A few quick questions?

[Monkeygirlsmom]

1. Why did you choose gymnastics for your child?
oldest dd was soo shy and her friend (my bf dd as well) was going to do gymnastics and it was the first time she wanted to try anything she was 3 at the time
youngest dd was swinging and climbing all over things and saw her sister doing it and loved it! she would even show up in a little leotard and when the class was soo small she would join in with her sister and was keeping up!
so the gym said even tho she was on the young side (a month shy) 2.to let her!

2How did you find the gym that you took your child too when they first began training?
was thru a friend we are at our 3rd gym!! now that first one was too far away with bad rush hour traffic and the 2nd one they were going no where there was no team there and youngest wanted to compete some day!! Love this new gym

3. What was it that kept you coming back in the early stages of your childs training?
the fun she was having

4. What is it that keeps you bringing your child to gymnastics now?
the smiles they have and the confidence they are getting!
and the way the gym we are at now is with the kids!

5. What do you and/or your child look forward to most about gymnastics (ie learning new skills, competitions, displays, club events)?
They love the new skils and the way it makes them feel and the coaches how they are soo supportive even if they do not get it!!
6. What (if anything) do you hope for your child to gain from gymnastics training?
The love to keep there body fit! and the confidence they are gaining!!
and the friendships they have!!

7. What do you like best about your club?
the coaches and the other kids they all seem like a team! our gym is about supporting each other even if they do not do well on something!! its not how good or bad you do its about how you try!!!!

[Panda-girl's Mom]

Why I chose gymnastics for my daughter she went to a tumbling class when she was 3 and I was told by two different teachers she was a natural. She taught herself a cartwheel at 4 and would climb across the monkeybars in preschool. Her friend was going to a real gym in a preschool class so at 4 I signed her up. She moved from supertots to preteam and made the team as a level 4 at 7.
She continues to love the sport. It is a really good sport for her because she can not sit still and has alot of energy. It also lets her focus on something and she does not seem to get bored.
She enjoys being with the other girls on the team and they are very nice girls. The coaches try really hard to make them responsible (they have to call themselves out of practice).
I like how the sport has kept her stay fit, I do not like her to sit around and watch TV and gymnastics keeps her busy.
If she sticks with it when she is older I hope it will keep her out of trouble that alot of teenagers get into. It would be great if she could compete in college but I do not have high expectations.
We really like the gym because it is small they compete in alot of meets they are very organized and the parent's association is great.

[margymmom]

1. Why did you choose gymnastics for your child?
We just stumbled in- a birthday party led to tumble tots classes which lead to a team invitation. I had no idea that team was an option or how the whole gymnastics thing worked.

2. How did you find the gym that you took your child too when they first began training?
Again, it is close to my house, and we started classed there.

3. What was it that kept you coming back in the early stages of your childs training?
She loved it. At every stage I felt it was too much of a time commitment, but she always wanted to try.

4. What is it that keeps you bringing your child to gymnastics now?
She loves gymnastics and wants to be there. I see the benefits of training in terms of dedication and focus. And I know she can easily go to any other sport should she decide to thanks to her gym training. And it gives me something to hold over her head if school work or home behavior gets out of line.

5. What do you and/or your child look forward to most about gymnastics (ie learning new skills, competitions, displays, club events)?
She loves learning new skills, hates conditioning, but mostly just likes being with her friends in the gym.

6. What (if anything) do you hope for your child to gain from gymnastics training?
As sense of focus and dedication to something you love. She has learned to conquer fears and to work hard (without quitting). She has also learned that she excels in many things and that there are other things that are more challenging for her. Mostly, I want her to have something that she cares about and that will keep her busy during the adolescent years.

7. What do you like best about your club?
It generally has a good balance between helping gymnasts progress and understanding that these are still children who have needs and responsibilities outside of the gym. Their goal is to help those that are so inclined to get college scholarships but not to produce elite athletes. Given that most girls won't even be around by the time they reach high school, I think this is a good perspective.

[mom2kazkids]

1. Why did you choose gymnastics for your child?

DD is petite, of russian heritage (born Kazakhstan), and people kept telling me with her size that she would be good in gymnastics. She did dance and tumbling when she was 3-4 y/o, when she was entering Kindergarten I told her she had to pick one, gymnastics won.


2. How did you find the gym that you took your child too when they first began training?

At first there were not many gyms to choose from, the Y or the first gym that we were at. At her first few classes there were less kids at the "real gym" so we started there.


3. What was it that kept you coming back in the early stages of your childs training?

Watching progression, seeing how much she loved it.


4. What is it that keeps you bringing your child to gymnastics now?

Cont to progress. She is now training level 4 and it seems that every practice she is learning more and more skills.


5. What do you and/or your child look forward to most about gymnastics (ie learning new skills, competitions, displays, club events)?

Learning the new skills and also the competitions. She was able to compete as a level 3 last year and the first meet was great. She told me that after her first vault " I wasn't scared anymore"


6. What (if anything) do you hope for your child to gain from gymnastics training?

Discipline with time management, practice, homework and such. Overcoming fears with new skills and new adventures in life.


7. What do you like best about your club?

We are at a different club from where she first started. The main reason that we changed was that here she competed level 3, there is little time spent waiting to do a skill, the coaches are a young couple who are not afraid to get out there and show the kids what they should do. All the girls are so supportive of each other. When DD first got her front hip, all the girls stopped to watch and cheer her on. She is training not only level 4 skills, but also up to level 5 and 6 (BWO on beam), kips, front handsprings and other upper lvl skills.


Barb

[momofagymmie]

1. My daughter was an extremely active toddler. So I was always looking for things to keep her busy.
2. Because she was so active i found a mom and tot class that was literally down the street. We stayed off and on for a few years.
3. Once she was older, 6 i think, she was older we actually stopped going but she asked to go back. She always wanted to continue.

4. What is it that keeps you bringing your child to gymnastics now?
Now, she still has a true love for the sport.

5. What do you and/or your child look forward to most about gymnastics (ie learning new skills, competitions, displays, club events)?My daughter loves learning the new skills. She likes to compete them and she loves the friendships she's made with her teammates. I like to watch her enjoy the sport and to see her work ethic. Competitions can be fun sometimes....

6. What (if anything) do you hope for your child to gain from gymnastics training? I'd love for her to learn the positive outcomes of working out. I also like the fact that she's learned if she wants to do something hard work can get you there.

7. What do you like best about your club?
Her club now focuses a great deal on the sport as a team effort. They all cheer for each other when they compete. They train in all sorts of groups not just by levels and they learn new skills through out the year not just at the end of the season.

[vmom]

1. My dd was always coming home from school with rips on her hands (I didn't know then that's what they're called) from playing on the bars at her school's playground. She was also always shorter than everyone else. Whan she asked to try gymnastics, I thought, "Hey, that's perfect!" Not that shorter girls don't play basketball and volleyball, but I kind of knew they weren't in her future!

2. We were living in a rural community when she started and there was only one gym that was a reasonable drive (1/2 hour away). They closed and reopened under new management in her 4th year and did not bring back her coaches. We took the plunge and started driving 1 1/2 hours (one way) to a gym in our state's capital. It all worked out when dh took a job in the capital and we moved! Now we are only 8 minutes from her gym!

3. She loved the sport from her first lesson! Her big goal those first few years was to make team!

4. She still loves this sport! She loves learning new skills, her coaches, and her teammates. Her big goal now is to stick with it and go as far as she can (she can't wait to be in optionals-1 more season, maybe less).

5. She looks forward to seeing her gym pals (even though she sees them nearly every day) and training up skills. And during competition season she looks forward to doing better at every meet.

6. There are so many gains to gymnastics. She's always had a body image problem, but she's beginning to see that her strength is a huge assest for tumbling and bars. Plus, how confident do you have to be to compete in a leo?! She's learned goal setting. She has a group of friends who share similar values ( i.e. keeping healthy, avoiding drugs etc...). She's learned to accept disappointments, wipe away the tears and congratulate those who may have done better that day. Most of all she's learned that most gymnasts don't just show up perfect; they all have to work and push hard to be their best. No wonder she and her teammates seem wise beyond their years at times.

7. We both love her coaches at her current club. They really seem to care about what is best for each gymnast, not just what will be good for the club. She also loved her coaches at her first club. They even came to State this year to cheer her on! Her teammates are awesome.

Whew, I didn't know I would be so verbose!!!

[gymgramma]

1. Why did you choose gymnastics for your child? it was actually something she asked to do.

2. How did you find the gym that you took your child too when they first began training? it was offered on post at the youth center

3. What was it that kept you coming back in the early stages of your childs training? she was having fun and keeping fit

4. What is it that keeps you bringing your child to gymnastics now? gymnastics is her passion!!

5. What do you and/or your child look forward to most about gymnastics (ie learning new skills, competitions, displays, club events)? I think it would be a toss up between the new skills she learns and the competing.........she loves both

6. What (if anything) do you hope for your child to gain from gymnastics training? to continue to develop positive traits such as self-discipline, self-respect, self-esteem, time management & organizational management

7. What do you like best about your club? actually not pleased and actively looking for another

[mariposamama]

1. Why did you choose gymnastics for your child? She chose it after taking a ballet class and they did some tumbling on a mat and then she saw a commercial for the little gym i think or something and asked if she could do that. LOL.

2. How did you find the gym that you took your child too when they first began training? I didn't even think they would have kids gymnastics at that age. I looked online and found a YMCA with pre-school gymnastics. We started there, but left when they had a major (not nice) rehaul of their program.

3. What was it that kept you coming back in the early stages of your childs training? She loved it and asked everyday if it was gymnastics. She really wasn't very good at all, but she had tons of fun and was strong! I had no idea little kids competed gymnastics. Had I known, who knows.

4. What is it that keeps you bringing your child to gymnastics now? The smile on her face everytime I see her at the gym. The enthusiasm in her voice when she talks about what they did.

5. What do you and/or your child look forward to most about gymnastics (ie learning new skills, competitions, displays, club events)? I just love watching her blossom and grow and work towards goals. She loves learning new skills. She doesn't much care about how pretty they look, but she loves learning "new tricks". She seems to think she will LOVE competing. That is yet to be seen. She does love performing though. She also loves the friends she has made.

6. What (if anything) do you hope for your child to gain from gymnastics training? I have no real expectations. Right now, she is happy and loves it. Just seeing the joy she gets is worth all the money and worry. I think it would great for her to learn to be good at winning and not winning. She is very win win win centered right now and I would like her to learn how to be gracious either way. I like that she sees that hard work pays off.

7. What do you like best about your club? I really like everything so far. We have been at 2 gyms previously. The first we left because they (upper management) did something very mean to the team gymnastics program, and I refused to support them with my money after hearing what they did. The second we left because my daughter was bored and teaching herself new things. She wasn't being moved up or challenged, and she asked to do gym another day a week, so instead of spending my money at the same place, we tried another. The coach saw something in her that first class and she has just blossomed since then. She is constantly challenged now and that keeps her wanting to go back.

[MdGymMom01]

Ooooh! I love surveys!!



1. Why did you choose gymnastics for your child?
I wanted her to do an all around good conditioning sport that developed, strength, balance, poise and have fun.

2. How did you find the gym that you took your child too when they first began training?
My dd was invited to a birthday party there and we liked it so we signed up for classes.

3. What was it that kept you coming back in the early stages of your childs training?
She was having fun and learning a lot of things.

4. What is it that keeps you bringing your child to gymnastics now?
We took a 3 year break to do cheerleading and to be honest, the cheer didn't offer the same discipline and attention to detail as gymnastics. She was bored at cheer and her tumbling got really sloppy. We decided to go back to gymnastics full time and now she is on the competition Level 4 team.

5. What do you and/or your child look forward to most about gymnastics (ie learning new skills, competitions, displays, club events)?
Learning new skills, learning discipline and the value of working hard and competing and of course making new friends.

6. What (if anything) do you hope for your child to gain from gymnastics training?
That if you put your mind to something you can do anything. When you work hard and set goals you can achieve them. Being disciplined and having a good work ethic will take you far in life.

7. What do you like best about your club?
It is small and family-like but it offers enough competition to be challenging for the kids. The coaches are awesome and care about the kids.

[ellabella]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Aussie_coach Just a few quick questions, I'd like to get an idea of different parents opinions. 1. Why did you choose gymnastics for your child? I'm a big fan and her dad coaches. 2. How did you find the gym that you took your child too when they first began training? It's the closest one to the house. 3. What was it that kept you coming back in the early stages of your childs training? I don't really consider her to be "training". Just having fun for now. 4. What is it that keeps you bringing your child to gymnastics now? She likes to go and it's one of the few activities available for her age. 5. What do you and/or your child look forward to most about gymnastics (ie learning new skills, competitions, displays, club events)? She just likes to jump and climb. 6. What (if anything) do you hope for your child to gain from gymnastics training? Physical fitness, self-esteem, friends, give her something to focus on so she stays out of trouble etc. 7. What do you like best about your club?

It's close to the house.