Hello all,
I'm the father of a very dedicated 8 yr old gymnast that seems to have caught the eye of our clubs coaches.
Nastia (Anastasia), has been doing recreational gymnastics since she was 4, but has recently joined the the ranks of competition level athletes.
To be honest, I wasn't too involved at first as it seems many girls join gymnastics at a young age only to loose interest when the fun of boucing around the gym floor turns into work. I guess I always figured Nastia would take the same course. Well,I was wrong. Now that she has competed in local competitions, she's even more excited now to keep moving forward and take on new challenges. With an AA avg of 35.5, her coaches believe she may have 'that special spark' that could very well blossom into something bigger.
This is where I come in. I know precious little about the sport. No more than any young athletes parent I would imagine. I'm trying to read as much as I can about the topic, talk with other parents, and basically support Nastia's ambitions as much as possible without stepping over that fine-line between "Being a supportive parent" and "being an over-demanding" or even obsessive. (we have a few of "those" types in our club). My understand is that a parents behaviour could be devastating to a young gymnasts enthusiasm. I am admittingly somewhat demanding in that my kids do their best. I have a motto: If your going to do something - anything - do it properly or don't do it at all. Now, I don't care about winning although it's nice to see Nastia's shining face when she does. What I do care about that she does things to the best of her abilities.
For now, my help has been limited to that of encouragement, and building self-esteem, and of course paying for it all. But I feel I can do more without over-stepping. And with the help of forums like this, I feel I can establish at least set of goals for MYSELF to help Nastia. I just don't know where to start.
This is my introduction. I will no doubt post some very basic and uneducated questions in the main forum. Please be kind.
Tim
I'm the father of a very dedicated 8 yr old gymnast that seems to have caught the eye of our clubs coaches.
Nastia (Anastasia), has been doing recreational gymnastics since she was 4, but has recently joined the the ranks of competition level athletes.
To be honest, I wasn't too involved at first as it seems many girls join gymnastics at a young age only to loose interest when the fun of boucing around the gym floor turns into work. I guess I always figured Nastia would take the same course. Well,I was wrong. Now that she has competed in local competitions, she's even more excited now to keep moving forward and take on new challenges. With an AA avg of 35.5, her coaches believe she may have 'that special spark' that could very well blossom into something bigger.
This is where I come in. I know precious little about the sport. No more than any young athletes parent I would imagine. I'm trying to read as much as I can about the topic, talk with other parents, and basically support Nastia's ambitions as much as possible without stepping over that fine-line between "Being a supportive parent" and "being an over-demanding" or even obsessive. (we have a few of "those" types in our club). My understand is that a parents behaviour could be devastating to a young gymnasts enthusiasm. I am admittingly somewhat demanding in that my kids do their best. I have a motto: If your going to do something - anything - do it properly or don't do it at all. Now, I don't care about winning although it's nice to see Nastia's shining face when she does. What I do care about that she does things to the best of her abilities.
For now, my help has been limited to that of encouragement, and building self-esteem, and of course paying for it all. But I feel I can do more without over-stepping. And with the help of forums like this, I feel I can establish at least set of goals for MYSELF to help Nastia. I just don't know where to start.
This is my introduction. I will no doubt post some very basic and uneducated questions in the main forum. Please be kind.
Tim