I am speaking from experience when I give this advice. My CP switched gyms because she was hitting a brick wall: the level 5 sr team was not dedicated enough to satisfy her and was not goal driven to work toward getting a bid to worlds, something that she wanted; too many athletes not serious enough to be on a level 5 worlds team and she was not interested in staying at that gym if they didn't have the same goals as she did. So we researched gyms and found one that would meet her needs: a level 5 worlds team that practiced 3 days a week, competitions that included out of state competitions and more than just small local competitions, tumbling incorporated into practices but also additional tumbling classes available, and she would not be the best tumbler in the gym-she would have others who had better skills than her that she could work toward, which she really wanted to have in her gym. Regrets, yes, that we had not switched gyms SOONER than we did and now that she is a senior, she wishes she had switched years ago, as she feels that there were many wasted years at her old gym, years that she could have been gaining and growing at this new gym. I'm not saying do it now while she is 9, but definitely do some research and make the decision before you begin to procrastinate and don't go when you think it's not a good time, or she doesn't want to leave her friends, or it's too much money, or it's too far to drive: those were all of our reasons. And in the end, she made even more and better friends, the drive isn't that bad, and it isn't that much more money and it is really worth CP's happiness and satisfaction with being at a place she loves with friends that she loves and with coaches that she loves. It really was a great move and I don't regret it for one second!!