Private Lessons for TOPS Training

[Bella's Mom]

Since our gym doesn't have formal TOPS training, would it be inappropriate for me to ask one of our coaches about having my daughter train TOPS in private lessons? Or is that a reasonable goal even?

 

[Tumblequeensmom]

Is there someone there who would take her to TOPs training? Do you have tons of money? Usually this is a program that is worked on for several hours each week for quite a period of time... that's all I know. I'm sure other coaches/parents will chime in w/more knowledge than me!

 

[GymGirl's Mom]

Anything is possible if you feel like paying for it.

I personally do not think it's necessary and think that if she is being trained properly by her coaches in the gym during regular practice she is getting enough of what she needs to be a successful gymnast.

 

[MdGymMom01]

Is your dd going to be tested for TOPS? I am assuming since your gym does not have TOPS training then they do not test girls for TOPS either. I am curious as to why you want to push for the TOPS training and privates--because your DD is going to be testing for TOPS or you just want her to have the extra training? Personally I would invest that private money in dance (ballet) classes for her. That will benefit her gymnastics more in the long run.

 

[Bella's Mom]

Is your dd going to be tested for TOPS? I am assuming since your gym does not have TOPS training then they do not test girls for TOPS either. I am curious as to why you want to push for the TOPS training and privates--because your DD is going to be testing for TOPS or you just want her to have the extra training? Personally I would invest that private money in dance (ballet) classes for her. That will benefit her gymnastics more in the long run.

During summer her gym offers a class for conditioning and flexibility. She LOVES it. Says she wishes the class was all year long rather than just summer. A lot of the skills they work on in her "shapes" class look like they could be taken from the TOPS manual. And the way the TOPS manual has very concrete goals appeals to her particular personality type. I think she would really take to the structure of it. I don't know that she would ever score high enough to get any kind of award but I think she would thrive in this kind of training.

Now that being said.... Seeing how most TOPS gymnasts devote several hours a week to the training, there's no way I could afford that many private lessons. There is a gym a couple of towns over that does TOPS training but I'm not shopping for a new gym so there's really no reason to pursue the idea any further.

Too bad....... :-(

Your suggestion about ballet lessons is a good one. I just can't get her interested in it at all. I tried to get her in ballet a few years ago because I love ballet and really hoped she would take to it. It was a disaster. LOL She was hanging upside down by her knees on the barre after ten minutes. I've tried to introduce it a couple times every year but she tells me it looks boring. * sigh * Breaks my heart because ballet is SO beautiful. And lord knows she could use the grace in her floor routine.

 

[Bella's Mom]

Do you have tons of money?

Bwahahahahahahahahahahaha!

 

[Danica76]

During summer her gym offers a class for conditioning and flexibility. She LOVES it. Says she wishes the class was all year long rather than just summer. A lot of the skills they work on in her "shapes" class look like they could be taken from the TOPS manual. And the way the TOPS manual has very concrete goals appeals to her particular personality type. I think she would really take to the structure of it. I don't know that she would ever score high enough to get any kind of award but I think she would thrive in this kind of training.

Now that being said.... Seeing how most TOPS gymnasts devote several hours a week to the training, there's no way I could afford that many private lessons. There is a gym a couple of towns over that does TOPS training but I'm not shopping for a new gym so there's really no reason to pursue the idea any further.

Too bad....... :-(

Your suggestion about ballet lessons is a good one. I just can't get her interested in it at all. I tried to get her in ballet a few years ago because I love ballet and really hoped she would take to it. It was a disaster. LOL She was hanging upside down by her knees on the barre after ten minutes. I've tried to introduce it a couple times every year but she tells me it looks boring. * sigh * Breaks my heart because ballet is SO beautiful. And lord knows she could use the grace in her floor routine.

Yet another reason to indicate that our DD's were separated at birth! Mine tells me that ballet is for girls and that she is a tough chick (um, are you not a girl, darling D?!?! and what do you think half of the moves you are doing on beam and floor are?!?!). Oy vey! I danced ballet from 5 - 15 years old and would love for DD to take a class again - we also tried and it was also a disaster. She was making faces at herself in the mirror while all the other little girls were doing their plies and releves. The only part she liked was the "free dance" with the scarves, because then she could do what she wanted and fling herself around the studio!

Our old gym did TOPS training and testing and had 1 girl make it to the ranch for camp while we were there. Our new gym does not do TOPS, either. But, I do feel DD is getting plenty of conditioning with her training regimen. I also find that my DD takes well to a highly structured program - she is pretty on point the last 30 min of practice when they are conditioning I have read here on CB that a few very well known and successful gyms do not do TOPS. So, I am sure there is meaning in that Maybe the coaches could give you some suggestions? I know I haven't been much help, but still wanted to share the similarities

 

[cher062]

How about suggesting the gym try a summer of TOPS and see it there are any other takers. If they have enough to make it financially feasable they might just start the TOPS. But TOPS ois more than extra conditioning. If that is what you are looking for then maybe suggest an Optional day of training with Tops like training on that day.

 

[Azgymmiemom]

My dd is a little strange that way too...when the girls sign up to do TOPs workout(ours is a separate class that you sign up weekly for...anyone can sign up and take the classes, but only certain kids are actually taken to the test), she says, Yay!! TOPs!!! while all the other little girls are muttering and groaning under their breath, lol!! She's just weird that way.
She said the same exact thing about ballet, too, but her coach told her ballet would def. make her a better gymnast, so she gave in and decided to take the classes. She IS improving because of the ballet training, so maybe you could present it to your dd that way. In fact, my dd always says she's only in ballet to help her gymnastics!!lol-like its some great sacrifice she is making

 

[gymdog]

It doesn't sound like the best plan to me, to be honest. It seems like she is already strong enough to do her skills, so if her gym does not test TOPs it would probably be better to just have whatever privates you have be regular work on a variety of things. Now that she moved to the L4 training as opposed to preteam when the summer training really gets going she probably will find the conditioning and flexibility aspect to be more challenging anyway, hopefully.

If you did it it would get pretty expensive I think, because the cost of the coach traveling to and working at the testing would not be split among a group, and also paying your own way. Plus it wouldn't be "built in" to the coach's work schedule so it may be hard to find one to agree because it would essentially be significant weekend overtime that they won't be compensated at that rate for. I would just be wary even if they initially agreed that they might back out of the commitment.

 

[MdGymMom01]

MarynsMom--here is a cute Nike commercial to show your dd. It is a ballerina and a hip hop dancer battling it out and at the end they both end up doing the same type of moves. Which shows that ballet is the BASIS for all dance. Maybe this will change her attitude that tough chicks CAN do ballet!!!

[video]http://youtu.be/06ooGrzi0KU[/video]

 

[Tumblequeensmom]

That was beautiful!!!!

 

[B&M's mom]

My daughter was approached by her coach last spring to see if she wanted to try TOPS. The gym didn't have a formal program so she had to do private lessons and try to do workouts at home. She only did on additional hour a week but we tried to do specific conditioning exercises everyday. It was hard and what I didn't understand is that they had to also learn routines in case they made it to National testing. So somehow that had to be factored in.

Anyone can sign up for testing. My daughter did the testing once and qualified to National testing. That's where the lack of a formal program came back to haunt her. She didn't have enough time to learn all the routines to her satisfaction.

It was an expensive experience but totally worth it for my daughter. I had to pay for all the coach's expenses for both the first testing and the trip to Huntsville in addition to all the private lessons. My daughter, however, is more excited about gymnastics than ever after the experience of seeing the Ranch.

It can be done but I wouldn't necessarily suggest it unless your expectations are low. It's hard to compete against girls who have been spending a year or more preparing. We honestly didn't think she'd make it to National testing and were just doing it to see what it was like.

 

[bookworm]

In a nutshell, if your gym does not have a TOPS program, put your wallet away..TOPS is not a be all end all to good gymnastics...a good gym can incorporate the conditioning and training that TOPS does into its own program without charging you extra or for privates...you will spend enough money in this sport without volunteering to give it away for stuff she should already be getting coached on....

 

[Danica76]

MarynsMom--here is a cute Nike commercial to show your dd. It is a ballerina and a hip hop dancer battling it out and at the end they both end up doing the same type of moves. Which shows that ballet is the BASIS for all dance. Maybe this will change her attitude that tough chicks CAN do ballet!!!

[video]http://youtu.be/06ooGrzi0KU[/video]

Thanks so much for this! Showed it to DD this morning and she was like, "Oooohhh!! I get it!" It's been hard for me to understand her vehemence toward ballet, after spending years in classes and a few in pointe shoes as a kid...I also tell her that ballet is fundamental for all dance & even gymnastics. Maybe she'll be interested in taking a class this fall, now. Thanks again

 

[MdGymMom01]

Thanks so much for this! Showed it to DD this morning and she was like, "Oooohhh!! I get it!" It's been hard for me to understand her vehemence toward ballet, after spending years in classes and a few in pointe shoes as a kid...I also tell her that ballet is fundamental for all dance & even gymnastics. Maybe she'll be interested in taking a class this fall, now. Thanks again

I totally understand your dd's apprehensiveness towards ballet--it can be very "boring at times" especially for young ones like your dd. My dd took ballet when she was 5 and thought it was boring and wanted to stop. We then switched to cheer and eventually gymnastics. It wasn't till she was 10, when she really appreciated the beauty of ballet and the hard work that was needed. And being able to go en pointe at age 11 was a huge incentive as well. Now at age 12 she LOVES it, and is progressing quite nicely. If the kids can get over that initial "boring" stage they will begin to appreciate how beneficial ballet can be to any activity. I know that the ballet training has done wonders for my dd's gymnastics. Also, if you watch any of the TV reality dance shows like So You Think You Can Dance, the judges will always comment to the hip hop and street dancers to go back to basics and work on the ballet.

 

[Bella's Mom]

In a nutshell, if your gym does not have a TOPS program, put your wallet away..TOPS is not a be all end all to good gymnastics...a good gym can incorporate the conditioning and training that TOPS does into its own program without charging you extra or for privates...you will spend enough money in this sport without volunteering to give it away for stuff she should already be getting coached on....

I don't hold TOPS on some pedestal or as a means to meet a particular goal. I just like to provide my daughter with things that she enjoys and I think she would enjoy TOPS training. That's all. It certainly wasn't some kind of slam on our gym. I love our gym and our head coach is amazing. Our girls condition during regular training. Our program is fine and I have no complaints. And I know the sport is expensive. I was just thinking out loud because I believe that Bella's personality would be a good fit for TOPS. Doesn't mean I expected it to take her somewhere or that this was the only way she would succeed in the sport. Just another option to explore, like ballet classes.

 

[gymjourneymom]

In a nutshell, if your gym does not have a TOPS program, put your wallet away..TOPS is not a be all end all to good gymnastics...a good gym can incorporate the conditioning and training that TOPS does into its own program without charging you extra or for privates...you will spend enough money in this sport without volunteering to give it away for stuff she should already be getting coached on....

I find this post honest & to the point. It's simply GREAT advice. The poster is trying to help you. No one is critiquing the program your DD is in. We don't know your gym or program. Just stating that a well rounded program should already be incorporating strength & conditioning into team training at an age & level appropriate amount. If your DD's gym is that's great! If you trust her coaches & upper level girls do well at this gym, then your DD is already in a good program. I'd let the natural progression of regular practice continue. More gym(or TOPS) at young ages isn't necessarily better.

At my DD's gym they specifically kept gym hours low in the lower levels as NOT to burn the girls out. That way they had time to try other activities before they moved up & committed to a gymnastics lifestyle. For the summer swimming was always encouraged by DD's gym. Real swimming...laps & strokes, not just jumping around & playing(of course that would happen too!!!) I'm proud to say that for many years now our gym has had the largest optional team in the area because the girls don't burn out too young.

DD's gym has also provided ballet class as part of her regular team practice ever since she was back on preteam. The focus is more on gymnastics then formal ballet but it still helps alot! If you want Bella to have another organizied extra curricular activity(she has the time & you have the money), I LOVE the ballet idea!!! I think that is GREAT advice. If your gym doesn't offer ballet as part of it's regular program(not trying to "slam" anyone) I think that would be a very wise place to spend Bella's time & effort & your money. Good luck!

 

[justanothergymmom]

Since our gym doesn't have formal TOPS training, would it be inappropriate for me to ask one of our coaches about having my daughter train TOPS in private lessons? Or is that a reasonable goal even?

In my opinion, from watching my DDs train TOPs, I am not sure that you could accomplish any level of proficiency with the TOPs skills (enough to test regionally) from doing private lessons. I think that a bare minimum of 5 hours a week is needed to learn and perfect all of the physical abilities, and get strong enough to be able to perform the required number of repetitions. (5 hours a week of private lessons would run us $250 more per week..approximately $1000 per month!) My girls trained 3 hours per week (in a group setting~MUCH cheaper than privates), and it was no where near enough hours to develop the strength to max out any catagories (...and they are naturally strong and worked their little butts off-LOL!). So...I guess it would depend on you and your daughter's goals, and how much extra cash you have ...there is nothing wrong with doing a weekly private to work on strength and flexibility if your daughter enjoys that type of training.

But in all honesty, I would tend to agree with bookworm on this one...

LOL! My apologies, I just saw that this was a question for coaches! Please feel free to disregard what I wrote...I am not a coach...I am justanothergymmom!

 

[Bella's Mom]

I appreciate all of the comments. Like i said earlier, I didn't realize how many hours TOPS kids usually train. I certainly can't afford to do 5 hours of private lessons each week. Especially since it would just be something for fun. Given how many hours she trains for JO, I guess it just isn't workable for us.

I get a vague feeling that people think I was upset with what bookworm posted. That is not at all the case. I just wanted to respond that my interest in TOPS was not as a means to some goal nor was I looking at TOPS as a conditioning program to supplement her gymnastics training. I am also not trying to cram as many gym hours in as possible. If we had a TOPS program, I think Bella would prefer to do that over a lot of the gym she does now. And I don't feel like anyone was trying to slam my program. I was offering information about mine but I do not feel the need to defend it because I didn't see anyone attacking it.

@Gymjourneymom.... that's so awesome about your gym offering ballet as part of their regular training. That is something we don't have. I SO wish I could get Bella interested in taking some ballet but she is just adamant about not thining it's interesting.