15 Reasons Competitive Sports are Great for Kids (That Have Nothing to do with Winning)

Earlier this week I wrote a post about the things to consider when deciding if competitive gymnastics is right for your child. It started me to think about the very concept of competition. Why should kids compete? Is competition good for them? Is it necessary to get them prepared for their grown-up lives? I don’t […]

»»

Should my Child Join a Gymnastics Team?

It’s a question that comes up this time of year when many clubs around the nation are winding down their competitive seasons and are sending invitations or holding placements to welcome new members to their competitive gymnastics teams. “How do I know if competitive gymnastics right for my child?” is actually a more complicated question.  […]

»»

When It’s All Over, What Really Matters?

As coaches, when kids who come through our gym doors we hope we will teach them great gymnastics and that we will also influence them positively and make a difference in their lives.  That is, in a nutshell, what our job entails. Once in awhile, however, we get a kid who walks through the doors […]

»»

10 Truths That Successful Athletes Embrace

Getting what you want often costs more than you want to pay, but you do it anyway.  It’s easy to show up when you feel like doing so, but when you don’t feel like and do it anyway you are on the road to success. You are making choices, not sacrifices.  Stop thinking of your […]

»»

10 Commandments of Gymnastics Parenting

1. Gymnastics is not life.  Put other things before it.  Gymnastics might feel like life to your child and that is perfectly normal.  Your child is a child.  And, therefore, has the perspective of a child. You are an adult.  Keep the big picture of raising a child in mind. 2. Thou shalt not compare […]

»»

20 Tips to Develop Self-Confidence

“I just want my child to be more confident.” This is a common problem for parents and coaches: a capable athlete perform who does not perform to his or her potential because of a lack of confidence. Often our response is to dole out positive affirmations (“You can do it!”  “Just go for it!”), tempt […]

»»

The F Words: Favoritism and Fairness, My Two Cents

  “I do play favorites,” confided a coach in an article I was reading, “And my favorites are the ones that work the hardest, that come ready to practice, who stay coachable. My favorites are the ones that listen the best, that know what they are supposed to do, who learn their lessons.” I know […]

»»

Confessions: 20 Terribly Rotten, Awful and Horrible Things Coaches Do to Ruin Gymnasts’ Lives

I was reading an article that had me laughing pretty hard about the “terrible” things that parents do their kids, like make them blow their noses, not touch hot stoves and even wear their seat belts and refrain from juggling kitchen knives. It got me thinking of the “awful” things that we as coaches do […]

»»

The Most Important Quality of a Coach

Hands down is this: enthusiasm. This isn’t just my own observation. There are piles of academic research that back up the claim that great teachers share the quality of enthusiasm. And, in fact, Hal Urban, a noted and respected educator, listed enthusiasm as the first quality in his book Lessons from the Classroom: 20 Things […]

»»