Anon Seeking guidance for my DD's gymnastics journey

[Anonymous (04e3)]

My daughter, currently at Level 5, consistently secures first or second place (38.5+) in both in-state and out-of-state competitions. Some parents from her gym suggest checking out other competitive gyms (1-hour drive away), as no one from our gym has pursued it before. The idea hadn't crossed our minds until recently, and both myself and my daughter don't know what it takes. We haven't seen any college gymnastics as we're in the suburbs and just weren't interested.

Our current gym prioritizes fundamentals and maintains higher progression standards than nearby gyms, which is probably why she scores higher. Not only her but her teammates score relatively well too. She has an excellent rapport with her coach and teammates, and we appreciate the laid-back atmosphere. While hesitant to disrupt positive dynamics, I'm concerned about potentially doing a disservice to my child.

After reading many forum posts, I understand that excelling in compulsory levels doesn't guarantee success in optional at all, with Level 8 and beyond presenting different challenges. Injuries, mental blocks, other priorities, etc., might come into play. Even if she makes it to Level 9 or 10, the associated expenses may be beyond our means. Right now, we're content. Any thoughts or advice on navigating the path for moderately successful non-collegiate route kids would be appreciated. "Just enjoy the sport"? Maybe I just want to hear it from all you experts for reassurance

 

[Coach Kate]

How old is she? Does your current gym have a decent number of optionals? Level 10s? How does your current gym do in those optional levels?

 

[Anonymous (e596)]

Your daughter is happy where she is, doing well, and not interested in college gym; stay where you are.

 

[Pineapple_Lump]

Even if she makes it to Level 9 or 10, the associated expenses may be beyond our means. Right now, we're content.

If this is the case, don't go chasing a path you cannot continue to the end - if she is happy and content, don't change that for something you may have to take away down the track or will impact negatively on your family due to the financial sacrifices.

 

[Anonymous (9db6)]

How old is she? If she still has ways to go before she has to start thinking about college, let her be. She is happy, getting good coaching (clearly, or she wouldn't be scoring so well), learning strong foundation. If in a few years she expresses the interest in college gymnastics, you can re-evaluate then.

 

[Anonymous (04e3)]

How old is she? Does your current gym have a decent number of optionals? Level 10s? How does your current gym do in those optional levels?

She is almost 11. Right now, her gym has three Level 10 gymnasts, one Level 9, and two Level 8 gymnasts. A few of them have scratched one or two events in recent meets, but it seems like two of the Level 10 gymnasts are doing quite well. Her gym is small and in a suburb. There aren't any gyms nearby offering TOPS or HOPES unless you're willing to drive an hour to another gym.

 

[Dahlialover]

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!

 

[Coach Kate]

She is almost 11. Right now, her gym has three Level 10 gymnasts, one Level 9, and two Level 8 gymnasts. A few of them have scratched one or two events in recent meets, but it seems like two of the Level 10 gymnasts are doing quite well. Her gym is small and in a suburb. There aren't any gyms nearby offering TOPS or HOPES unless you're willing to drive an hour to another gym.

I would probably just stay if she's happy. I'm assuming 5th grade then? One level per year puts her at being a first year level 10 as a sophomore. If she was really excited about the idea of college gymnastics, there would have to be a lot more pushing than that. If she's not thinking about it, I'm sure she will be able to keep enjoying the sport where she's at.

 

[Anonymous (04e3)]

I would probably just stay if she's happy. I'm assuming 5th grade then? One level per year puts her at being a first year level 10 as a sophomore. If she was really excited about the idea of college gymnastics, there would have to be a lot more pushing than that. If she's not thinking about it, I'm sure she will be able to keep enjoying the sport where she's at.

Yes, she's currently in fifth grade. She has already scored 38.5+ in two sanctioned meets, and other parents have started providing information about HOPES/TOPS, college, and various other aspects that I haven't researched before. They mention that other gyms would have her compete at Level 6, while our gym tends to be conservative about promoting kids. Knowing nothing about the rules for moving up, I felt somewhat rushed to understand how this sport works. Thanks for helping me grasp the process, and I think I'll keep her where she is now. She seems happy and motivated.

On a separate note, I'm curious about why a gymnast needs to spend multiple Level 10 years to get recruited. Is there a specific rule, or is it just an indication of the potential for success as a collegiate athlete? I assume it requires a significant amount of financial stability, parental skills to manage various politics, time commitment, and, of course, the athlete's skills to pursue this route. There must be many talented athletes who didn't even go that route due to a lack of money and various reasons.

 

[gym_dad32608]

On a separate note, I'm curious about why a gymnast needs to spend multiple Level 10 years to get recruited. Is there a specific rule, or is it just an indication of the potential for success as a collegiate athlete? I assume it requires a significant amount of financial stability, parental skills to manage various politics, time commitment, and, of course, the athlete's skills to pursue this route. There must be many talented athletes who didn't even go that route due to a lack of money and various reasons.

You can read the multiple recruiting threads but the TLDR version. For the generic D1 college gymnast. And generic, I mean they will receive a scholarship offer and interest from at least 2-3 programs. They will be receiving offers the summer between their sophomore and junior years of high school. Working backward, you would want at least 1 year L10 during your freshman year of high school to get on colleges' radar and then have your second (sophomore) year of high school to be an even better year. Since 1st-year level 10 is generally difficult, it would imply that having your first L10 season would ideally, not always, be in 8th grade. And yes, colleges are most interested in seeing proficiency in L10 skills since that is what makes up the NCAA code, with some modifications.

Now that is for the generic gymnast that has a high probability of making a D1 program. BUT, that's not to say that is the only path. It's just that the probability of getting a spot starts to decrease and requires more effort to proactively seek these spots. Obviously someone might have a strong L10 season as a sophomore and then an even better one as a junior. But then you are in the bind where most scholarship spots have been given, still, some programs may have a spot that opens for a variety of reasons, but then that's more luck than something one controls. That's also not to say walk-on spots and NIL opportunities (If NIL is still around in 5 years). So there are different avenues to get into college gymnastics, but the one with the highest probability of success is the one with multiple L10 years.

 

[Coach Kate]

Yes, she's currently in fifth grade. She has already scored 38.5+ in two sanctioned meets, and other parents have started providing information about HOPES/TOPS, college, and various other aspects that I haven't researched before. They mention that other gyms would have her compete at Level 6, while our gym tends to be conservative about promoting kids. Knowing nothing about the rules for moving up, I felt somewhat rushed to understand how this sport works. Thanks for helping me grasp the process, and I think I'll keep her where she is now. She seems happy and motivated.

On a separate note, I'm curious about why a gymnast needs to spend multiple Level 10 years to get recruited. Is there a specific rule, or is it just an indication of the potential for success as a collegiate athlete? I assume it requires a significant amount of financial stability, parental skills to manage various politics, time commitment, and, of course, the athlete's skills to pursue this route. There must be many talented athletes who didn't even go that route due to a lack of money and various reasons.

The first year or even two years of level 10 tend to be a bit tough for many athletes. A lot of gymnasts don't have full start values right away and some don't even compete all the events. Then there's getting comfortable competing the big skills and being consistent enough to really compete, place well, and get noticed. Of course it all depends what type of college program you're looking at as well.

 

[Anonymous (4eb3)]

My daughter, currently at Level 5, consistently secures first or second place (38.5+) in both in-state and out-of-state competitions. Some parents from her gym suggest checking out other competitive gyms (1-hour drive away), as no one from our gym has pursued it before. The idea hadn't crossed our minds until recently, and both myself and my daughter don't know what it takes. We haven't seen any college gymnastics as we're in the suburbs and just weren't interested.

Our current gym prioritizes fundamentals and maintains higher progression standards than nearby gyms, which is probably why she scores higher. Not only her but her teammates score relatively well too. She has an excellent rapport with her coach and teammates, and we appreciate the laid-back atmosphere. While hesitant to disrupt positive dynamics, I'm concerned about potentially doing a disservice to my child.

After reading many forum posts, I understand that excelling in compulsory levels doesn't guarantee success in optional at all, with Level 8 and beyond presenting different challenges. Injuries, mental blocks, other priorities, etc., might come into play. Even if she makes it to Level 9 or 10, the associated expenses may be beyond our means. Right now, we're content. Any thoughts or advice on navigating the path for moderately successful non-collegiate route kids would be appreciated. "Just enjoy the sport"? Maybe I just want to hear it from all you experts for reassurance

I would say it depends on what her goal is as far as what level she would want to make it to, but if she's not shooting for college, it is okay to stay at a laid-back gym. My coach's rule of thumb is if a girl scores a 9.5 or better on each event, she is ready to move on. The compulsory levels can be fun for some, but you and your daughter should discuss the opportunity of optionals. It can be a very fun time when gymnasts start to flourish in the skills and basics they have learned in compulsories to advance to higher skills. Not ever being in optionals would be a big missed opportunity for your dd. I would not recommend letting her stay in level 5 if she has already scoring 38s. It will simply be no fun.

 

[Anonymous (04e3)]

I would say it depends on what her goal is as far as what level she would want to make it to, but if she's not shooting for college, it is okay to stay at a laid-back gym. My coach's rule of thumb is if a girl scores a 9.5 or better on each event, she is ready to move on. The compulsory levels can be fun for some, but you and your daughter should discuss the opportunity of optionals. It can be a very fun time when gymnasts start to flourish in the skills and basics they have learned in compulsories to advance to higher skills. Not ever being in optionals would be a big missed opportunity for your dd. I would not recommend letting her stay in level 5 if she has already scoring 38s. It will simply be no fun.

It seems she hasn't really given much thought to what she wants to be in the future, whether it's connected to gymnastics or anything else. When I asked her, she said, "I want to be a farmer with lots of land to run around." It looks like she just loves going to practice and is excited about moving to L6 next season.

 

[Anonymous (beb1)]

I would stay where you are especially if you are both happy with the coaching and she is not talking about college gymnastics. It sounds great to me that the gym is working on fundamentals and has higher standards than others. She has plenty of years to go and maybe your gym will start having girls on college teams within the next few years. You can always revisit the idea after you see how her level 6 or 7 seasons go, and she has thoughts about college. There is always college club or acro & tumbling which is really growing now.
My kid was also 11 at level 5 and was talking a lot about wanting to be on a college team at that point.
If the expenses start to become too much and she does not want to compete in college, you could consider switching her to Xcel if you have that option. It should be fewer hours and a lower cost.