybe it would be better for her to do compulsories (score out whatever floats your boat) and then go through optionals be it there or another gym. I think you should do whatever works best for your niece and I think you think that this may be compulsories

sorry thoughts are shambled and my english is deteriorating as i am currently in france on exchange and exhausted

 

[MaryA]

Since she'll have to score out of 5 and 6 before she does 7, why not leave her on her current track for now? Once she scores out of 6, if she's not ready for 7, she can do prep op while she builds up to the 7 skills. Where does scoring out of the compulsory levels fall in the coaches "fast-track" plan?

 

[cathiann]

I'm with your thoughts--since she has NO experience competing--I would leave her in regular compulsories and see if she even likes competition (some girls who love practice absolutely hate competing--you never know until she does it!).

 

[coachmolly]

How old is she? I can see going immediately to prep op as a viable option for an older gymnast who might feel out of place in the compulsory levels. I would also consider it if she were struggling with certain skills/events needed for compulsory routines, stuck in a level and bored with the routines, not quite ready to compete the next level, or just not catching on to the compulsory routines and would do better with more personalized skills. Or if it was just the natural progression her gym chose to take with all of the kids. But if none of these are the case, I think I would probably stick the more traditional path.
I'm not totally familiar with the newer incarnation of the prep. op program, so I take what I say for what it's worth, but it really seems the prep op program is what you make it to be. Some gyms who use the program intentionally as an alternative to the standard compulsory track or as part of their developmental progression make it work really well. However, other programs really use it as more of an afterthought or for the kids who might not have the skills to compete or want to commit to the hours. So my opinions on the program itself depend greatly on how the individual gym plans to implement the program. I just say this because I was part of a gym that split girls into USAG and USAIGC with no input from the gymnasts. The USAIGC group did not get the coaching or skill development that the USAG group did (though neither was ideal) and after being forced down a track I was unhappy with for 2 years I attempted to switch gyms and was very far behind where I should have been. Because of this experience, I would not suggest prep. op to any child unless it was what they very clearly wanted OR the gym had a tried and true method for using the program as a progression to upper level skills.

 

[Tumblequeensmom]

Bribri, I tried to respond from work today but my PC froze on me!!! At any rate, my "advice" for what that's worth, was to keep her in compulsories and if need be, test out of 6 and go to 7. I think the Prep Op program is a fantastic program for the girls who have fears/no time/money, whatever. It's a great alternative to JO. It was a great program for my own DD when she developed fears w/her back tumbling. I definitely agree with Coach Molly's post re: coaching. Although DD had GREAT coaches for the program, they definitely did NOT get the higher level coaches that the regular team girls got. BUT at that time, my DD needed some serious handholding and confidence-building, which she got. The coaching does make a difference. At Prep Op meets too, at least in our state, the skills are definitely not as polished as the JO girls. It seems to matter more if you can just do the skill, not whether the technique is as good.

Anyway, your niece is young and obviously talented... she need to stay where she is and when, and if, the time comes, you can revisit the idea of a gym with a stronger optional program. You have several gyms in the area to choose from!

 

[cher062]

My thoughts are what's the rush why fast track she is only 9yo. there are many 9yo L5 girls out there.
PrepOp and JO comp are reallly 2 different programs.

What you do will depend on what she wants. Does she want to do JO program or PrepOp? Personally I would do the L5 and work through the ranks because around here from my expereince and what I have seen the PrepOp program is lacking. It might be different where you are as every state has its own way of doing things.

I think too I might be looking around for a program since you say you might move as she goes into optionals why not start at the comp levels at the new gym so she has the same coaches and expectations from begining to end if possible? I might consider looking for a gym now that could meet her needs in the long run.

 

[gymgal]

What exactly does the coach mean by "fast-tracking"? just skipping level 5 and putting her in Prep-op, which would be equivalent to L6? If it's this, I wouldn't consider it fast tracking. She just feels that you niece is ready for level 6 skills. this is not uncommon with girls who have been in rec classes for several years (if they have talent but just weren't in a competitive gym). If this is the case, I'm with the coach in having her compete prep-op. It will be a much easier transition into competition than competing level 6 right out of the gate. Now, she certainly could compete L5 for the year but it sounds like the coach feels DN is beyond that. We are in NC and have competed prep-op against some VA teams. They are relatively strong but it could just be the ones we have come up against.

My main concern with your dilemma , though, is it doesn't sound like the gym has a plan for upper level girls after they max out at the prep-op advanced. Are they planning to transition these girls to level 8-9 or just keep them in that advanced level? Most girls stay in a prep-op level a max of 2 years. Beyond that, the competition gets weak for them as they gain more skills so boredom and complacency can kick in. If this is the case with your gym, I probably would be looking to move her now to one where she has the potential to keep progressing in the levels.

 

[bribri514]

I did a really bad job explaining I think, sorry! The coaches want to "fast track" her in the context of their gym's program, get her towards working Prep Op routines. The gym kind of caps out with the girls going to PrepOp advanced which is around L 8. When we found this gym for her we kind of figured she'd do a year of L 4, then L 5 and she might be done with gym or might want to do PrepOp which the gym was starting to go towards instead of L 7-8. Never thought we'd be looking at this situation this year that's for sure! And yeah I definitely wouldn't let a coach fast track her through the levels at this age without a lot of competition experience so she was sure she wanted to.

MaryA-Sorry bringing up the scoring out of 5 and 6 made it seem like she'd go straight to 7, I meant she'd get the skills and just do PrepOp Intermediate and go right into PrepOp advanced with the higher level training group at their gym.

molly- She's only 9 but it's the natural progression of the gym if that makes more sense.

TQM- No worries! I don't know how much experience you've had against our gym (PM if you have!) but they're shifting this season to no optional girls, just PrepOp advanced. There's not a lot of higher level girls training here though either.

cher- I hope that makes more sense. Her gym is now doing L 4, L 5, L 6 and then Prep Op Advanced. I was thinking she'd start at this gym at L 4 and then slowly progress. I don't want her coaches to really put too much on her until she gets a chance to compete. They usually don't bring their girls to meets until December but the HC (very small gym) said he'd be willing to take her to a meet or two in Oct/Nov when VA season starts to see how she does and how to keep progressing. Niece is thrilled so I'm okay with that plan. I just would feel bad switching gyms so soon if she really is able to perform well and also likes competing, making going to a more competitive, at least higher level, gym more of an option.

My thoughts were letting her stay in compulsoraries to keep her options open, if she wants to stay in the gym she can do PrepOp Advanced when the other girls do, or if she wants to get more into competitive gym she might want to switch gyms to stay in the JO optional levels. Or she could do both, stay in her PrepOp Advanced gym and continue onto L 8-10 at another gym if she really wants to the future.

But of course you tell a 9 year old girl you can make your own routines and oooooo that sounds the most fun! lol

I def. want her to start competing before any drastic decisions are made (I was surprised the coach came to be about this, maybe he thought we could talk gym lol) I wouldn't want her to have to move in the middle of a competition season if things change but then again she could finish out the season and then change gyms if she really wants to go a more competitive route. We'll see how things go. Like I said to cher the coach wants to take her to a couple early season meets to get competition experience.

We do have lots of great gyms in our area but I don't want to look like a gym hopper right off the bat! Though I'd hope it wouldn't look like that coming from more of a rec gym into a little bit more competitive one.

gymgal- You hit the nail on the head!! It'd be fast tracking within the gym because the gym has its girls go through L 6 then to PrepOp advanced if that makes sense. You're right about maxing out at PrepOp with the higher level girls. They all seem happy and healthy and have a lot of team spirit (lots of HS girls doing POA), but the gym is geared more towards younger girls and older rec level girls.

Thanks again guys, very great input! I just needed people to talk this out with. We came home and my niece and I started talking to my brother and his eyes just went all googly, he's just getting used to the basic lingo about leos and chalk, let along PrepOp vs. JO and optionals vs. compuls lol.

 

[CoachTodd]

A lot of reading for me to try to keep up . From what I gather, she's 9 and coming in at level 5. I personally hate the term "fasttrack". I'd just leave that out of the entire conversation. If she has her level 5 skills and has qualified out of level 5, I'd say go prep op for the winter to work on the level 6/7 stuff (if that is what they do at her gym). The skills get exponentially more difficult and more frightening as they progress so there is no guarantee that the level 8 skills will just magically show up in a short period of time. She has 8 or 9 years to get to level 9/10 if she's already interested in college gymnastics so I really don't think there's any rush. If she likes to compete then, by all means, let her go to as many meets as they'll let her. Let her have as much fun as she can.

 

[gymdog]

Hmmm. Well, it might be good since it sounds like she had a lot of level 5 skills already. So maybe doing it will let her work on more skills, and then in a year or two you can evaluate whether she's outgrowing the program. She'd need to score out of level 6 though and my concern would be uneven advancement if she does decide to pursue higher USAG levels at another program - it could affect which groups she is placed in.

On the other hand I don't think doing level 5 and 6 would hurt since she's only 9. It's hard to say because she's never competed.

 

[MaryA]

Yes, since she doesn't know how far she wants to go in the sport, I think it would limit her if she went straight to the prep-op track. Imagine if she made it to prep-op advanced and then decided she wanted to go further (in a different gym). She'd have level 8 skills, yet would have to go back and score out of 5, 6, etc. If she sticks to the levels for now, she'll keep all of her options open.

 

[gym law mom]

I would start off having her do L5 and see if she likes competition. You know things change in the gym once meet season kicks in---the atmosphere and the focus change.
If they will let her continue to uptrain some L6 skills then looking at the whole L6 vs prep op might be better to do in the spring.

 

[leilani]

if you have a chance to switch gyms, i would do that. your niece obviously is very talented! if she loves gym you should let her have every opportunity. good luck!

 

[vagymmomma]

I don't know how much experience you've had against our gym (PM if you have!) but they're shifting this season to no optional girls, just PrepOp advanced. There's not a lot of higher level girls training here though either.

Wow, I think I know which gym she landed at and I'm really surprised that they are moving to no optional girls. Their prep op teams competed at one or two of our home meets last year. It was a large group and definitely had a decent mix of beginner and intermediate girls. Our level 3 girls compete beginner prep op, so we also host prep op teams. However, it's pretty unusual to the intermediates.

The competition experience is huge. I'd be little concerned if her ultimate goal is JO optionals. The program seems to have changed their commitment.

One other note -- scoring for prep op in Virginia seems pretty different than JO. I always wonder how that might impact someone switching between the programs.

 

[Tumblequeensmom]

TQM- No worries! I don't know how much experience you've had against our gym(PM if you have!) but they're shifting this season to no optional girls, just PrepOp advanced. There's not a lot of higher level girls training here though either.

.... done ....

 

[bribri514]

Thanks again everyone! We sat down and talked and went over the options and I told her my opinions and even though making her own routines sounds fun, she understands that staying in L 5 is a good idea. Sometimes it's so nice to be the aunt instead of a mom, we don't argue lol. We're sticking with this gym and we'll see how the season goes. There's lots of time to switch gyms or programs, even if she's 9. She's not aiming for HOPES or junior elite!!

vagymmom- I think you might be thinking of another gym but one close by. We're a bit smaller and only have PrepOp advanced, not really any intermediates. But you make some great points!

 

[BlairBob]

Hmm, I generally would not think that Prep-Op is a place you would "fast-track" a girl if she has a lot of talent. I'm just thinking that a gyms best coaches will tend to be in their USAG system as well as that is where the numbers are.

If she was genuinely talented and wanted to be on track for competing in college, it MAY be an interesting proposition as fewer meets and season could mean more focus on developing skills. However...more than likely the girls and atmosphere/environment of a prep-op group may not be conducive to higher level training (they might work hard enough, do enough hours, get pushed enough). If she was a girl who preferred training more than competing, this may be an option.

So it can kind of depends on the atmosphere of the PrepOp group of the coaching quality and programming, hours trained, and the girls in there (rec or competitive mindset).