Parents pre team practices

[onebusymama]

My dd recently made pre team & was asked to practice 3 days / wk for 1 hr each day. Unfortunately we are unable to make all 3 days. Probably just 2 days @ most. I'm not familiar with gymnastics at all. She is my only child involved in it & I never did it as a kid. Will she fall behind in the class (pre team) if she only 2 days a week? Will she have to go back to rec classes? Dos all pre team kids go all days asked? Seems like a little much to me. This is a huge step from 1 day/ wk 55 min rec class. I don't know how other parents with more than one kid manage it? I work full time & have 3 very involved kids. Any words, answers, suggestion would be helpful.

 

[BlairBob]

Some do, but quite often in preteams we will see the kids that make 2 out of 3 practices. It's not the end of the world. That's why some gym's preteam is 2d x 1.5h instead of 3d x 1h.

Carpool is key to it or having relatives help out.

 

[gymgal]

just talk to the coach. It probably won't be a problem. As to whether she will fall behind, it really depends on how quickly she picks up on skills and also what skill level "pre-team" is - what level does your gym start competing: L2, 3, 4, 5? That will make a difference too.

 

[onebusymama]

I believe her pre team is level 2 maybe 3?? She is 5 yrs old & I know every gym has different standards. I just didn't know what to expect if we are not able to make all practices. I don't want her to fall behind or be placed back in rec classes b/c I was unable to take her 3 times/ wk. She really loves gymnastics & was so excited to make pre team. I just want to gk what's best for my child & not set her up for disappointment (if they make her move back to rec class b/c I'm not able to get her to pre team practice).Thanks for all comments & suggestions. It gets my wheels turning!

 

[Quadqueen]

Try to find out if there are other parents you could carpool with. If not, just tell the coach. It's doubtful they would make her go back to rec classes for missing one out of the three classes.

 

[gym law mom]

Set a time to talk with the coach and ask. Also see if there is anothe parent/s that you could carpool with. Every gym defines pre-team differently so its hard to tell if she would "fall behind." At the age of 5, 2 hours/week may be just right until you could work things out to get her there 3x/week. When my gymmie started pre-team at age 7, she was only there 2x/week for 1.5 hours each. The time did increase as she worked up in the levels of the pre-team program. That gym competed L5(nothing below) so the focus was getting the basics with preparation for L5.

 

[onebusymama]

Thanks for all the advice. I'll talk to the coach & see if 2 days is good enough for now. I don't want to stop everything else just for gymnastics (shes only 5 & may not want to do by the time she turns six). Once I get to know the other pre team moms I'll see if they are going all 3 days. Maybe they have 3 days to help accommodate around schedules so others can try & see if competition gym is what they are interested in?? I'm not comfortable just yet w/ carpooling I'll post later to let you guys know how it goes!

 

[Kiwi]

As a full-time working mum, I've always had to rely on other parents to take my DD to the gym. Luckily there are several gymnasts at my DD's school who go to our gym. I am very grateful to these other mums, as without them DD wouldn't have been able to do competitive gymnastics.