Trying out different gyms

[jenniffir]

Is it acceptable to just tryout other gym to learn about what other gyms are like in your area?
I know this is an odd question but let me explain; my mom refuses to pay more for my gymnastics, but any level 7 should be going around 20 hrs a week while i am going just 15 hours a week. The gym i am currently at is not the gym i believe will do me the most good, so i wanted to tryout another gym just to see what it would be like and if that is what i am looking for. The gym has its L7s go 19-20 hours which is normal but this would increase tuition about $100, is it acceptable for me to tryout the gym?

 

[Deleted member D3987]

your current situation may be one of choice and design by your parents. i'm sure they have their reasons.

and yes, it would be okay to look at other programs. you might find that where you are now is a good fit for you.

 

[gymdog]

15 hours a week is plenty for level 7. I know level 10s who have been successful going less than 20 hours a week. 15-16 for level 7 is probably average.

 

[B Gymnast]

I'm a level 7 and our optionals (up to level 9) only go 11 hours a week. I also think 15 is about average. Training a lot more could just burn you out...

 

[Tumblequeensmom]

My daughter is a level 7 and trains for 16 hours a week. It's not quantity of hours, it's quality of hours that counts!!

Oh and yes. Girls try out other gyms all the time. It's not unusual.

 

[10.0]

I don't think the hours are bad. How do you do at meets? What is the training like? Going more hours does not always mean better results. I have known level 10's that have gone 12-15 hours a week and done well.

As far as checking out gyms, it is fine and your decision but you need to be careful unless you are completly unhappy at your current gym and are for sure going to switch.

At least in my area the gyms tell eachother if one of their students comes to try out and emotions run high. We have never had a gymnast at our current gym try out somewhere else and not be welcomed back but it isn't with open arms and as bad as this may sound I have seen the gym staff kind of give up on the kid as they are looking elsewhere anyways. I am not saying that is right but it does indeed happen.

 

[emorymom]

Maybe you could work off the last $100. If it's that important to you talk to the owner.

 

[3rd_time_around]

Is it acceptable to just tryout other gym to learn about what other gyms are like in your area?
I know this is an odd question but let me explain; my mom refuses to pay more for my gymnastics, but any level 7 should be going around 20 hrs a week while i am going just 15 hours a week. The gym i am currently at is not the gym i believe will do me the most good, so i wanted to tryout another gym just to see what it would be like and if that is what i am looking for. The gym has its L7s go 19-20 hours which is normal but this would increase tuition about $100, is it acceptable for me to tryout the gym?

19-20 hours is too much for a level 7. My dd is a level 9/10 and she goes 20. Our gym's level 7s go 16 hours a week, which is more like the other gyms in the state.

 

[jenniffir]

20 hrs for a level 7 may seem like a lot but that is the average in our area (i have checked several gyms and its either 20 or higher), thanks for your help so quickly im kinda impatient!

i just dont believe my current gym is right for me, i have never placed high in competitions (usually hovering around 5-3rd place) but this year i was unsatisfied with my scores and my coach only commented that i could try again next time, it just didnt seem right.

Thank you all for your help.

 

[3rd_time_around]

20 hrs for a level 7 may seem like a lot but that is the average in our area (i have checked several gyms and its either 20 or higher), thanks for your help so quickly im kinda impatient!

Thank you all for your help.

Wow, I'm curious, where are these places that level 7s practice so much? I've only heard of elite-track or homeschooled team groups that go that long at that level.

 

[jenniffir]

well i live in North Texas (little north of Nastia's and Carly's WOGA) and even in level 6 if you can't cast hand or clearhip hand you wont place at all on the podium. Level 7 is more 8 now too, this is why there is a need for more training and perfecting rutines.

 

[gym law mom]

well i live in North Texas (little north of Nastia's and Carly's WOGA) and even in level 6 if you can't cast hand or clearhip hand you wont place at all on the podium. Level 7 is more 8 now too, this is why there is a need for more training and perfecting rutines.

This is why there is a need for qualitiy training which doesn't always mean more. You mentioned you've been placing 3-5 in AA? What is wrong with that? Yes, you might want to be 1st, but you're in a very competitive state. What do your current coaches say about moving up in the AA?

 

[Pickle's Mom]

You may want to think about how you are approaching this before you take any action.

It doesn’t sound like your issue is really wanting to workout more hours. It’s more like you are unsatisfied with your current gym and how you are placing at meets. So, to start, I’d make a list about what it is specifically that you find lacking both in your gym and in your performance. The next step would be to talk to your coaches very non-confrontationally about this. Pickle just did this with her coach. And it was hard for her because she is extremely shy. But her coach appreciated that she recognized that she wasn’t as strong in a specific area as she wanted to be and that she was willing to work hard to improve.

If you find your meeting with your coaches doesn’t achieve what you want, you could start looking at other gyms. But, honestly, I wouldn’t do it unless you think you are actually going to make a switch. Your current gym is going to find out, so you will need to be prepared for that.

Oh.... And the L7s at Pickle's gym wo 16 hours a week. The L8 wo 20.

 

[3rd_time_around]

well i live in North Texas (little north of Nastia's and Carly's WOGA) and even in level 6 if you can't cast hand or clearhip hand you wont place at all on the podium. Level 7 is more 8 now too, this is why there is a need for more training and perfecting rutines.

I know its very competitive, but its a little bit sad that its that way. Each level has restrictions so that some gymnasts won't be able to do really hard skills in the lower levels (like 9 skills in level 8, etc). Level 6 does not require a cast hs, but I guess where you are, if you don't do it you get lower scores. That's not right, because routines shouldn't be compared to other gymnast's routines for scoring, but rather each routine judged on it's own merit and following the USAG guidelines. So if one gymnast can cast to hs but has bent arms, and another casts to the specified degree with straight arms, the cast hs shouldn't score higher. But that would be in a perfect world. Before the new level 8 guidelines came out, I witnessed this at the regional meet. Some girls were throwing skills that were more a level 9, and scoring higher than the ones doing only level 8 skills.

Try to make the most of your practices so that you don't HAVE to go more hours. you are still a kid, and you do need to have a balanced life in and out of the gym. Or you may burn out quickly. I sometimes wonder what the rush is to get the 7 and 8-year olds to level 10 so quickly, because they are only children once, and then its over. So enjoy your lower hours and get better by practicing hard and intensely when you are in the gym. if your gym can't provide the quality training you need, then maybe you do need to look elsewhere.

 

[jenniffir]

Thank you all for your thoughts, and your right the gym will probably find out if i tryout another gym but i am truly not satisfied with the gym i am at and the coach infuriates me (he threw another girl out of the gym and said she coudlnt compete at the next meet because she would do her front-handspring vault which he had just hurt her doing and made her run back and forth on the runway as we had to watch), even after i talked to him in a meeting.

Another girl is trying out the gym i want to try this weekend, i'll see if the coaches really find out.