Last weekend I hosted our Xcel State Championships at a local high school. It was a great competition. What I love about this level is the pure joy of gymnastics. The first day saw about 350 competitors. There was laughter. There was cheering (not just for teammates but also for other competitors). What I didn’t see- any crying out of frustration or disappointment. (I will save these thoughts for another blog).
I sat at the table facing the crowd playing floor music and making announcements. Nearly every team of parents could be identified in their group by their T-shirts, banners and cheering (I feel Another blog on crowd/parent behavior). At the end of each session as the parents filed out and headed to awards some teams of parents just got up and left leaving pop corn boxes, news papers, various bottles and coffee cups. The area staked out by other teams were so clean it was as if they were never there. I watched a few parents on their way down the bleachers picking up stuff left by other groups.
At the end of the weekend when we finished loading everything back on the DGS truck I had parents in the bleachers cleaning everything left behind then sweeping the bleachers. I had parents dry mopping the vinyl cover over floor before another group helped the custodians fold it up. The custodians were very thankful for our help with things that was “their job”. I remarked, “My goal was to run a successful competition for the kids and to be good guests. You are obviously proud of your facility and you were gracious enough to let us use it so I am proud of the facility as well.”
Polish the floor and you polish your soul
-Zen saying
I try to impress upon my staff and all the gymnasts at Atlantic Gymnastics (Rec and Team) to treat the gym as your second home. Take pride in your surroundings. Pick up the garbage instead of stepping over it. I rarely am offended and usually very thankful when a parent takes the time to point out where we have failed to meet their expectations. Some people get upset with these “complaints” but I look at them as a chance for us to improve our product. Whether a parent has concerns over heat/ ac (my second floor observation room is very warm in the winter and penguins would be comfortable up there when the AC is on), trash in the parking lot or when one of our teachers doesn’t deliver at the level we expect. In general for every parent that takes the time to say something there are 10 who feel the same and do not say anything.
There are NO small jobs. Each job is important and in order for this ship to sail smoothly everyone must work together and be willing to pick up the slack when necessary.
I was doing some research to expand on this article when I came across the blog GYMNAST CROSSING. They cover the same topic (even using the same zen saying). Please visit their blog. Instead of trying to rewrite what they have done such a good job on, I will repost their article.
From Gymnast Crossing:
Polish the floor and you polish your soul
-Zen sayingWhile out for my morning run to the park this cloudy morning, I was doing sit-ups at a station and watched a woman randomly picking up trash as she was walking. As she passed by me, I told her she was awesome and thanked her for the act and the inspiration. I was done running, and walked to the next station for push-ups, picking up some litter along the way. Not much of a trouble, either, considering there are trash cans conveniently placed throughout the park.
During summer and winter camp in previous years, other coaches and myself would on occasion, give a speech to the girls after noticing how not everyone was pulling her own weight in cleaning up after lunch. Some girls would be pretending to clean; or making a concerted effort to not put in much effort. Other gymnasts would occupy cleanup time with mostly socializing.
And then there were the few teammates who were actually engaged in quality work on cleaning.
Is this fair to the teammates who are shouldering most of the workload? Does the job get done more efficiently when more people help or when less people help?
Is it ever fair when a person has to clean up after herself, and the mess left behind by others? Who benefits? The person working hard, disciplining herself to do the right thing? The person being lazy and inconsiderate of others, not pulling her own weight?
When I phrase it in those terms, the answer is quite obvious.
The girls have been talked to as well, regarding the state of the gym, in general. At the end of the day, used athletic tape is discarded in a twisted mangle; paper wrappings to chalk blocks litter the floor by bars; defrosted peas in plastic ziplocs mine the gym like IEDs, ready to be stepped on and exploded….
The gym is like a second home. How do you treat your home?
If you see trash lying around, do you pick it up? Or wait in hopes that the responsible party will return to do it, himself? Or trust that someone else will do it? Just not you?
When it’s time to move mats, either to set up drill stations or clear some space; or to move mats to make it easier for the evening clean-up crew to do their job of cleaning up after us, I notice who is helping and who is not helping. Your coaches might not always say something. But they notice.
Have some character and integrity: Do the right thing. Clean up after yourself and others. Don’t wait around for a coach to tell you; don’t expect to be recognized or praised, either. Do it because it’s the right thing to do- and do it especially when you think no one is looking.
