Parents When did you “know”?

[NYCMom]

To parents of Level 10/elite/college gymnasts- I am curious if there was a moment or a season or a level when you became pretty certain that your daughter had what it takes to get that far. I know there are so many uncertainties in this sport and as someone whose daughter is just starting optionals, nothing can be guaranteed beyond today, so I’m really not trying to apply any predictions to her future. I am just curious, looking back, was there a skill, or a meet, or a finished season, or something else, that you think was the turning point in your daughter’s career when you (and she) started believing or realizing that level 10/college/elite was a realistic goal? Would love to hear stories!

 

[Dahlialover]

This is such a smart way to ask this question! I’d also love to hear from people who thought they knew and then realized that it wasn’t going to happen like they expected.

 

[Ty’s Dad]

Call it weird, but I knew when my daughter was a level 7 she would become an elite and get a full scholarship, to the point where I was going back-and-forth with people on this group about it. When her scores changed from 33AA to 38+AA and she really was loving the sport at that point we knew.

 

[GymnastMomX2]

My daughter will be competing level 10 for the first time this year (knock on wood), she should have competed 10 last year but got injured and had a major surgery that knocked her out for 6+ months.

There was never really a moment for me, I honestly never thought she would make it this far, between all the injuries she’s had, and fear/mental blocks she’s overcome on beam, she surprises me every year. Her goal is D1 gymnastics and while I think it’s possible, I’m also realistic and know it’s a long shot and staying healthy/injury free is not a given.

Ok if I had to pick a moment it might be when she sent me a video of her doing a bar routine for the first time last month. That’s when I was like ok maybe she can compete level 10. (At least on one event.. lol)

 

[NutterButter]

My situation is a little different because my DD was D3 but I did have a moment where I knew. Junior year - the time between Westerns and early summer. She gained a lot of new skills in a short amount of time. While I knew my DD would still likely be L9 for her senior year, she was getting the right skills with the right start value to at least get some attention from D3 coaches. Given her late start in the sport she really never seriously considered D3 as a possibility.

 

[josie55]

Mine is a freshman on a D1 team. When she was in L9 in 6th grade, and we went to a college meet and saw the girls doing many of the same skills that mine was doing, I knew that it was a very real possibility. But I also knew (mostly from this site) that injury and burnout are very real, and nobody can really "know" that it will happen until it does (even you, @Ty’s Dad ;-). Over the years I have seen plenty of girls who anyone would absolutely think were going to make it have something happen to get in the way. But seems like most of the time if they get to L9 early enough, and they want to make a college team, then chances are it will happen. If they don't get to L9 early, then it obviously can still happen, but it's harder to feel confident b/c you not only need one or two good L10 seasons, but you kind of need some room for an injury or two.

Oh and if you ask my daughter, she would say that she knew for many, many years she'd be on a college team one day. I think maybe they kind of have to have that mindset for it to happen.

 

[gym_dad32608]

My daughter just signed with OU. I so prepared myself from message boards like here and other parents that it was a complete long shot. Probably wouldnt happen. I felt good when she won easterns, still knew that was not L10. It really wasnt until June 15th of her junior year that I finally knew she was going to make it, based on the number of calls she received. But I think it was her second year of L10 (freshman year) and she finallly was starting to do skills with the 10.1 sv. As previous poster mentioned really started to notice the skills that colleges were showing and what she was doing.

 

[Geoffrey Taucer]

I never thought I was gonna go elite and honestly had no interest in doing so; I just liked tumbling and vaulting and then one day I realized I had the necessary skills to put together elite-ish routines on floor and rings, and figured what the hell.

 

[Dahlialover]

Call it weird, but I knew when my daughter was a level 7 she would become an elite and get a full scholarship, to the point where I was going back-and-forth with people on this group about it. When her scores changed from 33AA to 38+AA and she really was loving the sport at that point we knew.

How old was your daughter in level 7?

 

[Ty’s Dad]

How old was your daughter in level 7?

She was 9

 

[Puff]

My daughter was crazy good in level 3, so I knew right then with absolute certainty! However... In level 4, well, she was also crazy good but had fear and wouldn't do skills that the coaches expected her to do, so they grew disinterested, and I wasn't so sure. In level 5 she was one of the only girls in the youngest age group, so I thought well time is on our side. Optionals was a huge shift of gears because now she had options and didn't have to do the skills that were really difficult for her mentally. She was still mental and everything was very iffy, but she was also quickly getting a lot of skills that suited her distinct strengths. I just wasn't seeing other gymnasts like her, for whom some things came so easy and yet other things sent her to the depths of psychiatry. So I still wasn't terribly confident. In level 8 she was on top of the world, winning everything. It was concerning that she had less skills than everyone she was competing against, but everything she did was pretty clean. In level 9 the wheels came off. Because of her unique characteristics, she needed a particular type of coaching, and we had trouble finding that. Even when we found it, we would lose the coach for one reason or another. Anyhow, she went under--too much pressure and not enough fun, went through a period of losing skills and not even having enough skills to be at her level. Then injuries and surgeries. Again, time was on our side and she needed it. The years chipping away at level 9 and level 10 just kind of dragged on and on with only modest improvements from year to year. Always the same strengths and weaknesses. Always hope but never certainty. Recruiting was honestly very disappointing but she ended up going D1 with a school that was at least in her top 10. But her top schools all wanted vault and she didn't have a 10.1 vault. Meanwhile she'd be stringing together 38s in level 10, so I guess a lot of people weren't convinced about her, but she keeps working at proving them wrong. Myself included. I never felt as confident about it all as I did in level 3.

 

[Tmacs]

My daughter was crazy good in level 3, so I knew right then with absolute certainty! However... In level 4, well, she was also crazy good but had fear and wouldn't do skills that the coaches expected her to do, so they grew disinterested, and I wasn't so sure. In level 5 she was one of the only girls in the youngest age group, so I thought well time is on our side. Optionals was a huge shift of gears because now she had options and didn't have to do the skills that were really difficult for her mentally. She was still mental and everything was very iffy, but she was also quickly getting a lot of skills that suited her distinct strengths. I just wasn't seeing other gymnasts like her, for whom some things came so easy and yet other things sent her to the depths of psychiatry. So I still wasn't terribly confident. In level 8 she was on top of the world, winning everything. It was concerning that she had less skills than everyone she was competing against, but everything she did was pretty clean. In level 9 the wheels came off. Because of her unique characteristics, she needed a particular type of coaching, and we had trouble finding that. Even when we found it, we would lose the coach for one reason or another. Anyhow, she went under--too much pressure and not enough fun, went through a period of losing skills and not even having enough skills to be at her level. Then injuries and surgeries. Again, time was on our side and she needed it. The years chipping away at level 9 and level 10 just kind of dragged on and on with only modest improvements from year to year. Always the same strengths and weaknesses. Always hope but never certainty. Recruiting was honestly very disappointing but she ended up going D1 with a school that was at least in her top 10. But her top schools all wanted vault and she didn't have a 10.1 vault. Meanwhile she'd be stringing together 38s in level 10, so I guess a lot of people weren't convinced about her, but she keeps working at proving them wrong. Myself included. I never felt as confident about it all as I did in level 3.

Ha. I was absolutely confident in L3/4 too. Then as the years went by and the levels got more "real," I started thinking college gym might not happen. We still aren't there yet. She just started level 9- she still hasn't had any major injuries or mental blocks, but anything can happen. We are aggressively saving for college as we don't want any of our kids to depend on sports. Plus, she focuses on academics and keeps friendships and interests outside of gym. In the end, our kids are going to be kind, productive humans much longer than athletes. So that's our ultimate goal.

 

[SupportingHerDreams]

Kind of a different perspective... my daughter is still a long way away from elite or college but I had the moment that I knew I would do what I could to support her pursuing her dream of elite when I saw her handle really hard things and choose to continue.

I don't think I will know she is making it to her dream until she actually does but no matter how much she looks behind I will conitnue to support her as long as I continue to see that fight in her that I have seen.

 

[NYCMom]

Kind of a different perspective... my daughter is still a long way away from elite or college but I had the moment that I knew I would do what I could to support her pursuing her dream of elite when I saw her handle really hard things and choose to continue.

I don't think I will know she is making it to her dream until she actually does but no matter how much she looks behind I will conitnue to support her as long as I continue to see that fight in her that I have seen.

I love this!! I feel very similarly about my daughter. There are so many moments of “knowing.” I knew she should start gymnastics when I saw that she could do the monkey bars faster and longer than anyone else on the playground. I knew that she had a special kind of drive when I saw how much she focused on the little things even in L2 and L3 (pointed toes, attempting to get her press handstand 636828 times at home, looking at videos and saying, see I’m arching or I’m piking and me having no idea what she meant). I knew that she was going to stick with the sport as long as possible when she had to switch gyms because hers was ending its DP program and she didn’t even hesitate in saying she wanted to keep going at a new gym (many of her friends stayed and transitioned to xcel). And I continue to know that I am making the right choice in sending her off to the gym 20+ hours a week when I see her happy and laughing and proud and learning to bounce back from disappointment and struggles. I certainly don’t know that she’ll make it to L10 or college or elite but I know that gymnastics is where she’s supposed to be NOW.

 

[Flicfliclay]

How do we ever really know... I mean you have every sort of gym parent in the sport, so some are 10000% sure their kids is going to be the next Olympian all the way to ehhh she is good we will see what happens. I'd say we fall right in between there. I think we really confident when she won 1st or 2nd in a Hopes qualifier sand was really on a roll, then Covid hit and it all went to uncertainty from there. Also, in that time coaches were leaving left and right that she really connected with, and lets not forget injuries! But I am happy to report through all the struggles and i must say major determination she is signed to a D1 program!