Intro to Gymnastics: Rec, Pre-team, Junior Olympics & Xcel
I love to talk to new parents at our gym. I enjoy explaining what I've learned about gymnastics so far, because I so appreciated other parents helping me along when we first started.
What I've found, and I don't think this is just our gym, is that, unless the parent was a gymnast themselves, they don't know a lot about the nuts and bolts of the sport at first. I know I didn't! Maybe a coach recommended their child be moved into pre-team. But what does that mean? What's next? How big of a commitment is this? Can my child still play other sports? Am I signing my life away? We all start with a million-and-one questions.
I remember when my daughter was invited up to TOPs after being in recreational gymnastics at our gym. There was a little bit of panic among some of the parents whose kids moved up. We were hearing rumors about double-day practice and flights down to Texas, traveling for testing and "if she does well enough on this then she'll make it to this." It was a lot of information to take in all at once.
So, let's break it down.
We'll start at the very beginning. A very good place to start.
Recreational Gymnastics
This is where your child starts. Usually this is a one- or two-hour class once or twice a week. No competitions, except maybe a fun in-gym event in which they can show off their skills.
Pre-Team Gymnastics
This is where it gets a little tricky, just because every gym has their own way of doing things. I know since my daughter started at our gym, they've changed the way pre-team has been run at least three times. They're always trying to figure out the right combination of offerings to meet the needs of most of the girls and boys who are interested in team.
When my daughter started, she did TOPs as her pre-team experience. But TOPs isn't your typical pre-team, so I'll cover that in the next post where I tell you what I know about TOPs, Hopes & Elite.
Pre-team is just what it sounds like. It's not competitive gymnastics yet, but they're preparing kids for that. Sometimes there will be friendly, in-house competitions, but these girls don't compete with other gyms yet. A lot of time is spent building strength and starting the skills they'll need for their first levels of gymnastics.
Team Gymnastics
When your child is ready to move into competitive gymnastics, depending on your gym and their offerings, you'll have a choice:
Our gym offers both these programs for girls. (Some gyms call Xcel by a different name, but the national program offered by USAG is called Xcel, so that's the name I'm using.)
Here's a very basic breakdown of those two types of competitive programs, as far as I understand them, so you can make a more informed decision about which one is right for your child.
Junior Olympics (JO)
There are 10 levels in Junior Olympics. I would say the vast majority of girls start in levels 3 or 4 (unless their gym uses levels 1-2 as a pre-team style program with early competition practice).
There are two sections under the Junior Olympics banner:
Junior Olympic Compulsory
These are levels 1-5. In these levels, all routines are identical. Every girl in that level competes the same routine as every other girl in that level on bars, beam, floor and vault. Junior Olympic compulsory levels are where your child will get their basics. The compulsory levels are something to SURVIVE as a parent, because you have to sit through the same tinkly floor music played over and over and over and over again for three hours every other weekend for several months a year. That's when your dedication as a gymnastics parent is tested. Seriously.
Practice hours really depend on your gym. When my daughter was in compulsory, she was competing TOPs at the same time, so she spent a solid 20-hours a week at the gym, which is a lot. There are some gyms whose compulsory gymnasts practice even more, but a lot of gyms practice less than that. It depends on your gym's programs. For instance, if they have an elite program and they're trying to get a certain group of hotshot girls up through the Junior Olympic levels quickly, they'll practice more.
Junior Olympic Optionals
Levels 6-10 are the optional levels. This is where gymnastics competitions start getting more interesting, because the girls can highlight their strengths. There are skill requirements for all the levels in order to get a full 10 start value on a routine, but the coaches and girls get to choose their own combination of skills and design a unique routine. In these levels, your gym will help you hire a choreographer to help your child with a floor routine. They may even hire a choreographer for beam, as well.
Again, practice time depends on your gym. Our gymnasts in levels 6-10 practice between 16-25 hours a week. This is probably average, and again it depends on the goals the gym has set for its athletes. If it's a big gym trying to push girls to elite level, then they might practice a lot more--up to 40 hours a week.
Xcel
Xcel has five levels: Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum & Diamond. Bronze is the basic, entry level, while Diamond is the highest level with the most advanced skills required.
All of the routines in Xcel are optional routines, meaning the girls and their coaches get to compete unique routines.
Xcel girls generally don't practice as much as JO girls. It's a program for kids who want to have a little flexibility and do other sports and participate in other activities besides gymnastics. Some girls in Xcel may make it a goal to get on their high school gymnastics or cheer teams, so you may notice girls leaving their club Xcel teams when they get into high school. Xcel is a great option for girls who love gymnastics but don't have big goals of going elite or getting a college scholarship, and want to do some other things with their time after school besides gymnastics.
Xcel has requirements and judging standards, but they aren't as stringent as JO, so you'll generally see Xcel scores being higher than JO scores.
Can you switch between JO and Xcel?
Yes, you can! In fact, some elite gyms start their beginning gymnasts in Xcel to get through what would be the compulsory levels in JO, and then switch them to JO once they get to the optional levels. It just depends on your gym's philosophy.
We've had girls at our gym compete JO for quite a few years and then cross over to Xcel when they got older because they wanted a lower commitment level, but still wanted to participate in gymnastics. We've also had girls who didn't feel challenged enough in Xcel and wanted to move into JO. Check with your child's coach to see what is required of athletes moving from one program to another.
I think that's enough for one day. Is your brain ready to explode yet?
Check back here on Thursday, when I'll give you a quick rundown of TOPs, Hopes, & Elite.
If you're a veteran gymnastics parent, what is your experience in your child's program? How many hours a week did they practice at their different levels? Did I get anything wrong in my run-down? Do you have any other questions? Leave a comment and let me know.
What I've found, and I don't think this is just our gym, is that, unless the parent was a gymnast themselves, they don't know a lot about the nuts and bolts of the sport at first. I know I didn't! Maybe a coach recommended their child be moved into pre-team. But what does that mean? What's next? How big of a commitment is this? Can my child still play other sports? Am I signing my life away? We all start with a million-and-one questions.
I remember when my daughter was invited up to TOPs after being in recreational gymnastics at our gym. There was a little bit of panic among some of the parents whose kids moved up. We were hearing rumors about double-day practice and flights down to Texas, traveling for testing and "if she does well enough on this then she'll make it to this." It was a lot of information to take in all at once.
So, let's break it down.
We'll start at the very beginning. A very good place to start.
Recreational Gymnastics
This is where your child starts. Usually this is a one- or two-hour class once or twice a week. No competitions, except maybe a fun in-gym event in which they can show off their skills.
Pre-Team Gymnastics
This is where it gets a little tricky, just because every gym has their own way of doing things. I know since my daughter started at our gym, they've changed the way pre-team has been run at least three times. They're always trying to figure out the right combination of offerings to meet the needs of most of the girls and boys who are interested in team.
When my daughter started, she did TOPs as her pre-team experience. But TOPs isn't your typical pre-team, so I'll cover that in the next post where I tell you what I know about TOPs, Hopes & Elite.
Pre-team is just what it sounds like. It's not competitive gymnastics yet, but they're preparing kids for that. Sometimes there will be friendly, in-house competitions, but these girls don't compete with other gyms yet. A lot of time is spent building strength and starting the skills they'll need for their first levels of gymnastics.
Team Gymnastics
When your child is ready to move into competitive gymnastics, depending on your gym and their offerings, you'll have a choice:
Junior Olympics or Xcel?
Our gym offers both these programs for girls. (Some gyms call Xcel by a different name, but the national program offered by USAG is called Xcel, so that's the name I'm using.)
Here's a very basic breakdown of those two types of competitive programs, as far as I understand them, so you can make a more informed decision about which one is right for your child.
Junior Olympics (JO)
There are 10 levels in Junior Olympics. I would say the vast majority of girls start in levels 3 or 4 (unless their gym uses levels 1-2 as a pre-team style program with early competition practice).
There are two sections under the Junior Olympics banner:
Junior Olympic Compulsory
These are levels 1-5. In these levels, all routines are identical. Every girl in that level competes the same routine as every other girl in that level on bars, beam, floor and vault. Junior Olympic compulsory levels are where your child will get their basics. The compulsory levels are something to SURVIVE as a parent, because you have to sit through the same tinkly floor music played over and over and over and over again for three hours every other weekend for several months a year. That's when your dedication as a gymnastics parent is tested. Seriously.
Practice hours really depend on your gym. When my daughter was in compulsory, she was competing TOPs at the same time, so she spent a solid 20-hours a week at the gym, which is a lot. There are some gyms whose compulsory gymnasts practice even more, but a lot of gyms practice less than that. It depends on your gym's programs. For instance, if they have an elite program and they're trying to get a certain group of hotshot girls up through the Junior Olympic levels quickly, they'll practice more.
Junior Olympic Optionals
Levels 6-10 are the optional levels. This is where gymnastics competitions start getting more interesting, because the girls can highlight their strengths. There are skill requirements for all the levels in order to get a full 10 start value on a routine, but the coaches and girls get to choose their own combination of skills and design a unique routine. In these levels, your gym will help you hire a choreographer to help your child with a floor routine. They may even hire a choreographer for beam, as well.
Again, practice time depends on your gym. Our gymnasts in levels 6-10 practice between 16-25 hours a week. This is probably average, and again it depends on the goals the gym has set for its athletes. If it's a big gym trying to push girls to elite level, then they might practice a lot more--up to 40 hours a week.
Xcel
Xcel has five levels: Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum & Diamond. Bronze is the basic, entry level, while Diamond is the highest level with the most advanced skills required.
All of the routines in Xcel are optional routines, meaning the girls and their coaches get to compete unique routines.
Xcel girls generally don't practice as much as JO girls. It's a program for kids who want to have a little flexibility and do other sports and participate in other activities besides gymnastics. Some girls in Xcel may make it a goal to get on their high school gymnastics or cheer teams, so you may notice girls leaving their club Xcel teams when they get into high school. Xcel is a great option for girls who love gymnastics but don't have big goals of going elite or getting a college scholarship, and want to do some other things with their time after school besides gymnastics.
Xcel has requirements and judging standards, but they aren't as stringent as JO, so you'll generally see Xcel scores being higher than JO scores.
Can you switch between JO and Xcel?
Yes, you can! In fact, some elite gyms start their beginning gymnasts in Xcel to get through what would be the compulsory levels in JO, and then switch them to JO once they get to the optional levels. It just depends on your gym's philosophy.
We've had girls at our gym compete JO for quite a few years and then cross over to Xcel when they got older because they wanted a lower commitment level, but still wanted to participate in gymnastics. We've also had girls who didn't feel challenged enough in Xcel and wanted to move into JO. Check with your child's coach to see what is required of athletes moving from one program to another.
I think that's enough for one day. Is your brain ready to explode yet?
Check back here on Thursday, when I'll give you a quick rundown of TOPs, Hopes, & Elite.
If you're a veteran gymnastics parent, what is your experience in your child's program? How many hours a week did they practice at their different levels? Did I get anything wrong in my run-down? Do you have any other questions? Leave a comment and let me know.
My daughter is a part of the Xcel program, (platinum) and we have loved it. I was worried about the time /financial commitment of JO and so we talked about it at the begining. She was honest and said if she had to be in the gym all the time she probably wouldn't love gymnastics as much so Xcel has been a great fit for all of us.
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