Women life after gym

[gymfan1]

hi! I have a couple questions for anyone who quit, took a break, or even just retired from gymnastics.

what new hobbies, sports, or activities did you or a gymnast you know develop or further after quitting gymnastics?

for those who quit, did you ever regret it? did the feeling of regret leave or did it linger?

thank you!

 

[Gymgirl84]

New hobby: coaching gymnastics .
My retirement wasn't really something abrupt, it was very progressive. I injured my knee, so I stopped competing and I was still training but I couldn't do a lot of things, so I started to spend more time helping train the other gymnasts (I was already starting doing that before I injured). After a couple of years I started to mainly coach as one of the coaches stopped because of having kids. I would still do some conditioning and flexibility. Later on I also had my children and I was coaching very little and I stopped training fully. So when I came back coaching again I no longer did gymnastics, just coached.
Despite all of that I felt like I had never really closed my career and this year I have participated in a masters league (my skills have been probably silver-level) and I feel like I finally closed it and will move back to just coaching from now on.

Aside from gymnastics, I've also enjoyed learning languages and dancing as hobbies.

 

[Coach Kate]

I stopped halfway through my senior year. I pole vaulted through college and also picked up cross country and steeplechase. I coached for a long time and floated in and out of adult gymnastics but also enjoyed yoga, HIIT, TRX, circus arts, and hula hooping.

For non physical pursuits, I enjoy pretzel making, all things sourdough, and other homemaking things like yogurt, granola, and playing with our toddlers. I will also be a homeschool mom.

 

[skschlag]

My son and several of his teammates have picked up roc climbing

 

[glitterrays]

hi! I have a couple questions for anyone who quit, took a break, or even just retired from gymnastics.

what new hobbies, sports, or activities did you or a gymnast you know develop or further after quitting gymnastics?

for those who quit, did you ever regret it? did the feeling of regret leave or did it linger?

thank you!

There are a lot of oppurtunities to explore! After quitting, I did clubs in school, graphic design, hung out with friends a lot. I know some people who did swimming, tennis, sports like that. I did not find myself doubting my choice. Sometimes it's a lot better for your body after certain injuries to do more low impact sports. Gymnastics is also not for everyone, and it wasn't really for me, I found myself feeling a lot more free without the drilling enviroment. Good luck and trust your gut. Not everything is for everyone.

 

[charsgymnastics]

I recently quit gymnastics after I was told it was too big of a risk to keep going because of my knee injury I had gotten right before state. The gym I trained at hired me to coach pre-team, lower level Xcel, and rec kids. That definitely helped me turn my love of doing gymnastics to coaching, I remember being happier when seeing one of my bronzes who struggled on vault get a 9.5 at state than hitting all of my events at a meet. I also was able to be more active in theater and my show choir group and also picked up cardmaking and sewing. The regret still lingers a little bit but being able to be pain-free and do the things I love makes it all worth it.

 

[Lynn08]

Little late here, BUT:

I coach here and there. I watch college and elite WAG.
I'm working on starting a blog, though writing consistently is a challenge.
I have more time for college courses. (I turn 18 soon, but have already graduated HS.)
I really really like diamond art.
I enjoy knitting and crocheting - in fact I just made a blanket that's big enough to wrap around me and my 6'5" tall boyfriend at the same time!
I have more time for reading too.
I also enjoy working in the restaurant business.

 

[raenndrops]

OG - quit in September when she was almost 11 ... missed it so much that she returned in November, just after she turned 11. Competed 2 more seasons, then wanted to make some of her family members happy, so she quit again. Then there was family drama, so she stayed out for 2 years. After that, she came back again. Was going to compete at Y Nationals as a Level 6 and was training Level 7. More family drama and Nationals was taken away from OG (and YG) ... mostly because LSS didn't qualify. OG was done after that! She was in high school, playing volleyball, running track, and getting ready to go into a pre-nursing program at the local career center. She is now a nurse, engaged, and her little nugget is in Mommy and Me gymnastics.
YG - didn't quit until the 2nd year of the first family drama, when it got too hard to keep going. She was out for a year and came back with OG and LSS. The next (final) time she retired was her senior year of high school. A lot was going on, and the other senior girls were close friends. Over the summer break, they picked the senior leotard without including her. They didn't even tell the head coach until practice started back up, and they had already bought theirs. The problem was that they chose one that YG could not wear the one they chose (it clasped behind the neck, and she has abnormally large tonsils, so she can't wear anything high-neck without choking).
LSS - quit before she even competed (mom drama), came back and competed a season and didn't qualify for Nationals, so she decided to focus on dance. Came back the next year along with her best friend. Stuck with gymnastics, track, and dance through senior year, even though she said she was going to quit a million times, lol. She went to college as a member of their dance team. She was also welcome to join the track team if she wanted to.
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I also know a gymnast who retired as a Level 8. She did dance and started track in junior high. She is phenomenal. She is a D1 track star in the pentathlon!
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One girl on our team medically retired from gymnastics and went on to college as a pole vaulter.
Another girl took up soccer ... went to college to play soccer, was approached by the new women's lacrosse coach to also play lacrosse for the college. She did it.
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Several girls pivoted to Cheerleading. A few moved on to swimming and diving.