WAG TOPs/preteam

[newbie504]

My daughter is starting the TOPs/preteam class at her gym. She's a newly turned 4 year old, 4.5 hours a week.

For those that are pasted this stage, what should I expect out of this class? Her gym had TOPs national team members as recent as 2021. When I asked what this class was I was told its similar to a preteam and it's class to talented young athletes where they build strength and flexibility so they can learn higher level skills faster. They also said its a fast track program. It is coached by the DP coaches.

I get what she's going to get putnof the class but what will she do in the class? Last thing i want is for her to burnout

 

[gymjunkie]

Rope climbs, leg lifts, handstands, and stalders -- lots of them!

 

[Ty’s Dad]

More conditioning basically. 95% of the Tops girls that was there with my daughter quit when they became a teenager. Like 80% of the A team members that was with my daughter are not even on the elite track anymore. IMO Tops at a young age isn’t worth it. I’ll wait until she’s 8 to see what your kid really wants to do

 

[gymjunkie]

More conditioning basically. 95% of the Tops girls that was there with my daughter quit when they became a teenager. Like 80% of the A team members that was with my daughter are not even on the elite track anymore. IMO Tops at a young age isn’t worth it. I’ll wait until she’s 8 to see what your kid really wants to do

I agree with your statement for many gyms. I once did the TOPS math at a gym where I worked (because I considered our TOPS program to be a lot of hype with not much of a track record). This gym was assumed to have an excellent TOPS program because we had trained a few national team members and an Olympian. There were parents who would've donated a kidney to have their kid selected for this team. Of all the kids who started out in the young TOPS group, the majority of them ended up in XCEL (leveling out at Platinum). Of those who did not go to XCEL, half went to regular compulsories and the other half stayed on the fast track, but none of them actually went elite. The elites always came from other gyms because of our superior training facility (same reason the Olympian came to train).

 

[GymDadWA]

More conditioning basically. 95% of the Tops girls that was there with my daughter quit when they became a teenager. Like 80% of the A team members that was with my daughter are not even on the elite track anymore. IMO Tops at a young age isn’t worth it. I’ll wait until she’s 8 to see what your kid really wants to do

Same for my DD's gym, 90% of the girls doing TOPS have quit altogether.

The only time ever my DD has asked to skip gym was when their was TOPS training, she struggled with the two handstand testing requirements (10 press handstands, 30 second handstand hold on beam) and it made her feel like a failure if she couldn't pass the test that day.

The Physical Abilities Testing Consists of 6 Tests:

1. Rope Climb: Gymnasts must climb 12 feet with their legs in a pike position.
2. Handstand Hold: Gymnasts must hold a handstand for 30 seconds with correct body alignment.
3. Press Handstands: 7 and 8 year old gymnasts must do 5 press handstands, 9 and 10 year olds must do 10.
4. Leg Lifts: Gymnasts must do 20 leg lifts, starting and returning their legs to horizontal each time
5. Cast to Handstands: Gymnasts much do 5 cast to handstands. Handstands must be within 15 degrees of vertical in order to be counted.
6. Flexibility Test: The flexibility test is a sequence of 6 kicks and 6 holds.

Each of these tests is worth 10 points and is evaluated based on the degree the test was completed, and on whether it was done with proper form.

 

[newbie504]

I haven't seen the class practice but if it seems like too much for her, I'm pulling her. I was told this class is also used as preteam. She finished the toddler advanced class were a lot of the girls are going to bronze but she's still too young