Women What makes a good Xcel program?

[gdasjknf]

I'm based outside the U.S., but I’ve visited a number of gyms and spoken with quite a few coaches in the states recently—and I’ve been struck by how big Xcel is and how much genuine demand there is for it. It’s clearly not just a backup for kids who don’t do Dev (though it can sometimes be framed that way). A lot of athletes seem to prefer it, and I’m trying to better understand what really draws them in.

I know there’s no one program that is for everyone as every athlete has different priorities, but I’m curious about the general mindset of the kids who really thrive in Xcel and love being in that kind of program.

A few things I’m wondering:

• Within the lower hours, do most Xcel athletes still want training that’s structured and intense—where they’re focused, working hard, and trying to get as good as they can, just with room left for other parts of life? So the main appeal is just the lower, more flexible hours?
• Or is the appeal more about having a fun, low-pressure space—where it’s about spending time with friends, playing around with skills, and having more flexibility?
• Obviously enjoyment matters—but is it the kind that comes from making real progress, improving a nice pace and learning new skills, or more about the environment and balance with other things?

I’d love to hear from:

• Coaches or gym owners with strong and large Xcel programs—what do your athletes seem to value most?
• Athletes who chose Xcel, really enjoyed it and felt it was a better fit than Dev—what made the difference for you?
• Coaches outside the U.S.—do you have training groups that serve a similar purpose even without a formal Xcel system?

Just trying to understand the bigger picture—what kind of training culture actually resonates with these athletes when they’re not necessarily aiming for college/elite, but still love and want to do the sport.

 

[GymCAMom]

Speaking from my 10-year-old daughter's perspective (she only knows Xcel), she prefers structure and being pushed. We are at a small gym with only Xcel, and she likes the close ties to the entire gym. She will likely need to leave after this year/season due to leveling out and will not even consider going Level 6+. She likes walking into practice and putting in maximum effort; she's the kid who never cheats her numbers and knows when something isn't up to par, so she will do it again. She likes knowing that she can put in her best every practice for the entire practice. She likes being able to do other sports for fun. She overall likes to be active even on non-gym days.

 

[HurricaneLR]

My daughter wants it to be just as robust a training program as DP. So do her teammates. They want to have fun with each other, but they really hate wasting time during practice. Most of the girls play other sports outside of gymnastics, so the flexibility is important. As for DP, she would have hated the compulsory program - doing the same exact routine as every other gymnast in the country is not appealing. You can teach the same skills in xcel. Our gym also has an AAU program, which is even less hours and I think more geared toward fun.

 

[GymDadWA]

More and more gyms just aren't doing compulsory, so Xcel is being treated the same as low level DP with eventual migration to optionals if they are aiming for collegiate or Diamond/Sapphire if they don't.

Seems like gyms that used Xcel as a punishment (not allowed to repeat levels, have to go to Xcel if they don't have a skill, etc.) have less successful Xcel teams.

 

[GymnastPotterhead]

I was a gymnast who did Xcel. At my gym, Xcel practiced with the DP team so it wasn't lesser hours or less intense or whatever. I loved Xcel because of the flexibility allowed in each level, as well as the fact that it tends to skew older. I started gymnastics late (around the end of 7th grade), and Xcel allowed to me move up levels and stay with people my age in the gym. I would hate to be part of a program where Xcel was just for more fun, people didn't work as hard, and the like.

 

[Coach Kate]

I was part of a gym that got rid of its DP program in the covid era and became Xcel only. I really enjoyed it. We were a low hours program (5-12/wk depending on the level) but really focused on strong basics and had individual and team state and regional titles every year. Our whole recreational curriculum led to team if you progressed through the levels and we invested time and energy into training those rec coaches and developing the curriculum. Almost all the Xcel coaches also coached rec classes. I loved that the kids had opportunities to pursue other sports and activities and I really loved seeing kids who burnt out doing DP come back and fall in love with gymnastics again.

I would say the hardest thing for me as a coach were the times I felt I cared more than some of our athletes. But it was my full time job and their part time activity.

 

[BusyMomof2]

More and more gyms just aren't doing compulsory, so Xcel is being treated the same as low level DP with eventual migration to optionals if they are aiming for collegiate or Diamond/Sapphire if they don't.

Seems like gyms that used Xcel as a punishment (not allowed to repeat levels, have to go to Xcel if they don't have a skill, etc.) have less successful Xcel teams.

This is common in our area and so for me, it was a big bonus - my daughter did one summer of L5 and was so miserable that she might have quit. Not because it was hard, but because it was boring. She's an optional gymnast now and Xcel provided a great foundation. But there are some people that get really mad about gyms that use Xcel to bypass compulsory. I don't understand the resistance myself but think it could be born in what you mention above - some people just like to think of Xcel as lesser. Could not be farther from the truth in our experience.

 

[marym]

I'm based outside the U.S., but I’ve visited a number of gyms and spoken with quite a few coaches in the states recently—and I’ve been struck by how big Xcel is and how much genuine demand there is for it. It’s clearly not just a backup for kids who don’t do Dev (though it can sometimes be framed that way). A lot of athletes seem to prefer it, and I’m trying to better understand what really draws them in.

I know there’s no one program that is for everyone as every athlete has different priorities, but I’m curious about the general mindset of the kids who really thrive in Xcel and love being in that kind of program.

A few things I’m wondering:

• Within the lower hours, do most Xcel athletes still want training that’s structured and intense—where they’re focused, working hard, and trying to get as good as they can, just with room left for other parts of life? So the main appeal is just the lower, more flexible hours?
• Or is the appeal more about having a fun, low-pressure space—where it’s about spending time with friends, playing around with skills, and having more flexibility?
• Obviously enjoyment matters—but is it the kind that comes from making real progress, improving a nice pace and learning new skills, or more about the environment and balance with other things?

I’d love to hear from:

• Coaches or gym owners with strong and large Xcel programs—what do your athletes seem to value most?
• Athletes who chose Xcel, really enjoyed it and felt it was a better fit than Dev—what made the difference for you?
• Coaches outside the U.S.—do you have training groups that serve a similar purpose even without a formal Xcel system?

Just trying to understand the bigger picture—what kind of training culture actually resonates with these athletes when they’re not necessarily aiming for college/elite, but still love and want to do the sport.

My daughter was in provincial level 3 but we changed gyms due to abusive coaching - her new gym only offers excel for kids under level 6 - she's on the pre-provincial team. She trains the same number of hours as the provincial kids at the comparable level train. The freedom to do different routines and not be stuck with inflexible routines and moves has been wonderful - she loves it so much more. She will move back to the provincial levels when she hits level 6. A lot of gyms here run their excel programs like a provincial program in terms of hours of training and commitment - but they do the excel because the rigidity of the provincial program.
There are some kids that stay in the excel program instead of moving to the provincial program because they prefer it or don't want to train as many hours at the higher levels.

 

[JustAGirlWhoLovesGym]

I did both DP and Xcel in my gymnastics career, and I absolutely LOVED Xcel! It depends what gym you go to, but I cannot say that the Xcel program is particularly flexible or low-hours at my gym because they treat it as a pathway to DP optionals. Because of this, the coaches at my gym held the Xcel girls to high standards, and being in Xcel was not an excuse not to put in 100% effort.

However, I love the flexibility of Xcel skill-wise. You can compete at higher levels of Xcel faster because you can choose skills for each event that are easiest for you, for the most part. This makes it fun to put together routines because you can train and master unique skills in Xcel, whereas in DP, you may have to spend more time perfecting very specific required skills that you may not necessarily like or that you really struggle with. This opportunity for rapid advancement and exploration of skills really motivates girls to work hard in my opinion.

 

[Dahlialover]

I wish xcel would have been an option when I was a kid. I was not naturally talented but I was a hard worker and I loved gymnastics. I loved learning new tricks and pushing myself and I didn’t really care about competition. I’m very tall and it would have been wonderful for me to have been able to tailor my routines to match my strenths. As far as time goes, back in my day our compulsory program was 7.5 hours or maybe 9 hours (I don’t remember exactly) and that felt like a lot! I don’t think it is good for children to spend their entire childhood doing only one activity. A kid shouldn’t have to sacrifice their family time, homework, sleep, and all other childhood experiences in order to participate in gymnastics. No one expects 9-year-olds in other sports to practice 16 or 20 hours per week year-round just to participate! 6-12 hours per week is plenty of time for youth sports. These are kids not professional athletes! Also, Xcel can be much more affordable, especially because the upper level xcel girls are able to work as rec coaches to offset the costs. Overall, I think xcel is a better program for most gymnasts.

 

[PeanutsMom]

I am the mom of a high level XCEL gymnast..Competed Diamond and is now training Sapphire. She has the experience of both DP and XCEL.

She was JO (now DP) from the age of 7 to 12. She did levels 3,4,5,6 and 7. After one year of level 7, she was fighting constant hip and back pain. Found out she had a fractured par (full break) between L4 and L5 and s grade 1 plus slip between L5 and S1. She repeated level 7 at age 13.

What made her switch was the rigid nature of DP. There were skills she was no longer allowed to do with her injury, front and back walkovers being a huge part of it. She needed the flexibility of skills to keep progressing. For example, on beam, a side aerial isn't permitted until level 9, but it can be done in XCEL Diamond. Her first year of Diamond, our region did not have Sapphire, but she was okay with it because even XCEL she could keep progressing and challenging herself.

You asked about what athletes wanted in XCEL--for my daughter she still wants to do high level skills. She still wants good form to be recognized and she wants to be competitive. She has beautiful lines and great form which is important to her. She also likes the less hours. She is doing the same skills as level 8 gymnasts in only 12 hours a week instead of 20-25. She is also training level 9 skills to use in Sapphire. She could compete with level 8s now and score well even though she is "just an XCEL gymnast." What she hates more than anything is people saying XCEL gymnasts aren't real gymnasts. She would say to get rid of the stigma associated with XCEL.

As a parent, I like having her home. I like the gym/family balance more. I like that the environment is less focused on going elite as our experience in the DP program was quite toxic. It was always about your scores and never about the gymnast. If you weren't winning, the coach could not have cared less if you were there. Gymnasts were pitted against their teammates, coaches punished for not scoring well at a meet, gymnasts were ridiculed for doing well in practice and then not competing well. Our experience XCEL has definitely helped my daughter's confidence return and her love of the sport return.

The one thing my daughter has said is that she wishes USAG would have an XCEL Nationals for Sapphires (whether that be like Westerns/Easterns or an actual national championship). Regionals is as far as you can go and the higher levels really have a lot to showcase.

 

[EXEL]

I loved getting to choose my routines from the get go and even at Dimond witch=lvl 8/9 even some 10s I never had more than 15h a week in the gym well the optional girls had 20 to 35 most were homeschooled but i went to normal school and still could do other sports