Stopping in to say hi!

[GymPhotogFor2]

I have 1 daughter in level 2 gymnastics at our local Y. They have a full gymnastics center & compete. For the money it is worth it but I worry she will not reach her full potential being at a Y vs a gym solely for gymnastics. The 2 coaches push her. She turned 5 in June. The way the Y works seems to be slightly different than other programs. From ages 3-4 she was in the play style class. They wanted her in level 1 but I declined until she turned 5(we were new to the area & were trying to make friends). She was in level 1 for 1 class and moved up to level 2. They are hoping she is in level 3 by Spring. My concern is all these posts talk about 6 hrs/wk. Even at level 3, the class is 2 hrs/wk. Will this be enough?
Can anyone reccomend a site to buy at-home gymnastics equipment? I really need a practice bar that won't break the bank. DD is the type that will try anything, but she lacks some confidence. For her to be confident she likes to go last. She likes to study youtube videos of competitions--she's very over-analytical. I wonder where she gets it from??
I also have a silly concern- do they make long-sleeve biketards? DD prefers the biketards (just learned this was even a word!) over the bathing suit style but we can't find a long sleeve. Just curious...

I am so glad I found this board. I want to make sure I am in the gymnastics loop.

 

[bogwoppit]

Welcome to the Chalkbucket.

In many gyms L1-3 are pre comp levels, and in some gyms L4 is pre comp as well. So the hours trained may depend on whether the girls will compete or not. Hours per level very hugely all over the USA, hard to know what is enough. But then again enough for what? L5 is the first level that girls must compete in order to progress through the USAG JO system.

As to home equipment there are ads on our site. But I would caution against getting anything more than mats or a floor beam as kids, and parents, can get very over zealous and end up coaching and spotting their child at home. This can lead to poor skills in the gym and the coach having to go back and start all over again with the basics, therefore making good skill aquisition take even longer. Then there is the danger of home bars and kids thinking they can try all sorts of cool things on them. They are also quite pricey and that money is probably best saved for later down the road when costs increase, assuming she still likes gym.

I haven't seen long sleeve biketards. Maybe a long sleeve leo with the little lycra shorts over the tops would suit her style?

 

[GymPhotogFor2]

Thanks!

I think I would end up being one of those over zealous wanna be coaches you speak of! I just think gymnastics is so much fun! We will probably go with a balance beam. I will say that in the Marines we were taught a whole new way to do a forward roll and for the life of me I couldn't do it the Marine Corp way because I took gymnastics as a kid. (the marine corps way has you drop your shoulder so that you roll over the shoulder vs over the head bc if you have a pack on your back you won't be able to actually roll)
It's good to know hrs vary. I tried surfing around on here and saw all these crazy hrs and was surprised to hear 5 yr olds at the gym for 6 hrs. DD's program compete's at L4...and I can't wait!
Now back to surfing around...I'm learning so much.

 

[emorymom]

The L3 *team* practices 2 hours a week? That seems hardly possible. L3 preteam or rec, OK.

If you contact a smaller size gymnastics manufacturer they will probably be happy to make you a long sleeve biketard in any design you want ... or someone on Etsy. But I don't think it's a common thing. Has she tried a leo / shorts combo?