What does it take to be elite??

[chalkdust]

what it takes to be elite

Ok, Well, My daughter was in a gym that promised her she would make it there "Elite", very talented gymnast. My daughter went from level 4 winning every meet to level 7 the next year and then going to level 9 the following. She was 8 years old and doing level 9. It was not a good thing. She missed lots of skills and perfection on them. She ended up breaking a foot a couple times, her nose and hand she wasnt competing very well so she lost her confidence. She stuck with it and over injuries and battling a serious illness that kepted her out of the gym 1 season. She is still a level 9. She moved gyms last year and what a difference it has made! She has confidence and is winning again. U need to know your at the right gym. Look around and see whats going on and how serious your club is. If your the only talent there then there is probably a reason for it. Move on..... I really think you need a awesome gym that knows the in's and outs.

 

[ZJsMom]

Chalkdust--I'm sorry your dd had such a negative experience at a young age. That's what's nice about gymbabies position though. At 16, she can make a much more informed choice about what she's getting into. I believe she's at a US gym that has produced top US elites, so I'm sure her coaches know what they're doing. Of course, they probably won't know the ins and outs of the UK system, but if she can train in the US and compete for Britian, she may be able to get the best of both worlds.

 

[TDiver]

Hey Danielle it's Tori.

I want to say I wish you the best with everything. From watching first hand I know you have a ton of talent and you always have. It seems that you also have the same passion for gymnastics as I do for diving now. I have reached the elite level in diving and I may not have if it wern't for losing gymnastics. I know that if I would've gotten hurt in gymnastics again I would lose not only one but two dreams.. and I know if that had happened I wouldn't be able to forgive myself.

Just from your post I can tell how bad you want it and from knowing you I think you need to give it a shot at all possible. Your amazing at vault and great on the other three events from what i've seen (so i've only seen you practice once in a couple years because you moved but i still saw you!). Can I say wow to the double front on floor!! I really think that you can handle being elite and hope you decide to go ahead and try.

For the homeschooling... it's a lot of persuading and you have to show them how bad you want it. It took me a while to convince my parents to home school me so I could train for both diving in gymnastics (which was about 8 hours a day) and they finally did after some input from other parents let me do it. I cried a few times because of how much it meant to me and I think that helped too.

Well I guess that's all i've gots to say.. sorry I wrote so much!

P.S.- I hope I make spring nationals so I can come see you!! and Good luck!


-Tori

 

[lannamavity]

If your the only talent there then there is probably a reason for it.

Ah, well put.

This poster is speaking from experience at a point where the "glow of the dream" has subsided.

Valuable info.

While it's great to have a positive outlook on life, many people who don't have to do the work to be an elite will say "live your dream...go for it..."

If swinging at FIG and changing to homeschool is too much, then it sounds like college would be a much better focus, especially for your future. It's great that you have been given the option to train with a "special group." Maybe that's all it is.

Perhaps training on FIG once a week could help you be ready for GB without messing up what you have going for you down the road in NCAA.

Perhaps competition in GB could be about life experience, not necessarily a step into Elite gymnastics. You don't have to be an elite gymnast in the US to compete in GB. You may not be really competitive, but it doesn't have to be about that.

...but you would have to discuss that with your coaches.

 

[gymnasticsbabie]

hey everyone! thanks for your advice, imput, and warnings. haha it put things into perspective for me. Tomorrow I'm going to ask my coach (with my mom) if I can move up to the elite group for this season and next. wish me luck!!

 

[gymgymgymnast08]

Thats sweet! Good luck!!!!!!

 

[TDiver]

Hey Danielle, any updates?

 

[gymnasticsbabie]

hey guys! no updates yet, my coach is actually taking one of the elites to a camp (those week long camp things that they do) and i think she's doing an elite meet. but yea so i couldn't ask her it probably won't be till next week! i asked one of my coaches though and he said sure, but he can't make the final decision so i'll have to ask her

dun dun dunnnnn....

 

[TDiver]

Oh fun, your coach must be at the ranch.

Least you got some positive feedback, but stinks that you have to wait a week.

Get online soon so I can catch up with you again! Or just message me here.

 

[gymnasticsbabie]

hey, bad news.. my coach said I couldn't go into the elite group right now because of my bars. Im really bummed because its like my dream. i know everyones like, well you can just go and get a college scholorhsip, but thats really not what i want to do. i don't know if i should continue following what i want to do, or if i should just give it up. like i know if i upgrade my bar routine, she'll let me go. but i feel stupid asking again. ughhh its just really frustrating.. what now? continue on like nothing happened? or forget it and go to college...

 

[Geoffrey Taucer]

Well, it's not as if going elite and getting a scholarship are mutually exclusive.

If going elite is something you really want to do, then I say go for it with everything you've got.

 

[lannamavity]

hey, bad news.. my coach said I couldn't go into the elite group right now because of my bars. Im really bummed because its like my dream. i know everyones like, well you can just go and get a college scholorhsip, but thats really not what i want to do. i don't know if i should continue following what i want to do, or if i should just give it up. like i know if i upgrade my bar routine, she'll let me go. but i feel stupid asking again. ughhh its just really frustrating.. what now? continue on like nothing happened? or forget it and go to college...

It's sad to hear that NCAA would be such a disappointing fate

...but the truth is, I don't know that you are such a "shoe-in" to a good college team either. A good goal may be upgrading everywhere and seeing where the work takes you.

Working hard and proving that you want to be better may be more productive than just asking the coach if you can switch groups just to call yourself an "elite".

Dreaming about something and actually committing to the work are two very different things.

 

[gymgymgymnast08]

hey, bad news.. my coach said I couldn't go into the elite group right now because of my bars. Im really bummed because its like my dream. i know everyones like, well you can just go and get a college scholorhsip, but thats really not what i want to do. i don't know if i should continue following what i want to do, or if i should just give it up. like i know if i upgrade my bar routine, she'll let me go. but i feel stupid asking again. ughhh its just really frustrating.. what now? continue on like nothing happened? or forget it and go to college...

aw that stinks. thats all the more reason to work harder on bars so you can get more skills and then become elite. then you can be like see I told you so to your coach.
just make sure you keep working harder and don't get discouraged!!!!

 

[Tuduri]

gymnasticsbabie:


Work on your bars. Then make elite. Then you will have an even better chance to get a scholarship. You will relish the feeling of showing your coach that you had the intestinal fortitude to do it. It will be an achievement you can look back on and enjoy while getting your doctorate.

We are all with you.


I am sending you the Spirit of the Flame mojo.


Tuduri

 

[gymnasticsbabie]

thanks everyone for your support, im talking to British Gymnastics about doing my A levels next year in England and then training over there. seriously confusing stuff to figure out haha

lannamavity: its not like collegiate gymnastics is a "disappointing" fate for me, well it is, but its not because I look down on it, or that i think it's second tear to elite gymnastics. how can i say that truthfully when sitting down to watch the Georgia gym dogs, or UCLA bruins? i just don't LIKE it. i dunno its like when i was in track i was a really good fit for the 4X1 team and we won the junior olympics one year as a team, but after that i was done. and they kept asking me to come back and i said no, because i just don't like dealing with the stress of everyone depending on me all the time. that sound REALLY bad and i can't really explain it. its like college gymnastics to me is so team oriented, i just would hate that everyone is disappointed in me for screwing things up. and i know i'll run into that in elite gymnastics, it just seems that you run into it a lot less frequently. don't get me wrong i think college gymnastics is wonderful, its just not for me. its not what think about all the time, and i've told my parents this they just don't want to listen because they say i need a "second choice" ughhhh

 

[Tuduri]

Going for elite.

Gymbabie:

I know this may be difficult to do, but you have to look at the big picture. What you do after gymnastics is what is important in your future as an adult. Getting an advanced education is foremost. You will look back at gymnastics as a pleasant episode in your life whether or not you do gymnastics in college or whether you make elite.

Go for elite now when you have the chance. Whether you make it or not is really not important. What is important is whether you gave it your best shot. Latter in life you will want to know that you gave it your best shot.

So go out and improve and throw your best skills. If you make ellite, that's great. You will cherish this all of your life. Also, it will improve your chances of getting a college scholarship. But even if you don't male it, you will know that you gave it your best shot. That is all we can do in life. So just go for it. College will follow, whether on a gymnastics scholarship or not. But make the effort to reach the goal which you obviously wish to accomplish. Whether you compete in college or not, your degree of effort to accomplish your goal iof making the elite level is what will haunt or follow you all of your life. Make a resolution, go for it, live with it. You've completed only a fraction of your life. Look at it positively.


Tuduri

 

[gymrunner]

Think hard about that decision. My daughter began elite training when she was 11 and began suffering alot of injury issues and was just breaking down to the point she decided it was not worth it. It really depends on what you want out of the sport. If the Olympics or international competitions are a goal, and a realistic one given your talent, and you really, really want it - go for it. I've just seen so many talented girls go elite only to drop out of it because of injuries caused by the insane training regime. The coaching environment is also not the healthiest given our experience. If college is your goal, its not so important as college coaches want strong skills, but primarily they want you healthy and consistent. Good luck however you go with it.

 

[gymrunner]

So True

It's sad to hear that NCAA would be such a disappointing fate

...but the truth is, I don't know that you are such a "shoe-in" to a good college team either. A good goal may be upgrading everywhere and seeing where the work takes you.

Working hard and proving that you want to be better may be more productive than just asking the coach if you can switch groups just to call yourself an "elite".

Dreaming about something and actually committing to the work are two very different things.

This is so true. To college coaches, the elite label means an entirely different thing. In fact, we encountered many college coaches when my daughter was recruited that shy'd away from recruiting elites because of past wear and tear and their inability to adjust to a lighter training regimine and different equipment settings and still maintain what they had as young elites. I know my daughter was chosen by a top 15 program over several elites. Also, elite means more when you are a younger gymnast than when you are 17 or 18. The name Holly Vise comes to mind. A good gymnast to be sure, but definately not what she was, nor is she even talked about as a top collegiate gymnast. If you look at the rankings of top ncaa gymnasts, you will see many level 10s routinely scoring better than elites in college. The top 2 collegiate freshman recruits for this year, Hannah Redmond and Jen Kessler, were both level 10s. There is so much competition for collegiate scholarships that there are definately no shoe ins, especially at the large programs, even if you call yourself an elite. basic skill level, consistency, maturity, coachability and even body type (and the parents' body type) are the important factors college coaches look at based on our experience.

 

[lannamavity]

thanks everyone for your support, im talking to British Gymnastics about doing my A levels next year in England and then training over there. seriously confusing stuff to figure out haha

lannamavity: its not like collegiate gymnastics is a "disappointing" fate for me, well it is, but its not because I look down on it, or that i think it's second tear to elite gymnastics. how can i say that truthfully when sitting down to watch the Georgia gym dogs, or UCLA bruins? i just don't LIKE it. i dunno its like when i was in track i was a really good fit for the 4X1 team and we won the junior olympics one year as a team, but after that i was done. and they kept asking me to come back and i said no, because i just don't like dealing with the stress of everyone depending on me all the time. that sound REALLY bad and i can't really explain it. its like college gymnastics to me is so team oriented, i just would hate that everyone is disappointed in me for screwing things up. and i know i'll run into that in elite gymnastics, it just seems that you run into it a lot less frequently. don't get me wrong i think college gymnastics is wonderful, its just not for me. its not what think about all the time, and i've told my parents this they just don't want to listen because they say i need a "second choice" ughhhh

I appreciate your honesty, but the bottom line is that if you screw up on a college team, you still have the support of your team. If you screw up as an elite, your career is over and you are sitting there by yourself. That's reality.

As I said in past posts, you may want to find an ex-elite to talk to, so you can get the real story.

 

[gymgymgymnast08]

This doesn't have anything to do with being elite but you said like you don't like your team counting on you and everything. I don't know if I like that. In level 6 It did not work I got liek a 6.8 on beam in level 7 it worked i got a 9.1 on beam in level 8 it works and it doesnt. lol.
But my team beasted it out today! LEAGUE CHAMPIONS!!!!!!!