Pre-Team skills

[superflipgirl]

Hi, I'm just wondering. If you have a pre-team at your gym, what sorts of skills do they do? At our gym, there are two groups in our pre-team. The less advanced group does pretty much the level 3 routines, and the higher group does the level 4 routines, without some of the harder skills if they can't do them, like the round-off back handspring on floor. At one of my rec-optional meets, the host gym's pre-team was competing there, and at that gym the team starts at level 5 the girls from pre-team were actually doing like jumps to the high bar and long hang pullovers on bars, and on floor they were doing level 4 sort of routines but they couldn't do back handsprings so they were doing round-offs to back bend kickovers or something. I'm just wondering, what sorts of skills do your pre-teams do? Even if they don't compete?

 

[fuzi]

We're in the process of more or less eliminating our pre-team programs. Instead, we're taking young kids with athletic bodies and good behavior, and having them train level 2 or 3 (or 4), and compete whichever level they are ready for during the next fall competitive season. Thus, our youngest "pre-teamers" are working L2 and L3 skills, and our older ones are working L4. However, no one is really on "pre-team" anymore. They train Jan-Aug, or June-Aug, depending on when we take a group, and then start competing as part of team.

 

[CoachGoofy]

Our preteam kids are working on the Level 4 skills and a lot of strength & flexibility. We introduce higher level skills too, so that they're familiar with them (example: cast handstands, some of our preteamers are working on back tucks off a mat & series of standing backhandsprings, cartwheels on beam, harder leaps and jumps on floor and beam, jump to handstand on the vault table).

However...our higher level class kids work on most of the same skills, but they condition less & are in the gym fewer hours. Theoretically a girl can move from recreational level 3 to competitive level 4 in our program (we did have one girl do exactly this, she spent one week on preteam). That way all of our gymnasts are getting quality coaching at a pace appropriate to their ability levels, and the competitive door is always open.

 

[CoachTodd]

Our preteam works mostly basics and progressions toward level 4 type skills. i.e. Handstands, walk overs, standing back handsprings if they get the other skills. Leaps jumps . I'd say very similar to level 3 USAG but I hate level 3 .

 

[AmyB]

Our gym starts Team at Level 4, and our Pre-Team seems to teach skills consistent with Level 3 and then uptrain to Level 4 skills. Some of the more difficult skills they attempt include handstands and cartwheels on beam, press handstands, long hang pullovers, and they just started working shoot throughs on bars. Personally I would like to see more uptraining on floor. The pre-teamers haven't learned a new floor skill in a very long time.

 

[cathiann]

WE don't have a pre-team, but a team track program--has 4 different progressive classes and is invite only. The levels correspond to USAG levels 1, 2, 3 & 4 (roughly)--no competitions or anything with it. Our official team is level 4--they compete, but parents aren't part of the booster club--that starts at level 5.