My young daughter has taken up competitive gymnastics and did very well at her State competition at level 4. We might have to move to the Northern San Diego Area and wanted to know if someone could tell me/recommend the better coaches/clubs available within 30 or so minutes of Oceanside/Carlsbad. We are willing to travel further if it made sense for everyone. She is now training at Level 5 on her team.
Thanks so much for the help.
From my experience in northern San Diego from a few years ago, I think your choice might be as strongly and appropriately influenced by your tolerance for traffic as by the perceived quality of the coaches and clubs. That's life.
If you and your daughter would be comfortable with her doing her homework and eating dinner in the car, SCEGA in Temecula could be a good choice if you want your child to join a top-flight team. (One of my child's former teammates commutes 75 miles through traffic from San Diego to Temecula, and and then another 75 miles on the return trip. She--and her mother, a former NCAA gymnast and a judge--think it's worth it.) The drive from Oceanside/Carlsbad to Temecula, according to Google, might take you about 45 minutes (I think that's without traffic)--a bit outside of your range.
http://www.scega.com/
Of course, if you're actually willing to drive as far as Temecula, you could also consider driving a bit farther
north (with little traffic on Interstate 5 from your area towards the southern fringe of LA), where you might find a gym that would be worth the driving time in, say, Laguna Hills.
Some other clubs are close by:
Carlsbad features Seawind, a YMCA program that seems like a nice place for a girl in the compulsory levels. You might start your search there.
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Just a few miles east, in Vista:
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Twenty minutes south, in Solana Beach:
http://www.trcgymnastics.com/
Just a few miles beyond Solana Beach (thus a few miles through slow traffic, but perhaps still within your range) is San Diego All Stars.
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There are other programs nearby (e.g., in Oceanside and Rancho Bernardo), but I seem to recall that they were geared towards preteam kids.
Just factor in that millions of people have to travel on Intestates 5 and 15 about the time that gymnastics classes begin, and you should be OK. Check out this traffic map around 4 pm on weekdays for a hint:
Sigalert.com San Diego Traffic Map
Based on ten years of experience as a clueless gym dad, I'd suggest repeated visits to any clubs of interest, and driving to visit those clubs at the time when you would regularly drive your daughter to practice. You might also consider if your daughter is the type of gymnast who would be content to continue to practice her old compulsory routine for another year if she scores, say, 36.650 in her first year at that level. Gyms vary in their philosophies, schedules, and atmosphere; you may need to do a bit of sleuthing to find one that will work for your family. Fortunately, you will have lots of options if you move to northern San Diego County, so you should be able to find a good fit.
