WAG Gymnastics being someone's whole life?

[Flipomaniak]

Ok so I know quite a few girls that want to quit gymnastics but they say they can't because, "What will I do with my time?" Or stuff like, "I'm going to be bored all the time," or "I just can't." I feel that a lot of girls make gymnastics their whole life.

I feel that it's very important to be involved in a few things outside the gym so if you are ever injured, or decide to quit you have something to turn to. Especially girls who homeschool just because of gymnastics.

I told a teammate my opinion (from above) and she completely disagreed with me... What are your thoughts? Do you think this is necessary?

 

[bogwoppit]

Gymnastics was my older DD's whole life and when she stooped abruptly due to injury it was brutal for her. My advice, have outside friends, outside interests and ponder life without gym.

 

[sglemon]

Gymnastics was never my dds whole life, I always encourage them to do other things. When my oldest dd quit out of frustration, she was able to try out for a travel soccer team and make the roster. My younger dd will be transitioning out of gymnastics, this summer or next as her dance schedule increases. Both have worked well together and she is getting to the point one will have to be sacrificed. Gymnastics had made my dds the strong athletes and persons they are today, but we have always had an attitude, it was a stepping stone, in their lives.

 

[gymmiemom]

I often worry about this with my young gymnast. She's only 7 and lives and breathes gym. I always offer other fun activities that are going on, but she refuses to even entertain the thought if it is going to interfere with gym time at all. For example, my brother asked her to be a flower girl and she said, "What's the date? I have to make sure I won't miss any uptraining." It was funny, but seriously kid! I've seriously considered just signing her up for something and not giving her a choice, but I KNOW without a doubt that she would refuse to partcipate once she was there out of pure stubborness. And it's that stubborness that helps her in gymnastics. I'm really just crossing my fingers that the older she gets, the more open minded she will become or that perhaps a desire to hang out with friends will come.......

 

[bogwoppit]

Mine always did other things too, skied, snowboarded, went to camp, saw other friends. But losing gym just left a big hole for her. She just loved it, and her gym friends and coaches, it was like a family.

 

[sportyspice]

Gymnastics takes up such a large amount of their time that it's only natural to feel lost when it goes. I am hoping my DD will finish up soon as I have injury burnout! When DD makes the decision I have lots of plans for filling up her time! Mostly selfish stuff though, like mother/daughter spa days or clothes shopping.....

 

[gymgurl]

This is exactly what I'm going through I know I have to quit soon but I literally cannot see my life without gymnastics it's just become such a part of me that I don't now what I'd do with out it. I know I can move on to other things like I've started circus this year and learning to acro balance is actually pretty fun it's nothing like what gym is for me. I just can't even imagine my life without it it's not like I can even see myself being upset i just see no end to be honest. I have a feeling I will have a bit of an identity crisis when I quit because I've always identified as a gymnast and how am I supposed to just part with that part of my life. I recognise this as something I need to work on - I am an obsessive person and that's just who I am.

 

[sportyspice]

My DS came to me at age 13 in tears saying "I want to quit gym but if I'm not a gymnast then who am I". Having an identity crisis is normal when that sport takes so much of your time. Sometimes you need to work out whether it's the intensity of the sport you relate so strongly to or the actual skills. DS is now very heavily involved in another sport but looks back at gymnastics days fondly, once a gymnast, always a gymnast.

 

[iwannacoach]

I feel that a lot of girls make gymnastics their whole life.

I feel that it's very important to be involved in a few things outside the gym so if you are ever injured, or decide to quit you have something to turn to. Especially girls who homeschool just because of gymnastics.

I told a teammate my opinion (from above) and she completely disagreed with me...

It sounds to me as if you both are right. She has her opinion based on what she's feeling about the sport, and you have your's, and it perfectly fine let her do her thing while she let's you do your's, as long as the coach is ok with it.

Sure, there are times when gymnastics is all you feel you want because it's going great, but you can't count on that being enough unless you're very lucky and extremely gifted....... Those people who are chasing after a dream should be allowed to do so with every thing they want to put into it, because that's where they get their sense of fulfillment.

Look, it works like this. Some people, even coaches, have to fulfill themselves outside to gym to have a chance to do the same while in the gym. If you need more outside involvement, and are able to meet your coaches expectations for practice, go for it. You'll have better energy coming from inside you that will help you focus, work hard, and resolve to make the changes needed to learn/polish your skills......... and you'll have more fun and be fun to be around.

As far as coaches and expectations......... If you're on an elite track they'll want you there every minute they can squeeze out of your day. If your figuring L10 is as far as you want to go, and can get the same results as the other top girls with a little less time.......why not.

Never under estimate the power of having a good time..........

 

[my4buffaloes]

I try very hard to make sure my girls do things outside of gym with their friends from school or church or the neighborhood. If I can let them be in other organized activities I try to do that too. My oldest dd came to me and said "I don't know if I want to continue, but what would I do it I stopped?" I rattled off a list of a dozen or so things she could do if she quit. Ultimately she decided to stay and is loving this year so much more than last year. But at least she knows there is life outside of gym - at least that was my goal in telling her all of that.

 

[shelovestoflip]

My daughter doesn't really have much time to do any other activities besides gymnastics and school! She does do an outside activity during the summer and loves it. She also loves school and her friends when she is at school and will do things with them as time allows.

She had two injuries a few years ago and it was a lot of downtime for her. Admittedly, she watched more TV than she should have as she couldn't do any running etc.

However I think for her, she came back stronger than she was...she knew she loved the sport and missed it.

I also think that they have learned so many good life skills as gymnasts that it's worth the time they spend now.

 

[GymBee97]

My DD has friends outside of gym, does scouts, takes piano lessons and does have a life outside of gymnastics. With that said she would rather be at the gym 24/7 if I let her. She now coaches Rec classes in her "free time" and does some of the b-day parties on the weekend. it doesn't have to be their whole life but team gymnastics is a lifestyle that is all consuming.

If my Dd ever wanted to stop gymnastics or had to stop she does have other interestes to persue and it would be a good time to try a few other activities at the rec level.

 

[kayjaybe]

This is why I like our gym - their philosophy for our team is that they want gymnastics to be an important PART of the girls' lives, not their whole lives.

Now, we are a competitive USAG team, so it is a BIG part of their lives, but our team practice schedules are not excessive. My L6 practices 12 hours/week. I think our L10s practice 16 or 17 hours/week. We do well at meets, go on to states & (in the higher levels) regionals and nationals and usually have a girl or 2 each year that get some sort of gymnastics scholarship.

But, for example, the senior girls don't practice Friday nights. That is for the L5 & 6's. They want the older girls going to the football games & school dances. We don't have full day practices on the weekends. They are 3-4 hours. The girls still have time for friends & family.

I love this balance. My dd may not be on the top of the podium at meets, but she can think about things other than gym.

 

[flgymmom]

Both my DD's.. gym was their "life" they were in the gym for almost 20 hours a week last fall... I guess more because of the all the meets. And when they were not in the gym they were in the back yard doing gymnastics or on the trampoline playing.

BUT, they also have friends outside, they play in the school band, they sing in the chorus... and unfortunately my older DD (12) decided that gym was too much and decided to take a break from it.

I think that if they want it bad enough they will find a way to balance everything...

 

[LizzieLac]

This is why I like our gym - their philosophy for our team is that they want gymnastics to be an important PART of the girls' lives, not their whole lives.

Now, we are a competitive USAG team, so it is a BIG part of their lives, but our team practice schedules are not excessive. My L6 practices 12 hours/week. I think our L10s practice 16 or 17 hours/week. We do well at meets, go on to states & (in the higher levels) regionals and nationals and usually have a girl or 2 each year that get some sort of gymnastics scholarship.

But, for example, the senior girls don't practice Friday nights. That is for the L5 & 6's. They want the older girls going to the football games & school dances. We don't have full day practices on the weekends. They are 3-4 hours. The girls still have time for friends & family.

I love this balance. My dd may not be on the top of the podium at meets, but she can think about things other than gym.

Hmmm, sounds a lot like our gym! Honestly, we have a good amount of success in our state and in our region. But our gym makes sure that school is priority and the athletes have time for a life outside of the gym - whatever that means to them. Sometimes it is social, but other times it is music and even other sports. They all still work hard at gymnastics, but they have balance in life.

 

[Gymmommy71]

I want my DD to do other things outside of gymnastics for all the reasons listed (career ending injury or not wanting to continue someday and having something else to fall back on) and I've struggled w/ how hard it is for years now...and each year it gets harder. Gym demands so much of your time, but at the same time so does everything else. I wish gym owners would see this and maybe offer more flexible schedules (like have 20 available hours of practice time, but a gymnast can pick which days/hours they want to attend week to week as long as it meets a minimum of say 14) or make a certain percentage of meets optional, but I doubt they will ... Gymnastics becomes people's lives, because that's the nature of gymnastics. My DD had to miss so many birthday parties this year over gymnastics-related stuff and I felt really bad for her (like the sacrafice involved become very clear for the first time).

Coaches, what is your opinion on this? Do you feel kids should be doing other things outside of USAG gymnastics? Like other sports and activities? Or do you like your gymnasts only to do gymnastics and that's it? Like do you see the other stuff as a distraction and view a gymnast as less dedicated if they do other things? Or would you view something like that as a positive thing? Or would you say kids who want to do other stuff should move into a less demanding program like Excel?

 

[catou]

I remember pretty well my final day as a gymnast... As I was getting dressed to leave the gym (in tears as you can imagine), I remember my coach telling me you'll find another activity that you will like. I answered her word for word: there will never be a thing I will like as much as gymnastics.

That was 9 years ago... I still haven't find something I love as much as gym. I also think it's important to be able to do other things while you're training. I used to train between 12 hours (during school months) and 16 hours (in summer) a week. That meant I had always time on week ends to see my friends. One of my friend wasn't allowed to go out on week days evenings, so I wasn't feeling different because of my trainings. I don't remember missing much. I went to music shows, birthday party, etc. That might be something I like from the program here. From what I've read here, I think most clubs train less hours than us clubs.

As a coach, I don't have a problem if my gymnasts do something else. I have a couple who are doing cheerleading (As long as they keep their gymnast' technique ). It usually don't interfere with gymnastics. It sometimes happen that they have to leave early for a birthday party. I'm ok with that. Friendships are so important for kids. As long as it doesn't happen every week. My gymnasts train 9 hours a week, which might much less than others, but it's still necessary to accept that yes, there's a life outside gymnastics.

 

[Amusibus]

catou, I was like this too. I loved gymnastics. Still would, but now I am old. I still love super-fast downhill skiing, as it has some of the same thrill. Too bad my husband sucks at it so I have no one to go with (ski buddy moved to CO), plus it costs a bazzilion dollars.

 

[All Chalked Up]

Honestly, I panic when I think about quitting gym. Between my training hours, coaching hours & the volunteering hours I have at the gym, I really don't do anything else except school! I've invested a lot of time in gymnastics and I love it.

I currently have a back injury that does not permit me to train full-out & I find it very frustrating and strange that I will be in the gym and unable to do things. I freak out daily about the possibility of having to quit/take extended time off, often to the point that I'm in tears.

So yes I think it's important to have a life out of gymnastics, but I am absolutely a hypocrite saying this as I don't have a life outside of gym.

 

[catou]

Amusibus, I love downhill skiing... too bad nobody ever wants to try going down the moguls with me. I'm still someone who needs objective to keep going. Last year I ran my first race, me and my friend went hiking for a couple days, I hiked mount washington... This year I train to bike a 135 km ride with 4000 others cyclists!

I think finding other activities in which you can attain objectives, see progress is important. That was something I liked about gymnastics, progress was easy to see. I'm always looking for activities a bit out of the ordinary. I would actually see myself try the spartan race one day.

And when I miss the thrill too much, I just go in a handstand in my kitchen... or jump a bit on the trampoline when I'm done coaching