Off Topic "Gifted" Gymnasts

[MayDay]

I am just wondering if any of the gymnasts out there have been "diagnosed" as "gifted"? (sorry, don't really know how to word that, lol) How does everying work together for you? Thoughts?

I have seen on other posts that there is a positive correlation between gymanstics and schooling. How has this played into you or your child's life?

Just curious! Thanks!

 

[gymgal]

I am not sure what you are asking. Can you elaborate on your question?

My dd is 10 and is in the 98th-99th percentile. I don't think it has really affected her gymnastics much, except that she has always caught on to directions faster and been more attuned to the coaches' body language/dispositions. She also has more of an internal drive than most kids but I think that is just her personality. I would not say that her academic gifts have carried over to gymnastics - She's talented (I feel any one making it to level 6/7 has to have some talent) but she doesn't stand out on her team as being one of the best. She usually places in the top 30% at meets but rarely the top 3 places

 

[Kiwi]

My DD is 8 and not a gifted gymnast. She does very well at school and is in their 'gifted and talented' program. She has a lot of great mental characteristics for gym - she is focused, quite well coordinated, has drive and ambition, pays attention to the coach, has a good memory for routines, and performs quite well under pressure of competition. But she doesn't have a body that is naturally well-suited to gymnastics, she struggles with strength and flexibility, she has to work very hard at these. She's a middle-of-the-pack gymnast, she doesn't place at competitions, last year her best place was 6th equal, this year her best place was 7th. I always tell her how good she is at gymnastics, because all the competitive girls are good, that's why they were chosen for the competitive stream. There are loads of rec gymnasts that can't do what she can do.

 

[bogwoppit]

They do not test kids here unless there is a real concern, they feel that too much testing and labelling leads to other issues.

My girls have both done well in school, the are organised and manage their time pretty well. Not sure that gym brought that to them, my son never did gym and he did great in elementary and high school as well.

 

[Mack_the_Ripper]

In my school district (education is in general very locally organized in the US for those who live elsewhere) we have a talented and gifted program that starts in fourth grade. However, it is a sham - just an extra class where they learn cool things like aerodynamics and robotics, but not actually related to any school curriculum. I was a part of that but dropped out because I was the only girl.

In high school, I am gifted academically. I am taking a full and challenging schedule with many AP and honors classes, and I intend to apply to some pretty prestigious colleges. I don't think this has affected my gymnastics much, except that I have very little free time! Most skills involved in gymnastics have little to do with thinking or logic, although I suppose my work ethic contributes to both areas.

 

[skfleming255]

My dd is in the gifted class at school. I think it does affect her gymnastics and mindset. B/c she is very intelligent, she over-analyzes some skills and (unlike some kids) realizes there is a very real danger to the sport; therefore, she holds back and it's more of a struggle with fear. She has been struggling with bars this season (ugh.....level 5) and has lost all confidence in herself with bars. She has never struggled with anything in her life until level 5 bars and like most gifted children, she doesn't know how to deal with failure. She has cried, been sick at her stomach, wanted to quit, etc.... My dh and I have decided that this is a life lesson for her, and we are not going to let her quit until she gets better at bars for level 5, then she can make a decision.

 

[gymnast4life94]

I am in AP courses and have been in the gifted and talented program. I tend to think I am good at gymnastics, but my best friend who is terrible with school and doesn't know much (trying to say it in a nice way, her and I have grown up since birth together..... we were born 3 hours apart ) is amazing at gymnastics, she used to beat me all the time before I moved out of Texas so I don't see connection between the two at all

 

[AlwaysCuriousMom]

I think there are all kinds of gymnasts, both academically gifted and academically challenged. It would, however, make sense that those children who are focused, ambitious, and good-listeners are most likely to excel in gymnastics - as they would in all areas of life.

 

[JessLW]

My two kids are both too young to really be classified as "gifted" academically. DS is only 4 and while I think he's smart, who knows whether or not that will translate into academic success.

I myself was both a gymnast and academically talented though. I don't think being gifted academically really helped me all that much with gymnastics, except that I was lucky in that my grades weren't really affected by spending too much time in the gym because I coasted through all of middle school and the first half of high school anyhow. Home too late to do homework? No problem, I'd just do it in the car on the way to school. I was always one of those kids who never seemed to study but could still pull off 'A's. If I'd been struggling academically then a time consuming sport like gymnastics might not have been the best choice.

I think as you get into the higher levels and you have girls who hope to get college scholarships, well, there has to be a certain amount of academic ability there too otherwise no matter how good a gymnast you are no school will take you. I do think though that gymnastics can help to foster some good habits and positive traits -- time management skills, focus and concentration, perserverance -- that can also lend themselves to academic success.

 

[coachmolly]

I think there are all kinds of gymnasts, both academically gifted and academically challenged. It would, however, make sense that those children who are focused, ambitious, and good-listeners are most likely to excel in gymnastics - as they would in all areas of life.

I think this is really it, much more so than a correlation between academically gifted and being a good gymnast.
I was considered gifted, but I also had significant problems in school due to another diagnosis. I hated hearing the generalization about how gymnasts are supposed to be good in school and how we should all be getting As, because I was struggling so much. I already knew my teachers were frustrated with me for not living up to on-paper expectations, I didn't need my coaches to see me the same way.

 

[Krystan]

I don't think being "gifted" in academics in any way makes one better at gymnastics, but a lot of the "issues" gifted kids have can carry over. These include the good things as mentioned above (driven, good listeners, etc), but also, a frequent problem with gifted kids, perfectionism and anxiety. My dd would most likely have been labeled "gifted" if she had been to school, but we homeschool (partially because there are no labels like "gifted", "anxiety disorder", etc) and she is in a different grade in every subject. Even without grades and the pressure of test scores, she is super-perfectionist and has trouble dealing when things are hard for her. This is why gymnastics is so wonderful for her!

My dd is in the gifted class at school. I think it does affect her gymnastics and mindset. B/c she is very intelligent, she over-analyzes some skills and (unlike some kids) realizes there is a very real danger to the sport; therefore, she holds back and it's more of a struggle with fear. She has been struggling with bars this season (ugh.....level 5) and has lost all confidence in herself with bars. She has never struggled with anything in her life until level 5 bars and like most gifted children, she doesn't know how to deal with failure. She has cried, been sick at her stomach, wanted to quit, etc.... My dh and I have decided that this is a life lesson for her, and we are not going to let her quit until she gets better at bars for level 5, then she can make a decision.

I could have written this post, almost verbatim! We are having *huge* level 5 bar problems. Everything came easily for her before that (took her one year total of gymnastics to get to L5). All the new L5s at the beginning of the summer did NOT have their kip, and by the end of the summer only 2 did not. Dd was one of them, of course, and the anxiety was huge, just as you're describing above! She was ready to quit over it, which, like you, we didn't allow. As the competitive season drew closer, the anxiety was higher and finally we talked to the coach. She was totally fine with dd scratching bars until she has the kip, but for dd's sanity (and the rest of ours!) she is letting her compete L4 (which she had only done in a local league, not USA) USA while still training L5. It is perfect for her right now. She is still working L5 bars every day, but does not have that stress of *having* to get it today. She is so much happier and LOVES gymnastics again. But, back to the point, I think this extreme perfectionism can be debilitating and comes from kids that are used to not really having to work to get things. If they don't get something right away (even in math, though she is 2 grades ahead), they are frustrated way beyond what the situation calls for.

 

[CoachGoofy]

I was classified as twice-exceptional (so gifted with other differences-I'm Queen Peaks And Valleys), & was a great student in some things and pretty abysmal in others. Kind of like now, except I can avoid the things that I just can't wrap my head around or find an alternative course.

I was NOT a gifted gymnast by any stretch of the imagination. Most skills took work. A lot of work. I could tell you the physics of how a skill worked, but putting it into a practice? Psht. I got pretty good, but it was not remotely easy. LOTS of analysis and painstaking little changes.

 

[Tumblequeensmom]

My dd is in the gifted class at school. I think it does affect her gymnastics and mindset. B/c she is very intelligent, she over-analyzes some skills and (unlike some kids) realizes there is a very real danger to the sport; therefore, she holds back and it's more of a struggle with fear. She has been struggling with bars this season (ugh.....level 5) and has lost all confidence in herself with bars. She has never struggled with anything in her life until level 5 bars and like most gifted children, she doesn't know how to deal with failure. She has cried, been sick at her stomach, wanted to quit, etc.... My dh and I have decided that this is a life lesson for her, and we are not going to let her quit until she gets better at bars for level 5, then she can make a decision.

I honestly don't think that being identified as "gifted and talented" has anything to do w/realizing that there is a real danger to this sport. In my experience, every girl has come to the realization around age 10-12 that "hey, I can really get hurt doing some of these tricks now!"

 

[bribri514]

I always did much better in gymnastics than school. My mom is a teacher and made me and my sister put school first, we had to have our homework done before practice or meets and if we got below Cs we couldn't compete. I worked really hard and was able to get a 3.0 but that's because of the hard work I put in I gained from gymnastics. School never came easily to me. I did like science though, like biology. English and history classes make me want to cry. I'm better at being social and performing in cheer or gym that's for sure. Also our school district is a rural mountain district and didn't really have a big GT program.

My niece's school doesn't have a GT program. It's an inner city public school that they're trying to break down into charter groups, starting in 6th grade they actually are part of a school within a school. She likes to write a lot though, she's a big dreamer. She does really well with her grades, but I think it's because compared to a lot of other kids at her school, my brother cares about her education, reading to her when she was little, checking her homework, etc.

My cousins went to a big suburban school and GT was a big deal there. At my niece's gym, a lot of the mom's talk about their girls in GT at school, and they go to the suburban NoVA schools. So I think a lot of it is where you are.

 

[gymgal]

I honestly don't think that being identified as "gifted and talented" has anything to do w/realizing that there is a real danger to this sport. In my experience, every girl has come to the realization around age 10-12 that "hey, I can really get hurt doing some of these tricks now!"

Slightly "gifted" kids might arrive at this realization around 10-12yrs but kids with upper levels of intelligence (the top 5%) arrive at this realization much earlier - often by age 5-6. My three are at this level and all have shown this awareness by 5yr. Even my twice exceptional child showed it, though he still doesn't act upon it at 8yr due to impulse issues. And it's not an case of parents teaching their children. these kids intuitively figure out the world on their own, just as older kids do - just at much younger ages.

One other thought - while my dd arrived at the fear realization earlier, she was also able to rationalize at much earlier ages - "my coach is here to help me over this fear - they are not going to let me get hurt when they are spotting me." Now unfortunately, that doesn't always translate to acting on that trust

 

[bogwoppit]

What on earth is a twice exceptional child?

Okay I googled it, I'm good now.

But are your kids, meaning this generally not just Gymgal, tested when very small, or only if they appear to be struggling? It seems so many kids here ate labelled, even when they have no struggles.

 

[gymgal]

But are your kids, meaning this generally not just Gymgal, tested when very small, or only if they appear to be struggling? It seems so many kids here ate labelled, even when they have no struggles.

In the USA it really depends on where you live. It appears that most districts test around grade 3-4. They don't like testing earlier because lots of early readers will look gifted if tested in K-2 but by the time they reach third grade, they even out with their peers. Of course, many people (me included) believe this stems from the kids not being challenged properly in school at the lower levels. the educators combat this with the notion that if a child is truly gifted, they will challenge themselves and continue to grow at a faster rate. This is not true but they still go by this notion. My older two (twins) were tested at 8. My younger was tested at 6. The only reason they were tested was because we placed them in school for one year (we homeschool) and they were way beyond their grade level. In order to get even slight modification on their work, they had to be identified.

As for twice exceptional, most of these kids are usually tested when they begin having trouble. It is the struggles that get them tested and then adults realize that the child is gifted as well. The struggles usually hide the advanced intelligence.

For those that don't know twice exceptional is used when a child is in the gifted range but also has academic or attention struggles significant enough to need modifications in school. ADHD, autism, physical limitations, learning disabilities, etc.

forgot to add that one of the reasons why we label kids as gifted here is because most of the traditional elementary schools are set up with homogeneous classrooms (all abilities) rather than dividing the the groups by abilities. As a result, the kids who learn faster are often very bored in class and never reach their potential. The gifted programs attempt to supplement and expand their learning. Some are better than others. In recent years, alternative public schools (charter) have cropped up and many are going back to dividing the groups so that each group is challenged properly.

 

[coachmolly]

Hm, I guess I would have fallen into the twice exceptional category. That term wasn't used when I was in school, though, at least not that I know of. And my issues are/were, especially at that time, not known a whole lot about so I don't think they really took them into account as I was struggling.
As far as gifted testing, I was tested in 3rd grade because a teacher recommended it. I know other kids who were identified slightly earlier and some whose parents requested that they be tested. At that time we were in regular classrooms and once a week went to a special, more in-depth class called seminar. Once we got to 6th grade we were grouped into academic level groups numbered 1-4. Level 1 was the kids who struggled and level 4 was for those deemed "gifted". Inside the gifted class they broke the kids into 2 groups- basically more and less gifted. Kids would follow this level 4 track all the way through middle school and once in high school would be on an honors/AP track. I was in the level 4 class in 6th grade and struggled a ton because of other problems and the teachers did not respond well. I ended up dropping down to the level 3- standard college prep- track for the remainder of middle school and still had difficulties. Through middle and high school teachers didn't really know what to do with me because on paper I was supposed to be performing very well, but in reality I struggled in many classes. I had a friend in a similar situation.
I never felt like I was gifted or any smarter than my classmates, and it was pretty degrading to be "demoted" from the gifted program as an 11 year old. So while the experiences in elementary school going to an extra class were fun, I'm not sure the label was really worth it. I think it's probably better to avoid labeling kids if they aren't demonstrating problems.

 

[skfleming255]

I honestly don't think that being identified as "gifted and talented" has anything to do w/realizing that there is a real danger to this sport. In my experience, every girl has come to the realization around age 10-12 that "hey, I can really get hurt doing some of these tricks now!"

As stated by gymgal, my dd was very young (around 7 years old) when she realized the danger of the sport. While others her age would try anything without any fear, my dd was less apt to try things that she perceived as being dangerous. She, often, had to be forced into doing those skills by a coach.

 

[MayDay]

Sorry my first post was so vague, I just have a hard time wording things sometimes!

These are all great responses. Alot is what I expected to hear.

Was asking because my daughter just did a series of academic 'tests' that was recommended for her and we are pretty sure she is 'gifted', but I think of it more like a personality type really. She is very serious with her gymnastics so far, like she is with everything else. Of course, she still has alot of fun!