Anon Pursuit of D1 gymnastics financially unsound.

[Anonymous (4e9f)]

Google tells me 3% of high school lacrosse players go D1, if you backtrack that age line to ….in my town, pre-K? Then what’s the percentage? these parents really have D1 on their mind lol. I am not saying it is not wild, I am just saying if it is accepted to think wild for other sports, why are gym parents constantly told that they shouldn’t? Let people be.

Also by 12 most of the girls are gone or not college track. Of the girls remaining I bet it’s more like 30%. Still more likely to not happen then happen but much more of a chance

 

[Anonymous (4e9f)]

I kind of think like this too, not about scholarship, but about the possibility of college gymnastics at all.

My daughter is probably on the bubble at 12 and a pretty good level 9. If she works hard, keeps improving, doesn’t get hurt she could probably be a college gymnasts. She says she’s not sure that’s what she wants, and I think why are we still here? She’s a phenomenal athlete and could be a multi sport high school star which to me sounds way more fun than killing yourself in the gym with a dwindling group of peers.

It’s possible she’s afraid to want college gym because it seems like an impossible dream, but if she really doesn’t want to do gym in college I hope she decides to move on, and that’s what I will encourage. Gym is all she knows, so I don’t think she can evaluate her options accurately.

 

[Anonymous (717a)]

I don’t know the annual costs for lacrosse, so it could very well be just as high. For upper level optionals 20-25k per year is typical. If that is being spent in the expectation of getting a D1 ride, then it is foolish.

it is such a false narrative for gymnastics - it is a sport heavily relies on talent and perseverance,
your kid gotta be able to do it and have the drive to start with, and if your child has both, there is nothing wrong with parents thinking about scholarships. I believe you got the order of thinking wrong.

If the parent is only looking at ROI, gymnastics wouldn’t make the list. They will most likely pick a sport that is 1) low entry, 2) late start, 3) less favorable by kids, regardless of the child’s talent or interest.

 

[Anonymous (717a)]

Also by 12 most of the girls are gone or not college track. Of the girls remaining I bet it’s more like 30%. Still more likely to not happen then happen but much more of a chance

It says 3 percent of “high school players”. It is only according to Google, I can’t verify.

 

[Anonymous (ee6c)]

it is such a false narrative for gymnastics - it is a sport heavily relies on talent and perseverance,
your kid gotta be able to do it and have the drive to start with, and if your child has both, there is nothing wrong with parents thinking about scholarships. I believe you got the order of thinking wrong.

If the parent is only looking at ROI, gymnastics wouldn’t make the list. They will most likely pick a sport that is 1) low entry, 2) late start, 3) less favorable by kids, regardless of the child’s talent or interest.

I’m the parent of a L10 and absolutely understand what this sport requires. I’ve still seen way too too many parents wrapped up in the D1 dream. Their kids can have talent and perseverance and still not get there for many reasons.

 

[Anonymous (717a)]

I’m the parent of a L10 and absolutely understand what this sport requires. I’ve still seen way too too many parents wrapped up in the D1 dream. Their kids can have talent and perseverance and still not get there for many reasons.

Right, but wrapping up in D1 dreams is not the same as the initial topic - evaluating supporting or not supporting your kids gymnastics solely from a financial perspective. That is why I said it is a false narrative.

 

[Anonymous (4e9f)]

It says 3 percent of “high school players”. It is only according to Google, I can’t verify.

Personally most of the girls I know who were level 10s went on to college athletics . Not all d1 and not all on scholarship and sometimes even t&t, pole vault, or diving, but it seems if they aren’t hurt and they want to keep going with athletics there is a place for them. L10s are a pretty small group.

 

[Anonymous (889d)]

Personally most of the girls I know who were level 10s went on to college athletics . Not all d1 and not all on scholarship and sometimes even t&t, pole vault, or diving, but it seems if they aren’t hurt and they want to keep going with athletics there is a place for them. L10s are a pretty small group.

If you can make it to level 10.. compete all 4 events for 3+ years... stay healthy and qualify for nationals your Junior year.. you have GREAT odds of a scholarship and D1. Only about 600-700 girls in the NATION qualify for nationals. That's where all the scholarships are going first. Then the other 2300 or so fight for the scraps and D2, D3.

My 11 year old training level 9 just quit. It was super hard on us as parents because she was very young for level, very much on track.. Always in the youngest group for States and youngest for Regionals. Always placed in top rankings at regionals in optionals and had multiple state championships. Was a real All-Rounder, didn't have a weak event. We got her into the best gym in our area with a track record for gymnasts and in an area that worked for our jobs.

Then we just saw a change in her rather quickly... tears, anxiety, withdrawal and the dreaded.. "it's not fun anymore". She wanted to stay in school and after Level 8/9... all the top scoring girls in our area were homeschooling and training 30+hours a week. If she still wanted to try to juggle her honors schooling program with her gymnastics, we would have tried, but she chose a more balanced path. I'm just glad we got out before she was much older and another $100K in the hole. The only deal we made with her is if she quit she had to pick another sport. She is trying 4 different sports this year and we'll narrow that down. It's still half the total weekly hours as gymnastics and she has time for school / friends and life. She's happy, and we are happy we don't have to worry about injuries and $20K a year in tuition/traveling. The sport was driving us as parents a little nuts, so glad to be on the outside looking in for our mental health as well.

 

[Anonymous (4e9f)]

If you can make it to level 10.. compete all 4 events for 3+ years... stay healthy and qualify for nationals your Junior year.. you have GREAT odds of a scholarship and D1. Only about 600-700 girls in the NATION qualify for nationals. That's where all the scholarships are going first. Then the other 2300 or so fight for the scraps and D2, D3.

My 11 year old training level 9 just quit. It was super hard on us as parents because she was very young for level, very much on track.. Always in the youngest group for States and youngest for Regionals. Always placed in top rankings at regionals in optionals and had multiple state championships. Was a real All-Rounder, didn't have a weak event. We got her into the best gym in our area with a track record for gymnasts and in an area that worked for our jobs.

Then we just saw a change in her rather quickly... tears, anxiety, withdrawal and the dreaded.. "it's not fun anymore". She wanted to stay in school and after Level 8/9... all the top scoring girls in our area were homeschooling and training 30+hours a week. If she still wanted to try to juggle her honors schooling program with her gymnastics, we would have tried, but she chose a more balanced path. I'm just glad we got out before she was much older and another $100K in the hole. The only deal we made with her is if she quit she had to pick another sport. She is trying 4 different sports this year and we'll narrow that down. It's still half the total weekly hours as gymnastics and she has time for school / friends and life. She's happy, and we are happy we don't have to worry about injuries and $20K a year in tuition/traveling. The sport was driving us as parents a little nuts, so glad to be on the outside looking in for our mental health as well.

This is exactly why my daughter is at the second best gym in our area and in full time school. Her mental health could not handle the homeschool, 30 hour route. She’s super busy but life outside of gymnastics balances her out.

The girls from the top gym routinely beat her but she’s still on track for 8th grade or freshman level 10, in the g&t program and all honors at school,. My pie in the sky dream would be for her to leverage gymnastics into an ivy or Stanford acceptance, but I’m sure there are lots of smart gymnasts so I don’t know how realistic that is.