Best advice

[gymkat]

Don't let gymnastics consume your life or your child's life-- always have a second (or third!) activity, even at the higher levels. I absolutely would not have made it this long in gymnastics if it had been my sole focus outside of school.

 

[CoachGoofy]

I've always been a one liner girl, as a coach and an athlete:

For the gymmies:
-If you can't land on your feet, land where you can GET to your feet.
-HAVE FUN.
-It's not the coach's skill, your mom's skill, or your teammate's skill. It's yours. OWN IT. No one can do it for you, you did/are doing the work to achieve it, and you better believe it's something to be proud of.
-Hard work beats talent, because hard work shows up.
-That rope climb you're too tired to do? When you do it anyway, that's when you get stronger.
-Talk to your coach. Otherwise they have no way to know they're speaking gibberish.
-Remember how on a good day you didn't used to be able to do things you can do now on a bad day? Yeah? Kinda cool how good you've gotten, huh? This difficulty, too, shall pass (more a perspective resetter than advice).

For the parents:
-Hard work beats talent because hard work shows up.
-PLEASE try not to freak when your kid falls off the beam (or on a cartwheel. Or whatever). Kids bounce back, but they take their emotional cues from adults they care about and are cared for by, and it's way safer that their first fall be "oops. tuck jump" than "oops. back tuck".
-Communicate with your gymmies' coaches. They care about your DD's/DS's well being too.
-ALWAYS have a ponytail holder.
-Let it be your gymnast's thing. We have adult classes if you want a shot at it too, she puts enough pressure on herself & really needs an unconditional cheering section.

 

[Geoffrey Taucer]

Don't ever eat at McDonalds before a meet, even if you're six and really really want a McFlurry.

Seconded.

Most important piece of advice for gymnasts: have fun.

Most important piece of advice for parents: relax and let your kids have fun.

 

[Granny Smith]

Don't ever let 1 meet define who you are as a gymnast.

Everyone can have a bad day!

 

[Caligirlzz]

Don't let gymnastics consume your life or your child's life-- always have a second (or third!) activity, even at the higher levels. I absolutely would not have made it this long in gymnastics if it had been my sole focus outside of school.

Well how do you do that? My dd is also playing softball and the two conflict all the time. What activity would you suggest on the other 2 days a week that she has open? (I know that sounds rude but it really isn't)

 

[Caligirlzz]

Don't ever let 1 meet define who you are as a gymnast.

Everyone can have a bad day!

With 3 kids playing baseball, I have that one down! Especially since they all pitch..lol Sometimes they do well and sometimes they dont.

 

[MdGymMom01]

Well how do you do that? My dd is also playing softball and the two conflict all the time. What activity would you suggest on the other 2 days a week that she has open? (I know that sounds rude but it really isn't)

My dd does a ballet class once a week and their studio puts together a recital/show at the end of the year (their big show will be on Saturday!!!) that includes all the class kids along with the Jr and Sr companies. She also plays flute for school so she does about 2 concerts a year. These activities don't consume too much of her time, but it gives her something else to do and be proud of besides the gymnastics.

 

[mbphoto]

Don't always question the coaches and gyms motives. They, for the most part, know what they are doing and have our children's best interest at heart. There are always exceptions to this rule. We as parents know what is best for our children but allowing those coaches a little control in that area of their lives allows our children to grow as gymnasts and people. Gym coaches see and know things that we as parents either don't know or don't want to know about that part of our kids lives. Work as a team with the gym and your child's time with them will be much more productive. Lastly, treat gym gossip for what it is, gossip. There is usually some truth to it but remember that there are always two sides to every story and the truth lies somewhere in the middle. Good luck and enjoy every moment of this fantastic ride you get to enjoy with your DD.

 

[cher062]

Well how do you do that? My dd is also playing softball and the two conflict all the time. What activity would you suggest on the other 2 days a week that she has open? (I know that sounds rude but it really isn't)

Well there have been several activities that DD wanted to do but conflicted with the gym so the answer was NO to those. I tell her if it conflicts with gymnastics then the answer is no unless you want to give up gymnastics (which she doesn't and doesn't look like she will in the near future)

She got a Yes to Girl Scouts because there are enough troops in town that we could get a day of the week she doesn't go - she does miss out on some of the weekend activities but that is the beauty of GS you don't have to be at everything to get badges etc. She also does the Chorus at school as they meet 1 hour before school starts so no conflict at all the Christmas and Spring concerts are always (or at least up to now) after the states and they sing for the Friday mass at 9am (goes to catholic school os the whole school goes at that time)
Lastly she does piano lesson so we could pick the day and time for those practice times and the recital is always in June well after states or any other meets so if she has to miss a practice for that it doesn't matter so much.

With all that some how she also keeps her grades up (straight A's - high honors) and has time to play with neighborhood friends.

 

[gymkat]

Well how do you do that? My dd is also playing softball and the two conflict all the time. What activity would you suggest on the other 2 days a week that she has open? (I know that sounds rude but it really isn't)

Almost all of my gym's optionals play an instrument or sing. I participated in violin competitions for 7 years, and I was also in my school orchestra, which was quite competitive. In addition, I was involved in activities that met immediately before or after school (Academic Super Bowl and Brain Game were the big time-drains). Since I had about 3 hours of homework most nights, I had to drop dance and piano (dance when I was a freshman and piano halfway through my sophomore year). I admit that I was probably a little over-scheduled, but things worked out extremely well for college.

 

[gymjourneymom]

You will be surprised at what you & your DD can accomplish! There are many other activities that you can work in around her schedule. Just takes really good organizational skills, LOL! Chorus in school, Girl scouts, an art class, an instrument or a weekly swimming lesson at the Y. Ballet is a great addition to gymnastics! I have found from talking with other parents & coaches, that gymmies tend to be very driven & motivated people, in many aspects of their lives, not just gymnastics. So while other people might gasp & say "your over scheduling her"...it's all just the day in the life of a gymmie(non-gymmies just don't understand)! DD has always been self motivated & driven. She takes it all in stride & says "bring it on!". Always wants to being doing more then I think she should, but she somehow makes it look effortless!?! That's the type of person she is. Know how some people can have a higher pain tolerance than others??? Well, I swear gymmies have a "higher motivation level" than the average person! Most can & want to do more, in all areas of their lives. So hold on & enjoy the ride!

 

[Caligirlzz]

You will be surprised at what you & your DD can accomplish! There are many other activities that you can work in around her schedule. Just takes really good organizational skills, LOL! Chorus in school, Girl scouts, an art class, an instrument or a weekly swimming lesson at the Y. Ballet is a great addition to gymnastics! I have found from talking with other parents & coaches, that gymmies tend to be very driven & motivated people, in many aspects of their lives, not just gymnastics. So while other people might gasp & say "your over scheduling her"...it's all just the day in the life of a gymmie(non-gymmies just don't understand)! DD has always been self motivated & driven. She takes it all in stride & says "bring it on!". Always wants to being doing more then I think she should, but she somehow makes it look effortless!?! That's the type of person she is. Know how some people can have a higher pain tolerance than others??? Well, I swear gymmies have a "higher motivation level" than the average person! Most can & want to do more, in all areas of their lives. So hold on & enjoy the ride!

Okay, I get it now. My dd has been in girl scouts for 3 years now so now I don't feel like a bad mom..lol Our team takes ballett once a week so that is covered. She is too young to do things at school yet, but I think she is doing enough outside of gymnastics for now.

My 9 year old ds has been given two options for the fall...begin gymnastics or go back to football. He took his first class in gymnastics today so we will see where he comes out in August.

 

[Caligirlzz]

I've always been a one liner girl, as a coach and an athlete:

For the gymmies:
-If you can't land on your feet, land where you can GET to your feet.
-HAVE FUN.
-It's not the coach's skill, your mom's skill, or your teammate's skill. It's yours. OWN IT. No one can do it for you, you did/are doing the work to achieve it, and you better believe it's something to be proud of.
-Hard work beats talent, because hard work shows up.
-That rope climb you're too tired to do? When you do it anyway, that's when you get stronger.
-Talk to your coach. Otherwise they have no way to know they're speaking gibberish.
-Remember how on a good day you didn't used to be able to do things you can do now on a bad day? Yeah? Kinda cool how good you've gotten, huh? This difficulty, too, shall pass (more a perspective resetter than advice).

For the parents:
-Hard work beats talent because hard work shows up.
-PLEASE try not to freak when your kid falls off the beam (or on a cartwheel. Or whatever). Kids bounce back, but they take their emotional cues from adults they care about and are cared for by, and it's way safer that their first fall be "oops. tuck jump" than "oops. back tuck".
-Communicate with your gymmies' coaches. They care about your DD's/DS's well being too.
-ALWAYS have a ponytail holder.
-Let it be your gymnast's thing. We have adult classes if you want a shot at it too, she puts enough pressure on herself & really needs an unconditional cheering section.

Of all those things I think this is number 1...
"ALWAYS have a ponytail holder" for those of us with girls we know this to be soo true.

Great advice, thanks for sharing!!!

 

[Caligirlzz]

Wow! Your situation is EXACTLY like mine was this time last year!!! My dd had done cheer for 3 years (since she was 6) and started developing a mental fear of the BHS. I gave her a break beacuse she was so stressed out about the whole tumbling issue. Last April she sd she wanted to try gymnastics instead of doing cheer. She made Level 4 after about a month on pre-team (she was in great shape from cheer) and had a great season this past year. She still has trouble with the ROBHS, but it is getting better and her confidence is soaring. She does really well on the other events and actually placed 2nd on Vault, 2nd on Bars, 5th on beam and 5th in AA at Championships this year!!! She is now moving on to Level A MDL (comparable to Level 5 USAG) and absolutely loves it!!! I think the break from cheer and the training of new skills really gave her a confidence boost and helped increase her self-esteem with her fear issues.

Her gym is starting a cheer team for next year so she will go back to cheer and do the gymnastics also. She really missed flying for cheer and the stunting. So we will see how things go.

So, since I am and ex-cheer mom who had just started gymnastics also, let me know if you have any questions because I know that I had a ton!!! PM me if you want to chat and trade stories!!!

Oh my goodness I had to re-read your post to make sure I didn't write it..lol I would love to be able to chat about our cheer days and how to make the transition. Can you email me... chris.calip @ gmail . com
no spaces....

 

[Caligirlzz]

Sure, I don't mind.

I'm 21. I'm a gymnast at the University of Iowa. I quit once when I was finishing up 8th grade/my 14th birthday. I had fear issues as well as some lingering injury type things (really, just crutches for my fears). Other factors that played into my decision included lack of progess, due to both coaching issues and fear as well as many of my teammates quitting. It was an incredibly difficult decision to make. I cried a lot and really felt as though I was losing a part of myself. Being a gymnast was my identity. Fortunately, I began coaching for about the same amount of hours as I had been working out. I found that I enjoyed coaching very much and I still had lots of time to play around in the gym.

About a year after I quit I went to watch several of my teammates at their state meet. As a spectator, I realized that the pressure I felt to do well was coming only from me, and that the majority of the people attending the meets didn't care if I was good or bad. In fact, most of them didn't even know me! It's such a different feeling, being on the outside, looking in. So I decided to start working out again. I didn't have many goals at first b/c I was still battling fear issues (mainly back tumbling on floor, but a little with giants too). I had quit as a bad L8, but within months, I was gaining skills faster than I could imagine and ended up doing pretty well as a 15 year old L8.

One thing that helped immensely was the fact that my club finally had a consistent head coach. Until I came back, I had had a different HC every year I competed. I don't know how to even describe how difficult it can be to progress in an environment where you may or may not trust the coach, you constantly feel as though you could be walked out on, etc.

So I competed L9 as a junior and senior in high school. For a brief time (shortly after I finished a pretty successful first year at L9 as a junior, I was still interested in doing gymnastics in college. I slowly came to realize that this was not a realistic goal, and that's when I decided to just stick to L9, and be done after I graduated. I looked forward to life as a non-gymnast.

Throughout my freshman year, I was coaching, and working out....VERY rarely. Most of my "working out" consisted of me flipping around on tumble trak and occasionally doing a few things on beam or floor. I got tired of not having any direction to my gymnastics and I found a few guys who were getting private lessons from a former Iowa men's gymnast. This was about April of my freshman year. I made a lot of progress with this new coach, and he encouraged me to get in contact with the women's coach. I was extremely hesitant at first, but eventually I decided I had nothing to lose.

I went home and began training with my old coach, who I've since learned doesn't really know what he's talking about a lot of the time. But anyway, I had e-mailed the HC at Iowa, and was waiting to hear back from her. I seriously doubted I'd get a bite, but I had to try. Eventually, we did get some communication going, and with my private lesson coach's good word, I got the okay to walk on the team here at Iowa.

Honestly, I don't even know why I was accepted. I was not good. I had a lot of technique issues, and I was now trying to do gymnastics after a year off...at the college level. The only things I had going for me is that I naturally have good form and I'm very small. I do have to say though, I often get told I have a lot of untapped talent...so I'm sure that played into my HC's decision as well.

So my first year was torturous, I often wanted to quit, and almost did. I actually almost got kicked off too. College level gymnastics is not a joke, and space wasters are not allowed. I got relegated to practicing beam only and I was incredibly inconsistent. I came having just learned a legitimate series about a month before school started. At one point, the only coach who even wanted me to remain on the team told the HC that she was done with me and I could be kicked off any time. Fortunately, I perservered and by the end of that year I had exhibitioned beam several times. Last year, my second year on the team, I competed beam at every meet. This summer I'm adding two events to my practice schedule and hoping to break into the line-up on at least one of them (I'm counting on floor!).

So as you can see, it's been a tumultuous journey!

And I've just realized that I've taken this thread totally off track! I am so sorry about that. Maybe my story can be an inspiration though? While I hit luck at every turn (first making the team, and then being able to stay and progress), I think anyone with a desire to do college gymnastics should pursue it on some level. Whether it's NAIGC, DI, II or III or continuing to compete club while in college...I think it can be a wonderful experience.

Also, if you have any more questions, feel free to ask, whether they're about me personally or college gymnastics in general, I'd be glad to answer.

Thank you so much for sharing your story!!! and you didn't get off track, it was all part of your story and relevent.

Congratulations on really sticking to it and progressing so successfully. I don't consider taking a year off quitting, even in your mind it was. The breaks you took obviously made you a better gymnast and an even more spectacular woman. Your story is one that I am sure many girls go through but feel alone. I wish you the best on the new season and on the new events this new season. I am sure I will come back with more questions.

 

[Kayleigh]

The best piece of advice I've ever been given; "Keep Swingin'."

I was having a really bad day at the gym a couple months ago. My coach told me the story about Babe Ruth... how he had one of the highest strike-out rates in MLB, but when he did hit, it was usually a home run. So basically... even if you have a bad day, push through it. And from that can come an amazing result. So never give up.

 

[Ingwe]

Don't always question the coaches and gyms motives. They, for the most part, know what they are doing and have our children's best interest at heart. There are always exceptions to this rule. We as parents know what is best for our children but allowing those coaches a little control in that area of their lives allows our children to grow as gymnasts and people. Gym coaches see and know things that we as parents either don't know or don't want to know about that part of our kids lives. Work as a team with the gym and your child's time with them will be much more productive. Lastly, treat gym gossip for what it is, gossip. There is usually some truth to it but remember that there are always two sides to every story and the truth lies somewhere in the middle. Good luck and enjoy every moment of this fantastic ride you get to enjoy with your DD.

I am going to remember you writing this and remind you of it on a daily basis. <VBG> See you in the Gym