Parents Possible gym switch...

[TexasRose]

So I've been considering a gym switch for DD for a while now. I think I posted about it a few months ago. DD is 7, competed level 3 last year and did ok. She is not a high scorer, I think her average AA was 32. She has all her level 3 skills but she lost a lot of points to bad form- not keeping legs together, etc. (This is what her coach told me). What has driven me crazy is that when I have watched practice she makes those mistakes, adding extra casts in her bar routine, not keeping legs together, extra steps on floor- and she doesn't get corrected. She did her beam mount wrong 3 times in a row with no correction from the coach. I stopped watching practices- 1 because of this forum and the wisdom from you all, and 2 because it was so frustrating. So how can she ever get higher scores or learn the right technique if they don't make her do it right at practice?

Things I don't like:
They do no uptraining during the season, so from August to May they only work on routines.
Maybe 10 minutes of conditioning each practice- and she practiced once a week. T
he gym has never had gymnasts above level 5, they will have 1 level 6 next year but they've never coached that high.
We do not compete USAG and the owners have said that we won't ever.
There is no pit, 1 set of uneven bars, 2 high beams. Only a tumble trak, no in floor trampoline.
For vault the girls have to start in the hallway outside the gym and run through the doorway-eek!!!
The coaches are frequently talking to each other during practice to the point where the girls were vaulting without a coach nearby...
They like for all the girls to do 1 year level 3, 2 years level 4 before even starting to train level 5 skills.

Things I like:
It's a small gym and everyone is really friendly.
I feel like I can talk to the coaches and owners- however, I'm beginning to feel like that does no good.
DD has a lot of friends on the team.

So what do ya'll think? There is another gym that is actually closer to us, has girls up to level 10. When I spoke with the coach he told me to bring DD and have her work out with his level 3/4 girls and he'd evaluate her. He said that he may actually want to just train her for level 5 skills and start her there since they do USAG and they train more in the summer. I know that there will always be things that I don't like at each gym. But I feel like this new gym is more in line with what we're looking for. They spend a lot mroe time conditioning and have a much bigger gym with more equipment. I appreciate everyone's insight .

 

[ginnymac]

I think that you should look at other options. It doesn't seem like this is the right place for your dd.

I also can't imagine not "uptraining" during the year....especially at the lower levels. Routines only for levels 3 and 4 sounds boring!!!!!!

 

[Amber]

Hi,
I can understand your concern, but one word of warning:

your concern was that she was not being taught and progressing properly. 32 AA is low for level three. Seven years old is still young. Why would a new coach even talk about higher levels?? That may be what we all want to hear, but not in your little one's best interest. She might be better off repeating level 3 at a better gym, then continuing with a strong background.
Goodnluck and remember, gymnastics is a marathon, notna sprint! :
A

 

[Natasha]

Hi,
I can understand your concern, but one word of warning:

your concern was that she was not being taught and progressing properly. 32 AA is low for level three. Seven years old is still young. Why would a new coach even talk about higher levels?? That may be what we all want to hear, but not in your little one's best interest. She might be better off repeating level 3 at a better gym, then continuing with a strong background.
Goodnluck and remember, gymnastics is a marathon, notna sprint! :
A

If she was only practicing one day a week, then I don't think you could have expected very good scores, even at L3. I think the new gym can evaluate her progress over the summer and then make the best decision for her. Repeating L3 may be needed, but likely she will be in the gym WAY more and she may progress quickly during the summer...or not...really impossible to know until she starts.
It sounds like this other gym may be very different, so you may want to find out about fees (not just tuition, but meet fees, leos, etc) It will likely be much more expensive. And, check out how many hours a week for training (not just for current level, but as she progresses) Many gyms train L4 8-12 hours and L5 could be up to 16 hours a week depending on where you live. It could be a huge change going from once a week practices. Also, check out the coaching style, philosophy, etc.
Good luck!

 

[TexasRose]

Amber- I agree 32 is low for a level 3. It was very hard to watch her be able to do the skills but make all those mistakes like not keeping legs together or straight and stuff and never be corrected during practice. She does like 6 extra casts in her bar routine and does them at practice and they never fix it.

I don't know why he would talk about higher levels- especially since he hasn't seen her yet. I'm sure after she works out with them tomorrow he'll have a more applicable level recommendation for her. I told him that she did level 3, told him her scores, and said that she's been working on her bhs because she would like to move up to level 4. If he wants her to repeat level 3 I would understand because she has so many deductions due to bad form and it'll take time to fix that. I do want her to have a strong background because she loves gymnastics and I want to support her and set her up for success. So the new gym doing more conditioning- to me says that they take more time with basics. And I like that because I think that conditioning is important for injury prevention. At this time I don't feel that her current gym is setting her up with a strong background because they don't nit-pick and correct technique. Does that make sense?

 

[TexasRose]

Gymtigermom- Thanks for the advice Yes I looked into fees. They are higher but still well within our budget. For elvel 3/4 they train 6 hours a week and tuition is $240. At the old gym we were doing 3 hours a week for $98. So it's definitely a change but we're ok with that. The level 5's practice 12-16 hours a week. The coach said that he's flexibile. There are girls that do other sports and he allows them to miss some practice as long as their skills are progressing.

I put DD in a tumbling class at the new gym- just to watch and see how everyone coaches. The level 5-10 girls practice during this time so I was able to observe there. I liked what I saw. They were in groups of 5 girls to 1 coach and were constantly moving. In the tumbling class DD got a rebound on her roundoff for the first time ever and she's been on the level 3 team at the current gym since August and in a tumbling class there all year too. So I think there's definitely a difference in coaching quality because they were able to show her how to do that where her current coaches were not.

 

[Amber]

Your DD definitely needs to switch for many reasons....let the new place evaluate her and get an opinion between you and her. Watch their rising fours and maybe the repeat level threes...where does your DD fit? Where would she progress and have a good shot at medals? Being in a high levelnsounds good till it's competition time and you're outclassed. Just trust your instincts and remember, seven is really little...one year is not vital at this age unless you're Olympic bound!!
keep us posted!

 

[GymBee97]

I think you have made up your mind already on what your going to do and are looking for the OK to do it. Make the move, your not happy with the service you are currently getting no matter how freindly they are.

 

[lhmom]

Just a mention-it sounds like she will probably make a jump in hours if she moves to this new gym. I would talk to my daughter beforehand because it will be a big change, epsecially with the conditioning. My daughter was 6 when she moved from pre-team (3 hrs a week) to level 4 (9 hrs). It can be a challenging transition at first. How is your daughter feeling about this?

 

[TexasRose]

Just a mention-it sounds like she will probably make a jump in hours if she moves to this new gym. I would talk to my daughter beforehand because it will be a big change, epsecially with the conditioning. My daughter was 6 when she moved from pre-team (3 hrs a week) to level 4 (9 hrs). It can be a challenging transition at first. How is your daughter feeling about this?

I spoke with her about it yesterday and she said that she wants to be at gym all the time. Now I know this isn't 100% true because there have been times, and they're few and far between, that she is tired or cranky and I'll let her miss a practice. No use in burning her out at 7! It would definitely be an adjustment in hours. I think that because it will be summer and she will be out of school that she'll adjust to it better. The true test will be next fall. This last year she did competitive dance as well as level 3 so she was at the gym/studio 8 hours a week. She did well with it, didn't fall behind in school, and still had free time at home. I'm going to definitely have a long talk with her this evening after she works out with the new gym and see what she's thinking/feeling.

 

[JessLW]

I think you should move her. The current gym sounds like it just isn't a good fit if you have a kid who is wanting to get serious about gymnastics.

6 hours a week shouldn't be too big a jump for a 7 year old , especially if she's used to doing several activities anyhow.

 

[MaryA]

Sounds like you've done your homework and are ready to go! We switched gyms last year for similar reasons. Best of luck to you and your daughter!

 

[Faith]

Just trust your instincts and remember, seven is really little...one year is not vital at this age unless you're Olympic bound!!

Can you really tell age 7 whether they're olympic bound or not though?

Texas rose you sound very clued up and you've done your research, so I think you'll make the right decision. Fwiw I think I'd move her if I were you.

 

[B&M's mom]

I know that you've probably made up your mind already but keep in mind your daughter is 7. They tend to mature a lot in the next year. My youngest (at age 7) did Level 4 last year in a non USAG league that used the USAG routines. She often forgot which vault she was doing and more often than not did the Level 3 vault. Bars, well, lets just say that the coach didn't leave her side and often had to spot her. Form on floor was interesting and there was no backhandspring. This year they moved to USAG but with the same coach and training time and repeated Level 4. HUGE change. Not just from repeating the routines but in how she approached the sport. She focussed and her form is now very good. She routinely took first on floor. (Bars still a struggle but again a huge improvement). She actually took first on vault at several meets. I was very impressed. She didn't need a change of gyms or coaches, she just needed to mature. Now they are training Level 5 and we'll see what happens.

 

[gym law mom]

Ok, so you may have already decided to switch to this new gym, but I would add if possible look at one other program for comparison. I wouldn't be so concerned about dd not doing the routines correctly, but would be very concerned about not learning skills correctly. Having bad basics will haunt her until someone stops her and fixes them and sounds like now is a good time. Yes, it will be an increase in hours and USAG is tougher as far as judging. Also your state is incredibly competitive from L4 on so be aware of that.
I guess my only ? was the coach talking about L5 without seeing dd do anything. Did he do it just to get you in the door?
Let us know how the tryout goes. Rooting for you to find a new place to let your dd grow in gymnastics.

 

[TexasRose]

Update- So DD worked out with the possible new gym this afternoon. I liked what I saw and DD looked like she was having fun. She told me afterwards that she liked the coaches and the girls and wanted to come back. The coach spent a lot of time correcting her form. It was nice to watch him give her corrections and her to follow through and get it. They spent a good bit of time working on getting her cartwheel on the line on the floor and she had it after about 10 minutes .

The HC spoke to me afterwards and said that she did good. I asked if we had a spot on his team if we moved and he said of course. He did say that she is high energy and I couldn't help but laugh. Calling DD high energy is putting it nicely, the child is constantly in motion! But he went on to say that he loves kids with all that positive energy because he just needs to harness it and they can do great things. I told him that DD's old coach called her "spaz" during practice and he said that he would not be calling her that, ever. I liked that. I asked what level he would put her on and he said he wanted to see her at another practice and go from there. He said that over the summer they work on skills only and that she could be at a couple different levels by the end of summer- maybe 4, maybe 5- and that we won't know until then. I'm good with that answer. That gives her the summer to learn skills and be placed in an appropriate training group. Overall it was a good experience. So we're working out with them again next week and will go from there.

I really appreciate all the sound advice from ya'll!!!!

 

[gymmomtoo]

Sounds like a great try-out! Hope she loves the new place. Are you moving officially?

 

[TexasRose]

We're not moving officially yet. I want to be absolutely certain before I make that decision. When DD worked out with the potential new gym last week the level 3/4's were not there because of a competition. So she practiced with the level 5-10's and the HC. Unless she progresses to level 5 she will not be working with the HC at practice, she'll be with the level 3/4 coaches. So we're going to go back 1 more time and work out with that group before I decide. I want to see how DD does with that coach and the dynamics of that group first. Then I'll feel like I can make a decision.

 

[gymmomtoo]

We're not moving officially yet. I want to be absolutely certain before I make that decision. When DD worked out with the potential new gym last week the level 3/4's were not there because of a competition. So she practiced with the level 5-10's and the HC. Unless she progresses to level 5 she will not be working with the HC at practice, she'll be with the level 3/4 coaches. So we're going to go back 1 more time and work out with that group before I decide. I want to see how DD does with that coach and the dynamics of that group first. Then I'll feel like I can make a decision.

Oh, yes! You definitely want to have her work out with the coaches she'll actually be with. Hope that goes well!!

 

[TexasRose]

We've decided to also look at another gym in the area- as someone on this thread advised earlier . I'm curious- how important is it to look at each gym team's meet scores when looking for a new gym? I think it could be important because it shows how the teams score. But how much weight would you give to that when looking at moving gyms???