Intro to Gymnastics: TOPs

TOPs B Camp, 2015

TOPs stands for Talent Opportunity Program and it's an avenue for USAG to identify its top little gymnasts. Whether or not your daughter ends up making national testing or a TOPs camp team, TOPs is a great way to get strong and progress on skills. My daughter got REALLY strong doing TOPs, and it has served her well as she's continued in gymnastics.



How old do you have to be to be in TOPs?

Girls can start summer testing with TOPs when they're seven years old. They can be part of TOPs training before this, but testing doesn't start until they're seven. Girls age out the year after they turn 10. A girl is considered a certain age based on the calendar year, January 1st-December 31st. So, if your child turns seven in January, she'll compete as a seven-year-old that year. If she turns seven in December, she'll still compete as a seven-year-old, even if she's only six most of the year. 


What do kids do in TOPs?

There are two components to TOPs testing: physical abilities and skills.

Physical abilities include a timed rope climb, leg lifts, press handstands, timed handstands, and kicks. Testers are looking for great form in all the physical abilities, ie. straight legs in leg lifts and rope climb, great handstand form, etc. The requirements increase in difficulty as a child gets older. For instance, an eight-year-old will be expected to do five press handstands. By the time they're ten, they're expected to do ten.

Skills change as the child gets older, too. Seven-year-olds aren't tested for skills, only physical abilities. At seven, they're not eligible to qualify for national-level testing, but the top 50 girls in physical abilities testing in the nation make a team called Diamond Team. (Diamond Team is an honorary team. There are no requirements of the girls after they make Diamond Team, but it does set them up well for confidence when they can test as an eight-year-old the next year. It's great to be good at those physical abilities!)

Eight-, nine- and ten-year-olds all have their own sets of compulsory skill requirements. Ask your coach and check the USAG website for the TOPs skill requirements, because they evolve year to year.


How does testing work?

Gyms with TOPs programs generally open their own doors for testing dates during the summer months. This is the preliminary level of testing. When my daughter was in TOPs she did three or four of these in-state tests every summer. One was at our gym, and then we'd travel to different gyms for the others.

In my experience, these state-level tests are really laid back. It's not like a regular meet. Usually coaches serve as the testers. The tests usually take a couple of hours. They'll run through all the physical abilities and then move on to skills. When they test, it looks really different from a regular meet, where it's all about presentation. Girls in TOPs will hop on the beam and run through their skills one after another without a fancy mount or any dance involved. Some skills they're even allowed to move to a lower beam.

If your child does well enough on the state-level test, they'll qualify for national testing. When my girl was in TOPs we traveled down to Texas to be part of the national testing, but now the USAG training/testing site is elsewhere.

At national testing, you won't be able to watch your daughter test. There is usually a parent meeting during the testing where they congratulate you on your child making it to the testing and introduce you to some of the staff. They also give you information on the TOPs A & B Camps for which your daughter could qualify. Testing-skills at the national level are more advanced than the state level, but the national test is in the fall, so you'll find out if your child qualified in plenty of time to have them work up to those harder skills.


Making it to camp:

I suppose the goal of participating in TOPs is to make it to a TOPs camp and then, ideally, be picked out by a national coach and join a developmental team ... but don't let those lofty possibilities frighten you. TOPs is a great program no matter how far you take it.

My daughter made it to national testing all three years she tested, but she only made it to B Camp as a nine-year-old. Camp was a positive and fun experience for her, but she wasn't hand-picked to join a team, and I am still so glad she participated in TOPs.

TOPs camps are 3-4 days of hard work with national coaches. The focus is on moving these girls to elite, so they practice skills required for the compulsory portion of elite testing. The camps are pretty hard core and high level, as you'd expect from a national program of the caliber we've developed in the US. The girls stay on site (at least they did when my daughter was there), and parents stay elsewhere. Parents are not allowed to watch training. Towards the end of the camp they'll offer a parent viewing morning.

If your child is one of those little gymnasts with perfect physical abilities who picks up skills easily, you might be traveling a lot during the TOPs years. You may find yourself at national developmental camp with them every few months. But for most of us, TOPs is a great program for gaining strength and skills, and then you're back at your own gym working out and getting ready for the next Junior Olympic season at whatever level your child is competing.


Is TOPs the only way to make elite?

This is something they really stressed in the parent meeting at national testing-- not every elite gymnast was a TOPs superstar. There are plenty of anecdotes about so-and-so famous gymnast (like, Simone Biles!) who didn't do well at TOPs testings. I'll talk about the little I know about Hopes and Elite in my next post, but basically, the door to Elite is always open, whether you do great at TOPs or not. They recognize that girls progress at different rates. TOPs is valuable to USAG because it just helps them identify stand-out girls at a young age so they can monitor their training and make sure they're getting what they need to reach their potential. But if your daughter has big elite dreams, don't feel like it's over just because she never makes it to a national testing or camp. Anything's possible for girls who work hard if elite is what they want.


Should my daughter do TOPs?

Every gym handles their TOPs program differently. When my daughter started, she went into TOPs after recreational gymnastics. She had to try out for TOPs, but all girls who were interested in joining the JO team were funneled through the TOPs program, so it served as a pre-team as well. Back then, our gym had different levels of TOPs. The highest level consisted of the girls who would test during the summer, so not every TOPs girl at our gym did the summer testing.

Our gym has changed their set-up now so there's a pre-team and then a separate TOPs team of girls who are preparing for testing. The coaches pick which pre-team experience fits each girl best. All that to say, communicate with your child's coach. It's good to think about your child's goals. Just like the choice between Xcel and Junior Olympics, every child and family has different needs and goals when it comes to gymnastics. If your child is very driven at a young age, TOPs might be a great fit for them.

Another thing to note: Once kids are old enough to compete in a JO level, they'll usually be put on a JO team. My daughter competed level 4 as a TOPs seven-year-old, level 5 as an eight-year-old, and so on. She put in her JO time during the season and then worked on TOPs skills post-season and in the summer. It was BUSY, but it also meant she moved up quickly. TOPs definitely pushes kids, and if your child loves having goals, they'll love it. It does make for a more year-round gymnastics type experience, so just be ready for that. You're not just traveling during season anymore, but also in the summer and potentially in the fall. If that feels like too much gymnastics for you, TOPs might be too intense, AND THAT'S OKAY. Do whatever is right for you.



Do you have TOPs at your gym? What has your experience been like?