Update: Decision Made

[teamgirl]

I sincerely thank everyone for their varied opinions upon the decision we made. I admit we are new to this sport and we are here for advice and support. Perhaps it would help if I clarify a few things.

My daughter is doing the Elite Program on a summer trial basis. At the end of which all invloved; the coaches, gym owner, gymnast, and parents, will re-evaluate if this is a good fit or if a different placement would be better.

This elite program for a 6 year old is not what an older more experienced gymnast training for elite would do by any means. It is 3 hours of training 3 days with 3 hours of TOPs on the 4th day., thus totally 12 hours during a 4 day week. Not much difference from what the Level 4 girls at this gym are doing for the summer., totaling 10 hours during a 3 day week.

USA Gymnastics does not require a gymnast compete Level 4. She will be starting Level 5 at 7 years old and going through the levels. After some discussion it was decided that she is not allowed to skip a level by testing out with a score of 31. She will need to score a 36 at 3 meets before moving up a level., plus have the skills for that level.

The entire idea behind this elite program for young inexperienced gymnast is to build strenght, flexability etc... and get really good basic skills that will translate into the optional levels. Instead of performing and perfecting the Level 4 routines for a year.

Also in this program she will be getting some competition experience before she's a Level 5 through in house meets. Plus there are demonstrations for the public and recitals for family and friends through the gym.

Just to let you know, my husband and I have no grand delusions about our child going to the Olympics. Funny thing is, we are not into sports at all. We don't even watch the super bowl or the world series on tv. Honesty we don't believe she will become an elite gymnast just due to the sheer odds against it. But at the same time, if noone ever tried then noone would ever succeed. We support and love her no matter what happens.

We appreciate your wisdom and will be very cautious!

 

[ginnymac]

Teamgirl...
I think what you have stated in this last post seems much more realistic. I think it was the language of the previous posts that got everyone up in arms.

Good luck to your daughter!

 

[Blazing15]

Teamgirl - Good post. I think this will answer a lot of people's question and maybe help this understand your situation more.

 

[mariposa]

That doesn't sound bad. Doesn't sound like an elite program really. I think the word "elite" and all that it implies is what made the situation confusing. To me, it just sounds like she will be starting at level 5 and then moving through the levels as she can, pretty common for kids on the fast track. As long as the expectations are kept realistic, it sounds okay.

 

[gymjoy]

Teamgirl, that doesn't sound bad at all. I'm glad to see you respond with more detail and without any animosity toward the rest of us. Sometimes things can come across wrong on boards. I have been around gymnastics and gym boards long enough to understand that on this board very few, if any, posters mean ill will toward anyone else. It appears that you are going in to this optimistically, but cautiously. Which is good.
Best of luck, and hope to see you around here for many years.

In a few seasons you can give all the new parents the fruit of your well earned wisdom.

 

[bogwoppit]

It sounds like the perfect situation teamgirl. Your child will progress at her own pace and will get to enjoy the fun of competing. I also like that they have established clear guidlines for your little ones progression which will ensure that she is fully prepared to move to the next level.

You seem to have found coaches who inform and communicate well, that is a very promising thing.

Good luck with the summer training. Now you have survived the baptism by fire here, stick around and share your experiences with other "noobs", that is how we all learn.

 

[gym law mom]

Teamgirl-
I hope you don't think we're picking on you or your decision. Its just many of us have seen this fast track scenario many times in gymnastics and other sports and seen kids not only leave the sport due to injuries or burnout, but leave with a very negative slant on their entire sports career.

Just to give you a little reality on what being elite entails and the timeline. We have a 12 yo at our gym that will go to her 1st elite qualifier this summer. No dobut she will probably qualify as a junior elite. She is a gorgeous gymnast---her lines are to die for. So, where does she go from there? Well, she can't even think about 2012 Olympics because she'll be too young, so IF the goal is to make an Olympic team, she'll have to keep training at 25-30 hours/week and HOPE she doesn't have any further injuries(not likely) or burnout(she's been on the edge a few times) over the next 6 years AND is noticed by the powers that be in USAG. Certainly alot of IFs. Thats alot of training, travel as the only one from our gym to/from the Houston camps plus keeping up with school(she goes to public school) and going to meets to compete as an elite by herself. It can be a long solitary journey.

To be honest if someone had come to me when my gymmie was 6 and offered all those options, I wouldn't have known which one to pick although when my gymmie was 6, she was still in a rec program. She's now 13 and will compete L9 next season. Her friends who were "fast tracked" at our old gym are gone from gymnastics---burnout and too many injuries.

Just keep an open mind while your little one trains and don't feel anyone has "failed" if this track isn't right for her at this time in her life. I hope the gym has given you the option of dropping back and doing L4 if this plan doesn't work for her. Remember summer training doesn't give you an accurate picture since school is not factored in.

BTW--Just getting a score to move from level to level is a 31AA until L8. Gymnast only has to average high 7s on the 4 events to get that score which means she may/may not actually have mastered key skills along the way. Just keep in mind that scraping by to get to the next level may not pay off in the long run.

Best wishes to you and dd.

 

[gymjourneymom]

Teamgirl, Thank you for the clarification about the program your DD is embarking upon. Ahhh, "the best laid plans..." as they say. I do hope it all works out for you & DD. My wish is for your DD to develop a LOVE of the sport, no matter how "fast tracked" she is or how many level she skips or doesn't skip in the future. She needs to be having FUN & loving the sport for any of the plans to fall into place. Please just nurture her love for the sport & make it FUN. Good luck & keep us posted!

 

[ellabella]

I think what has been troubling when reading is the whole idea that any 6 year old is training for the elite level. It's just impossible to predict at this young age and in reality the elite level is almost an impossible goal. I say almost because obviously some kids do make that level, but it's so few. It just doesn't make sense to put any emphasis on it. And it's hard to imagine any good coaches having a program called the elite track for 6 year olds because good coaches know how difficult that is and the slim chance of it actually happenning. Why would they want to set kids up for failure?

 

[mariposa]

I agree ellabella that the word elite track shouldn't even be discussed at age 6. Let her just do what she loves and see what happens. Labeling her could end up ruining the whole experience for her if she ends up not making it to elite when she thought she was elite, when really she was just on a fast track path, like many young talented gymnasts across the nation.

 

[gym law mom]

It sounds like the gym really created the mess by calling this training "elite" track. Its basically an option to forgo L4 and get ready to compete as L5 as I see it. The score requirement of 36AA to move on could cause undue pressure and might actually hold back a girl who really is ready to move on.

Certainly its good to see how Teamgirl's dd does over the summer and then re-evaluate. I guess the only problem I see is what if they determine she should not stay in this group for the fall/winter? Going to the L4 group would be tough because she would have missed alot of training/learning routines with them.

 

[gymcoach34]

Oh dear, this is such a mess! So, she is training Level 5 and TOPs-this is not even close to an elite program! I remember seeing a kid at at TOPs clinic a few years ago & one of my athletes asked her what level she was and she said "I'm a level 5 training elite!" My athlete asked me what that meant and I had to honestly tell her I did not know!

I'm just curious what the highest level in your dds gym is, how old/experienced her coaches are and if there are any real elites at her gym.

BTW, 12 hours is too much for a 6 year old. Be Very Very careful to the parents, and I hope you listen to us all.

 

[bogwoppit]

Oh the names that are given by coaches for their programmes can be so entertaining. There was a a gym that had it's pre team programme called pre-elite and it's team called elite. Imagine the parents there???

In reality this child is training 12 hours a week to work through the levels, not to go Elite. Yes, I think twelve hours is too much, but I know for sure that on the board there are many 6 year olds training those hours during the summer. Hopefully that is just for the summer and the hours will be reduced once school begins.

Nine hours should be plenty to learn the level 5 skills, considering she isn't old enough to compete for a while yet!

 

[ellabella]

I just wanted to add to Teamgirl that I think training 12 hours with the idea of skipping Level 4 is fine. A lot of gyms don't even compete Level 4. It's just the whole training for "elite" that is ridiculous sounding.

My own DD is just 5 years old and is training 10.5 hours as a level 4. Some might think that's too much, but she hasn't had any issues. She wants to go, has fun, bounces out etc. Of course she's not in school yet so really she just stays at home all day and waits to go the gym. She won't compete this year because of age. I had planned that she would compete Level 4 next year, but already in conversation with her coaches they said they would most likely just have her move to Level 5 in January with her teammates. I questioned that because it would mean another year of not getting to compete, but they seemed to think it would be more beneficial to just keep letting her learn skills. So in reality it sounds like they are doing just that with you child. She's working on learning skills rather than just doing routines. That being said I would have my kiddo competing Level 4 if she was old enough. It's so much fun for the girls and I'm really disappointed that DD can't compete.

 

[gymcoach34]

Ella Bella,
Your daughter should be competing L4. Do not have her only train and wait another year to compete L5-your poor daughter needs to experience some success and have some fun competing-not just training. I'm not sure what all these coaches are thinking (the ones rushing these kids through the levels).... if these kids are truly that talented the "upper level" work will be there when they are truly ready to be there.

I don't think they should only be training routines, but the elements in the compulsory routines are the BASICS! They are not the only basics, they should be supplemented, but skipping/rushing all these kids through the levels is alarming to me. Jeesh, Coaches-WTH are you thinking????

 

[ellabella]

Teamgirl didn't mean to take over your thread.

I'm not sure what we will do yet. January is a long time from now so I don't give it much thought.

I think there are many things to think about. For one this is largely social for my DD. She loves her friends at gym and she would be disappointed to not be with them. Second I don't know that DD would enjoy the competitive part at this time. She's very shy and I could see competing actually being a bad experience for her. She does ballet recitals and has cried the last two years, we'll see this year as she has matured quite a bit. As far as rushing through the levels, it is typical for DD's gym to spend only one year at each level. They don't score great at these levels, but they have girls at level 8, 9, 10 making it to regionals, westerns and nationals.

It's tough being a parent and knowing what's right, but I'm so lucky that her dad is a coach (though not hers or even at the same gym) and I usually leave these decisions up to him. He's not American and it's normal in his very successful gymnastics country to train for years without competing. Kids would never be competing at 6 years old there. In his opinion level 5 would be a better place to spend 2 years than level 4.

Ella Bella,
Your daughter should be competing L4. Do not have her only train and wait another year to compete L5-your poor daughter needs to experience some success and have some fun competing-not just training. I'm not sure what all these coaches are thinking (the ones rushing these kids through the levels).... if these kids are truly that talented the "upper level" work will be there when they are truly ready to be there.

I don't think they should only be training routines, but the elements in the compulsory routines are the BASICS! They are not the only basics, they should be supplemented, but skipping/rushing all these kids through the levels is alarming to me. Jeesh, Coaches-WTH are you thinking????

 

[bogwoppit]

Kids do not compete in Canada until they are in third grade. SO for me having them compete is not essential. Both my girls trained gym for years before they did a real meet. They did in house stuff and evalutations. I know in the UK it is the same.

It seems that only the US has so many options for tinies competing, but really I do not see the need at all.

Within my girls group some years that are girls who are not old enough to compete and girls who are competing, it all works out and the girls get to feel like they are part of the team.

Competing is not the be all and end all for every kid in the early years.

 

[ellabella]

Kids do not compete in Canada until they are in third grade. SO for me having them compete is not essential. Both my girls trained gym for years before they did a real meet. They did in house stuff and evalutations. I know in the UK it is the same.

It seems that only the US has so many options for tinies competing, but really I do not see the need at all.

Within my girls group some years that are girls who are not old enough to compete and girls who are competing, it all works out and the girls get to feel like they are part of the team.

Competing is not the be all and end all for every kid in the early years.

Totally agree. Just had to mention also from the previous poster who said let her have some fun and success. Going to the gym and progressing at whatever pace you want without any pressure of competition is fun. DD has fun every single day. She also has a taste of success every time she learns something new. I really don't think she would have feelings of success from competing because she would not be winning anything. Her gym is very middle of the pack. I think celebrating her little accomplishments along the way is just as important.

 

[bookworm]

After all is said and done and it comes out that she is basically training TOPS and skipping Level 4 (and not actually going into "elite" training at age 6) , i feel much better for this child. Having been around the sport for a number of years and seeing what some gyms/coaches/owners/parents will do in the name of "for the child's best interests", I was just a bit leery...so hopefully this little girl will have a fun summer with her training...

 

[coachmolly]

Interesting choice of names, but the group described is certainly not uncommon. I've seen similar programs labeled as TOPs, Hot Shots, or just with no name but a knowledge that they have been chosen as incredible talents at a young age. The programs work really well for some kids, but in my experience, a whole heck of a lot of them burned out pretty early on, skills became more difficult as they progressed, or their bodies were just not made for the demands of gymnastics. But I imagine that happens at any level of training to some extent.
I can see reasons for level 4, but also can see why a gym would not compete that level. And I certainly do not think competition is necessary to keep a child interested in the sport. I have a group of girls with level 5-6 skills who have been doing gymnastics for years and just have no desire to compete, yet they keep coming back to the gym.
Good luck to your dd this summer, you and your family certainly sound like you have her best interests in mind. But certainly do be aware of the potential problems mentioned in this thread.