Parents Pre-comp team (6 & 7 yr olds) - what levels/skills typically do they work on?

[Prentice]

We are in Ontario, Canada.

Background: My dd is on a pre-team - the average age of the girls on this team are 6-7 yr olds.
Wondering what level would she be working on? The other girls have been on this team for 2 yrs and my daughter just joined rec gym this past summer, then was asked to join this pre-team in October. So she is far behind the other girls on the team and I suspect they are working on different skills. I have no idea what skills, or exercises my daughter or any of them are working on. There have been no feedback or parent meeting so far. I don't normally watch because you can't see them. The gym is huge and they are always hidden in the back. i'm not a crazy gym mom and I don't even consider myself a gym mom as i don't know anything about gymnastics. Plus I have 2 other kids who i spend time with when my daughter is at the gym. They have their own extra-curricular activities too.

In general what levels would a pre-team be working on in the age group of 6-7 yr olds? Would it be levels 1-3? How long does it take to acquire the skills and go thru each level for the avg. gymnast. I know some kids learn faster than others. But typically? And do they expect the girls to learn quicker than if they were in just rec classes? I would imagine so.

 

[HoldThePhone]

I think this would depend on what level your gym starts competing as to what they are working on. I don't know anything about the Canadian system though, so no idea how levels work there.

 

[Prentice]

Thanks! Anyone esle. How long would it typically take a child to learn cartwheel ,handstand in a pre-comp program. My daughter trains 9 hrs a week, been in pre-comp for 1 month, does not know how to do cartwheel or handstand yet. Before that was in a beginner rec class for 7 wks.
What are the list of skills for levels 1-3? In recreational gym kids can learn all of the skills at their own pace but in precomp & comp i would think they'd have to learn faster...how fast?
It would be interesting to know what levels a pre-term works on? I think it would be 1-3 in Canada because I think here 4 and over are competitive levels.

I'm asking because if my daughter is deemed too slow to pick iup the skills in her current pre-comp program, I would like to move her back to recreational classes at the end of the yr. . Why pay so much money and 9 hrs in the gym for a pre-comp program if she's just going to learn the skills at a "recreational" rate. i would love to know what the coach thinks. If she's up to par with her standards ,precomp team standards etc. I just assume that no news is good news. But toward the end of the yr when its time to pay again i will make sure I knwo where she is at.

 

[SurpriseGymMom]

Well, I'm not sure about the Canadian system *and* gyms seem really individual as to what pre-team requires (there have been several threads on this recently). At our gym, you wouldn't be invited to pre-team without a solid cartwheel both ways, a solid handstand hold and minimum a pullover on bars.
I would expect a kid in pre-team to develop skills faster than a kid in rec solely based on hours and coaching. But, again, a kid wouldn't make pre-team without having "advanced" rec skills equivalent to L2 or so.

 

[Bess]

Hmmm...I too am not sure about the Canadian System. I can tell you a little about USAG Jo system though...all of which can be found on their website. You must be at least 4 for L1, 5 for L2, 6 for L3 and 7 for L4. Little Bit is currently 5 but is working L3 bc she will compete the last couple of meets of the season as 3 once she turns 6. All this to say when she went to pre-team last year in Aug she was 41/2- could do a handstand (very pretty but only a couple of secs), could cartwheel (very confident but feet were not pretty). Strength was definitely her forte a what got her on preteam. She did L1 and then L2 when she turned 5. She scored up this summer to L3. A year later she went from a so-so cartwheel to a very nice ROBHS, bars she is doing kip drills, vault is aces, and beam is still def a work in progress (not exactily hit with the graceful stick) but she is working some elements occasionally for L4 like the cartwheel. I think you should trust that the coaches see something in your little one that is worth developing further. Going 9 hours a week you will probably see her grow leaps and bounds. You may think she is going at rec rate but in reality a lot of times in rec the children or just "chucking" the skills. I would assume the coaches are taking great measures in making sure she is learning to do the skills in the right way with proper form.

 

[SurpriseGymMom]

As far as what skills we work on in pre-team....
Handstands (longer and nicer with correct shape)
Front limbers
Bridge kick overs
BWO
BHS
ROBHS

Back hipcircle
Cast to horizontal
Front hipcircle

Beam walks with tight legs on releve
Handstands on beam
Cartwheels on beam
Jumps on beam


Lots of stretching and conditioning

 

[aquatica]

My DD just started in a developmental program in Ontario as well, same age range for the kids. She'd done rec gymnastics for a few years prior, so she does have some of these skills. I can't really answer your question yet, but what I do know is that in our club there is a heavy focus on stretching and conditioning, plus a lot of work on cleaning up the skills they learned in rec - things like precise hand and foot positioning that rec coaches generally didn't worry about.

 

[Aussie_coach]

Typically you would expect that a child would already be able to do a cartwheel and handstand before entering into a pre comp team training many hours a week.

Around here key areas would be

Strength
Flexibility
Body shaping
Handstands
Swing on bars
Aerial awareness

 

[kimmypie1]

Our pre-team does L2 skills/routines. They compete, but only in an exhibition type meet, judged by competition team girls.

Our comp team starts at L2 and they compete in front of judges but they get ribbons instead of scores. Scoring from judges starts at L3. Not sure if that is USAG wide or just our region.

 

[Prentice]

Not in our gym.Surprisingly. But they train the girls hard and training hrs are long..perhaps they do this so that they can get a beginner gymnast in shape faster and so that they'll learn the skills faster. I was so surprised that a preteam for girls who do not even compete yet already trains 9 hrs a week.

My daughter just started gymnastics this past summer. She was 5 then, almost 6. After completing just 1 rec class (7 wks in length), they invited her to a pre-comp team for ages 4 & 5. she had just obtained her cangym bronze. That is all. I also noticed that all of the girls were like her, newbies, they didnt know how to do anything. No cartwheels not handstand. I was surprised I would have thought to be accept into a precomp team the girl would have to know basic skills like cartwheel and handstand. Anyways Then 1 month after being in pre-comp team for ages 4 & 5, she was then asked to join the pre-comp advanced team for ages 6-7. I was more surprised. she tried out and then after try outs was invited. She's been on this team for only 1 month. For the first pre-comp team my daughter was on, she trained 5 hrs a week. all of the girls on that team were just starting out. For the pre-comp team advance,the team my daughter is now on, she trains 9 hrs a week. They just started to teach my daughter the handstand and cartwheel just one month ago. How long typically does these two things take to learn? It's too bad our gyms operate differently.

 

[Prentice]

Our pre-team does L2 skills/routines. They compete, but only in an exhibition type meet, judged by competition team girls.

Our comp team starts at L2 and they compete in front of judges but they get ribbons instead of scores. Scoring from judges starts at L3. Not sure if that is USAG wide or just our region.

Thank you. That helps. Sounds like our preteam starts out by teaching L1 & L2 skills. I was so surprised that my daughter was invitedto a preteam when she was brand new to the sport. Where can i get to know what skills are in L1 & L2. Is there a link or website I can refer to? My daughter's coach said they focus on conditioning more than skills because once ur body is ready, the skills are easier to learn.

Anyways may I ask you - how often does your daughter train and what ages are the kids on the preteam?

 

[sce]

Not sure if that is USAG wide or just our region.

Just your region.

 

[Iwannabemargo]

sounds like your coaches have a list of requirements that they think will make a good competitive gymnast and your daughter fulfills those requirements ( body shape, muscle mass, flexibility, bounce etc etc). If she has aptitude then she can learn any skills in time. Just watch that she is still enjoying it as too much too young can be off putting.

 

[blueredzone]

At our Gym pre-team is what they do to get ready for level 2. They have it broken into classes and I think its usually around 4 hrs a week. Last year my daughter did Level 1 and only had 1 meet. This year is Level 2 and has 6 meets. We are in Region 5. To get to pre team you had to be pretty solid on cartwheel and handstand. As well as be invited. (which is nice because originally I just thought they wanted more money from us. lol) They mainly worked on conditioning and strength.

 

[Mom2Chickadee]

We're in Ontario too and my 6 year old DD is in a 9 hour pre-comp group. At this age they compete in what is known as ODP (Ontario Development Program). Here is the link to the Gymnastics Ontario site that explains the ODP and what they test. Link Removed

As for skills, I'm not sure what they do with my DD group b/c I don't normally stay to watch, but I know the majority of their training is conditioning, strength training and flexibility. The little bit I have seen over the past couple of weeks includes round offs, back walk overs, tick tocks (at least that's what DD calls them) and handstand walking on the floor, chin up pull over on the high bar, and I've been told they are working on cartwheels and handstands on the high beam.