Parents Should I ask or keep my mouth shut?

[purpleleomom]

Does all this talk about Xcel apply if the gym uses it in place of compulsory? My daughter is Bronze going 9 hours per week and working her booty off. Nothing about it looks more relaxed lol.

 

[gymmomtotwo]

The coaches won't think anything of you asking, especially if DD is wanting to know. The answer may be no, but at least you will know. From my observation, the 8 and under Level 4 is a small age group, 9 and 10 are the biggest age groups and the numbers go down again at age 11, but there are still plenty of them. Some gyms want 7 and 8 year old 4s that they can push to the higher levels quickly, some want a fun gymnastics experience for anyone who can do the skills reasonably, and some want a combo of both. In my experience, the best gyms are the ones who want a combo of both. You should find out which your gym is, and then decide if they are the only want 7/8 Level 4s type gym. If your daughter truly wants JO, then it is not the gym for her. If age is not the end all and be all, then you can stay and see what develops. She may find out she loves XCEL and wants to stay there. The main problem is typically the XCEL kids get less hours in the gym which makes progression more difficult. In some regions, some use XCEL to replace the compulsory program, but I am assuming your gym doesn't work that way since you said she wasn't picked for JO.

 

[Faith]

One of the biggest problems with kids in gym is the parents! At this age, commitment, timekeeping, and progression is nearly as dependent on the parents as the child

Make it politely known that you, and your child are up for the rigors of jo. If your child is slightly below their usual standard they may reconsider, as a child with supportive parents will always go further than a child whose parents aren't bothered, or who constantly interfere.

Be careful what you wish for though. I had a nice chat with our hc, not about my kids, but happened to mention my younger dd was getting keen. A week later and she's been invited to try out for a pre-elite squad 10 hours a week. She's 7. We're glad she's getting the opportunity, but thought we might have another year before those hours..!

 

[munchkin3]

I can't tell you how true the saying
'Be careful what you wish for'

There are times I wish I picked a different sport........

Be ready for ALL CONSUMING commitment of JO.....and it never stops! The coaches would be happy with the kids living at they gym from 2pm onwards, (except when they are tired, cranky, not feeling well, sick, ornery, snippy, hurting....that for us parents)

Don't even get me started on the financial aspect, and THEN, parents are at the bottom of the barrel and they can't say anything about anything.....and so on, and so, on.....