Women Preschool gymnastics program

[hublaur]

Hi! So I've been coaching preschool gymnastics for about 7 years and the program at my gym has changed quite a bit. Before, for 3-4 year olds we used to do three seperate circuit. It was so that there were less kids with each coach. One was more focused on bar/hanging skills, one on floor/jumping skills and one on beam/balance skills. Also, since we did all three of them during one class, the kids wouldn't get bored. Now a new coach decided to put all the kids in one big group and to only do one big circuit. The thing is sometimes, we have up to 18 kids in one group and doing the exact same circuit for about 45 minutes is so long and boring for the coaches and the kids. What is it like at your gym? How do preschool classes work?

 

[LouLou]

I don’t remember what the classes were like at our gym, but they were definitely smaller! Your current situation sounds like a nightmare. I have a feeling it will take care of itself. I can’t imagine parents being ok with that setup. Parents will complain/pull their kids out, then maybe you’ll see a change. Omg- why would anyone think that many preschoolers managed by one person would be ok?! It’s stressing me out!

 

[SMH]

My youngest is in preschool class- they have about 10 in the class, (some preschool classes have more) and move through set up circuits (usually 4 or 5) in a 50 min class. So with warmup/stretching they are usually only doing one circuit for 5–10 mins. I can’t imagine trying to keep a preschoolers attention for 45 mins doing the same thing over and over...

 

[Jard.the.gymnast]

I am not the regular coach for the preteam group, I have however taken over when the teachers were sick. There were 7 in the group.

We warmed up (playing tag) for about 10 minutes . I divided them into 2 groups (I had a group with 4 kids, the assistant had one with 3) and set up 6 stations. We would switch stations every 5 minutes or so, we repeated some stations they thought were most fun. The stations were pretty basic: minitramp with something big In front, rings, mat with wedge etc. We would first let them hang, roll etc. Later the advanced movers did more difficult stuff (skin the cat, handstands if they were ready etc.) then for the last 20 minutes we taught them basic positions using games

 

[Jard.the.gymnast]

preteam

That is of course supposed to say preschool

 

[sewgood]

I love coaching preschoolers! They are adorable and the best part is that they get to learn to love the sport from you!

Our gym limits the 3 year old classes to 6 students per coach, and the 4 & 5 year old classes to 7 students per coach. Even our teenage rec classes are capped at 10 or 12, I think. 18 kids on one circuit is insane, boring, and frankly, not at all safe. And honestly, this is just behavior problems looking for a time to happen. There’s not enough classroom management techniques in the world that will save you from that. As a parent, I would be very unhappy about this, as well.

 

[sce]

Those changes do not sound like they are considering what is developmebtally appropriate. Preschoolers cannot Fuchs on the same thing for 45 minutes. They also need attention and 18 kids is a big group.