WAG Training lower level teams together- positive or negative experiences?

[Olivia's Mom]

Hi everyone-

Wanted to get your thoughts. My daughter is almost 6 and has been on a pre-team for the last 6 months. We are debating switching gyms and I am really struggling to make a decision.

If she stays at her current gym she would compete L2 next year (they basically do just a few meets for fun). Her current gym moves very slowly and she was getting bored. Regardless of skill level/talent, it seems everyone needs to spend at least 1 year on each level before they can move up (which I know is fairly common, but this applies to lower levels too, like L2 & L3).

At the new gym she would start out on Bronze (this gym does Xcel for the lower levels and then transition girls to L6/7). She would be the youngest team member. The new gym trains Bronze, Silver & Gold together, although on events they usually break the girls out into groups. At first I liked this setup because I think she'll feel more challenged and learn from the older girls. They also will allow girls to "move up" mid-season if they can get additional skills needed to compete at the next level. However now I'm wondering if she would benefit from staying at her current gym with a group of girls who are at her exact age and skill level, and even if it's a slower pace of learning new skills, she may benefit from the extra attention given to detail on the skills that are needed in L2-5.

I guess my question is, have you had experience with teams where multiple low levels trained together, and if so, how do you feel the younger girls on the team benefited (or didn't benefit) from that situation?

 

[Janneke]

My daughter trains three times a week, twice with a group just her own level and once with a group that includes the level above. There really isn't a difference that she noticed other than that there are different girls in each group. Each gymnast is on her own path and learns skills at her own pace. Being in a group with a higher/lower level wouldn't really change that (or at least it should if you have decent coaches).

 

[mom2newgymnast]

I'm a little confused about what is wrong with your current gym? If your daughter is 5 and on preteam and will be competing level 2 next season as a 6 year old, I don't think they can be that slow? I know that the early years/levels can seem a little boring, but they are important for future development imo. I think everyone is probably biased based on their own experiences though. I tend to think competing a level a year with a focus on basics is actually a really good thing. I think rushing through the lower levels can sometimes lead to issues like burnout, premature injuries, not as good form, etc.

But I don't have any experience with the other approach, so I can't weigh in there. Can you look at the higher levels at the 2 gyms and notice a difference? Is one more successful, larger team, happier gymnasts, etc? Maybe that will help make your decision?

 

[Tmacs]

I think if she is getting good training in the basics at your current gym, you should stay. Slow is good! I do not think bronze-gold would be good to train together. I've seen levels 4/5 together and optionals at our gym but the lower levels are separate. They need the attention to detail at the beginning. Our gym does every level- one year at each... including 6. It did seem slow at the early levels but as soon as they get to optionals, they are flying thru skills... basics and form are SO good that there are very few issues with mental blocks, injuries etc. The round off is one of the most important skills and so lots of time at those lower levels will pay off!

 

[Dahlialover]

In my son’s level 3 group, about 25% of the boys are progressing much faster than the others. The coaches teach only the skills required for the current level and the advanced kids are bored and losing their excitement for the sport. The coaches are talking about rearranging the groups to address this issue (it’s an obvious problem) but it is taking a long time. I think the xcel route would be much more fun because kids can have a more individualized path.

 

[Aussie_coach]

It is not that difficult to teach multiple levels together. I do it at times for level 3-9.

You just need to be organised and plan ahead and be creative. Most stations and set ups are versatile and can work as a station for multiple levels.

You need to be creative and come at each session with a very well planned lesson.

But the coach/coaches do really need to be in their game and be able to mentally switch quickly and move through the group well.

Of course it’s harder for the coach and there are disadvantages, but there are advantages too.

The lower levels learn from the higher levels, and the higher level kids love being the big sisters and helping the lower levels out, this in turn helps them think more deeply about the skills.

The higher levels also do benefit from the core fundamental training done with the lower levels.

But the really big advantage is that you can teach to the kid not the level.

If you have a group of all the same level it’s easy to just fall into the trap of just working skills for that level and the one above. And think, it doesn’t matter if they are ready to do higher skills because they will do them at a later level when they actually need them.

But it does matter because the best time to learn a new skill is when they gymnast is ready to learn it, bit when their level dictates it. Leaving it too long can actually close the window of ideal learning and it may be harder to learn it later.

Multi level classes mean lower level kids who excel on certain skills and apparatus can move forward on those skills and higher level kids who have an issue with a skill can work it with the lower levels to consolidate it.

However, it doesn’t work so well with very low level kids. I would find it easier to do a level 3-9 span in one group than a level 1-3 span. They need to understand the basics, effective training and terminology before it will work.

 

[raenndrops]

Hi everyone-

Wanted to get your thoughts. My daughter is almost 6 and has been on a pre-team for the last 6 months. We are debating switching gyms and I am really struggling to make a decision.

If she stays at her current gym she would compete L2 next year (they basically do just a few meets for fun). Her current gym moves very slowly and she was getting bored. Regardless of skill level/talent, it seems everyone needs to spend at least 1 year on each level before they can move up (which I know is fairly common, but this applies to lower levels too, like L2 & L3).

At the new gym she would start out on Bronze (this gym does Xcel for the lower levels and then transition girls to L6/7). She would be the youngest team member. The new gym trains Bronze, Silver & Gold together, although on events they usually break the girls out into groups. At first I liked this setup because I think she'll feel more challenged and learn from the older girls. They also will allow girls to "move up" mid-season if they can get additional skills needed to compete at the next level. However now I'm wondering if she would benefit from staying at her current gym with a group of girls who are at her exact age and skill level, and even if it's a slower pace of learning new skills, she may benefit from the extra attention given to detail on the skills that are needed in L2-5.

I guess my question is, have you had experience with teams where multiple low levels trained together, and if so, how do you feel the younger girls on the team benefited (or didn't benefit) from that situation?

In our gym, L2 has its own group. L3 & L4 are grouped together. L5 usually goes with Xcel Gold. L6 and up plus Xcel Platinum is our last group. These can get mixed differently if there aren't enough coaches.

 

[Gymnast2010!]

Hi everyone-

Wanted to get your thoughts. My daughter is almost 6 and has been on a pre-team for the last 6 months. We are debating switching gyms and I am really struggling to make a decision.

If she stays at her current gym she would compete L2 next year (they basically do just a few meets for fun). Her current gym moves very slowly and she was getting bored. Regardless of skill level/talent, it seems everyone needs to spend at least 1 year on each level before they can move up (which I know is fairly common, but this applies to lower levels too, like L2 & L3).

At the new gym she would start out on Bronze (this gym does Xcel for the lower levels and then transition girls to L6/7). She would be the youngest team member. The new gym trains Bronze, Silver & Gold together, although on events they usually break the girls out into groups. At first I liked this setup because I think she'll feel more challenged and learn from the older girls. They also will allow girls to "move up" mid-season if they can get additional skills needed to compete at the next level. However now I'm wondering if she would benefit from staying at her current gym with a group of girls who are at her exact age and skill level, and even if it's a slower pace of learning new skills, she may benefit from the extra attention given to detail on the skills that are needed in L2-5.

I guess my question is, have you had experience with teams where multiple low levels trained together, and if so, how do you feel the younger girls on the team benefited (or didn't benefit) from that situation?

I am now xcel platinum and we trained bronze and silver together and then gold, platinum, diamond, and sapphire together. This year we have some really young girls in gold and I'm 4+ years older than them. I like having the younger girls on the team with us because (I think I can speak for all of us it) makes us want to work even harder because we know the little girls are looking up to us. Also, when your in the younger girl position you also want to work extra hard because you want to be like the "big" girls.

 

[3rd_time_around]

Hi everyone-

Wanted to get your thoughts. My daughter is almost 6 and has been on a pre-team for the last 6 months. We are debating switching gyms and I am really struggling to make a decision.

If she stays at her current gym she would compete L2 next year (they basically do just a few meets for fun). Her current gym moves very slowly and she was getting bored. Regardless of skill level/talent, it seems everyone needs to spend at least 1 year on each level before they can move up (which I know is fairly common, but this applies to lower levels too, like L2 & L3).

At the new gym she would start out on Bronze (this gym does Xcel for the lower levels and then transition girls to L6/7). She would be the youngest team member. The new gym trains Bronze, Silver & Gold together, although on events they usually break the girls out into groups. At first I liked this setup because I think she'll feel more challenged and learn from the older girls. They also will allow girls to "move up" mid-season if they can get additional skills needed to compete at the next level. However now I'm wondering if she would benefit from staying at her current gym with a group of girls who are at her exact age and skill level, and even if it's a slower pace of learning new skills, she may benefit from the extra attention given to detail on the skills that are needed in L2-5.

I guess my question is, have you had experience with teams where multiple low levels trained together, and if so, how do you feel the younger girls on the team benefited (or didn't benefit) from that situation?

I had to re-read this 3 times because I don't quite understand what the problem is at her current gym. So I’m going to address each thing in order:

1. your daughter is 6 and on pre-team. That is perfect! pre-team at my daughters gym is for 1 year, mostly 5 and 6 year olds. That’s not moving slow, that’s normal. These little girls need to get used to increased hours, days, skills, etc. It builds their strength and stamina and helps to see how they handle things emotionally as well.

2. Level 2 at age 6/7 is perfect! Our gym has an extremely competitive level 2 team, and they stay there for the whole season even if they are scoring 38.00 AA. Moving mid-season is usually pre-determined AND they are usually older than 6 or 7. Only an occasional gymnast will move up mid-season across all levels 1-10 and Xcel. It’s not the norm for gymnasts to move up in the middle of comp season.

3. Your gym is not moving slow. 1 year on a level is pretty standard, even for levels 1-3. Many gyms require 2 years per level.

4. Your daughter will not “learn from the older girls.” She will learn what her coach teaches her, and won’t be allowed to throw skills out of her ability just because other girls in her group are training them. In my experience, little girls, like your daughters age, in a group of girls that were 8 to 10 years old did not have the best experiences. They were often ignored, talked about, bullied because of jealousy, because of her being young and cute and maybe more talented and getting more attention; or the flipside is they get babied like little babies and not given the respect they deserve as a young gymnast. Because often the little ones are “so cute” and get treated like a toddler, even getting picked up and carried around by older teammates, even if they don’t like it. That dynamic usually disappears in optional levels, but not completely.

5. I get the feeling it’s appealing to you to have the youngest kid in a training group with older, higher level girls, because there will be extra attention because she will stand out and she’s little and cute. But I want to assure you that her current gym is not a slower paced gym, they are doing it pretty normally. Check out the best gyms in the country, and you will see as a whole, most of their teams train a year for the level (yes, there are exceptions. Don’t get caught up in that and blast me in responses, because I already know that and it gets off-topic).

If she’s happy where she is and there are no red flags for abuse or any other problems, I would leave her there and trust the process.

 

[Deleted member 18037]

We were and will be at smaller gyms. Level 2 typically trains as their own group. 3, 4, 5 6 together but slightly differentiate. Then 7 and up. As long as everyone gets what they need it’s fine.

 

[sportsmom99]

I've seen it done both ways (different levels together and separate) and honestly don't think there is much different as long as the coaches are able to individualize it a bit! Sometimes you just have to trust in the process... (I know that can be hard!)

 

[LemonLime]

If you have a great coach, gymnasts can truly benefit from training together at different ages and levels. Woga trains this way. Nastia's daily training group included Level 10s. Earlier, it was an array of L7-elite.

The most important thing gymnasts under 8 need is technique, not skills. Training one development level per year is intended to instill those basics.

The above situations are "processes." I trust no process that isn't working well for the individual child, even if it works for 99% of gymnasts.

What you describe at the new gym would be a recipe for disaster for many kids. It may push skills over form, and release too much competition and training pressure by being the youngest with the lowest expectations. "She's only 5 and doing her best." At the same time, your current gym may push rote skills with no supervision that reinforce bad techniques instead of good.

Only you can choose and only you know best. In making that decision, however, take off the mommy goggles and think objectively about what's best for her. How many gymnasts become successful optionals at these two gyms? What type of gymnastics does your daughter enjoy? Which gym works best for your family? Which gym has the most supportive coaches who care about the kids and their gymnastics?

FWIW, I think these are good questions to ask for 8s and unders. A lot of problems arising at age 10-13 derived from inappropriate training in mini years.

 

[high5]

Our gym trains people of multiple levels together (it's a small gym). It seems having a good coach makes all the difference, and it doesn't seem to be a problem at all. They're able to handle the group and provide the necessary guidance tailored to each individual's abilities.