Parents Private lessons at lower levels/young ages

[NewGymParent]

New to the sport. How common or expected private lessons at young’s ages/lower levels (L3/age 6) the concept sounds crazy to me, but seems to be commonplace. And perspective is appreciated.

 

[raenndrops]

Unless the private is to work on a specific skill the gymnast is struggling to get in regular practice, a 6-year-old level 3 should NEVER need a private.
At some gyms, it seems like there is a culture of having privates. The CGMs buy into it, and the coaches like the extra money coming in, so it is encouraged. Then, other parents realize that "little Suzy" is getting extra practice 1-on-1, and they want their little one to get that attention too, so they set up privates ... and so on and so on.

 

[mezzamare]

In five years, my daughter has had two privates, each of which were when she was trying to nail down a skill to score out of a level. Other than that, she does everything she needs to do during regular practice.

In speaking with parents from other gyms, some places near us have mandatory weekly privates, which would not sit well with me.

 

[Coach Kate]

As a coach, I only did privates if an athlete was focused and trying as hard as they could at practice, but still falling behind the rest of the group. One example is when I was teaching xcel golds to jump to high bar. At some point, the group starts getting it and you're setting up less and less mats and drills. If there's just one or two who are doing all the drills but have a fear or aren't catching on, it's hard to do all the set ups just for them so it makes sense to do a private or two. I do not do privates for athletes struggling with a skill who avoid the drills and opportunities to work on it at practice.

I have also done privates when a family member gifted them to athletes (usually a birthday present from grandma) just to try some fun things, or if an athlete has been sick or otherwise unable to make practices, especially around meets. I have also them useful in cases of mental blocks and for building trust with an athlete coming from a harsher training environment.

 

[sun]

Privates are great if you think of it as extra/more specific/tailored training for the dedicated kid + bonus pay for the coach. I don't think they are ever necessary. I never did or wanted to do privates as a gymnast, but some kids like one on one time. If it's worth it to the kid/parent, why not?

 

[NutterButter]

The topic of privates comes up from time to time. It seems that they can be part of the gym culture for some clubs. Private lessons were rare at my daughters gym and when they were offered, there was never a charge. It was for kids who were *this* close to getting a skill/upgrade before a meet and the HC felt that 30 additional minutes on the skill would be beneficial for the gymnast. Usually though they would figure a way to give the kid additional time of the apparatus during practice. Personally, I never wished for private lessons and am glad they were not part of our gym's culture.

 

[mom2newgymnast]

All I can say is I am so glad that they weren't the norm at my daughter's gym when she was younger. I hear they are more common now, both at her gym and in general. But at $100/hour, no thanks!

 

[Tmacs]

Depends on the gym. We have quite a few who do privates, but it's definitely not expected. My dd wanted a few and the coach asked why- knowing she didn't need them. So, I appreciated that the coaches are willing to say "no" if they see no added value for the gymnast.

 

[BusyMomof2]

Depends on the gym. Our old gym would do them anytime, for any kid, for any reason. In fact, their rec classes were always full with long waiting lists, so many rec kids were offered a weekly private instead of a class and took advantage of it. Our new gym (which is more competitive and strict on all things) does not offer private lessons apart from routine choreography unless there is a major reason for it and they are a bit more frowned upon. And interestingly - there are waaaaaay less crazy gym parents (CGP) at the new gym.

 

[JMASR080615]

My daughter is 6, has been doing gymnastics since 3, but we’ve always done privates. She loves the extra time and one on one attention. She’s never forced to go to privates and if she doesn’t want to go we cancel it and reschedule. Her skills look great and always working up skills which keeps her motivated. My personal opinion is to each their own, if someone doesn’t agree with kids getting privates they aren’t paying for it so it shouldn’t really matter in the end.

 

[CuriousCate]

We've been at two gyms, one of which offers privates and the other of which never has and likely never will.

The gym that offered them did so only when needed to nail down a specific skill that an athlete was super close to getting during practice, or if a kid was recovering from an injury or a severe mental block and just needed a little extra individualized work. They were respectful of the parents' time and money and only offered them if they felt strongly that it would truly help.

The other gym, where we are currently, does not offer privates, to my knowledge and I'm really grateful for that. I think as my DD has gotten older, the fact that privates are not an option has forced her to make a solid effort to be efficient during practice and to be somewhat braver too, knowing that that will be the only time available to get it done.

But to go back to your original question, at age 6, level 3, I would not do any privates at all...the time and financial commitment grow exponentially if she stays in the sport, and I would rather give her every second of non-gym time to do non-gym things.

 

[WV Gym Mom]

I would hate a gym where privates were expected...they should never be expected, especially for lower levels. My daughter does get them from time to time (she's Platinum) to work on her mental blocks or specific skills she needs some extra time on, but mainly in the couple months leading to meet season. They can get pricey, but for confidence issues with my introvert, they are worth it. I have too many times seen parents overloading kids with privates thinking it will help them fast track/etc...and that almost always leads to burnout.

 

[Lurker]

At our gym privates are limited to mostly when school is closed. The gym offers up the time slots and you can sign up. Before I even saw the announcement and could open the sign up sheet the same 4 or so people signed up for all the available slots . For the most part I don't think they are necessary, I think some of the kids really like the one on one although they probably don't "need" it and their parents are willing to pay for it.

 

[Dahlialover]

I know some little boys with learning disabilities who have trouble processing new info during group sessions when the gym is loud and their ADHD meds have worn off. I’m glad they have the opportunity to take lessons occasionally on a quiet weekend morning when there is no auditory war raging between the level 4 floor music and the cheerleaders scream-counting into a megaphone over some kind of industrial-dance-torture-music. It’s pretty tough at our gym for a kid with sensory sensitivities or auditory processing problems. Or really just for anyone with ears. Seriously, why are cheerleaders so stinking loud?!!

 

[estamey21]

industrial-dance-torture-music

LOL!

Cheerleaders help pay the bills so they can be as loud as they want $$$.

I feel you though. I work at a VERY noisy gym and some kids just can't handle the overstimulation.

 

[Crash]

My daughter is 9 in level 3. Does privates once a week or every other week. We split them with another girl and pay $40. She likes the extra attention and not having to wait in line with the team to get the extra reps she wants. They usually focus on whatever she was struggling with the last meet. I dont expect to keep doing them after the season is over.

 

[GymnastMomX2]

Not common or expected at our gym, but there are always a couple that do it. My daughter used to have a teammate who had weekly privates starting around 4-5 years old. She ended up burning out mentally while training level 8 (was still doing weekly privates). It got to where the girl thought she needed the privates to keep up, and felt a ton of pressure and ultimately quit.