Sacrifices for gymnastics

[floorlover14]

I was just wondering if any of you gymnasts have a hard time with making sacrifices for gymnastics? What I mean by sacrifices is the fun things with friends that you have to give up because of gymnastics. This school year I haven't been able to have a single sleepover because of gymnastics the next day. Then, tonight I had to skip a sleepover with my three best friends for gymnastics. When friends ask me to do stuff on Saturdays I just have to casually say sorry, I have gymnastics. I am usually okay with it because I can't think of anything I'd rather do than gymnastics, but sometimes it's hard to say no to my friends and I feel like they get frustrated with me. How do you feel about this? Have you had to make hard sacrifices for gymnastics? Do your friends understand when you have to say no?

 

[GetaGrip]

Well, gymnastics isn't just a weekend or after school sport. It's a full time career. There's a lot of sacrifices to be made just to succeed in some of the lower levels, but it's worth it to be one of the few people in the world to do what us gymnasts do.

To start off, I was going to do track and field this year, but it interferes with gymnastics, so I had to skip it. I was offered a spot as a head cheerleader on the high school cheer team for next year, but it conflicted, had to turn it down. I had to quit swimming. I had to quit art classes. I have to do 6 periods to fit in gymnastics, school, homework, and sleep. I only get to see my family really one day of the week. I can't do after school activities.

I've only gone to three of about 20 dances in the past two years. I haven't had a sleep-over with a school friend in months or years. I can't go to birthday parties or to the movies with my friends. Some times they think that I'm just trying to avoid them, but it's not true. But some of my best friends are okay with it. They understand that I'm committed to gymnastics, and they don't try to stop me.

I hope that you and your friends find an understandment that you love them, but you need to do gymnastics. Maybe, if you have a free day, spend it with them if okay with your parents. I don't do gym on Thursdays or Sundays, so I spend Thursdays with family, and Sundays with friends. It's hectic, but it works!

-Lauren

 

[rardjds]

Do you have gymnastics on sunday too? if not, then go to friends' houses after training on saturday. also, if you do have it very often, then maybe have one weekend a month where you'll skip one practice to just hang out with your friends. i too make a lot of sacrifices for gymnastics, but by now my friends know when i'm free and when i'm not. For instance, my whole sunday is always free, so thats when i hang out with friends. also, training desnlt go to late on saturdys so i can go to partys and sleepovers after.
Also, you might want to drop a day of gym. I think that next year i am going to drop my friday practice or at least only go for half of it. as we andvance in school, we get more homework and that ties in to how much time we use that doesn;t involve just hanving a great time with your besties.
hope that this helps!

 

[gymfan4ever95]

When I was about 10 or 11, my friends would invite me over all the time. I would never be able to go, because I didn't want to have to miss gymnastics. They understood that gymnastics was my whole life, but i'm sure it really annoyed them. Now, nobody even bother to invite me over anymore. I havent been to a friends house in probably well over a year, because they just assume that I don't want to go or something

 

[tumble_acro_lizz]

my school friends get annoyed, sometimes they seem to think im just trying to avoid going places with them so my simple answer is that my gym friends take priority i have sleepovers with my best friends from gym and then her mum takes us all to training we sometimes go out places or go to one persons house on a sunday

 

[hawaii_gymnast]

Im lucky or our gym is we have training on sundays instead of saturdays so we train tuesday, friday, sunday. It all works out becuase i have lots of time. But my friends understand when i cant do certain stuff cuz it conflicts but they understand they are have commitments too just not as much time. We just plan in advance so that we always have time to hang out

 

[gymkat]

The key for me was participating in school-sponsored activities and studying with my friends. I didn't switch to a more competitive gym until I was a sophomore, which is about when the homework load picked up. At that time, socializing at the gym was not a viable option because I was the oldest by several years. I still took violin lessons, played in the school orchestra-- most of my school friends were in orchestra, as well-- and participated in some academic teams that met either before or immediately after school. After those meetings, I would go straight to the gym and then either go to another academic team meeting, go home to do homework, or head to a friend's house for a study session. I don't think I ever "hung out" at a friend's house during high school.

 

[fishchimes]

Well, I never really have had this problem with friends, because I only have a few friends, most of whom have very restrictive parents who don't like parties or just never want to drive their kids anywhere.

But, last year I wanted to be on the travel team for soccer. I have this thing where I want to be in everything at once... Anyway, it was a fiasco. I was only able to go to gymnastics 1 day a week due to financial reasons. I got nothing done, didn't learn any new gymnastics skills, and on top of that soccer was completely RUINED for me. I hated the whole thing, the practices, the games, whatever, I dreaded going to it. I wanted to quit, but my parents gave me the whole "well you have to learn to stick with things you don't like" well, there went a lot of time I could have been doing gymnastics. Just down the drain. I used to love playing soccer, but now I hate it, even rec league

Bottom line: Gymnastics is what I love, and even though I sometimes want to do other things, I'll regret it forever if I neglect it.