gymbeam
Proud Parent
Last weekend was the final meet of my 8YO daughter's first regular competitive season (Xcel Bronze). I'm proud to say that she did great! In fact, she is one of only three chosen from her team to go to the state meet. Now that we have pretty much finished up this first year, I have seen my daughter's potential and she has proven her dedication, I am trying to get a better grasp of the big picture to help plan our future commitment.
From poking around this board, I see that its not uncommon for parents like me to find ourselves feeling a little lost. I had to laugh when I found the "boiling the frog" comparison because I can already relate to that analogy and we're just in the first year of Xcel! So you all understand our situation, here's the story of where we began and how we got where we are:
Almost precisely one year ago, my daughter joined the rec. team at her gym just for fun. She had taken a few dance classes in years prior, but was not interested in continuing so we thought a gym class would be fun to keep her fit and having fun. Those were only goals. Well, within 4-6 weeks, the HC asked her to join team. At that point, I knew nothing about competitive gymnastics. I pretty much agreed to it because it would allow her two days in the gym instead of one and because of my daughters's excitement when I proposed it to her (she knows a lot of cheer comp. girls so I think she wanted to say she was going to competitions like they are always saying, know what I mean?)
A few months after she starting training with comp. Bronze team, the coach asked if I wanted to go ahead and let her compete Silver. In the end, we decided to keep her in Bronze because, after all, she had only been doing gymnastics for about 4 months at this point. In hindsight, I probably should have gone ahead and let her do Silver but I think she is just going to end up skipping it. If I understand what her coach said correctly, she may even go ahead and place out of 4th in the first half of next season? I don't know. I think thats what he said. It is so hard to finish a conversation with any of the coaches around there because of so many interruptions and distractions.
So, that leads me to my main point of this thread…I think I want to ask for a meeting with the coach so I can have a clear understanding of where we are and where we are going. I don't want to sound too pushy or like I am to high of expectations for my daughter, but I get the feeling she must have some potential if they are planning on moving her through levels so quickly.
I would like to make a list of questions before I meet. For example, I have no idea what level is the highest they are currently training or have recently trained. I want to know what kind of hours they are going to expect of my child as she progresses, etc. In my shoes, what kind of things would you be asking to help you decide how much you are willing to invest in her gymnastics career? Thanks in advance!
From poking around this board, I see that its not uncommon for parents like me to find ourselves feeling a little lost. I had to laugh when I found the "boiling the frog" comparison because I can already relate to that analogy and we're just in the first year of Xcel! So you all understand our situation, here's the story of where we began and how we got where we are:
Almost precisely one year ago, my daughter joined the rec. team at her gym just for fun. She had taken a few dance classes in years prior, but was not interested in continuing so we thought a gym class would be fun to keep her fit and having fun. Those were only goals. Well, within 4-6 weeks, the HC asked her to join team. At that point, I knew nothing about competitive gymnastics. I pretty much agreed to it because it would allow her two days in the gym instead of one and because of my daughters's excitement when I proposed it to her (she knows a lot of cheer comp. girls so I think she wanted to say she was going to competitions like they are always saying, know what I mean?)
A few months after she starting training with comp. Bronze team, the coach asked if I wanted to go ahead and let her compete Silver. In the end, we decided to keep her in Bronze because, after all, she had only been doing gymnastics for about 4 months at this point. In hindsight, I probably should have gone ahead and let her do Silver but I think she is just going to end up skipping it. If I understand what her coach said correctly, she may even go ahead and place out of 4th in the first half of next season? I don't know. I think thats what he said. It is so hard to finish a conversation with any of the coaches around there because of so many interruptions and distractions.
So, that leads me to my main point of this thread…I think I want to ask for a meeting with the coach so I can have a clear understanding of where we are and where we are going. I don't want to sound too pushy or like I am to high of expectations for my daughter, but I get the feeling she must have some potential if they are planning on moving her through levels so quickly.
I would like to make a list of questions before I meet. For example, I have no idea what level is the highest they are currently training or have recently trained. I want to know what kind of hours they are going to expect of my child as she progresses, etc. In my shoes, what kind of things would you be asking to help you decide how much you are willing to invest in her gymnastics career? Thanks in advance!