10 Things Parents Want Coaches to Know

1. I love my child so much it hurts. It makes me a little irrational.  Please bare with me.  Be gentle.  My heart is walking around outside of me, and I entrust it to you.  I am not asking for a free pass, just a little empathy.   2. And of course, I want you to […]

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10 Things Preschool Gymnastics Coaches Will Understand

1. This is your work wardrobe: 2. Your parents think this of your “job”: 3. And this is what your friends think your job entails: 4. While the parents of your students think this is your job: 5. In reality, this is just about sums up a day at the “office”: 6. Your students at […]

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Playing Parental Whack-A-Mole: 6 Tips for Staying Sane in the Insanity of Youth Sports

So you are the parent who tires to stay above the fray of the parenting sports frenzy. You don’t watch every minute of practice. You don’t cross-examine your child after each workout or meet. You assume good faith with your child’s coaches. You refrain from comparing your kid’s “talent” and achievement with those of her […]

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How Gymnastics Helps Your Child Succeed in School (Backed by Harvard Research)

  Harvard School of Education released their findings on their latest research project; and, they could have simply titled it “Why Your Kid Should do Gymnastics if You Want Them to Develop the Kind of Character That Helps Them Succeed at School.” Okay, it doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue…but it cuts to the core […]

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30 Things a Successful Sports Parent Knows

Successful sports parents know their role. They are the parent. They are neither the athlete nor the coach. Successful sports parents know to watch their pronouns.   “We” do not have a meet this weekend, and “we” are not trying to go elite. Successful sports parents know to keep their eye on the big picture. A […]

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How Is Parenting an Athlete Like Baking a Cake?

So how is parenting an athlete like baking a cake? Well, the story goes like this: Imagine that there are three bakers who are each baking a cake. The first baker carefully measures out the very best ingredients, carefully mixing them and pouring the batter into a well-greased pan, placing the pan into a perfectly pre-heated […]

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Competition: Is it Good or Bad for Kids?

There are those who think that competition erodes self-esteem, interferes with learning, ruins peer relationships and causes undo stress for the young athlete. And this is absolutely true.  Competition can erode self-esteem, interfere with learning, damage relationships and cause stress. Others will argue that competition is good for kids because they need to learn that […]

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Is Pushing Kids Until They Cry Just a Part of Gymnastics?

Looking around a gymnastics forum for inspiration for a topic of a blog post, I came across a parent thread called: Pushing kids until they cry? Just a part of gymnastics? Immediately I thought: Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner. Is pushing kids until they cry just a part of gymnastics? Here is the […]

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My 10 Hopes for Gymnasts Retiring

Summer brings a time of the year when it is logical that some of the kids in our gyms will decide to hang up their grips for good and head off into the sunset.  I’ve written before that there is a difference between quitting and ending, and most certainly, the end of a competition season […]

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