A parent of a gymnast I work with posted this on my Facebook page. It is a great reminder that what we are doing is WAY MORE than just coaching gymnastics.
SOMETIMES IT’S HARD TO BE A GYMNAST… Sure, it’s hard to flip backwards on a 4 inch beam and YES it’s hard for their tiny bodies to defy the laws of physics & gravity in the way that they do…. BUT what’s really hard is to watch my child balance the world of being a gymnast and being a teen. It’s hard to watch her spend 15-20 hours a week in the gym while juggling her time to be a great student and a great friend. It’s hard to watch her suffer through injuries while all the time watch her anxiously await the green light to go back to what she knows & loves. And yes, it’s gut-wrenchingly hard is to watch your child feeling left out of things her school friends can do and she cannot.
But here’s what’s NOT HARD: It’s NOT HARD to watch my child set weekly goals… It’s NOT HARD to watch her fall down only to get back up again. It’s NOT HARD to see her experience what it’s like to fail and then in turn what it’s like to succeed. It’s NOT HARD to watch her truly learn the lessons she’ll need to be successful in life. It’s also NOT HARD having coaches who practically co-parent her on a daily basis, who want what’s best for her and who set the bar VERY high in terms of maturity. So sure it’s HARD to be a gymnast, but what’s NOT HARD is all of the other REALLY IMPORTANT STUFF
10 Reasons to Get your Child involved in Competitive Gymnastics
