Parents Typical commute to gym for collegiate hopefuls in level 9/10

[AD411]

Is it pretty typical for families to make adjustments to get their daughter to a gym that is in a bigger city, but is 1 to 2 hours away? And if anyone is doing this, how do you make it work and stay in regular public school?
My daughter is an 8th grade level 9 and will likely compete level 10 as a freshman next year so we’re at the cusp of going for it or not! The gym we’re at is the best in our area, but has never produced a collegiate gymnast and my daughter will be the only optional gymnast next year! The next level close to her would maybe be a 7 and that’s only 1 or 2 girls! in order to be at a bigger gym with multiple level 9 and 10 girls with a great program(which is what she dreams of) we’ll have to drive 1.5 to 2 hours each way! To me that means, homeschool and major adjustments to our current family schedule! And what if she ends up not liking it? Or feeling pressure to perform because of all the sacrifice? Just wanting to talk to another mom who has been down this road and get advice. Thank you!!

 

[raenndrops]

There are a lot of gymnasts who travel over an hour to get to a good gym.
You could look into the gym and, if it is otherwise a good fit, see if there would be any way to carpool with someone else from your area (maybe there is another gymnast's family in your area already making the drive). Or maybe there's another L10 kind of "in your path" around halfway between where you live and the gym who'd be willing to take your DD the rest of the way some days (and you only make the full drive the other days with both girls).

Good luck.

 

[mom2newgymnast]

There are definitely people that do it. And some for many, many years. We've been fortunate in that the gym my dd goes to is only about 15 minutes away. Personally, I don't think she (or I) could have handled anywhere near a 2 hour commute for years on end. We do have a few gymnasts at my daughter's gym that travel around an hour each way. We have something like 25 level 10s, which I'm not always sure is a good thing, but I also don't know if she would have continued this far if she was the only upper level optional, so I understand your dilemma. It's definitely a tough situation.. Good luck with everything!

 

[gym_dad32608]

Dad here, we are in year 4 of this, we drive about 2 hours each way every day. It has worked out for us as our daughter just committed to a top 3 program. There is no way you can do public school in that scenario, so she does all her schooling on-line. I cant speak highly enough about how important it is to be in a gym that has a track record of placing college gymnasts, and most importantly a coach who has a history of that (because coaches do change gyms). Her coach has been instrumental in navigating the process, talking to college coaches who she has deep connections with. On top of that, it is true, iron sharpens iron, the growth that my DD had when she started training with elites and accomplished L10s was significant, and made her a top recruit. If you are going to make a move, now is the time, Freshman year, first year L10, Sophmore year, recruitment year L10.

You can always start by maybe doing a week during spring break (just not having school to deal with helps in understanding adjustment), or definitely start after school is over. It is a sacrifice, and there are trade-offs so go be upfront, talk to coaches, be realistic. The age and level that she is at is consistent with someone that can be on a college path, but a coach who has seen her and worked with her can better evaluate if she has a decent shot. On a somewhat good note, since she would be leaving school after 8th grade, she probably would have a decent friend group home that she could still have access to some of the social milestones that highschool brings. Good luck, always happy to answer any questions that you may have.

 

[AD411]

Dad here, we are in year 4 of this, we drive about 2 hours each way every day. It has worked out for us as our daughter just committed to a top 3 program. There is no way you can do public school in that scenario, so she does all her schooling on-line. I cant speak highly enough about how important it is to be in a gym that has a track record of placing college gymnasts, and most importantly a coach who has a history of that (because coaches do change gyms). Her coach has been instrumental in navigating the process, talking to college coaches who she has deep connections with. On top of that, it is true, iron sharpens iron, the growth that my DD had when she started training with elites and accomplished L10s was significant, and made her a top recruit. If you are going to make a move, now is the time, Freshman year, first year L10, Sophmore year, recruitment year L10.

You can always start by maybe doing a week during spring break (just not having school to deal with helps in understanding adjustment), or definitely start after school is over. It is a sacrifice, and there are trade-offs so go be upfront, talk to coaches, be realistic. The age and level that she is at is consistent with someone that can be on a college path, but a coach who has seen her and worked with her can better evaluate if she has a decent shot. On a somewhat good note, since she would be leaving school after 8th grade, she probably would have a decent friend group home that she could still have access to some of the social milestones that highschool brings. Good luck, always happy to answer any questions that you may have.

This is very helpful, thank you for responding! And forgive me for saying “moms”! Dads are part of it all as well, for sure. I like the idea of trying it out over spring break and definitely plan to explore over the summer!
Huge congrats to your daughter!!!! That’s an amazing accomplishment! Well done.

 

[BusyMomof2]

We're not close to L10 but my daughter wants to switch gyms next year at L7 for this reason and we'd be looking at a longer drive (we drive 45min - hour in crazy traffic right now). I used to be totally against this when she was younger but she's now in a school with a modified schedule that will allow for more training (gymnastics wasn't the driver for joining this school but maybe it's serendipitous?!) so I guess my two cents is - if she has a shot and you can support her, go for it. There are so many other types of schools that still provide excellent learning and I've always thought a lot of learning happens outside of a classroom anyway. Good luck

 

[Carly]

Our public high school has a program that allows some student athletes to go to school in-person for classes in the morning and then leave around 11:30. They take the rest of the classes online asynchronously through a program approved by the school district. I'm pretty sure it was 2 online classes. This was in place before covid and worked well for the students that I know who did it. One was a multi-year level ten with a 40 minute commute to the gym and is now competing in college.

Hope that you can find something that works well for your family!

 

[Flicfliclay]

Some things to consider:
Your current gym seemed to have gotten her this far for not having many or any in her level. I would consider talking to the coaches are you current gym and talking to them about what your daughters goals are and if they are able to get her there. While you may see many above examples of this, it is a commitment that affects your entire family. Being able to have somewhat of a normal life, especially high school is really important too.

 

[mom2newgymnast]

Some things to consider:
Your current gym seemed to have gotten her this far for not having many or any in her level. I would consider talking to the coaches are you current gym and talking to them about what your daughters goals are and if they are able to get her there. While you may see many above examples of this, it is a commitment that affects your entire family. Being able to have somewhat of a normal life, especially high school is really important too.

I agree. And as a long time parent in the sport now (ignore my user name, I just never changed it lol), I think so many underestimate the commitment involved and the impact to the gymnast and their family. I consider our family lucky in that we were able to make it work for my daughter. Her priority was going as far in the sport as she could (yes she has D1 aspirations) without compromising the rest of her expectations for her childhood. It was important for her to stay in her regular public school with her friends and have a traditional high school experience (football games and homecoming, off campus lunches, clubs and all that stuff) If we had to drive hours to practice every day, she would not have been able to do that unfortunately. But we were lucky I guess. There are many at her gym that are on modified schedules, in online/hybrid classrooms or home schooled. She is still happy with her choice. My biggest hope is that years from now, when she looks back at her childhood, she has no regrets about how it was spent.

Also, I just want to point out that gym_dad32608's daughter is incredible talented and that their experience, while definitely inspiring and well earned, is not exactly the norm. You can do everything right as far as finding a good gym, starting level 10 at the right age, training with talented coaches and team members, working hard and still not have that kind of success. Injuries, mental blocks, burn out and just differing levels of talent will factor in too. We've seen so many not make it to college gymnastics after many years in the sport. And just getting a scholarship seems like it will be getting harder with all the changes coming. There are honestly many times that I wish we had steered my daughter away from competitive gymnastics long before we got to this point, but it's too late for us now. lol

 

[AD411]

Some things to consider:
Your current gym seemed to have gotten her this far for not having many or any in her level. I would consider talking to the coaches are you current gym and talking to them about what your daughters goals are and if they are able to get her there. While you may see many above examples of this, it is a commitment that affects your entire family. Being able to have somewhat of a normal life, especially high school is really important