Parents How do you know (or do you?) if you child is cut out for this sport?

[Fliptwisttumble]

I've seen that video before..... I got teary again.

 

[Dahlia]

Anyway, being "cut out" for the sport could have so many meanings. I don't know that any of my girls are "cut out" for the sport if the end goal is elite, level 10 or heck, even state champion but all 3 of them gladly forego any other activity for practice and I can count on one hand the number of times they have complained about wanting to go to gym (all three of them on one hand!). My oldest has never struggled once in school or with anything else in life but she struggles daily to succeed in gym. But still goes back for more each day! Middle daughter struggled with a lot of things but has overcome physical challenges to really come into her own in Xcel. My youngest vaults and cartwheels around the house and one of the few times per week that she focuses is the 6 hrs a week she is at the gym.

So even though they are not cut out to be champions at the sport, they all seem to be in for the long haul and I admire all 3 of them (and their gym and coaches) for that!!!

I think there is a difference between "is my child cut out for this sport?" and "does this child have the talent/potential to make it to elite" etc. I think any child with a bit of talent and dedication can at least enjoy gymnastics, most likely competetively. Regardless of dedication, not every child can make it to elite. But you never know if you don't try!

I loved the video too!

 

[seoulmama]

I've learned not to look so far into the future with my kids-first of all, because they are growing up too darn quickly and I don't want to dwell on that just yet (after all, they're just 10 and 13! but it seems like they babies only yesterday!) and secondly, I've seen girls at my dd's gym quit that I never thought would quit so I realize that you just can't predict. I am concentrating on supporting her and encouraging her to be her best. She works so hard in the gym-her coaches and other parents always comment on it. She is the only girl on her level 5 team to have two level 3 gym sisters (all the other girls on her team have older gym sisters-she is the older gym sister with her little "family"). Her coach told me that she is a great role model for the little gymnasts. That alone makes this whole thing worth it-she doesn't always place in meets, she's not the best gymnast on her team-but I am watching her learn that being a hard worker and a good role model is more important than placing 1st.

 

[LizzieLac]

I've learned not to look so far into the future with my kids-first of all, because they are growing up too darn quickly and I don't want to dwell on that just yet (after all, they're just 10 and 13! but it seems like they babies only yesterday!) and secondly, I've seen girls at my dd's gym quit that I never thought would quit so I realize that you just can't predict.

I think this is a great point. I have seen several, very "naturally" talented gymnasts quit. So when we say cut out for the sport, meaning will have competitive success, or make it to the upper levels, or even compete in college, it is often not worth speculating. We had a girl who won states at almost every level, was a strong level 8 gymnast, quit and now she is playing lacrosse. What?! And another young early progressor, who had all level 8 skills, but had trouble getting a more advanced vault, so had to repeat level 7 (won states) and then quit. There just is no telling...

 

[JoyAvenueMom]

I think this question comes up in some form so frequently because this sport demands so much from young children (and their parents). I don't wonder if my ds is "cut out" for baseball/football/basketball....because he only plays each a few months per year. Until you've lived in this world a while, it might seem strange to let a 10 yr old spend 15 hours per week at the gym...unless you think they have AMAZING potential. Early on as parent I believe most of us wonder "what is point of investing that much time and money into something if your child will never be "great" at it?" What we learn through the journey is that every child who will continue to show up and give their best week after week is definitely "cut out" for this sport. A Level 3 athlete has already acquired skills that most people will never learn in their lifetime...they are already "great" at this sport. There is no true "rec" level of competition in this sport...even the "rec" leagues require as much commitment as many other competitive sports leagues.

 

[JoyAvenueMom]

When I find myself wondering about Kipper's talent or "potential" in this sport, I can't help but think about the movie "Rudy". Rudy was most definitely not "cut out" for football. If I had been Rudy's mom...would I have pushed him out of the sport into another where he could "excel"? Or could I have supported HIS dreams even when it seemed hopeless or futile (like Rudy's dad?) In the end, even Rudy didn't appreciate what he gained until the journey was nearly over. The fruits are found in the journey, not the destination.

 

[Gymdaddio]

I can't help but think about the movie "Rudy".

Rudy was Offsides.

This was a sign held up during College Gameday at the ND/Michigan game. Made me giggle.

 

[Geoffrey Taucer]

Impossible to tell at 7 years old.

 

[GymBeeMom]

If they keep showing up, they are cut out for it. It really is that simple.

 

[momofthreegirls]

The head coach at our gym always tells parents at the team orientation meeting - "Don't get hung up on scores and who wins at the lower levels." Apparently most of our successful L10s were pretty mediocre compulsory gymnasts. And many of the tiny hotshot superstars burned out and quit along the way.

 

[lhmom]

The head coach at our gym always tells parents at the team orientation meeting - "Don't get hung up on scores and who wins at the lower levels." Apparently most of our successful L10s were pretty mediocre compulsory gymnasts. And many of the tiny hotshot superstars burned out and quit along the way.

^^^^^
This! I was told this when DD was struggling in her first year and have seen this scenario play out for the last few years. I say as long as they are willing to work at it, they are cut out for the sport.

 

[SurpriseGymMom]

I just had a very interesting discussion last night with a parent of a successful L10 gymnast. She said her dd was a mediocre compulsory gymnast, always placed really low in L4 and L5. It was the tenacity and hard work that eventually made her dd the gymnast she is today. Out of the whole groups she competed with in the lower levels, none but her dd were still gymnasts. She truly felt that her dd having to work hard from the beginning is what made her succeed. The super natural wunderkinds had all quit as soon as the skills got such that they really had to work at it....

 

[rjb123]

This has been really interesting. As I said, DD is young, and she loves loves loves it. She has done fairly well, but is certainly not a "superstar" (and there are several on her team). She is just tenacious and a very very hard worker. She just won't quit. I guess it just makes me wonder "if she has to work THIS hard at a 7 year old 4, what would she have to do to learn the skills at a higher level.?" Could she even DO that or have the ability to do it? BUT she is happy and loves it, so I will just hang my hat on that.

 

[MaryA]

A Level 3 athlete has already acquired skills that most people will never learn in their lifetime...they are already "great" at this sport.

I think gymnasts, parents, and coaches lose sight of this as they get caught up in the skills that they (their kids, their team) are struggling with. It takes a kick-butt athlete to do even the level 3 skills. I think someone posted this before... that you could go to one soccer practice, one football practice, one volleyball practice (etc.) and be able to play soccer, football, or volleyball. Sure, you wouldn't be very good at first, but you could throw a ball, catch a ball, kick a ball, run down the field... whatever. On the first day of gymnastics you can... well, not very much. Maybe, as much as anything, that's why kids tend to start in this sport so young. It would be a hard thing to walk into the gym for the first time as a tween/teen and not be able to do a pull-over, a cartwheel, a head stand. At that age, you would be able to see how far you have to go and how much work is ahead of you to be able to compete at even the most basic level of gymnastics.

DD gets to pick her gym class at school (a charter school) and her HC actually offers gymnastics (the school transports the kids to the gym, which is less than a mile away). She loves to take sign up for the class, and even though I feel like she mostly just takes it to show off (apparently she got to show her class her floor routine and giants a few weeks ago), well... I think there's some value in that. When she's in the gym, there are always girls who are better than her, who got the skill faster than her. She feels like an "OK" gymnast, even on her best days, I think. In front of a group of middle school kids who can maybe do a cartwheel, she's amazing. I'm glad she gets the chance to be amazing once a week.

 

[JoyAvenueMom]

[quote="MaryA, post: 252073, member: 8035. When she's in the gym, there are always girls who are better than her, who got the skill faster than her. She feels like an "OK" gymnast, even on her best days, I think. In front of a group of middle school kids who can maybe do a cartwheel, she's amazing. I'm glad she gets the chance to be amazing once a week.[/quote]

AMEN! What a great way to keep her accomplishments in perspective!

 

[lhmom]

This has been really interesting. As I said, DD is young, and she loves loves loves it. She has done fairly well, but is certainly not a "superstar" (and there are several on her team). She is just tenacious and a very very hard worker. She just won't quit. I guess it just makes me wonder "if she has to work THIS hard at a 7 year old 4, what would she have to do to learn the skills at a higher level.?" Could she even DO that or have the ability to do it? BUT she is happy and loves it, so I will just hang my hat on that.

My DD is alot like yours. She's just tenacious and I'm always amazed to see how she keeps plugging away. She took quite a bit of time to learn new skills her first year (she was a 6 yr old level 4 then). I remember thinking, "whoa, how will she ever be able to get those harder skills when it seemed to take forever to get her FHC and mill circle?" Almost 4 yrs. later, she is training the new 6 and doing skills that I honestly had a hard time believing she would ever be able to do. Has it all come easier? Nope, but she finds great satisfaction in getting those upper level skills after a ton of repetition and has learned what she can accomplish when she works hard. That makes all of this worth it.

 

[Malenkaya]

As the mother of a 5 year old rec gymnast who would live in the gym if I let her, this is a really nice read. It's hard to keep it in perspective when you have a child that loves gymnastics but you don't know yet if she's going to get to compete or whether she will just stay in rec. For a while it seemed she wasn't getting much better, so I stopped watching so closely. Then this week I watched a bit again and noticed so much improvement. She is tiny, determined and she loves it, so maybe there really is a place for her in this sport.

 

[mariposa]

My daughter might not be cut out for elite or NCAA gymnastics, but I do believe she is cut out for this sport simply because she loves it. She has never been a natural talent and has had to work hard from the beginning, especially with her form. You would never know when watching open gym that she's a gymnast, she's playing football with the boys and doing contests of how far they can jump, and on the odd chance she is doing skills (usually only if a friend is there doing skills) they won't look very pretty, lol. But she goes into the gym 5 days a week(19.5 hours) without complaint. Always wants to be there, whether she is struggling with skills or is finally getting them. She frequently "loses" skills and rarely finishes her assignments good enough to move on to free time, especially on beam, but that doesn't stop her.

She fell in love with gymnastics at 5 at 11, still loves it. As she's moved up through the levels (she was a 6 year old level 4), repeating levels along the way (she's a level 7 now) , she's been at the bottom, she's been at the top a few times, but mostly hangs out in the middle and she's happy with that. She's had a few minor injuries (and a few pretty big scares/falls), went to practice for weeks doing just conditioning and missed some meets, but that didn't stop her either. It's gotten harder as she's moved into optionals and her struggles have gotten harder, but she shows no signs of stopping. To me, that means she's cut out for this sport! She might not be cut out to succeed at a really high level, but as long as she is happy, that's what really matters.

I've seen many kids along the way that seemed more cut out for gymnastics drop off through the years, when had bets been placed when she first started, all bets would have been against my kid. So you really never can tell!

 

[GymmieC]

How does anyone answer what the future holds? That is impossible. I asked the question not too long ago in a pm just to get a kick out of what I read. I don't think even coaches can truthfully assess that possibility. All I know is that DD currently eats, breathes, lives for gym. I will never be heard saying, "I don't expect her to reach xyz level. ". It is not my place to say or think that. DD has to figure that out on her own. I am along for the ride. She has high hopes, so I do what I can to help her fulfill those dreams. If it happens, awesome! If it doesn't, then in both cases, I truly hope she learns something in terms of how to work hard to reach her goals. That is why all my kids have been in sports. The life lessons that can be learned surmount all the sacrifices I have had to make to keep them in their activities.
To answer the op's question, the hard work, passion, determination, and strength in mindset will always surpass the natural talent. I have witnessed that in a child on my older DD's long time ago team. As a level 10 and a senior, she has proven, this kid not mine, that her hard work and dedication trumps any natural ability of her other naturally talented teammates. And as far as I have heard, she has loved every minute of it even when she was coached by the meanest and insane coaches. She persevered above all obstacles. I myself thought, "She would make an awesome volleyball player." She proved us all wrong! She makes an awesome gymnast!

 

[mobeans]

I assume you are moreso looking for a coach's opinion or someone who has already BTDT. I'll chip in my two cents, however!

I have a 7 yo who eats, sleeps, and breathes gym, which is almost to a comical level. When I was going over her spelling words with her the other day I glanced over and she was spelling as she was doing back walkovers in the kitchen. When she hops off the school bus she immediately drops her bag and starts doing ROBHs! It's truly never ending with her.

A couple years ago (at age 5) she broke her arm, in gym ironically enough. She was still in dance at the time and I thought that may be the end of gym for her and she'd be too fearful to go back we'd simply go back to dance once it healed. Her cast was on for a total of 7 weeks and by week 4 I caught her trying to do cartwheels with a full-arm cast! I was so mad...but had to laugh inside...I may have had the girl out of the gym but could not take the gym out of the girl...

I know she'll be involved in this sport for several years, however we'll see what the distant future holds. She has been saying she wants to go to the Olympics (like many young dreamers!) from an early age. She is very eager to learn new skills, looks so forward to every class, and just is in her element there. It's truly joyous to watch such a young person have such a huge love and passion for the sport already. We'll let her lead and continue following and supporting her on this road wherever it may or may not lead.