Parents Should this JO Level 2 girl be done with gymnastics?

[Kipkiparoo]

Explore other gyms! At the end of my daughters Level 1 season we were told that she...at barely 6 years old...didn’t have the right body type for gymnastics and that she would be moving back to the rec program. This news came from the Level 3 coach that spent a total of 5 minutes with the my daughters team making her advancement selections. At that point my daughter had her pullover, back hip circle, handstand & level 2 dismount on beam, back & front limbers, and all 3 splits. When I spoke with her Level 1 coach about the decision she told me that they didn’t want to invest training in gymnasts that they thought were unlikely to get college scholarships! Not sure how you predict this with 6 year olds. It was one of the most unbelievable conversations of my life.

We quickly started exploring other options and found a great gym (that regularly produces a couple division 1 scholarship athletes every year). My daughter just completed a successful Level 3 season - scoring in the 35s & 36s AA with many trips to the podium!

Your gut is telling you there is something wrong with their decision. Look at other programs and find one that is the right fit.

 

[auscoachgymmum]

Hi There,

I'n not based in the US but here's my take on the situation.

Before you do anything about moving gyms you need to talk to your daughter. Does she still enjoy gymnastics? If the answer is yes then, I agree it's time to find a better fit. If no, you need to dig a bit deeper to find out whether it is something that could be helped by moving gyms. It sounds like your gym has a very narrow scope for what they would like them gymnasts to be. Perhaps they have enough numbers, or a particular focus that warrants that, I'm not sure. I do believe that at 9, if the child enjoys their sport there is ALWAYS a place for them. Whilst it might not be on the national team, there will be a way to keep them actively involved and experiencing personal successes.

I work with our "senior" levels here in my gym in rural Australia. My youngest "senior" is 11 and has been in my senior program for 3 years. My oldest is 17 and has only just moved into this group. They have different talents, different motivations and different desires, but what they do share is a good work ethic and a love of the sport.

Based on her scores alone, as a coach, what I see is a consistent worker. There is improvement every meet. She turns up, competes and works on her personal improvement goals. That ticks far more boxes for me as a coach than outright AA scores. A natural talent at 9 who is scoring highly each meet but has a lesser work ethic will find it harder to continue as they move up the levels.

It sounds like there might be some other options in your area. I would suggest doing some scouting of websites etc and get a feel for what each gym offers, and then find one that mirrors your personal and family values. Above all, just support your daughter. She sounds like a hardworking kid. I'd certainly be happy to have her in any of my training squads.

Good luck.

 

[CLgym]

At the end of my daughters Level 1 season we were told that she...at barely 6 years old...didn’t have the right body type for gymnastics and that she would be moving back to the rec program. This news came from the Level 3 coach that spent a total of 5 minutes with the my daughters team making her advancement selections. At that point my daughter had her pullover, back hip circle, handstand & level 2 dismount on beam, back & front limbers, and all 3 splits. When I spoke with her Level 1 coach about the decision she told me that they didn’t want to invest training in gymnasts that they thought were unlikely to get college scholarships! Not sure how you predict this with 6 year olds. It was one of the most unbelievable conversations of my life.

^^ This sounds virtually identical to the conversation I had with the HC at our first gym! Hard to believe this mentality is found at more than one gym. Ugh!

 

[thefellowsmom]

Like @Flyaway i think I might know where your at. Not trying to freak you out at all but if I am right I have a lot of experience in the area with several gyms, including possibly the one you are at now. Feel free to PM me if I can be of any help. Of course, I could be totally wrong so I could end up being of no help at all (LOL!), but if you are willing to share your gym with me privately I might be able to help out if you are where I think you are. My dd is a level 10 and we have been around the block and back in our area.

Overall picture, there is no reason to quit unless she is done.

 

[gymdog]

I I think to be honest based on her age and overall scores in the level 2 season that Xcel is probably going to be the most successful place for her. Level 2 is significantly easier to score decently in than level 3 and the floor and beam routines are not at all comparable between 2 and 3. So I think the coaches may have your daughter's best interest in mind here.

But it sounds like your gym may not have lower level Xcel teams, so maybe it isn't the best fit for your daughter if she needs an Xcel team. I would expect that she could compete bronze. I would indicate again that you understand she may need more time to get skills but you're interested in her competing bronze and understand she may need to stay on bronze for awhile. If they don't have bronze then I would try a gym that has bronze.

 

[3rd_time_around]

I I think to be honest based on her age and overall scores in the level 2 season that Xcel is probably going to be the most successful place for her. Level 2 is significantly easier to score decently in than level 3 and the floor and beam routines are not at all comparable between 2 and 3. So I think the coaches may have your daughter's best interest in mind here.

But it sounds like your gym may not have lower level Xcel teams, so maybe it isn't the best fit for your daughter if she needs an Xcel team. I would expect that she could compete bronze. I would indicate again that you understand she may need more time to get skills but you're interested in her competing bronze and understand she may need to stay on bronze for awhile. If they don't have bronze then I would try a gym that has bronze.

No, I do not agree with this. Every year, age, and level is different. Sometimes it clicks, sometimes maturity helps. I know an International Elite who scored 0.00 on vault in levels 4 and 5. Bronze is way too easy.

 

[gymdog]

It's worth a try at another gym, maybe they will put her in 3. Bronze is whatever you make of it since you can pretty much do level 3 routines if you want. But the mom said that her roundoff needs work and the coaches think level 3 isn't a good fit. Without a good roundoff bronze is the best placement in the USAG system because level 3 and silver require tumbling connections. It's possible they just hate her child but they had some good things to say so I'm not sure that's the case. We aren't talking about level 4 and 5 vault. A season of Xcel to see how she improves on her weaker areas won't hurt and she may find she loves it.

 

[Flyaway]

I don't want to give too much away to maintain OP's anonymity, however I will say that after digging around a bit, I did discover that at a neighboring gym, OVER HALF of their level 3 team this year competed level 2 at OP's gym last year. I think that speaks volumes. Right or wrong, OP's dd does not fit the current gym's philosophy and they clearly have similar conversations with gym families every year.

 

[John]

OP run do not walk to another gym.

 

[Flyaway]

I wanted to also add that every one of those level 3's scored above 37 AA at state this year, so the are obviously competent gymnasts. Obviously we do not know why they switched from OP's gym to this other one after level 2, but it is interesting information given OP's dd's situation.

 

[FlippinPrincess]

I don't want to give too much away to maintain OP's anonymity, however I will say that after digging around a bit, I did discover that at a neighboring gym, OVER HALF of their level 3 team this year competed level 2 at OP's gym last year. I think that speaks volumes. Right or wrong, OP's dd does not fit the current gym's philosophy and they clearly have similar conversations with gym families every year.

That is some top-notch detective work. I’m impressed!

 

[duyetanh]

You said your dd was tall....unfairly, this might be one of the reasons.
Find at least one more gym and give it a shot before throwing in the towel.

 

[thefellowsmom]

I wanted to also add that every one of those level 3's scored above 37 AA at state this year, so the are obviously competent gymnasts. Obviously we do not know why they switched from OP's gym to this other one after level 2, but it is interesting information given OP's dd's situation.

Ok, I really think we are on the same page now. But, there is a lot more to the story than just gym switches from level 2 to level 3 and gym philosophy with the moves from that gym.

 

[Flyaway]

Don't be impressed. OP told me the gym dd was at and it was a slow day at work.

 

[gymdog]

Well it's evident from the meet scores. It looks like those girls who switched scored high in level 2 also. So I could only speculate as to reason or what they might have been told. I would think the OP could find that out.

 

[thefellowsmom]

I know the reason and am in contact with OP.

 

[Candice Simpson]

Coaches appear to think my daughter should be done with competitive gymnastics. I am struggling a bit to accept this as she works super hard, has been making significant progress and got a >36 AA score at Sectionals (9th of 18 in her age group).

She is 9 years old and just finished her first competitive JO season. She has been training 8 hours a week (4 hours x 2 days a week) for the last 10 months and was doing 4 hours a week on pre-team for the year prior. Throughout the season she has struggled with consistency on vault and scratched in one early meet. Her handstand to vertical is still inconsistent and her roundoff isn't great.

These were her meet scores from the season.
View attachment 7209
The message from her coaches at the end of season meeting was that she is a super hard worker but just isn't progressing fast enough. They aren't confident she'll get the key Level 3 skills she needs by next competitive season (ROBHS and handstand on beam) and say they want to make sure she doesn't get frustrated by continuing to struggle vs teammates who may pick up new skills faster. Their proposal is that she join an in-house competitive team that trains only 2 hours a week. They say that Xcel also requires skills that they think she'll struggle with as well so they don't recommend that either. She wanted the option to advance to Level 3 and isn't interested in the in-house team. Girls moving up to Level 3 will move up to 12 hours a week this summer. I am struggling to understand how the coaches already know that she won't be able to succeed 8 months in advance of next year's season.

Any advice in this situation? Does this advice from her coaches seem reasonable? Should she just call it a day and go play some other sports?

We had a similar experience last year (she was 7) she didn’t make team...we were told her “strength had peaked” and to try excel...two weeks later we switched gyms. It was very hard for her at first because the other girls were much stronger and accustomed to a tougher conditioning regimen....but here we are a year later ...she has ALL her level 3 skills and will compete in the fall! My biggest regret was allowing another person to influence what I thought about my daughter and her potential. A gym change was exactly what we needed...best of luck!

 

[momof2gymmies]

We are in the process of switching gyms for younger DD. They want her to repeat silver, again, because they don't feel her effort is what it could be, despite the fact that she has her flyaway, full on floor, back handspring on high beam, has been kipping for 3 years, ...... My current plan is to leave older DD at current gym and move YDD, but that may change tonight when we hand forms in saying if we are coming back or not. My point is, not every gym is the right fit for every kid. My odd loves current gym. YDD not so much, yet she is not ready to quit competitive gymnastics. So we are (hopefully) going the two gym route.

 

[IreneKa]

We are in the process of switching gyms for younger DD. They want her to repeat silver, again, because they don't feel her effort is what it could be, despite the fact that she has her flyaway, full on floor, back handspring on high beam, has been kipping for 3 years, ...... My current plan is to leave older DD at current gym and move YDD, but that may change tonight when we hand forms in saying if we are coming back or not. My point is, not every gym is the right fit for every kid. My odd loves current gym. YDD not so much, yet she is not ready to quit competitive gymnastics. So we are (hopefully) going the two gym route.

Good luck! I know you've been thinking about switching for a while now. Is she staying with Xcel or trying JO?

 

[momof2gymmies]

Good luck! I know you've been thinking about switching for a while now. Is she staying with Xcel or trying JO?

I believe staying xcel. She plays hockey, and wants to try diving, and since I am unsure about where the heck I am sending her it probably makes the most sense to just stick with what she knows.