Gymnastics - what else can we do

[Toarrie]

DD is 6, LOVES gymnastics. She is super flexible and I think reasonably good - won gold at club ‘fun’ competition. But she obviously not quite good enough as she is 6 and hasn’t been asked to do anything more than the recreational classes, which is fine.
However the recreational classes are just a hour a week and from what I can see fairly basic. They do split by ability, DD is in the top set but they are still doing cartwheels nothing more advanced and she is the only one told to try one handed ones.
I am not bothered for her joining the advanced (or whatever it is called) team but it seems as though there is nothing in the middle for those that are pretty good but not quite good enough. She wants to do more than cartwheels etc but I don’t really know where to start? Is there something else she can do where she could learn to do more advanced moves?
It just seems so cut throat. From probably over 100 6 year olds in the recreational class they must just pick 3 who can progress?
DD is completely unaware there are advanced girls and is brimming with confidence so thinks she is amazing (and will be a gymnast when she grows up 😬) and I don’t have the heart to tell her.

You just need to make yourself known and fast to the Head Coach if you want your child on a squad. I intervened years ago with a 7 yr old boy who was decent but just doing rec with his mum waiting for him to be noticed. She mentioned to me she was frustrated he hadn't been spotted. Very few coaching rec are bothered about actually talent spotting. He's just gone the British.

Speak to the Head Coach and say your child is interested in squad, can she go for a trial please? They will assess flexibility and strength and also the ability to take direction.

At 6 my daughter was doing 12 hrs a week - just a warning as that's fairly standard.

On an hour a week, you're right, she'll stay doing basics. Personally if you do think she's good and (more importantly) she loves it, I would ask for a trail and get her on squad. You can also ask if they do privates. Head coaches love parents with money! Also it's not just about the kid. They need to know the parent is ok to be involved and basically get them where they need to be.

I agree with the above, I had to approach the head coach for my son when he was 5. I asked if he was able to trial for the squad, they assessed him and he joined. He was training 9 hours a week at 5. Once his football clashed with it though aged 6, he chose football instead but the coaches told me they had been about to up him to 12 hours so it’s very intense and expensive.

Maybe she would like to try ballet, too?

Ok thanks. I might just have to pull on my big girl pants and ask. I just assumed it was a fairly set process and they were asked rather than parents making contact.

Definitely…it’s a sport where starting really early isn’t that important!

Definitely ask!

My girls are in gymnastics and artistic squads.

6 was the age my DD was picked for squad through a trial, does your club have competitive squads?

As another PP said i would ask.

Be aware though the commitment is huge, my DD trains at least 17-21 hours a week now at age 9.

At squad trials whilst they do look for natural ability they also look at focus, commitment, listening to the coach and corrections.

One thing you might consider op if your child likes horses is equestrian vaulting (eg gymnastics on horseback). It’s a growing sport.

https://www.britishequestrian.org.uk/getinvolved/equestrian-sports/vaulting#:~:text=In%20training%20and%20competition%2C%20the,do%20well%20at%20this%20sport.

what about diving or dance?

My daughter does recreational gymnastics ( one hour) traditional dance ( ballet etc) and Cheerdance and about to try acro. I don’t fancy proper stunt cheerleading as it’s too prone to injury. Gymnastics really has no longevity so you are right to look for other avenue's. My daughter likes it for now but dance can take her right through to adulthood and beyond and is also an avenue into theatre. The sooner you start at dance the better though. Gymnastics will have given her a good grounding for it.

Like your daughter, mine is also obsessed with gymnastics. We tried to discourage it, but she was still watching YouTube videos, watching netflix movies and reading books about it, then trying to teach herself on the trampoline or garden. In the interests of her safety we allowed her to join the gymnastics after school club once a week. Within a few weeks she was asked to join the squad at our local gymnastics club. Initially we said no, I thought she might grow out of it, but no such luck! She kept on trying to teach herself harder moves, used a piece of wood as a beam, obsessively practiced tumbling when we went to Jump. Even at school playtime she was learning hand springs on the AstroTurf. When we finally agreed to let her join the squad she was overjoyed. She's still obsessed, practices whenever she can, but in a safer and more controlled way ie not when she's supposed to be playing tennis in PE, or listening to instructions at Rainbows!

As your child already has that grounding, perhaps you can supervise her in learning trickier moves and building her strength? The trampoline tracks at Jump were really beneficial to DD when she was trying to learn new skills. Make the lead coach aware that she wants to join a squad and allow her to continue to shine in her class.