Parents woodward west reviews and opinions

[anothergymmom]

Hi fellow gym parents.
I am just starting to think about sending my daughter to a week of overnight gymnastics camp this coming summer. She will be level 5. It seems that only Woodward West is close enough to us (and it is not really close). I feel like I am reading rave reviews about IGC and other camps but the Woodward West reviews seem more lukewarm. She has never been to overnight camp before. She is definitely old enough but also just likes being at home and has no huge desire to go. Her gym runs a week of team day camp in the summer. I guess this is all a long-winded way of saying that Woodward West would only make sense in our summer if it is excellent gymnastically. Do kids benefit sometimes just from working with new coaches ? Do they help them see things in a new way? My daughter is a middle of the pack gymnast. Loves it, is incredibly hard working, but not the first kid to get the new skill by a long shot. I thought a camp might help boost her confidence a little.

Thanks so much in advance for all your thoughts.

 

[Sasha]

Not sure if this helps, but I know a boy (L5) who attended this past summer, and his mom raved about it. He was able to gain a couple new skills that he had been struggling with. I have no idea how the girls program compares. I'm also told this boy chose to work on gymnastics as much as possible while there, rather than more of the other recreational activities offered.

 

[beachgirl]

My DD went last year as a 9 year old L4 . She got a couple of L5 skills that she didn't already have. She had a really great time and learned a lot about taking care of herself. She's also enjoying seeing girls that she knows from camp at meets. With that said she went at the beginning of summer and then spent the rest of the summer correcting the bad habits that she learned at camp. Her head coach said that this year nobody is allowed to attend a gymnastics camp. She said they are welcome to spend a week at some other type of camp if they want the camp experience, but no gymnastics camp.

 

[proud-gym-mom]

I don't have any information about Woodward west but my daughter has attended the Woodward camp in Pennsylvania for two summers in a row. We have been very impressed and thought it was very well run. My DD sounds a lot like your DD and for her it was to get her inspired about gymnastics and to have fun before another competition season. I think my DD did get further on some skills but she gained a ton of independence which for us was really great as she's naturally a really shy kid. She was in a cabin with three other teammates and I think they had a really good time together and bonded as well. We had other girls go to IGC and FlipFest also and we heard only positive things about those places also.

 

[aerialriver]

I would never advocate sending a child to camp for the lone purpose of getting new skills. Camp to me is more about fun, building relationships, and building self confidence. I can tell you I worked at Woodward West last summer and they have a lot of truly amazing coaches. The coaches hold daily training to teach each other new skills and drills for their gymnasts. I don't think it can ever hurt to listen to what someone else's fresh idea on how to attempt something. I know the kids had a lot of fun and there was ample time for gymnastics training if the kid wanted that. (There is 2 mandatory daily trainings) open gym is optional. No matter what your home coach may not like the way you learned something or may not see the need to keep doing ti especially if it is not at the level you are doing, so I wouldn't base my decision off that. Good luck on your decision!

 

[Kristen Sebring]

My daughter has attended WW for two years now. She loves it. (my avatar is taken of my daughter there.) She first got the opportunity to try her giants there two years ago. It seemed that year her team coach attended camp too, so they were able to work more on the skills he knew she needed. Last year her team coach didn't attend. She had a great time, but I don't know if she got pushed as hard as she did the previous year.

 

[Tbrov]

My girls had a great time the summer they went to Woodward West, but I think it was more about vacation, fun and bonding than getting skills. As a bonus, the family went to nearby Magic Mountain after we picked them up for an extra day of roller coaster vacation fun.