Recent content by tryagain

How explicit are the instructions she receives from the coach? Is she being told "do 10 of x skill" and she only does 4 or is she just being told "practice x skill"? I was an incredibly mature child, but at age 9, when there was no coach with me and in the absence of very explicit assignments...

I grew up in a country similar in style to what gymisforeveryone describes, and I am perpetually shocked by the stress around scholl pick-up and childcare that my friends where I live now experience. Different cultures...

I agree with all of the above about personality and environmental factors, but one thing that is often overlooked is the actual purely nutritional/physiological aspect of it. This is something that is still being investigated scientifically, but there is plenty of anecdotal evidence and...

PS: Seems too late to edit, but I wanted to add something. My job now is at a university in a country with a lot of pressure on school exams to get into the "right" university, and I see a lot of kids coming to uni, feeling like they have now made it, and who then try to get through there...

I am an academic and, over the course of my career/life, have come to the conclusion that academics is overrated. This is not to say that it is not important to take school seriously, and I agree that if a child is really struggling (as in close to failing a lot of the time), something needs to...

I am sorry you're daughter is going through this. As someone who felt self-conscious about my (healthy) weight from age 7 or 8, I would definitely recommend to take this very seriously. I am not sure removing her from the situation (from gymnastics as a whole) would be helpful though, to me it...

I also think that it proved impossible to find a person who was good at all aspects of the job: overseeing camps, liaising with coaches, nurturing athletes, optimising routine composition, representing to media (this is where Tom was shocking), etc., all while having a spotlessly clean vest from...

I can certainly see both sides of the argument, and think there are two separate issues here. 1) People choosing a less intense path. This is their choice and you have to own your choices. Nothing unfair here. In the end, you have a finite amount of time to do things and whether you choose to...

I think if my teen daughter struggled with suicidal ideation, I would definitely try therapy. I don't know what the situation is in the gym precisely, but I would also like to float the idea that maybe the other children are getting vibes of your daughter's struggles and simply don't know how to...

I struggled with the same (being terrified of growing too tall, mortified when I passed 5 feet and my mum's height already at age 11, etc). Things went badly for me and it took me until my mid-twenties to make peace and then actually appreciate the body I have, so please do be careful... :(

I don't have statistics, but can confirm that I as a gymnast (in the 80s/90s :) ) felt very self-conscious when wearing only a leo at meets. I always had really bad body image issues and felt that the shorts somehow "held together" the parts that I felt were "too soft", while in just a leo I...