MAG "Loving" Gymnastics/ Practicing

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Men's Artistic Gymnastics

alongfortheride

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Do you feel as if your child always is LOVING gymnastics? I think with my son it's very mixed (he's also very young---7 year old, level 5). Anyway, he doesn't complain about going to practice or anything, but sometimes he gets tired (he also gets up early for school). He is excited to show off new skills. But he doesn't have that "wow, I want to go to the Olympics", "let's practice gymnastics morning, noon, and night" attitude that some kids have. . .But, I still believe he likes it. And he DOES mess around w/ skills at home, when he wants to. . and at his friends' houses, school, etc. But, it's not this "inner drive". . it's for fun. Also, he's young. . I don't think he has a good concept of what he's working towards, other then the next competition. Gymnastics is more an outlet for his energy, and he happens to have some natural talent. I don't necessarily expect him to be an Olympian, but sometimes I wonder if it's abnormal that he doesn't have that "fire" that some boys (and girls) have. Thoughts?
 
My daughter is the same way. She is 8, and her "spark" for gymnastics has grown over time, but is still not intense. One of her team mates is that kid who does gymnastics continuously, but the rest seem more or less similar to my child. It seems like the super-driven kid is more the exception than the norm, though Chalkbucket may not be a representative sample. In any case I wouldn't worry about it. Let it be his thing, follow his lead.
 
He sounds exactly like my son (almost 7yo L5). I do sometimes worry about whether he's driven enough, but then I remember that he is young and it should be about having fun. He does sometimes talk about wanting to do gymnastics in college, but then he also wants to be a professional football player. It's tough when I think of it in terms of the money we're spending and the time (his and the whole family's) invested, but I remind myself that he doesn't need enough of a drive right now to get him through the Olympics. He just needs enough to get him through this season, and then we can reevaluate whether it's something he wants to continue. I decided before he joined team that we would do it for the benefit he was getting right now, not based on some expectation that he would make it to L10 or beyond.

I also agree that the super-driven kids seem to be a bit over represented on this board. I see a lot of "My daughter is obsessed with gymnastics and would be at the gym 40 hours a week if I let her!" My son is not like that, and neither are most of his teammates. There may be a difference between boys and girls when it comes to this, but all I know is that my kid needs his time off or he would get burned out in a minute. He likes gymnastics and gets really excited when he learns a new skill, but he is not obsessed with it, and that's ok.
 
Sounds a bit like my son too and I think its a good thing. He has sustained interest but it is not something he wants to devote every waking moment to. He had 6 weeks mostly away from gym this summer while we found a new gym. In the end he had to decide what level of commitment he wanted this year. His chose not to do team, yet. He still wanted more time to do other things. But he wanted the 6 hour per week pre-team instead of the 4 hour per week pre-team because he wanted the extra practice time. He rarely practices outside of gym because he is busy doing other things. I think it is very healthy that he has fun and works hard when he is in the gym (most of the time) but has and wants other things outside of gymnastics. Even the best gymnasts are done competing somewhere in their twenties and the options for a career in gymnastics are very limited. Most will have to do something else even if they continue to be involved in gym. I think it is better to have that balance from the beginning. That way when it is time to retire from competition, whatever level he reaches, it is a change in how his time is distributed between interests and not so big a loss of identity. Also, I hope he has good memories of his time with the sport not regret about never having time for other stuff.

Sorry about going on so long. My son is only 6 years old and just starting in gymnastics but my niece just went through this transition with another sport. She's keeping it as a club sport in college but decided to retire from competition to focus on other things. Between that and talking through the the gym change with my son this sort of thing has been on my mind a bunch in the past couple months.
 
My son is the same. Definitely not obsessed just enjoys it whilst he is there! He does 15 hours per week and I do wish he could go a bit less so he has a bit more time for other things, but he does do trampolining and taekwondo so he doesn't do too badly! Like others have said I try to think about what he is getting out of the sport now(fit strong healthy good set of friends etc) rather than where it might take him!
 
Same with my 6 year old. He's just told me he hates gymnastics, but that's more to do with tiredness than anything else. Once he gets there he's buzzing. He's just gone up to 6.5 hrs per week, and it's hard, but he's always doing handstands everywhere we go at the moment, so I know he still enjoys it!
 
No need for fire at age 7. If he's having fun with it, he's where he should be. I worry sometimes about programs that have really little guys doing lots of hours. (Well, girls too for that matter.) It should be mostly about fun through compulsories! And it should remain fun afterward, albeit perhaps a slightly different concept of fun.
 
And hte "fire" waxes and wanes. Man, they hit those teenage years, and everything becomes a battle. Gym is still his passion, but it isn't what he does all the time. (girls, texts, etc are becoming more important ;)) But he still loves it and has goals and dreams. Once his brain gets screwed back on straight, life will be easier again!
 
Just remind them that if they are still on the team when they're teenagers, they can volunteer to run and flash scores at your home meet's session where the L9 and L10 girls are competing! :) #OMGgettingupat6:30AMsoDScanhangoutwiththeoptionalssigh
 
Just remind them that if they are still on the team when they're teenagers, they can volunteer to run and flash scores at your home meet's session where the L9 and L10 girls are competing! :) #OMGgettingupat6:30AMsoDScanhangoutwiththeoptionalssigh

Oh, D is already counting down the days to Jan 10. He worked the compulsary meet alongside the optional girls, which was even better ;) Jan 10, he can work the home meet for the optional girls. most of the time, though, he has a meet that same day. Guess who will be running concessions that day??? ;)
 
Sounds like your son is normal and balanced. Not many kids eat breathe sleep gymnastics.....If you do, and couple that together with some serious talent, maybe you'll get to go Elite, World Etc.... I have seen IT once, and when I saw IT I realized my son was not going to make it to the Olympics!!! LOL. My son NEVER wanted to go everyday.
BUT
You can still be very successful in gymnastics and not be WAY CRAZY into it......That is one problem with the sport today. There is too much emphasis on future stars, and state champions etc. Training everyday, and maybe even homeschooling and NO option for the recreational boy (there in NO Xcel in the men's program....). The reality is that most kids wont make it to optional level but that does not mean you can't be a successful gymnast! Remember that 50 years ago, men's gymnastics was taught in High school PE! Anyone could try it out like track and field of basket ball. Now, you either have to give it all or else there is no room for you, and that is why the Men's program has such low exposure in middle and high school.

There is a lot to be said for having teenagers still show up to practice and work at least 70% of the time and get some cool skills and be in great physical shape in a healthy environment despite the time demands for gymnastics AND school. They make lifelong friends in the gym...A LARGE percentage of kids in high school drink and do drugs......He would rather be in gym getting his endorphines from doubles and triples...
So the longer you keep him in the gym in whatever capacity, the better!
Sorry I got off track a bit.
 
Thanks all! Glad to hear my son isn't the only one. He does enjoy it when he's there (mostly), and I am trying also to give him a "balanced" childhood. I can't imagine pulling him out of his school to do gymnastics all the time (no offense intended towards those who do). . .or keeping him from trick-or-treating to practice, etc. Sometimes I am not sure what is normal because I know no one other than other gym parents in real life (and I'm not close with most of them), and what I read on chalkbucket. All my close friends do not have kids in gymnastics. I do think it is good for him, but I think we're trying to find the right balance. :)
 
BTW, I would consider my Daughter more into gymnastics than my son and even she 'regulates' how much gym she does.
On non gym days, she does not even want to talk about gymnastics. On gym days, she is very focused and works very hard.
Occasionally we get a day where she does not 'feel' like going, but thats normal.

on the other hand, we have a new 7 year old girl with a lot of potential and Mom brings her to practice every available day. 5 and sometimes 6 days a week.
She walks in regularly and declares to everyone that she 'hates' gymnastics. (at her old gym she was doing 6 days)
Just a question, do you think the girl would be happier coming 3 maybe 4 days instead? I know she likes it, but she seems force fed.
 
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Not much to add, but wanted to say my DS (7) is similar. He likes gymnastics a lot. I'm fact, when comparing him to my DD (I'm a bad mom, I know!), I opted not to place him on team last year because he didn't have her passion for it (plus, he was on a ninja kick and also wanted to try martial arts).

Starting at age four, DD loudly complained about any sport that wasn't gym. DS? He wants to play baseball, hockey, tennis, basketball, swim team, karate, cross country, track and field... He's even doing an intramural dance class at his school right now. Anyway, you get the idea. He's not as singularly focused.

I guess we'll let him lead. Currently he's just doing a couple of rec classes per week after taking a break last school year to try Tae Kwon Do. He says he wants to join team after states. If he still wants to this spring, we'll let him.

But yes, he doesn't eat, sleep, breathe gym like big sis. But like others have said, maybe that is a great thing - he'll have other interests to focus on when he has a bad gym day.
 
BTW,
on the other hand, we have a new 7 year old girl with a lot of potential and Mom brings her to practice every available day. 5 and sometimes 6 days a week.
She walks in regularly and declares to everyone that she 'hates' gymnastics. (at her old gym she was doing 6 days)
Just a question, do you think the girl would be happier coming 3 maybe 4 days instead? I know she likes it, but she seems force fed.

Momma will burn that one out within a year. No reason for a kid that young, no matter how talented, to be in the gym for multiple hours six days a week. Both my DD and DS were practicing 3 times a week when they were 7, and DD was always clamoring for open gym. The little ones should be going to the point where they always want just a little more gym, IMHO.
 
Agree 100% with profmom. Our coach says it's important to give them a little less than they want, never more. Works for the boys on our team...they fight for every level-up and every extra hour they can get :)

And the moms who see their kids getting worn out are quick to go down an hour or two...I think the coach being flexible with this keeps his athletes happier than the coach who is rigid about his program. It's a marathon, right?
 

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