About Recreational Gymnastics

All of our rec gymnasts age 6 & up with no prior experience begin in FUNdamentals I. This level – and all others – includes a list of gymnastics skills we teach on each Olympic event (Vault, Uneven Bars, Balance Beam, and Floor; for the boys: Floor, Pommel Horse, Rings, Vault, Parallel Bars, and Horizontal Bar). There are Required Skills and Prep Skills which introduced, practiced, and ultimately learned in cycles over the course of 8-week sessions.

Many skills that students learn in FUNdamentals I  & II will be continued as they progress through Intermediate and Advanced, and – if they end up on our competitive team – will still be reviewed and refined.

Every student in our program learns at their own pace, but students will typically all be working the same skills, or progressions for the same skills. Our instructors rotate through two Olympic event (apparatus) rotations each class, so that it takes 2-3 weeks to get through each event once.

Once your student has learned all the Required Skills for their level, you will receive an invitation to move up, typically at the end of the term (see our calendar for our terms and session).

In recreational classes our students focus on developing a wide range of skills, on all the Olympic gymnastics events. We begin by introducing important fundamental skills such as handstands, cartwheels, forward and backward rolls, swinging, walking on the beam, hanging and supports on bars, and vaulting. While each level adds increasing levels of challenge, these skills are developed throughout all levels (even Olympians work on improving them!).

Handsprings and flipping skills are not officially introduced until Intermediate II and/or Advanced, depending on the apparatus, though instructors incorporate lead-up drills that allow students to work on the movements and air sense for these skills

Each of our recreational levels include enough individual skills that it  can take anywhere from 6 months to a year or more for the average student to move up when attending 1 day per week. Consistent attendance, participation, fitness level, baseline strength and flexibility, and “coachability” contribute greatly to the rate of skill mastery.

Our instructors want to make sure that their students are having fun AND learning, even if the progress is slow. If moving up at a faster rate is important to you or your child, we recommend enrolling in 2 or more classes per week.

Online skill tracking helps us get a feel for progress, but is not always a good predictor of when a student will be ready to move up. This is because it’s hard to predict exactly when a particular skill with *click* with a student and they will consistently perform it successfully. Sometimes students will “lose” a skill due to fear or tricky timing or movement pattern, or they will grow and and a skill that was previously easy becomes difficult. These challenges are part of learning gymnastics, and setbacks and leaps in progress, and handling/celebrating those, are life skills to develop.

All families with a recreational gymnast will receive an email with log-in credentials to MySkillChart. You can log-in 24/7 to see your own student’s skills. Additionally, you can download the MySkillChart app from your app store which will provide you instant notifications with updates.

Here’s the content of the email you’ll recieve:

MySkillChart.com is the first ever skill tracking software for class based industries such as our own. This software allows your child’s instructor to track progress through your personal online portal.

To view your child’s progress:

1. Login at www.MySkillChart.com
2. Click Skill Tracking Login.
3. Type in California Sports Center and submit.

Login:_____________
Password: ____________

If you forgot your password, please click “Forgot Password?”. You can view your child’s skill chart though any device with a web browser (computer, smartphone, or tablet) but for easier access download the mobile app!

Our instructors are expected to update their students’ skill tracking at least once per 4 week term. Most instructors will update skills more frequently, some every day they teach, but we provide flexibility because we do NOT want our instructors to pay more attention to their skill tracking tablets than to the students in their classes!

Instructors will also have the option of sending push notifications anytime a student takes a leap in progress or learns a new skill. We’ll be experimenting with this feature, and work to find a nice balance, not having too many or too few notifications.

Please contact the gym if you have questions about the tracking of your child’s skills.

Our instructors are expected to introduce ALL the skills for the class level within an 8-week cycle (one full session). Once your gymnast has been in class for a few months, all skills should be marked with at least 1 star.

For each event apparatus, there are Required Skills that can be rated up to 5-Stars. There are also Prep Skills that are 1-Star and are introduced and practiced but not tracked for mastery at the current level.

Please contact the gym if you have questions about the tracking of your child’s skills.

In your child’s MySkillChart, you will notice that some skills are evaluated out of five stars and other skills have only one star. What’s the difference?

Progress on all skills are tracked by your gymnast’s instructor. Five-star skills are mandatory for move up. Mastery will make them eligible to move up to the next level. 5-Star skills are represented by the video clips we have created for each skill. The videos generally represent a high degree of mastery for rec level participation. Some gymnastics skills are easier or more difficult to learn than others, and depending on the skill, the particular gymnastics apparatus, your child’s natural abilities, their class attendance and efforts, students may reach anywhere from 2 stars to 5 stars. We base student readiness to move-up around ALL their skills being in the 3-star to 4-star range.

One-star skills are introductory/prep skills. These skills are to help your student prep to learn skills that may be mandatory at their next level. They are not tracked for mastery.