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Extra-curricular activities

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Original poster

Is age 11 too late to take gymnastics seriousely?

33 replies

babasheep · 30/06/2014 12:50

My dd is coming up to age 11 this summer. She has recently achieved BG badge 1 (whatever that mean). Also I don't know the standard of her current gym club. The main thing is that she loves the sport. She has a very small and flexible body. She is very happy with the gym club that she s attending for several years. However I feel the club can only offer a limit range of training as they only hire halls in various sites so children don't get to use equipment much but more focus on floor work mainly. Just wonder at age 11 is she too late to be considered to start competition sort of training. Would anyone share their own experiences or professional views.

OP posts:
Original poster
babasheep · 30/06/2014 15:03

We are in Gloucestershire. I initially took dd1 to ballet and ballroom when she was 3 yr old but she wouldn't join but gym was the only thing I managed to make her do when infant school. It wasn't easy to drag her to gym classes those days but by year4 she really started to develop a passion for it and now she want to keep going and do more.

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Original poster
babasheep · 30/06/2014 15:03

We are in Gloucestershire. I initially took dd1 to ballet and ballroom when she was 3 yr old but she wouldn't join but gym was the only thing I managed to make her do when infant school. It wasn't easy to drag her to gym classes those days but by year4 she really started to develop a passion for it and now she want to keep going and do more.

OP posts:
sixlive · 30/06/2014 14:43

Find a club that does team gym they may accept an older gymnast. You nee to hunt around for the right gym. There are some that let older gymnasts compete at the regional grades or floor & vault.

micah · 30/06/2014 14:39

Thing to do then is ring round a couple of local clubs. Try the BG website, you can search by postcode for clubs. have a browse of websites, and give a couple a ring, explain what your DD wants and see if they'll give her a trial.

What about ballet? Sounds like she'll be good at that too…

Where in the country are you and I'll see if I can point you in the right direction...

Original poster
babasheep · 30/06/2014 14:33

The trouble is I do not know anything re gymnastics or any kind of sport. Started with this club only because it is the one that is close to home. My dd s a late bloomer in growth so she s a very flexible body. So I just want dd to be able to maintain that ability hence make her do gymnastics. Also I have dd2 to manage and dd2 is very different from dd1. I wish I had looked into it more before now. In term of competition no her club doesn't attend any clubs competition at all.

OP posts:
micah · 30/06/2014 14:09

Badge 1:
10 Shuttle runs,
Front or side splits,
Half lever or straddle half lever,
jump full turn,
moving towards a handstand using apparatus,
change leg handstand,
handstand forward roll,
matched and mirrored sequence - to include roll, jump and balance, throw a ball in the air-perform a leap-catch and perform a balance, straddle on box top and straddle jump off.

Tbh, it's not hard. Any halfway able 7 year old can do that, so I wouldn't use it as an indication of whether she's good or not. Some clubs just don't test frequently enough, she might be way past that level of ability now.

Do you know what skills she can do? Has she ever competed? Does her club compete at all? Or have "squad" girls who train several times a week?

Original poster
babasheep · 30/06/2014 13:52

Thanks Micah, by the way just out of interest are you a gym coach? Would you know what's BG badge 1 means? Up to now she has only been do gym once a week in a 45 min class.

OP posts:
micah · 30/06/2014 13:05

OK. IMO, 11 isn't too late. I've seen kids catch up remarkably quickly and do very well, even starting older. The problem is most clubs are oversubscribed and don't have the room for older inexperienced gymnasts. It's a matter of finding someone to give your DD a chance..

Competition wise there are three routes she can follow;

Floor and vault. Advantages are lower hours (usually 4-6 a week), she will progress faster as she's focussing on only two apparatus. Probably the best idea if she's going into secondary school too..

Artistic. Floor, bars, beam and vault. This is regional competition generally, against other clubs. Hours are likely to be a lot higher- if you're in a competitive region could be around 20 hours a week. Some clubs do well on 9-12 though.

Elite. No chance really. The kids here are picked at 6 or 7 and train 18-20 hours a week from then. By 11 they are looking at international competition and 30 odd hours a week. You'd have to be some sort of freak to catch up…

First step is to speak to the coach at your club and see what they offer. If they can't help, ring around a few other clubs and see if they'd be willing for your DD to try out for a competition squad. The best plan is sometimes to look for the smaller clubs that focus on general (F+V) as the big clubs are very selective.

She could also look at sports acro, tumbling, trampolining, diving, or even rhythmic gymnastics clubs. Some have a higher tolerance for age if she shows potential.