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Gymnastics....what would you do?
roses25
Posts: 567
Hi Everyone,
I'm guessing many of you remember how about 2 years ago Aiden had so much trouble in preschool gymnastics...cried when he left me, didn't stay in line well, kids cut in front of him all the time, etc.
Well fast forward two years and Aiden is still in gymnastics, loves it, and does really well. The exciting news is that the team coach came out of class to introduce himself to me and informed me that Aiden has a lot of natural ability for gymnastics and that he will be watching him right now and working with him some. He has a high chance of making boys team gymnastics. The coach said that he usually starts them in team around 7 or 8 so that they are a little more mature. I was a gymnasts who competed and would love to see my son have the same opportunity. I will do whatever it takes to make it a possibility for him.
We live in a very rural community. We currently travel twice a week (100 miles each way but due to higher speed limits on the interstate it only takes about 1 hour and 15 minutes each way). He currently has one hour classes. This takes up from the time we leave after school until bedtime and the kids usually fall asleep on the way home. This is the closest gymnastics gym that has boys competition gymnastics for us.
If he makes team he will practice for 3 hours three times a week. Two of the days are for sure weekdays and I'm not totally sure when the third day is, but I'm hopeful it's Saturday. So we'd still be looking at leaving right after school and not getting home until a few hours later than we do now. His little sister Addison goes along and has dance class during some of the time and will eventually have gymnastics also. She does pretty well watching also, but I know 3 hours is a lot different than 1 hour.
I am a planner and like to think about possible options ahead of time. We just bought a house, so I'd hate to move, but it would for sure be an option. We could always continue commuting to gymnastics. I also thought about maybe I need to consider hiring a live in nanny or au pair (not for sure of the difference at this time) who could in addition to childcare for my little one would maybe be able to take my son to gymnastics one time a week. Although I'm not sure how I feel about having the nanny drive my child that far and that long in the dark, etc. I'm also not sure if any nanny's or au pair's would even want to come to such a rural area. I haven't had any luck in finding anyone in my town who is interested in gymnastics or dance to carpool with. And maybe 3 hours a week three nights a week isn't much when you consider that if it wasn't gymnastics, it would probably be basketball, football, track, etc.
What would you do or consider (if he makes team, not allowing him to be on team isn't an option by the way)?
I'm guessing many of you remember how about 2 years ago Aiden had so much trouble in preschool gymnastics...cried when he left me, didn't stay in line well, kids cut in front of him all the time, etc.
Well fast forward two years and Aiden is still in gymnastics, loves it, and does really well. The exciting news is that the team coach came out of class to introduce himself to me and informed me that Aiden has a lot of natural ability for gymnastics and that he will be watching him right now and working with him some. He has a high chance of making boys team gymnastics. The coach said that he usually starts them in team around 7 or 8 so that they are a little more mature. I was a gymnasts who competed and would love to see my son have the same opportunity. I will do whatever it takes to make it a possibility for him.
We live in a very rural community. We currently travel twice a week (100 miles each way but due to higher speed limits on the interstate it only takes about 1 hour and 15 minutes each way). He currently has one hour classes. This takes up from the time we leave after school until bedtime and the kids usually fall asleep on the way home. This is the closest gymnastics gym that has boys competition gymnastics for us.
If he makes team he will practice for 3 hours three times a week. Two of the days are for sure weekdays and I'm not totally sure when the third day is, but I'm hopeful it's Saturday. So we'd still be looking at leaving right after school and not getting home until a few hours later than we do now. His little sister Addison goes along and has dance class during some of the time and will eventually have gymnastics also. She does pretty well watching also, but I know 3 hours is a lot different than 1 hour.
I am a planner and like to think about possible options ahead of time. We just bought a house, so I'd hate to move, but it would for sure be an option. We could always continue commuting to gymnastics. I also thought about maybe I need to consider hiring a live in nanny or au pair (not for sure of the difference at this time) who could in addition to childcare for my little one would maybe be able to take my son to gymnastics one time a week. Although I'm not sure how I feel about having the nanny drive my child that far and that long in the dark, etc. I'm also not sure if any nanny's or au pair's would even want to come to such a rural area. I haven't had any luck in finding anyone in my town who is interested in gymnastics or dance to carpool with. And maybe 3 hours a week three nights a week isn't much when you consider that if it wasn't gymnastics, it would probably be basketball, football, track, etc.
What would you do or consider (if he makes team, not allowing him to be on team isn't an option by the way)?
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We eventually moved but gym was part of the reason, not the whole reason. The kids' school is up in the same area as gym so they were commuting for both. All I ever did was drive and since all the kids' are little and Amanda is usually asleep or at work during those times, all the kids had to do all the driving as well.
We eventually decided to move 20 mins north so we now live 5-6 mins from gym, 12 mins from school and also now 5 mins from my other daughter's swim.
I think, first off, you need to take into consideration if the kids have to change schools if you move and if this is a good or bad change a did the area is good, bad or equal. I would suck it up with the drive until he has been on the team for a while to see if there is a good chance he will stick with it. After being at this for a while, we see tons of kids join pre team, then team and be all excited and 1-2 years later are gone. It is a huge commitment mentally and physically that most kids aren't up for. The few that are will most likely be in it for the long haul.
Thanks for your suggestions. No, I'm not burned out from doing all the driving after a full day of teaching. I guess I'm kind of used to the drive. As a child we drove an hour twice week for gymnastics (one day being a Saturday and the other a weekday). So I guess I'm kind of used to it. I also commuted an hour each way for student teaching every day of the school week with Aiden from the time he was 3 months until he was 1, and before that I commuted an hour each way 2-3 times a week for college. So I guess I'm kind of used to it. This year for homework in first grade all he has is a short book to read each day, so he usually reads that in the morning before school, but he's becoming a pretty good reader so I may have him read it on the way and if he has trouble reading a word he can spell it to me. So yes, I certainly see the drive will have to be used as homework time. We do eat supper in the car on gymnastics nights, sometimes packed and sometimes fast food. But it's becoming more and more packed as I'm seeing how expensive and unhealthy eating out this many times a week is.
Carolyn
Thanks for your response. When you were commuting how often did you commute for gymnastics & how long were practices? Did you drive back home each time or did you just stick around with your little ones or go do something else close by? How did you fit homework in?
My kids would have to change schools, and I haven't really looked into whether that's bad, good, or equal. I really like our school right now because it is a K-12 school and they go to the same school I teach at. I agree that I probably should just suck it up with the drive and continue driving after he makes team for a year or two before deciding. I'm just curious how fill the 3 hours with Addison and possible other children down the road. I'd almost like to join a gym or ymca and have some time to exercise during that time in the future.
Carolyn
Now she goes 4 days a week but comes home to do homework and have a snack instead of having to do it on the go. She knows that homework must be completed before practice and if that makes her late, so be it. As of now, she is able to finish it before without an issue. We encouraged her to try other sports and activities and she did. She liked other things but nothing compares to her love for gymnastics and she knows in order to do it she can do nothing else and is totally fine with that. Her coach just asked that she start coming 5 days a week and she is totally for it but we are not sure of our decision yet. We have decision to make just as you do. She is 8 and there are pros and cons. No one can make the decision for you or know what is best for your child or family, but getting insight from others is a great idea. Good luck with your decision. I wish our local gyms had competitive boys' teams but the closest is a couple hours away