Parents Thoughts on this? 8th grader committing to UCLA??

[amiandjim]

It was 2 weeks after her surgery, and we were about to spend a LOT of borrowed money to make her official visit that coming weekend--like 3 days before we were to leave.

That's terrible!

 

[wallinbl]

Listen folks , it's UCLA .... every kids dream.

Sound a little like west coast bias, there. Kids on this coast don't dream of UCLA.

 

[GymDad9.9]

Sound a little like west coast bias, there. Kids on this coast don't dream of UCLA.

Speak for yourself (our gym has some special UCLA influences)

 

[Deleted member 14190]

Sound a little like west coast bias, there. Kids on this coast don't dream of UCLA.

. Maybe , but UCLA gets the most applications in the nation year after year. Therefore it is the most popular collage in the nation. Berkeley is second

 

[Lilou]

I think it's great for this girl, however it worries me that the sport is allowing schools to make verbal or written offers to gymnasts this young. So much can change over those next 3-4 years and the pressure it's putting on the young gymnasts is not necessary at this point. I'm new to this sport, but I think waiting until they are in HS (and maybe even second year HS) would be better to start being serious about offers.

 

[exgymnastmomx3]

I agree that so much can happen from 8th grade to college. I had 3 upper level gymnasts. 2 9's training 10 at 13 and a 3rd yr level 10 who was 15. All extremely successful. All "ideally" headed for scholarships. My youngest ended up with a career ending back injury, middle daughter had injury after injury which kept her in physical therapy more than in the gym, oldest suffered from anorexia as a Jr. in high school during recruiting process. At a certain point, their health became more important! I know many, many stories just like my girls where unforeseen factors come into play! I have one word of advice -academics! All 3 girls will have graduated HS with over 4.0's. They are all at great Universities and thriving. In my many years in my dd's gymnastics journey at several different gyms, I have only seen a handful of dd's teammates get a scholarship. That experience for the several of them has not been a bed of roses either! Just enjoy whatever journey your dd is on without focusing on the ever more elusive scholarship.

 

[wandrewsjr]

Just wanted to give a little perspective. Each year, there are about 200 or so Div 1 scholarship spots available, about 400 roster spots available across all college gymnastics programs. We are reaching the end of the school year, and as of now, 3 eighth graders have publically announced verbals(that I can find, please feel free to jump in with another number). Around 45 ninth graders have publically announced verbals. Vast majority of spots still given sophomore year and later.

 

[tomtnt]

Great point - I do the senior videos for our graduating seniors each year and it's amazing to go through old photos and videos to see how many have quit including the ones who were young superstars. It's also a bit disconcerting to see these girls throw these huge skills when they were young and then see how injuries end up slowing down even the ones who were "sure thing."

But playing devil's advocate - what difference does it make to this particular girl that she's made a verbal commitment at 14 in the course of gymnastics journey? If she stays healthy (big IF), she'll end up at her dream school even if she makes no improvement from now to her senior year (I've seen her compete, she is that good...) If she ends up with some setbacks and injuries, it looks like UCLA has been pretty good about honoring their verbals or at least helping the student-athlete gain preferred admission and walk-on to the team. If she ends up quitting gymnastics, then that's a different story but it's the same story whether she had made a verbal commitment or not.

I agree that so much can happen from 8th grade to college. I had 3 upper level gymnasts. 2 9's training 10 at 13 and a 3rd yr level 10 who was 15. All extremely successful. All "ideally" headed for scholarships. My youngest ended up with a career ending back injury, middle daughter had injury after injury which kept her in physical therapy more than in the gym, oldest suffered from anorexia as a Jr. in high school during recruiting process. At a certain point, their health became more important! I know many, many stories just like my girls where unforeseen factors come into play! I have one word of advice -academics! All 3 girls will have graduated HS with over 4.0's. They are all at great Universities and thriving. In my many years in my dd's gymnastics journey at several different gyms, I have only seen a handful of dd's teammates get a scholarship. That experience for the several of them has not been a bed of roses either! Just enjoy whatever journey your dd is on without focusing on the ever more elusive scholarship.

 

[gymgal]

. Maybe , but UCLA gets the most applications in the nation year after year. Therefore it is the most popular collage in the nation. Berkeley is second

That's only because of the limited number of "good" colleges in the west coast. There are so many on the east coast (including all the Ivies) that the applicant pool is spread more evenly. ;-) just kidding, well maybe... It really is impressive how many applications they get. And just checked the tuition - expensive! even for in-state.

I agree that so much can happen from 8th grade to college. I had 3 upper level gymnasts. 2 9's training 10 at 13 and a 3rd yr level 10 who was 15. All extremely successful. All "ideally" headed for scholarships. My youngest ended up with a career ending back injury, middle daughter had injury after injury which kept her in physical therapy more than in the gym, oldest suffered from anorexia as a Jr. in high school during recruiting process. At a certain point, their health became more important! I know many, many stories just like my girls where unforeseen factors come into play!

It is stories like these that make me wonder why we are pushing these girls ( speaking generally) so far so quickly? I get the push for the big O. But coaches generally know fairly early on whether a gymnast has that potential or is more likely to go the college route. If it is the latter, just slow down the progressions. Don't beat up their bodies with 5-6 years of L10 heavy pounding. And then another 4 years of college pounding on top of it. I get it- teach the skills when they are young and easier to spot, have less fear, etc. But honestly, I have to wonder whether that really matters for these girls - whether the girls would make it regardless because of their talent and determination. We know it is doable. we see girls come up the ranks later - 10th/11th grade - and do well at L10.

Just wanted to give a little perspective. Each year, there are about 200 or so Div 1 scholarship spots available, about 400 roster spots available across all college gymnastics programs. We are reaching the end of the school year, and as of now, 3 eighth graders have publically announced verbals(that I can find, please feel free to jump in with another number). Around 45 ninth graders have publically announced verbals. Vast majority of spots still given sophomore year and later.

true, though the number of 9ths will rise after Nationals (this weekend) and it will likely double when you add those who will commit in the fall of sophomore year, before competition starts. I think there were roughly 90 grade 10 gymnasts who had committed this past dec (collegegymfans. this is dd's grad yr - that's the only reason I know that number). That is nearly half of the D1 scholarships. So, most 1st yr level 10's have virtually no chance at those spots, since they won't have even competed 10 yet. BUT- that means there are still roughly half of the scholarships still available for D1 plus most the walk ons, D2 and D3 spots as well for There are still a lot of spots available for gymnasts who have taken a little longer to become successful L10's.

Also 100% correct. There are a lot of programs that have, or are actively trying to, put the breaks on as much as possible. Most of the colleges we talked to are not happy with the early recruiting, but the more competitive the team is, the harder it is for them to back off when the top 5 are snapping up the "best" in 8th and 9th grade.

Edited to apologize, not trying to sound like I know everything because I soooo don't and I think this sounded like I do, especially when in response to someone that knows so much just coming off of having a bunch of these conversations and want to share that lots of coaches feel like their hands are tied, but they are trying!

Bach, you know a lot more than I do on this topic. Our search for colleges went on hold with dd's injury last year. She is still wanting to compete in college but essentially lost a year of training and doesn't feel confident contacting the coaches, etc until she has all her skills back. Hoping this summer she will be able to have videos to send out.

 

[exgymnastmomx3]

But playing devil's advocate - what difference does it make to this particular girl that she's made a verbal commitment at 14 in the course of gymnastics journey? If she stays healthy (big IF), she'll end up at her dream school even if she makes no improvement from now to her senior year (I've seen her compete, she is that good...) If she ends up with some setbacks and injuries, it looks like UCLA has been pretty good about honoring their verbals or at least helping the student-athlete gain preferred admission and walk-on to the team. If she ends up quitting gymnastics, then that's a different story but it's the same story whether she had made a verbal commitment or not.[/QUOTE]
Well, in my experience and in my opinion, having 4 kids-b/g twins ages 22, dd 20, dd 18 I certainly don't believe that in 8th grade one can handle that kind of commitment knowing now what I've seen. There is a reason that kids can't sign contracts and cannot be legally bound into agreements as minors. My personal experience with my daughters is that while some kids can handle those kind of expectations/pressure of what is going to happen in the next 4 years, many can't. I admit that your question has me pondering, but I know that for my very hard working, driven girls, there was a massive fallout emotionally when their gymnastics came to a sudden halt unexpectedly and I know that the same is true for many upper level gymnasts I know as well, including myself. I can't imagine if they had committed as well 4 years in advance what we would have gone through as a family having to decide their physical well being and emotional well being, over their college commitment. They had so much baggage and disappointment as it was, I just can't image if one then has the college commitment on their shoulders as well at such a young age. There is a huge level of maturing that goes on from 8th grade to Jr. and Sr. year in high school!! Also, I feel that as you stated, if there are injuries and change to their gymnastics ability, which is quite likely over that time span, one may need that time to evaluate their school choice. At a big name school, they may no longer be the contributor to the team that they might have been with the skills they had when they were younger. If this is the case, these years can be used to determine if they want to be a benchwarmer for a big named UCLA or an AA or event contributor for a lower ranked school. Some once gym stars get to the big named schools and find themselves in the position of not competing a lot, thus transferring. The closer in age of the time of commitment one is to actually going to school alleviates some of these issues, IMO. Those are some of my thoughts but I'm interested to hear others. To sum it up. I know that a verbal is NOT a contract, but these girls are perfectionists and it's the emotional baggage to me that's the problem. (Can you tell I'm a counselor! LOL!)

 

[tomtnt]

Those are excellent points and I think that most parents and even coaches agree with you - that's why you see so many trying to push the recruiting process back. But the coaches, unfortunately, can't help themselves if there are no rules - if a top program is doing it, they all feel like they need to do it in order to compete for those top prospects.

There are so many recent examples of girls who have switched commitments and/or transfer due to exactly what you've described.

But playing devil's advocate - what difference does it make to this particular girl that she's made a verbal commitment at 14 in the course of gymnastics journey? If she stays healthy (big IF), she'll end up at her dream school even if she makes no improvement from now to her senior year (I've seen her compete, she is that good...) If she ends up with some setbacks and injuries, it looks like UCLA has been pretty good about honoring their verbals or at least helping the student-athlete gain preferred admission and walk-on to the team. If she ends up quitting gymnastics, then that's a different story but it's the same story whether she had made a verbal commitment or not.

Well, in my experience and in my opinion, having 4 kids-b/g twins ages 22, dd 20, dd 18 I certainly don't believe that in 8th grade one can handle that kind of commitment knowing now what I've seen. There is a reason that kids can't sign contracts and cannot be legally bound into agreements as minors. My personal experience with my daughters is that while some kids can handle those kind of expectations/pressure of what is going to happen in the next 4 years, many can't. I admit that your question has me pondering, but I know that for my very hard working, driven girls, there was a massive fallout emotionally when their gymnastics came to a sudden halt unexpectedly and I know that the same is true for many upper level gymnasts I know as well, including myself. I can't imagine if they had committed as well 4 years in advance what we would have gone through as a family having to decide their physical well being and emotional well being, over their college commitment. They had so much baggage and disappointment as it was, I just can't image if one then has the college commitment on their shoulders as well at such a young age. There is a huge level of maturing that goes on from 8th grade to Jr. and Sr. year in high school!! Also, I feel that as you stated, if there are injuries and change to their gymnastics ability, which is quite likely over that time span, one may need that time to evaluate their school choice. At a big name school, they may no longer be the contributor to the team that they might have been with the skills they had when they were younger. If this is the case, these years can be used to determine if they want to be a benchwarmer for a big named UCLA or an AA or event contributor for a lower ranked school. Some once gym stars get to the big named schools and find themselves in the position of not competing a lot, thus transferring. The closer in age of the time of commitment one is to actually going to school alleviates some of these issues, IMO. Those are some of my thoughts but I'm interested to hear others. To sum it up. I know that a verbal is NOT a contract, but these girls are perfectionists and it's the emotional baggage to me that's the problem. (Can you tell I'm a counselor! LOL!)[/QUOTE]

 

[FlippinLilysMom]

Sound a little like west coast bias, there. Kids on this coast don't dream of UCLA.

My DD (who is years away from even being looked at by schools) has her heart set on OU, but guessing that could change at anytime.

 

[FlippinLilysMom]

Those are excellent points and I think that most parents and even coaches agree with you - that's why you see so many trying to push the recruiting process back. But the coaches, unfortunately, can't help themselves if there are no rules - if a top program is doing it, they all feel like they need to do it in order to compete for those top prospects.

There are so many recent examples of girls who have switched commitments and/or transfer due to exactly what you've described.



Well, in my experience and in my opinion, having 4 kids-b/g twins ages 22, dd 20, dd 18 I certainly don't believe that in 8th grade one can handle that kind of commitment knowing now what I've seen. There is a reason that kids can't sign contracts and cannot be legally bound into agreements as minors. My personal experience with my daughters is that while some kids can handle those kind of expectations/pressure of what is going to happen in the next 4 years, many can't. I admit that your question has me pondering, but I know that for my very hard working, driven girls, there was a massive fallout emotionally when their gymnastics came to a sudden halt unexpectedly and I know that the same is true for many upper level gymnasts I know as well, including myself. I can't imagine if they had committed as well 4 years in advance what we would have gone through as a family having to decide their physical well being and emotional well being, over their college commitment. They had so much baggage and disappointment as it was, I just can't image if one then has the college commitment on their shoulders as well at such a young age. There is a huge level of maturing that goes on from 8th grade to Jr. and Sr. year in high school!! Also, I feel that as you stated, if there are injuries and change to their gymnastics ability, which is quite likely over that time span, one may need that time to evaluate their school choice. At a big name school, they may no longer be the contributor to the team that they might have been with the skills they had when they were younger. If this is the case, these years can be used to determine if they want to be a benchwarmer for a big named UCLA or an AA or event contributor for a lower ranked school. Some once gym stars get to the big named schools and find themselves in the position of not competing a lot, thus transferring. The closer in age of the time of commitment one is to actually going to school alleviates some of these issues, IMO. Those are some of my thoughts but I'm interested to hear others. To sum it up. I know that a verbal is NOT a contract, but these girls are perfectionists and it's the emotional baggage to me that's the problem. (Can you tell I'm a counselor! LOL!)

[/QUOTE]
Just have to say that I have boy/girl twins as well, they just turned 11. Just had to say hi to a fellow "MOM" (mother of multiples)!!!

 

[exgymnastmomx3]

Just have to say that I have boy/girl twins as well, they just turned 11. Just had to say hi to a fellow "MOM" (mother of multiples)!!![/QUOTE]
Hello Back! Having boy/girl twins has been a complete joy! Mine are graduating from the same University next week-end!

 

[NutterButter]

Listen folks , it's UCLA .... every kids dream.

Sound a little like west coast bias, there. Kids on this coast don't dream of UCLA.

My DD (who is years away from even being looked at by schools) has her heart set on OU, but guessing that could change at anytime.

Back in the day, I got my start in gymnastics with former Sooner gymnasts (both male and female) in Norman. I thought they were SO cool. But, I still dreamed of UCLA.

 

[LindyHopper]

Just have to say that I have boy/girl twins as well, they just turned 11. Just had to say hi to a fellow "MOM" (mother of multiples)!!!

@FlippinLilysMom
11 yo b/g twins here too!