WAG Training hours per age

[FlippinPrincess]

I’m hoping to get feedback from coaches and other parents regarding opinions on appropriate training hours per age.

Our dd has been asked to move up a training level but I think the hours are unreasonable for her age. She is 6 and the level they would like her to train at trains 12.75 per week, 4.25 per day (3 days.) I am especially concerned about the 4.25 hour sessions since I think that’s way too long for a 6 year old to train at one time.

Am I being unreasonable or naive or do you also think this is way too much for a 6 year old? Thoughts?

 

[amiandjim]

I do think that is a little excessive at 6. More than the total number of hours, I would be concerned with 4 hour practices at that age. What level are we talking?

 

[Natasha]

I think it would be very difficult to have a productive training for 4+ hours for a 6 year old. That is a lot of focusing.

 

[Jard.the.gymnast]

The six year old I coach already have trouble concentrating 1 hour straight. The second hour is usually so much less productive. Even with the 7 and 8 year olds it is. Their sessions are 2 hours long

 

[FlippinPrincess]

I do think that is a little excessive at 6. More than the total number of hours, I would be concerned with 4 hour practices at that age. What level are we talking?

They want her to train level 4. She will just be old enough to compete when competition season hits. I think the overall hours are appropriate for the level but I just think it's too much for her, especially the 4 hour sessions. I think the 4 hours will be impossible once school starts in the fall and she has to do a full day of school with 4 hours of gym after.

I'm in no hurry to have her move up levels. The coach thinks it's an appropriate level for her based on her maturity and skills but I 100% disagree due to the schedule. I think she could probably do 3 hours/3x week but that is not an option at this gym. I really think it's becoming too much too soon.

 

[Deleted member 18037]

Disclaimer. My child is a pretty decent gymnast who really doesn’t want to go Div 1, Elite or Olympic type hours. So lower hours with a JO program was what I was looking for. I am happy we have found such a gym.

At L 2 she went 5 hours 2 days a week. She was 7
At L3 it was 7.5 hours 3 days a week. She was 8
Starting at L4 they go 9 or 12 hours, the coaches would rather 12 but 9 is min. 3 hours x 3 or 4 days a week.

And our coaches don’t like a session longer then 3 hours, even camps they don’t do more then 3 hours straight. They break for lunch and a bit of downtime.

We didn’t go up to 12 hours during the school year until she started training L7 at age 11.

They offer camps in the summer and on school vacation, with full day, half day options. All week, part week. They offer additional classes (much like TOPs but not official) from time to time. I love this.

I can only speak to my kid. But she would of been fried and miserable with more hours younger. And she would not of probably gotten past L4 just because she doesn’t want to live in the gym.

JMO, at those young ages they should have time to do more then just gym. That includes other activities, play dates, running. Around the yard/block.

 

[mom2newgymnast]

My dd had similar hours at level 4 (3 days a week 4-8pm so 12 hours), but she was 8 at the time. Her gym has always had the longer, but less frequent, practices and we personally like them. 3 days a week of gymnastics versus 4 or 5 just seems more manageable and they have no trouble staying focused with the longer practices. She (and the rest of the team) have always done well with skills learning and at competitions so I don't think there has been a disadvantage to the schedule in terms of performance for her team at least. However, I would not have liked those hours for her at 6. That does seem like too long for a 6 year old to stay focused and happy.

Eta: She was one of the youngest in level 4 on the team that year. However, last years level 4's were younger and there were some 7 year olds on the team. We had a few that ended up quitting because it was too much for them, but the ones that stayed did well and are now doing well training level 5. 6 does still seem very young though.

 

[jillc]

My DDs team had 4 hour practices this summer. She was a little older, but the youngest in her group was 6 and a half when they started.

The drop back to 3 hour practices during the school year.

Her group seemed to do fine with the 4 hour practices. They do get an official “nutrition” break for the 4 hour practice. I think it is only 5 or 10 minutes. During 3 hour practices, they just have 1 or 3 minutes between rotations.

 

[wgagym]

My daughter is a 10 year old on our optional team 6-8 and only trains 12 hours a week. I think that is excessive that much at 6 is excessive and she has plenty of time before she needs to be in the gym that much.

They want her to train level 4. She will just be old enough to compete when competition season hits. I think the overall hours are appropriate for the level but I just think it's too much for her, especially the 4 hour sessions. I think the 4 hours will be impossible once school starts in the fall and she has to do a full day of school with 4 hours of gym after.

I'm in no hurry to have her move up levels. The coach thinks it's an appropriate level for her based on her maturity and skills but I 100% disagree due to the schedule. I think she could probably do 3 hours/3x week but that is not an option at this gym. I really think it's becoming too much too soon.

 

[Aussie_coach]

Those sessions are too long for 6 year olds. Even with older gymnasts research has indicated that once any training session lasts longer than 3 1/2 hours the risk of injury significantly increases.

 

[Deleted member 18037]

Those sessions are too long for 6 year olds. Even with older gymnasts research has indicated that once any training session lasts longer than 3 1/2 hours the risk of injury significantly increases.

That is our coaches opinions. Diminishing returns

 

[ayyyrial]

When I've seen young girls placed into a training group that is mostly older, sometimes the gym can do an individualized schedule to accommodate. For example, they might have her leave an hour early, or give her an extra break. Usually when a younger kid is placed with older kids it's because the younger kid shows unusual potential and focus, so the gym is usually willing to make some exceptions. But it sounds like for some reason OP's gym is not willing to accommodate.

 

[tpMom]

The hours seem appropriate for a level 4 (like you said), they seem very high for a 6 year old. My advice is to trust your gut. You know your child better than any person on this board, better than her teachers, and better than her coaches. If you feel like the training hours are too much for your child, then they probably are. It will NOT hurt your 6 year old to do another year at level 3, or to do reduced hours at level 4 if your gym will allow it.

That said, I would also encourage you to let her try it - especially if the increase in training hours are going to start during summer break. You might be surprised at how she responds to the increased hours. Is it possible for you to discuss your concerns with the coaches and get permission to do a 2-4 week "probation" period where she trains the increased hours with the understanding that you are allowed to move her back down at any time if it becomes too much for her?

 

[Redford]

I actually prefer longer training sessions over several short ones. You save time with less warm ups and commutes. That being said the longest practice we have is 2.5 hrs because of scheduling reasons and the 6 yo usually go a max of 2 hrs straight. We do ocasionally have extra practices of 4 hrs before a competition but we do have snack breaks and take it relatively easy during those.

As I see it you have the following options:
1. Stay in the current training group. Your dd is still young and as long as she's enjoying herself there is no real need to rush through the levels. Rember it's a marathon and with her starting school in september there will already be a lot of change in her life.
2. If she's really into it let her try the nw group and schedule (see tpMom) she might surprise you. How many hrs is she currently doing?
3. Ask the coaches if she could modify those hours (at least during school time). Maybe if they do conditioning at the end of practice she could come in another day and condition with another group?
And another two which are probably unrealistic but just to be thourough:
4. Stay in her current training group but do a few hours with the Lvl 4 group.
5. Change to another gym with lower training hours for Lvl 4 (It doesn't really sound like that's an option for you though and I would encourage to hop gyms at the earliest convienice. And from all I've heard 12 hrs is pretty average for Lvl 4 in the US anyway)

 

[Redford]

I would not. I would not encourage to hop gyms at the earliest convenience. Somehow the negation slipped away there...

 

[CuriousCate]

I agree with most above. My DD competed level 4 as a 7 year old, but it sounds like she was about 6 months or so older than yours at that time. She trained 14 hours a week and it was tough. Any practice that went over 3 hours, we might as well have called the last hour a wash. And God forbid she ever had to do a make up for a missed practice.... She trained 10 hours a week as a 6 year old and that seemed perfect for her age and mindset. My younger DD is now 6 and is about to go to 10 hrs and, again, I'm pretty sure that is the max she can handle and benefit from.

 

[FlippinPrincess]

Thank you for all of your responses. I am going to set up a meeting with the coach to see if there is any flexibility with this schedule. We have not been in the gym (or gymnastics) long so I'm not sure how they have handled younger gymnasts in the past. Hopefully they will be willing to work with her on a bit less intense schedule. If not, we'll probably stay put in her level since finding another gym is not a possibility for our family at this time.

I agree with most above. My DD competed level 4 as a 7 year old, but it sounds like she was about 6 months or so older than yours at that time. She trained 14 hours a week and it was tough. Any practice that went over 3 hours, we might as well have called the last hour a wash. And God forbid she ever had to do a make up for a missed practice.... She trained 10 hours a week as a 6 year old and that seemed perfect for her age and mindset. My younger DD is now 6 and is about to go to 10 hrs and, again, I'm pretty sure that is the max she can handle and benefit from.

I feel that you are spot on with exactly how I'm feeling. I think 3 days, 3 hours would probably be perfect for my dd. Could I push her to do the full training? Perhaps, but I just don't see the benefit of that, especially given her age.

 

[mignonone]

When my younger DD started in L2 at 5 years of age, she started with 3 hours total, but moved to 9 hours a week when a teammate broke her arm and she took her place at a meet. The coaches could see that she was pretty focused for her age (she was not your average 5 yr old) and she did well. Her sister, who was 6 when she did (old level 3) would not have handled the extra hours well. From level 3-5 (age 6,7,8), she practiced 9 hours a week during the school year and 12-15 hours/week in the summer and handled all very well. This year, as a level 7, (9 yrs old) she does 12 hours a week along with her sister who is also a level 7 and handles it well, but her older sister sometimes has a hard time with juggling it all. It really depends on the kid, is what I am trying to say, but I am not sure that either of my girls would have been able to handle 4.25 hour training sessions at the age of 6....

 

[e'smum]

our lvl 3/4's train 4 days/wk 3hrs/day. regardless of age
my dd started at 6 and she was doing 3 days/wk 3/hrs day and when she started competing she added that 4th day.
she did that at ages 6,7 and 8.

 

[mommyof1]

Our L4s go 3 days x 4 hours and range in age from 9 to 11. They get a snack break and are still exhausted at the end of practice. I don't see how a 6-year-old could handle it. The groups that include 6-year-olds don't go longer than 3 hours, also with a break.