Is my DD's Gymnastics Club acting responsibly?

[bluekirk1]

Hi, My DD is 8, and started gymnastics in Jan this year. She trains for 1hr per week and is in the club's 'beginners' class. Last week I was told that they want her to join the 'seniors' group, train for 12 hours per week and compete. I feel uneasy as it does not seem logical to me that she can somehow go from a beginner group to the senior group (completely missing out the junior group) in such a short space of time. I worry that 12 hours of training per week would be too demanding. I don't want to deny her the opportunity if she truly has talent either. Does anyone know if this kind of 'fast tracking' is normal and if 12 hours per week training is reasonable for an 8 year old?

It sounds normal for gymnastics. I don't agree with it, but I know several primary school aged gymnasts who do those kind of hours and more.

I think the 12hrs of training is normal. At 8 she would probably be considered a late entrant to gymnastics so if she wanted to be competitive would have a steep training curve.

Whether it would be good for her or not I don't know. If they are a good club and have high quality coaching staff they will be able to do it safely I expect. Maybe book a meeting with the Head Coach and ask what their plans are for transitioning her safely between the groups.

Thanks guys - I have a meeting this week with the coach.

Yes it's normal but you should ask for a trial.

Be prepared for lots of conditioning and for a lot of it to be quite boring. Resilience to both of those is key.

12 hours sounds about right although the 8yr old squad girls at my dds gym are doing 16 hours a week increasing as they get older - my dd is now 11 and trains for 21 hours over 5 days.

Agree with pp that a lot if the training will be conditioning and strengthening work (backed up by more at home) and drive and determination and the ability to plug away at repetition after repetition is key. A lot of it can be boring prep work but that's what brings results.

I would say give it a go over the summer and be guided by your dd- if the drive comes from her then she will love it!

My sister was selected from her first ever beginners gymnastic lesson and thrown straight into a squad (and 16 hours training) I'd say it was pretty normal if they see potential in her.
My DSis had a great time, she loved training, was very talented and coped well with training and school work. Her social life did suffer though, she could never go to birthday parties or sleepovers. She competed for years but unfortunately had an injury that meant she had to stop training for a long time and I've asked her if she regrets doing so much (and from so young) and she doesn't at all. She has learned self discipline and it's opened a lot of doors for her. She is now in training for Cirque as deciding it was better suited after the injury and never really in the grand scheme of things missed out

One of my children began 12 hours a week at 7 years old. It's a big commitment, especially as she did competitive dance also and refused to drop anything.
She might be with seniors but will be doing age appropriate level gym.

Yes, and the hours will probably increase, as a pp has mentioned. Some people were doing 20+ hours a week. No social life, and for the parents who ferry them around and to competitions.

I wouldn't be happy with this. 12 hours is a lot for an 8 year old and it means choosing this to the detriment of everything else. My dd does 2 hours per week of gym class and that is enough imho.

It's likely to be competition squad classes, though. Two hours a week just wouldn't cut it. Even development (somewhere between recreational and squad) do more hours than that. That's why it's a tough decision, a few do drop out, citing difficulty with hours.

This will mean she has been asked to join the gym squad I would think. When I did gym we trained 4 times a week for 2/3 hrs a time. I loved it.

Congratulations! The coaches must see real potential in her. If your DD loves gymnastics she will enjoy it. It is clearly a big commitment but teaches them great self discipline, obvious physical benefits and team working. My DD is 7 and training 4 hours per week. This is in a lesser competitive squad. The really talented gymnastics train at least 8 hours per week, some far more than that. Let her give it a go and see how she gets on. It's expensive mind you - but better value than rec classes!

There are competitions for all levels and plenty of kids who do not want to spend so many hours training compete in general gymnastics competitions which is possible on 2 hours or so a week because the categories are usually set so they are up against gymnasts doing similar. There is not generally speaking a huge difference in the type of skills artistic and general do (except maybe bars) but the artistic girls train to do them better by virtue of increased conditioning and practice

With my sceptic hat on - does this mean that you now would have to pay for 12 hours instead of 1 hour of training?!?

12 hours is actually on the low side for 4 piece- they need to train bars beam floor and vault, plus conditioning, plus preps and drills, plus dance...

So if she's doing 4 x 3 hour sessions, the structure will usually be warm up and basic preps for an hour, 2x 30 min apparatus work, an hour conditioning, preps and stretching. So they only get an hour a week on each of the apparatus.

It should be enough for local comps and club level, although it will depend on which region you're in. If it is too much, many clubs have squads which only compete floor and vault, which will be half the hours.

For the ones that love it, they never regret the time in the gym. If your dd wants to give it a try, and you can afford the time and money, do it.

Also, senior squad may not be "senior" as you would think. If she's 9 next year it may simply because womens gymnastics is done by age, so the junior squad may be the under 8's who are too young to compete, senior is over 8's who will be training for national grades.

When you have your meeting, ask!