Parents Sick over decision to do JO

[gymmom10]

Wow, so many different opinions and they are all good! It is hard and there is no right answer but I will just add my thoughts...
1. Do not think beyond the present- things will change year by year and you can’t let the idea of 16-20 hours in the future influence what you do today. Your daughter may love gym and the hours and it may be a non issue or she may decide she is done and it also may be a non issue by then. Either way you are wasting time worrying about it now.
2. I say try JO for the reason that it is always easier to drop back to Xcel if it is too much, but much more difficult to get back to JO at a later date.
3. My daughter was able to do quite a few other activities in the early years of gym. Obviously things dwindled as the hours ramped up, but she also kept Soccer through Level 8 (very understanding coach). My point is that there is more time than you think, they get very efficient with homework, and the friendship and bonding happens with girls on their teams.

 

[Travelbug]

I also agree with posters who have cautioned about them getting burnt out by L6 and quitting gymnastics entirely. Versus maybe doing excel or AAU early on and sticking with it?
Here’s the deal though...our high school is super competitive and they are AAU. I talked with the coach and they are competing L8/9 in high school. Many of the girls come over from the gym we are at. So I feel like this gym will prepare her for high school. If she wants to still compete. But I don’t know if excel would? The coach said the Xcel girls really make the high school team. So would going to AAU now make more sense if we want high school to be an option w/o all the hours of JO this young age?
Excel at her current gym isn’t an option next year. They say it’s full. Who knows!

 

[Travelbug]

You guys are the best btw!!!

 

[gymmom10]

I also agree with posters who have cautioned about them getting burnt out by L6 and quitting gymnastics entirely. Versus maybe doing excel or AAU early on and sticking with it?
Here’s the deal though...our high school is super competitive and they are AAU. I talked with the coach and they are competing L8/9 in high school. Many of the girls come over from the gym we are at. So I feel like this gym will prepare her for high school. If she wants to still compete. But I don’t know if excel would? The coach said the Xcel girls really make the high school team. So would going to AAU now make more sense if we want high school to be an option w/o all the hours of JO this young age?
Excel at her current gym isn’t an option next year. They say it’s full. Who knows!

You can’t ever prevent anything from happening in life. I know you are trying to make a decision that preserves the most options in her future. Knowing all the things that can and do happen (and we are very far along on this journey), I would say that even if let’s say she goes JO and does burn out at L6, she still has more options than at excel. She can take a break and potentially come back, drop down to excel, or truly drop out. She might still be good enough for the HS team if she continued on after in excel in that scenario...JMO. Good luck.

 

[profmom]

I know all of this feels very big and overwhelming right now, but gym careers really do evolve one step at a time. JO L3 is a long, long way from optionals or high school gym. After a summer of trying JO, she should be ready to make an informed decision about whether to continue that path in the fall, and you'll have more of a feel for what that's like and whether you think your family can accommodate it.

Don't worry right now about where she would ideally be in her gym journey when she's in ninth grade. It's still a long way off and a lot of things can happen, including but not limited to: declining/increasing interest, unusually rapid/slow skill acquisition, gym/coaching openings, closes, or changes, injuries/fears/vestibular blocks, or even changes in your own family situation that have nothing to do with gym but nonetheless have an impact on it. Just take it one step at a time and let each step help you to figure out what the next one will be.

 

[LJL07]

So, she did do the JO3 yesterday. I’ve signed up for the month. No fees are due except the monthly fee. She said she loved it but I still woke up thinking is it right for us to go down this path? I really wish we had programs around that would allow moving from AAU or excel into JO. This gym wouldn’t even let a girl who had done JO with them at L3 but moved to excel after a year (at their gym) and then wanted to return to JO for good, come back. They told her no! I think that’s insane! If you have the skills and the desire, why can’t she move back over? She took a year to decide her true level of interest and then was told nope, sorry you can’t come back. That is why I’m so stressed over this. It feels so permanent and I’m the one deciding.

If it is any consolation, my daughter who did level 3 at 6 is now going into fourth grade and trains five days a week for level 7/8. It is many, many hours. Level 3 wasn't too bad like I said upthread. By the time she finished level 4 which was end of second grade, we were considering pulling her out of the sport. She was super stressed, had stomach aches, and the gym was pushing her very hard. She flat out said, "gymnastics does not make me happy." Very long story, but my older daughter was at another gym, and we gave my younger daughter the choice to quit or go over to her sister's gym. After a couple of practices, she wanted to keep doing gym. She is VERY happy and looked so happy to compete all season. She never complains about going, and it is 20+ hours a week. I don't think I've put up a post about my younger daughter in a very long time because she's happy and thriving. My point is: if your daughter is having fun and is happy that is the MOST important thing at this age, and gym fit can play a huge role in this. Secondly, this is NOT permanent. It really is not. Not at 6 years old. Just take it day by day for right now.

 

[LJL07]

I also agree with posters who have cautioned about them getting burnt out by L6 and quitting gymnastics entirely. Versus maybe doing excel or AAU early on and sticking with it?
Here’s the deal though...our high school is super competitive and they are AAU. I talked with the coach and they are competing L8/9 in high school. Many of the girls come over from the gym we are at. So I feel like this gym will prepare her for high school. If she wants to still compete. But I don’t know if excel would? The coach said the Xcel girls really make the high school team. So would going to AAU now make more sense if we want high school to be an option w/o all the hours of JO this young age?
Excel at her current gym isn’t an option next year. They say it’s full. Who knows!

No. JO actually gives her the most options. I don't know a whole lot about AAU, so hopefully someone with more knowledge will weigh in, but it is my understanding that AAU is an easier (or more forgiving) track than JO. Also, high school level 8 is a bit easier and more forgiving than JO level 8, but maybe this varies by state.

 

[Kristie]

I don’t have advise but I am in a similar boat so you aren’t alone. I don’t know what to do either. The parents here are pretty amazing and seem to give really good advice.

 

[John]

I think I want to say, in a kind caring manor, try JO and try to remember this is her sport do what you can to Foster her growth in the sport. Starting her sporting carer in Jo will prepare her for any sport she chooses in the future, gymnastics makes incredible athletes. There really is no better base for her future. You are a great mom or you wouldn't be here seeing advise.

 

[3rd_time_around]

Is it possible that she doesn't always want to go because she's repeating P-3 and is bored? I would try the JO option for the summer and see how she gets on. You can always move across to Xcel or AAU. It's much harder to move the other way.

This is exactly what I was going to say. She may be bored and therefore doesn’t want to go. Don’t be afraid of JO, it’s not a beast or too strenuous, you’d be surprised what these little kids can do and how they adapt. Let her try it, she may love it when she realizes she is learning new skills, gets to have a cool uniform, and can win medals. That’s the best part!

 

[3rd_time_around]

So, she did do the JO3 yesterday. I’ve signed up for the month. No fees are due except the monthly fee. She said she loved it but I still woke up thinking is it right for us to go down this path? I really wish we had programs around that would allow moving from AAU or excel into JO. This gym wouldn’t even let a girl who had done JO with them at L3 but moved to excel after a year (at their gym) and then wanted to return to JO for good, come back. They told her no! I think that’s insane! If you have the skills and the desire, why can’t she move back over? She took a year to decide her true level of interest and then was told nope, sorry you can’t come back. That is why I’m so stressed over this. It feels so permanent and I’m the one deciding.

I don’t know how it is there, but here the AAU program is often used for lower levels, then at level 4 they begin using USAG. Our AAU program follows the USAG program and routines, except for a few changes here and there. Our AAU Level 3 is more progressive for the bar routine, as they go to the high bar instead of performing the stride circle. The transition to JO is smooth and they have already been jumping to the high bar and doing tap swings for a whole year. Most AAU programs follow the USAG programs exactly, so the gymnasts are doing the same skills.

 

[Tmacs]

This is what caught my eye. Call me crazy but I would not even consider JO for a gymnast who complains about being in the gym for 3 hours a week. Does not matter how good she is or how she feels when she is there. Think of it this way - your child "likes" t-ball or swimming but doesn't "love" it. Would you be searching out a basic little league program / summer swim team for her to experience it and see if she develops a passion for it or would you be looking to put her on a year-round "travel" team? Putting her in JO is the latter scenario. It is a significantly greater level of commitment. Gymnastics hours increase very quickly in these beginning levels and it simply is not worth the money, time, family disruption unless the child "loves" it and is eager to go each and every time. Obviously, I am not talking about illness, needing to skip for other reasons, etc.

I guess the main question is "why doesn't she want to go?". Try to get a true answer and that will help your decision. How is the pre-3 organized? Are they doing a lot of drill work to prepare for Level 3? Working on shape/form instead of actual skills? That can be really boring to kids who just want to move forward and learn new skills. Xcel/AAU is a good alternative in this instance and the retention rate is higher in these programs because the gymnasts are able to work at their own level a lthan in JO.

I agree but mine was a kid who really didn’t like pre-team and absolutely LOVES team... she need the competitions, leo etc. to motivate and never want to miss.

 

[duyetanh]

So, she did do the JO3 yesterday. I’ve signed up for the month. No fees are due except the monthly fee. She said she loved it but I still woke up thinking is it right for us to go down this path? I really wish we had programs around that would allow moving from AAU or excel into JO. This gym wouldn’t even let a girl who had done JO with them at L3 but moved to excel after a year (at their gym) and then wanted to return to JO for good, come back. They told her no! I think that’s insane! If you have the skills and the desire, why can’t she move back over? She took a year to decide her true level of interest and then was told nope, sorry you can’t come back. That is why I’m so stressed over this. It feels so permanent and I’m the one deciding.

Some gyms are like this, and if this is your only jo option you really should stick with trying jo for a year and then re evaluating.

 

[gymnastmom05]

I have one thing to add, when my DD was younger (Level 2/3), she would often say she didn’t want to go to practice (mostly in the summer). She didn’t want to stop playing outside but once she would be at gym, she was happy as could be and happy she went. My younger son is the same way now (he’s 4 years younger than DD). He loves playing baseball but there are times if his friends are outside playing that he doesn’t want to stop to go to practice. I think that’s the age. He’s 9 now and I see him changing his attitude just like his sister did. I think when they’re younger, they have a harder time shifting their mind from one thing to the next and remembering both things are fun. When my DD started on pre-team, we had no idea what we were getting into. Every year summer (when Meet fees and Leo orders were due), I would ask if this is what she still wanted to do. I finally stopped asking after Level 5. It’s normal to worry and wonder if you’re making the right decision. At some point it becomes obvious that it’s their sport and they fully own it but that took years for me to be ok and stop second guessing everything. Now here we are going into our 8th competitive season, spent a ton of money, a ton of time and a gym switch to the other side of the city. I would encourage JO3. You never know if you don’t try. And if she doesn’t want to continue, what’s the harm? Plenty of kids come and go. Sometimes the ones that stick with it aren’t the ones you would have picked out when they were little!

 

[Deleted member 18037]

Maybe she physically could but when we should play with friends or hang with her family? Or have free tone to just be spontaneous?
People are saying it won’t effect her gymnastics future but our gym is making us feel like it will. If we walk away from JO now it does not seem like we can return!

Regarding her free time. Tues, Thurs, Sat and Sunday when there are no meets.

We were very lucky that my daughter did 9 hours until L7. Most gyms require more after L4
And mine is an only, she needed her time filled with peers and activity..........

Can she return to JO? Perhaps not at the gym you are at but elsewhere.

And gymnastics is a big commitment that will only increase if you stay on the JO path.

 

[Deleted member 18037]

The bottom line - Your "safer" option is to accept the JO spot and give it a try. It is certainly easier to move "down" to Xcel, then "up" to JO (although we did Xcel to JO with no real negative effects, but it did require a gym change). Some gyms will not allow movement from Xcel to JO, but all should be OK the other way. That being said, sometimes once you start down a certain path, it's hard to step off (particularly in gymnastics for some reason). So just be prepared for that....

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