Gymnastics - so if you're not in the squad, it's basically a waste of time?

[Schulte]

So, bear with me. DD (nearly 7) has been doing gymnastics at a supposedly good club for over 3 years now. She has badge 6, 5 and another one for strength and flexibility, but she can't do a cartwheel and she says they have never practised cartwheels or handstands, and they don't even do forward rolls either (although I believe she can do one but not very well). I am not quite sure WHAT she does as we are not allowed to watch, but I think they do a bit of bouncing on the trampoline, a bit of hanging off the bar, and walking backwards and forwards on the beam and that's it.

The coach once told me that the only way they ever get to compete is if they get invited to the squad, and seeing as she's about to turn seven and hasn't been asked I guess she won't ever make it into the squad. So she'll basically keep bouncing on the trampoline and walking up and down the beam forever and never learn any proper gymnastics skills?

As an ex gymnast myself I find the whole thing incredibly frustrating. I started late (I was 8) but learned quickly and everyone trained together for competitions, twice a week - there was no such thing as a squad, we all had a go at learning all the moves and it was such fun and the competitions were just an amazing experience. I am very sad that DD will miss out on learning all those moves just because she is not squad material?

Please someone tell me there is a life somewhere between this dull beginner level and squad where you can actually just do the sport and have fun with it? It seems hard to believe that there isn't?

opposite in our club.
My son wears a pair of shorts and the club t shirts. The girls wear anything, but many have chosen the uniform.

The squad wears uniform.

DD2 didn't start until she was about 9

She is now 13, she does 2hr recreational class and loves it.
(She practices for hours on the trampoline and about the house, too)

She's just got silver floor (no idea what that means), but she can do front and back flips and walk overs, cartwheels, round offs and various basic vault skills. She's also brilliant at collecting bruises falling off the beam.

I think in three years, when I'm sure your DD was far more fearless than DD at 9, she should have learnt something more than she seems to have learnt.

Well I agree with the strength and flexibility thing but what's the point in building up all that muscle if you then don't use it? We did a bit of both, back in the days.

Bridge is part of the warm up, along with various splits at sons club. He is Richmond.

Of course dc don't have to be in the squad to learn and progress, but it sounds like the club your dd goes to is a bit crap and your dd is not getting the chance to use all apparatus and progress.

Dd is 10 and in advanced improvers class - one below squad. They do floor, beam, trampoline, fast track for tumbles, bars, vault, on a rotating basis. But by seven she was certainly doing forward and backward rolls, cartwheels, handstands, bridges etc.

But dd practises a lot at home - bridges, cartwheels, forward and backward walkovers etc. does your dd love gym? A lot drop out at 7 ish. And 7 is v young for squad here!

I'd look around for another gym. Even if your dd isn't in the squad, gym is great - as you know - for strength and all round agility training.

And so it should be! I've now spent the evening making a list of other clubs in the area and will make some phone calls next week... thanks everyone, sounds like there is still hope and maybe another club will suit her better.

Opposite here re dress - squad girls wear squad club uniform, everyone else can wear what they want - but like sparkly leotards (dd)! Sounds like the club is using other gymnasts to fund squad?!

Dd did bridges as warm up practice from age of 5, btw.

"Ah, a bridge! I am sure she hasn't been shown how to do that once in the three years."

That is nuts. My daughter was shown how to do a bridge in her first lesson.

"The other thing that really winds me up is that the rec classes are required to wear uniform (and the leotard is expensive) - whereas the squad girls can wear what they like. Sounds like money making to me?"

Dd's club doesn't insist on even wearing a leotard. They just insist on clothes that easy to move in, no jewellery and hair tied back. Many children just wear a t-shirt and a leggings. Dd wears a leotard that she has inherited from her cousin.

CocktailQueen - is that at a BG club?

DD is very strong, born that way, she could do the big kids monkey bars from very small, plus hours of trampolining and flexible because she did ballet.

She does stretches all the time. You can't walk round our house without getting DDs toes in your face.

She's just started trampolining, as I wanted her to do something that is easier to keep up post 16.

Recreational gymnastics is brilliant if you have a club who are happy as hers is to give time to older children who won't ever be competition standard, but they aren't easy to find.

(We aren't in the SE so no help to the OP)

DD3 always does bridges as part of warm-up and the coaches walk around correcting position and helping them extend/increase the arch.

Yes it seems there aren't many gymnastics clubs at all? I know that all clubs around here have massive waiting lists. Where I come from, every small village has its own gymnastics club.

No uniform, all the girls have leotards, but a real mixture.

DDs is a full price zone one, but only because DD1 had a heap of water sports kit and it seemed fair DD2 got a present too.

Anyway really must go to bed but thanks all for your advice - it really helps!

DD3's likely far too tall for them to want her for squad. She's in year R and taller than some of the Y1 kids.

Plus, in the novice festival last week she came last in her age group overall because by the time she got to the beam she decided that everyone was getting a bit too serious, so slithered over to the beam, deliberately fell off several times and then collapsed in a heap for her dismount . It's fine, she's 4, but when she did a perfect walk along the edge of the raised flower bed with a beautiful dismount in her reception playground the next morning I treated her to a face and suggested she may have been better to do that the day before .

Have you looked on the British Gymnastics website. There seems to be quite a few clubs in your area, but I suppose it depends on how far you are prepared to travel.

www.british-gymnastics.org/find-a-club

I don't know what these clubs are like, but there are clubs in Tolworth, New Malden, twickenham, Walton. Waiting lists do move and ofcourse you can try out many of the clubs with a summer course.

Watching with interest as DD aged 7 loves gymnastics. She's very strong and flexible and can do lots of "tricks" (cartwheel, one handed cartwheel, walkover, round off, splits) despite never really having done any training. She's just learnt it all in the playground and seems to spend most of her time upside down.

A few weeks ago she started at a gymnastics group at a local leisure centre and whilst she's enjoying the chance to walk on the beam, try volting and bars, she's a bit frustrated that she doesn't have the opportunity to show the coaches what else she can do.

Schultz - no, our club is not bg, but gym mark accredited (whatever that is; have googled it). Does that make a difference?

Ours is bg and 5 year old does a bridge everyweek, goes on most of the apparatus each week too.

Its a very good club with a very long waiting list.

Only squad have to wear uniform. My daughter wears sparkly zone one (ebay)

I'm more concerned she doesnt overdo ot when young so she sticks at it when older.

The thing with developing strength in recreational classes is they only go once a week, so can they really develop that much strength?
I have 2 daughters that have been going for just over 2yrs - oldest was 7 when she started, now 9. Youngest was 4, now 6.
The 9 yr old is in a floor & vault squad - so she does 3hrs/wk and seems to do more new skills than when she was in the rec squad. It's a step up from rec, I don't know if its where she'll stay but it's a nice place to be, it has a few competitions a year, it's not a huge commitment and she's really happy.
The 6 yr old looks like she's been doing the same thing week in, week out for 2 years. She can do a few things and they work on the skills youve mentioned - she can do a handstand-bridge-kick over,, they've tried to teach her cartwheels but she has no form! She loves the bars, hates beam. I think once she figures out what she's meant to look like she might be ok, but for now she just goes and smiles & laughs for 1.5hr a week and loves it. She can't wait for gymnastics day. Which is what it's about for me. It's the only activity DD2 goes to without having a protest as we leave the house.
In your position I would look at other clubs as it doesn't sound great. Our club structure is the rec groups make up about 95% of members of the club, 5% squad.

I'd also say look at another club.

My DD (7) has recently moved from artistic to rhythmic squad, and so given up artistic squad and moved back into rec class for artistic.

The skills she's working on in rec are not that dissimilar to squad - they just progress at a slower rate because they do less conditioning and don't have the hours. Also, it's not expected at the same standard. So, in rec at the moment the children are learning the routine my daughter competed at regional grade 14 last year. She gets to go on bars and beam every session.

Here, children do rec until quite old, and can learn flicks etc - it just takes longer to get there!

Dynamo in Southampton is brilliant. I know them well.

If you are Surrey you could look at www.gymnasticsfactory.co.uk/
run by Olympian Kelly Hackman and her family. Kelly is lovely and certainly worth talking to to see whether a club change might be beneficial in your circumstances. I have known her for years and obviously she has been at the top having competed in Sydney and won a Commonwealth silver medal but she also wants gymnastics to be fun.

On the subject of gymnastics does anyone know of a club in the Staffs/Cheshire area that would take an older girl (12) on a temporary basis in the school holidays, perhaps for private coaching to work on very simple tricks such as how to cartwheel?

Change clubs. I really wish BG would work more on gymnastics for all rather than the very few. You aren't going to learn much doing one rec class a week. 7 is too late for 4 piece squad barring a few noticeable exceptions, but some clubs have team gym, trampolining and acrobatics. Cartwheels, handstands, bridges need to be practised at home, technique shown in the gym.

Seeing where you are Tolworth is the obvious choice.