She has already been accelerated 2 levels and today, I found out, her teacher is recommending that she go up another level. So she will be in a class that is 3 levels ahead.
Is she doing USAG gymnastics? I only ask that because I have a dd who is also a talented gymnast
FWIW I think it helps to keep a perspective on what the "levels" mean in gymnastics - (and if it's not USAG things might be different, so ignore my thoughts lol!). A gymnast moves up levels by mastering all the skills at a previous level. So when saying she'll be "3 levels ahead" I'm not sure what your dd is actually "ahead" of anything other than her previous starting level (?). You'll find gymnasts of a wide variety of ages at each level in a typical gym, and a lot of times you'll find the gymnasts at each level that are younger are there because they started gymnastics earlier in their lives.
The teachers at the gym are telling me they have never seen a girl like DD.
It sounds like your dd has natural talent and potential, but at 4 years old that's quite a ways away from elite gymnast. The early levels are relatively easy to breeze through for a child with natural talent, but once you get to higher level skills that same talent might look a lot different if a child runs head-on into one skill that is difficult for them to learn.
Older children also run into time conflicts - if you stick with gymnastics and are competing, most gyms require a significant time investment - my dd, for instance, works out every night of the week right after school for three hours. She participates because she *loves* gymnastics, but even for a kid with her level of passion, the schedule is sometimes brutal. She's very aware of all the things her siblings are able to do with their time after school that she can't - they aren't cramming homework in on the weekends, they can go to after-school activities at their school or with friends, they can choose to participate in more than one sport at a time. The sports conflict has probably been the most difficult for dd - she is talented at other sports too, and she loves a lot of other sports. There are more than a few times she's thought about quitting gymnastics just to give another sport a try, but so far her passion for gymnastics is holding. She's at an age, however, where other talented gymnasts we've known have quit - starting middle school. I am not sure exactly how to describe it other than to say that gymnastics is a sport unlike most others in that the way it's structured really sorta sucks up kids into a "gym is everything" type of lifestyle which ultimately really isn't everyone's thing - so no matter how athletically talented any one individual is, it's not just the athletic talent that they have to have to keep at it for the long run - they also have to have a lot of drive, and they have to hold that passion for it at a high level through times when they are changing as they grow and possibly wanting to try other things, or simply have more free time.
There are a few things I'd watch out for two - the first with moving up levels is what is the age-mix in the group your dd will be spending her practice time with. If she's being thrown in with older girls, she's going to be spending a lot of time with older girls, and that means she'll be hearing about older-girl things that might not be what you are ready for her to hear about yet. I'd also be careful to watch for the business side of gymnastics - gyms are businesses as well as teams; not everything is about competing and bringing home prizes. There is a benefit at most gyms to moving gymnasts up in levels - because that opens up space in the lower levels to bring in more gymnasts, and every extra gymnast that is participating is also paying to be there. It's relatively easy to find gymnasts to fill up the lower levels (young kids who are eager, parents who are excited about it, skills that aren't limiting), but not so easy to fill up the higher levels.
Please know I'm not trying to be cynical, I love gymnastics for many reasons, and it's been a wonderful sport for my dd to participate in. I'd just caution at 4 getting too worked up about thinking my child is going to be an elite gymnast. Let her continue as long as she's passionate about, and see where it leads.
She continues to have a passion for it and just goes through every class with a giant smile on her face.
As long as she's loving it and you can afford it, I'd keep sending her
Gymnasts can get seriously hurt, so I am not so secretly hoping that she loses interest in a couple of years or less.
This used to be one of my biggest fears - to be honest I still freak a bit when I see the skills on the bars lol. The thing to do to ease your fears about this is to watch how the coaches at your gym work with girls. Some gyms push kids through to higher levels without really grounding them in basic skills along the way, and other gyms are very careful to be sure each skill is properly mastered before moving up - as long as you're in the second type of gym, the risks are mitigated. that doesn't mean that a freak accident won't happen, but avoidable accidents will be far less likely to happen. Also watch how the coaches coach, how they spot, what they encourage and discourage the children from doing. And watch at meets - if your gym has a lot of kids who score low and are really nervous at meets, that's a sign they may be moving kids up too fast (we have a gym in our area that clearly does this). Over time you'll get a good idea re how your particular gym handles safety. And the more you watch, the less scary it may all seem.
Best wishes to your dd - gymnastics is a fun sport!
polarbear, who is a total klutz
