WAG Optional Level Gymnasts Beginning Freshman Year & Burnout

[Quadqueen]

We actually don't even train on Friday's...only the compulsories do. Optionals train Mon - Thurs and Saturdays. We are flexible in the fact that we allow them to make up on Fridays if they need to miss another day. The optionals are able to come in anytime from 3:00 pm - 7:15 pm to get their work done.

We are having a hard time getting them to understand that what is on paper for the schedule really means nothing...it is about getting done what they need to get done as an individual. If they miss Tuesday because had something that was super important...come in Friday for a couple of hours to get the work done. We don't want them to come in and miss a football game...just make gymnastics important enough to come in from 3:00 - 5:00 pm...hit the mats...then go home and be ready for the game at 7:00 pm.

We do not ban any activities...we are flexible in the fact that there are many other hours during the week that they can come in and workout if they miss their regular hours. I'm just starting to wonder if I am shooting myself in the foot offering these flexible options...it's only been a couple of months...but they are just not understanding it yet.

DD's gym does this too, in terms of flexibility in the schedule. Maybe you need to sit down with them again and remind them that the flexibility is to their benefit, but they have to take advantage of it. ??

 

[bookworm]

JBS...Well now given what you've said about your schedule ("no Fridays") and other activities ("we don't ban them") I would cease beating my head against a wall about this because you've covered all your bases...it is what it is, and if they quit, they quit ...and it won't be because they didn't have any options, it comes down to it being their choice to leave the sport whether it be from burnout or whatever...And then I would move on to working with the girls who DO want to be there....

 

[Deleted member D3987]

and the number of elites is ambiguous and inflated...

 

[bookworm]

and the number of elites is ambiguous and inflated...

So true Dunno, some gyms think if they bring a gymnast to an "elite testing" , then she's elite!! Doesn't matter if she got a 40 in optionals or never got a compulsory score, she's "elite"!

 

[kayjaybe]

Our gym has the philosophy that they want gymnastics to be an important PART of a child's life, not her entire life. I like that.

Our L7-10 don't practice on Friday nights so the kids can do the football games and dances. They do have you quit other sports at L7, which I don't see how you could really keep up with another sport anyway.

I like that they want the kids to have balance. My L6 dd missed practice last night to go trick or treating, as did a lot of other kids in her group. It is one practice out of hundreds in a year, so I figured it wasn't a big deal. I let her make the choice and she chose the candy. But she'll miss the 5th grade ice cream social tomorrow night and go to practice. It is all about balance, IMO. I want her to understand that it is a commitment and she will have to sacrifice some things...but not everything.

 

[GymBeeMom]

Our gym offers two options. Our day girls homeschool, train crazy hours, but are home by 5:00, if not earlier (they only train a half day on Thursdays and are out at noon). These girls often stay in the sport as long as their bodies will let them. This schedule allows evenings to be with family or participate in other activities. Allows for plenty of balance which I think helps the girls get a lot out of their time, in the gym and out of it.
We also have night program, for girls who go to school during the day and train in the evenings. We see a much higher rate of drop out in this group, probably for a variety of reasons (school, friends, less committed, etc). I think there is more leniency on the night girls to take time off when they have something else going on than the day girls, but the day girls don't take time off much since their nights are already free. Anyway, probably not helpful but that's how our gym does it and I think our retention is pretty high.

 

[gymgurl]

I think it depends on what you want from them, if they just want to stay in the sport as an enjoyable activity I don't see why missing practice every once in a while shouldn't be too much of an issue. My coach is more than okay with us missing training every once in a while and is happy to let us go to a social event every now and again. In fact she was happy to let me compete level seven next year on 8hrs a week (1 3hr and 1 5hr session) if it was going to keep me in the sport. I really think at that age unless they are looking for a college scholarship then you really need to work with the kid to keep gymnastics as part of her life.

 

[iluvgym]

There's been a lot of talk in this thread about giving the optionals Friday nights off. What's worked for us is giving them Saturdays off. Practice finishes at 7:30, which usually is early enough to get to whatever activities they want to do, and if it's a special event like a school dance etc,we don't mind if they leave early, as long as they don't abuse the privilege.

This has proven better for us than bringing them in early on a Saturday (in order to finish early and have more of a weekend) which was usually an unproductive practice, and if we brought them in at 11 or 12 which basically ruined the whole day. We love our two day weekends now!

 

[gymgal]

There's been a lot of talk in this thread about giving the optionals Friday nights off. What's worked for us is giving them Saturdays off. Practice finishes at 7:30, which usually is early enough to get to whatever activities they want to do, and if it's a special event like a school dance etc,we don't mind if they leave early, as long as they don't abuse the privilege.

This has proven better for us than bringing them in early on a Saturday (in order to finish early and have more of a weekend) which was usually an unproductive practice, and if we brought them in at 11 or 12 which basically ruined the whole day. We love our two day weekends now!

Dds gym doesn't do Saturdays either . The girls prefer this but the parents are split. Some would prefer one day off mid week would help with rest and homework workload, though that wouldn't solve the fridaynight dilemma. I personally like having the weekend free because we are usually rushing to a baseball, hockey game or swimming meet.

 

[kimskids]

Our team girls have weekends off as well. Friday practices are a little more "fun" with them getting a few minutes to do what they want at the end . My daughter is a level 5. Our optional girls practice Monday through Friday. Coach is ok with the girls taking a day off now and then for special things. I personally will let my daughter miss for special things and sometimes just because. I try not to let it be too often though because it seems like sometimes if she misses a day or two it's hard to get her back! She has so little down time that she loves just hanging around the house watching tv which I totally understand! Balance is key and we are finally getting there. You finally get all the kinks out and then things change! Lol! One of life's joys!!

 

[Sparky]

I love my dd's schedule - she goes to public school til 1:15 each day, then trains from 1:30 to 6:30, home by 6:45. Friday's she does only 4 hours and is finished by 5:30. Saturdays are noon to 5, so still plenty of time to go out with family/friends (she's in high school). She also has been given permission to not do P.E. at school, and takes one other course on-line - this essentially gives her two study blocks that we "play" with. If it is 1st block in the am, sometimes she will get a bit of extra sleep, or if it is in the middle of her day, she most definitely uses it for study.

Works very well for her, she typically trains 23/24 hours a week, and is in an honors program.

 

[sleeplessinnewyork]

Well,I'm not in high school, so I'm not sure if I'll be particularly helpful, but...

At my previous gym, there was a significant drop as gymnasts reached 13, 14 years old, or were just entering high school, so there is something that "pulls" people out of the sport. Some girls said it was the homework load,but most girls just started missing practices and eventually fizzled out. My thoughts

-homework: I know that a sudden surge of homework can be really hard(moved to a really intense school 2 years ago), so if that is a problem, perhaps dropping one practice a week for a little while could help. However, the missed practice should be used for homework, not for just having fun.

-other stuff: Everyone wants to have free time, and as you get higher and higher in gymnastics, free time becomes really scarce! Remember, we're children, we don't want full time jobs!!! however, gymnastics is a commitment. I don't really support not having friday practice, because on fridays our gym has a longer practice because there's no homework issue. plus, you can't just leave gymnastics as a level 9 and come back in 5 years as a level 9,you have to stick with it!

overall: To keep the gymnasts, perhaps kipping a little practice to adjust to homework is okay. But think of it this way: Remember when you first started gymnastics, you had such high hopes, and even now, you still dream of these accopmlishments. You have put in so much time and effort and gone through so much pain and sacrifice. Now,as an optional, your dreams are coming closer and closer to reality. Is it worth throwing all this work away for a few basketball games or dances? I don't believe so.

 

[flipper's fan]

DD has been going through this and is probably going to drop out of gymnastics. I think JBS and Dunno are absolutely on the right track to retain gymnasts and to keep their lives in perspective. DD's coach lacked commitment, and that has definitely contributed to him not being able to keep her in gymnastics. You need to be there for the gymnasts ( I'm sure you two are) and at least make them think you are more committed to them than you are to growing your gym or expanding your business. Her coach takes weeks off from practice, including the weeks right before a meet and leaves them with a coach they do not feel any loyalty towards. She doesn't have the energy for a gym change, the last one was very difficult even though it was because her gym closed. Don't ever forget coach, how important your relationship to the gymnast is. The gymnast doesn't.