Parents The optimal option?

[margoko]

Hello Chalkbucket community! I’ve lurked on this board for a minute and was hoping for advice about my daughter, who turned six this year. We’re currently at a gym that only competes Xcel. She did Xcel bronze last year and scored very well, and is currently doing Xcel silver. Our existing plan, if she wants to get serious about gymnastics, is to move a level every 1-2 years and then switch to a gym with a JO program to score out into optionals. Silver trains 6hrs a week and gold/platinum trains 9. We like the gym and it’s just 10 minutes from our house.

But now she’s started talking about “when she does college gymnastics like her aunt". My cousin was a gymnast at a D1 school and I know how much training it takes from an early age. When my daughter talked this summer about going to the Olympics, I just chalked it up to her being little, but now I’m wondering if I’m letting her live in false hope on her current track. There’s a gym with a JO team half an hour away. Which is actually quite a nice commute, but I’ve been spoiled by the closeness of the current gym. I emailed and they said it wasn’t too late to bring her for a tryout for their L3 team, to compete this season. It seems they practice 12hrs a week, and not to be partial as her mother, but she’s guaranteed to get in. I’d look for carpool options also.

She’s very focused and wouldn’t have a problem with the hours, but she also does other activities so isn’t begging for more time in the gym. But she does love gymnastics and is always practicing at home. I got her a barrel mat because otherwise she’d be doing back handsprings over the ottoman, and we have a home bar (not for gymnastics, just to keep the kids/myself from going nuts in the winter) and she does her skills on it. Recently I built her an adjustable-height wooden beam for her birthday (à la Suni Lee lol) and she thought it was the best thing ever.

Should I at least take her for a tryout at Gym #2? I know she’s very young and might want to do something else entirely in a few years, but I don’t want to trip her up at the gate if she does want to go far in the sport. It was in the first grade that my cousin started ramping up her training. I feel like I’m cheating my kid out of extra hours that she would enjoy and benefit from, but I also like that she has a well-rounded blend of activities. And if 6 is too young to worry about it, when is the approximate cutoff to switch to a more rigorous program without materially impacting the gymnast’s timeline?

 

[NutterButter]

Yay for coming out of lurking!

I think your plan to keep her at your current gym for another couple of years is reasonable IF you have a few other options for gyms within a reasonable drive and IF her current gym has the right attention to form that won't be a detriment in DP. The worst thing would be that you don't have many options nearby and they are full when you want to move and/or her form needs a significant amount of work and she would be too 'behind' for whatever gym you want to move her to. Some gyms can be rather picky about who they accept. The gym my DD went to often turned away kids who wanted to transfer from another gym (my DD's gym was not a top gym in our area). If the new gym already has a track record of producing solid L10's and D1 athletes, that would be another reason to consider the change now.