WAG Some Thoughts on Xcel

[cassafrass]

My Platinum daughter told her 5 yr old rec gymnast sister she is almost good enough for Xcel Aluminum Division! Little DD thought it was a compliment and replied, "recycled Aluminum"? Oh that just cracked me up!

 

[dmbgymnast]

My Platinum daughter told her 5 yr old rec gymnast sister she is almost good enough for Xcel Aluminum Division! Little DD thought it was a compliment and replied, "recycled Aluminum"? Oh that just cracked me up!

That's hilarious! I love it!

 

[raenndrops]

Excel is great the only downside is that you don't get pushed as hard ( I personally like to be pushed)

Xcel is great. Some coaches do push as hard as they do for JO gymnasts. In our gym, all JO Levels and Xcel Divisions practice at the same time. We only offer Xcel Gold and Platinum.
Xcel and L6+ are in one practice group, L3 is one practice group, and L4/5 is the last practice group.
Everyone is treated equally. I, personally, nit-pick routines and skills. All of our gymnasts in Optionals (including Xcel) have the skills in their routines, skills they are training, and skills they are doing drills for. They also have skills "in their back pocket." "Back pocket" skills are those skills that will be substituted in if something isn't working or if there is a fall on beam. For example, we have a L6 that usually competes a ROBHSBT on floor. If it isn't working at a meet, she will do a FWO-FHS-RO. We have an Xcel Gold that usually competes a ROBHS and a FT. If the ROBHS isn't working, she will do a FHS-RO. On beam, if a gymnast falls, she takes a few seconds to regroup before remounting. We have a Gold that does a CW-CW. If she lands the first CW then falls, when she remounts, she does a Handstand. Any L6 that falls on their acro without touching their feet first throws in a Handstand too.

 

[Deleted member 17723]

Excel is great the only downside is that you don't get pushed as hard ( I personally like to be pushed)

Not necessarily!! It's all about your attitude. If you want to get good in xcel, you can. If you get into it and really work hard, then your coaches will see the effort and really work towards getting you to be the best you can be. Only you can decide how hard you are pushed. A coach will push a harder working gymnast harder than they will push a goofing around gymnast usually (IMO) because they know the harder working gymnast really wants to get better. It's all about the gymnasts perspective, or at least I think so.

 

[dmbgymnast]

Excel is great the only downside is that you don't get pushed as hard ( I personally like to be pushed)

Im pushed pretty hard, I work out with our 7's and 8's, (although thats more of a social thing, rather than training the same skills as kids half my age) and I work my butt off. Its more of a personal thing, I could easily chose to not work hard, and Id still get by as an xcel silver.

 

[momof2gymmies]

Excel is great the only downside is that you don't get pushed as hard ( I personally like to be pushed)

I have a bronze and a silver, and trust me they are def pushed very hard. Silver DD is in danger of scratching if she doesn't get her tuck back. Bronze DD has her kip, has her robhsbt (can't compete it, but will next year when she moves to silver), has bwo on high beam (again can't compete but has it competition ready). Silver DD has her flyaway ready for when (if) she moves up, had her robhsbl, has her bhs on beam as well as front walkover and round off.

They are not in the gym as much - 9 hours compared to 15+ for JO, but the hours that they are there they are def expected to work very hard and clean there skills up. They will often spend a whole practice working on cleaning up dance moves or getting their cast higher. As long as the girls go into the gym with a good attitude then they are pushed just as much as the JO kids.