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It’s NOT My Life, But It Is An AWESOME Part of My Life: 50 Things that Everyone Can Benefit From by Being a Gymnast
Earlier this week, I wrote a post called Gymnastics Is NOT Life. The premise was that gymnastics should not be the center of either gymnasts or their parents’ lives. It went on to detail ten things that I wanted everyone to consider as important when discussing how central gymnastics is to their identity.
The response was overwhelmingly positive, but some were less than thrilled with my idea that gymnastics ought not be at the core of a family’s life. This did not take me by surprise because when people feel passionately about something they react. Furthermore, we all have different experiences in life, and some thought mine were over exaggerated. They weren’t, but I will grant you that I live in a part of the country that does not necessarily reflect the country as a whole. Nevertheless, reasonable people can disagree. I welcomed the dialogue that caused me to think and prompted me to clarify some of the things that I wrote.
What I was not prepared for was the misunderstanding that my blog specifically called out gymnastics (as opposed to other sports) and that my blog was anti-gymnastics.
First, I want to be clear, the discussion was limited to gymnastics because I am writing a blog aimed at the gymnastics community. Much of what I said absolutely can be applied to any number of youth sports, arts programs or school itself. Gymnastics families do not have the monopoly on taking youth sports to an extreme and are hardly alone in the sport of competitive parenting. And in time I will rewrite this to generalize it to youth sports for my blog on the Huffington Post that is aimed at a wider audience. Gymnastics is not the only sport that gets taken overboard.
But, second, and more significantly, let’s get this clear: I LOVE GYMNASTICS. I think it is an incredible sport for all kids to be involved with and that it teaches so many great life lessons in addition to being really fun. Furthermore, I participated as an athlete, coach and judge for better than 10 years, two of my daughters competed in the sport and it’s been my career for over another decade. Some of my closest, most cherished relationships are a direct result of this sport, and I am continually impressed with the dedication and professionalism of those who I am lucky enough to call my colleagues.
I love gymnastics: as an athlete, a coach, a judge, a parent and a gym owner. I love the sport wholly and completely. And like most things we grow to love, we also grow to understand its shortcomings and flaws. In turn, because we love it, we also are in the position to call it on those faults and shortcomings.
So here is a quick list of 50 things that I LOVE about gymnastics (in no particular order):
- Gymnastics is the basis for all sports.
- Gymnastics develops a life long love and ability for fitness.
- Gymnastics makes kids strong
- Gymnastics makes kids flexible.
- Gymnastics develops coordination.
- Gymnastics develops grace.
- Gymnastics teaches kinesthetic awareness.
- Gymnastics teaches playground readiness that children need before entering school.
- Gymnastics teaches kids to take turns.
- Gymnastics improves children’s coachability.
- Gymnastics helps kids learn to read.
- Gymnastics teaches self-discipline.
- Gymnastics teaches grit.
- Gymnastics develops resiliency.
- Gymnastics promotes a growth mindset.
- Gymnastics stresses incremental improvement.
- Gymnastics teaches goal setting and encourages ambitious thinking.
- Gymnastics builds self-confidence.
- Gymnastics encourages respectful behavior.
- Gymnastics delivers the tough message that life isn’t always fair.
- Gymnastics teaches how not to quit.
- Gymnastics teaches courage and how to cope with things that scare you.
- Gymnastics encourages kids to do hard things.
- Gymnastics teaches patience and how to delay gratification.
- Gymnastics helps kids learn to take feedback and constructive criticism.
- Gymnastics teaches humility.
- Gymnastics develops responsibility.
- Gymnastics teaches how to compete against oneself for personal bests.
- Gymnastics teaches how to manage nerves when presenting routines or competing in a meet.
- Gymnastics teaches time management.
- Gymnastics develops leaders.
- Gymnastics teaches the commitment of being on a team.
- Gymnastics demonstrates how to cope with the emotions that arise from winning, losing, frustration, jealousy and pride.
- Gymnastics develops a positive work ethic.
- Gymnastics keeps kids engaged in productive activity, keeping them away from less desirable influences.
- Gymnastics teaches kids define success in terms beyond winning.
- Gymnastics helps kids excel in school, including boasting among the highest graduation rates in the NCAA.
- Gymnastics improves brain function.
- Gymnastics may encourage girls to pursue science.
- Gymnastics strengthens girls’ bones.
- Gymnastics develops sportsmanship.
- Gymnastics teaches the difference between quitting and ending.
- Gymnastics places caring adults in your child’s life who are an integral part of your village.
- Gymnastics puts kids into contact with like-minded kids who are working toward goals.
- Gymnastics creates an extended community.
- Gymnastics creates life long friendships.
- Gymnastics helps make happy childhood memories.
- Gymnastics creates happy family memories.
- Gymnastics gives coaches the ability to influence kids positively.
- Gymnastics is fun.
In short and to repeat: I LOVE GYMNASTICS.
What reasons do you love gymnastics that I did not list?
I am not a gymnast, but I was a competitive swimmer and runner. My love of gymnastics started in the 1960s when I was a kid, thanks to my mum. She’d watch gymnastics on the telly, but never did gymnastics herself. Then in the early 1970s she took me into London to watch Olga Korbut and the Soviet gymnasts. I fell in love with the sport. I watched a lot of gymnastics on the telly in the 80s and 90s. It wasn’t until 2008 that I saw live a gymnastics meet, and that meet was the US Olympic Trials in Philadelphia. I drove down with my daughter and her gymnastics coach. My daughter started taking gymnastics classes 2007/8, then was invited to join the team. Every year since my daughter and I have traveled to watch Nationals and the 2012 Olympic Trials. We’ve had a blast together and yes, created many happy childhood and family memories. We already have our tickets and hotel for Nationals in Indianapolis next year.
Your list of what there is to love about gymnastics just about covers it all. I love my daughter’s work ethic and time management skills that I’m sure she developed because of gymnastics. We don’t have to bug her about getting her school work done. She takes on challenging classes and is self motivated. And yes, she has a love of sciences and she is involved with activities such as Above the Influence and student counsel, helping her peers make healthy life choices. I love that my daughter is now coaching gymnastics classes at her team’s gym. I love seeing her with the little girls, and seeing them all googley eyed looking up to her. I love that through gymnastics she has many close and supportive friendships. I love that she has been a CIT at a gymanstics and water sports camp and next summer will be a junior couselor. I love seeing the enduring friendships with both gymnasts and coaches from that camp. And I love seeing my daughter’s sportsmanship at meets. For example, at this year’s Regionals I saw her by the second rotation cheering on and giving high fives and hugs to gymnasts from other States whom she’d never met before. Made me a proud dad. There’s lots to love about gymnastics.
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Great examples of how both you and your daughter enjoyed and capitalized on her gymnastics experience! See you in Indy! 😉
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Gymnastics brought Anne into my life. What a blessing! Proud of you for limiting it to only 50 reasons you love gymnastics 🙂
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one of my greatest gifts: your friendship! xoxo
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Loved your initial article! Love this one too … point taken!! Anyone who reads your articles should know where your heart lies. I’m fairly new to your blog, but EVERY article I read of yours, you hit the nail on the head. It’s a perspective gymnastic (and other parents of a different sport) parents need to hear to keep the sport healthy. … in many respects. Thank you ….
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Thanks, Lisa!
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As a coach who is so very lucky to work for Anne; Gymnastics makes me feel important.
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And you are! Xoxo
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Reblogged this on Paul Karam Kassab 1.
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I like the reasons, but I don’t like how you limit it to girls…Boys do gymnastics too.
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you are absolutely right Chase! Sometimes writing styles makes doing the he/she thing feel really clunky–but male gymnasts rock and are among the strongest of all athletes out there!
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