competitive vs non-competitive gymmies

[AlexsGymmyMom]

My DD has a very laid back attitude towards gym and competitions. She does not get worked up about scores or placing at all! I don't think this is the norm for most gymmies but this is her personality. For you coaches out there what type of gymnast do you prefer to coach or is easier to coach? One that does not worry to much about scores or the ones that get worked up and stressed out at competitions. Do you find that the less competitive gymnast is also the one that is not giving 100% at practices also? Are the more competitive gymnasts the ones that tend to get burned out faster because they are too emotionally invested in results and getting skills faster than their peers that it takes the fun out of it?

I secretly wish sometimes that she was a little more concerned about her scores because I think her lack of competitivness keeps her from really giving 100%. But on the other hand I don't want her to beat herself up when she doesn't score so well and stress out when she does not get a skill as quickly as others. I guess it is a catch 22.

 

[flipper's fan]

Well, I've been hanging around the gym since '03 and a member here for about 8 mos and this is what I have learned- the answer to all of these is this better than that questions is " yes". Is it better to start early or later? Is it better to practice 5 hours or 25 hours? Is it better to go to a highly competetive gym or a laid back gym? Is it better to be competetive or relaxed? Is it better to be strong or flexible? Big gym or small gym? Let them quit or encourage them to continue? There are so many different kinds of gymnasts with so many different goals that the best thing to do is whatever is right for your gymnast. And it may change throughout their gymnastics career. Thanks to all who share their experiences and expertise- you help us all see other ways of doing things and what the advantages are and what kinds of kids benefit from different approaches.

So, Alexsgymmie mom- sounds like your DD is happy, and she will probably change to more competetive or more relaxed as she gets older and progresses and her goals become clearer to her. My dd is relaxed about competition, which is good so htere is no drama when awards are done, but she is driven to get the skills she wants to accomplish and will stay late and have tears and drama as she pushes herself to acheive her goals. Right now- it could change.

 

[coachmolly]

It all really depends on the kid and the coach. Where I currently coach, there is 1 competitive girl who is very competitive, driven, cares about scores, the whole 9 yards. I find her incredibly pleasant to coach, a hard worker, just lots of fun. The other coaches often find themselves very frustrated with her intensity, tears, and how hard she is on herself. On the flipside, the other competitive girls (just 2) are VERY laidback, don't care about scores, are okay with minimal effort, skipping practices, etc. I have a devil of a time trying to work with them and find myself getting very frustrated, the other coaches do just fine and don't see it as a problem at all. So I guess it all depends.
Girls who are too intense are probably going to burn out because they place too much pressure on themselves, but those who are too laidback probably aren't going to progress like their more competitive peers. I think it's all about finding a balance somewhere in the middle, and just where in the middle depends on the gymnast. Either end of the spectrum is not especially productive, but putting a naturally intense child in a laidback environment probably isn't going to result in much more than frustration, and I would assume the same about the opposite combination. Similarly, I don't think you can really make generalizations about an intense personality progressing farther than a more laidback one, because so many other factors come into play.

 

[lilgymmie7]

I used to think DD was a laid back gymnast. Of course she is only 7 and of course this is her first real year of competition. However, at the beginning of her season, she seemed very unconcerned about her scores.
Frankly her performance mirrored that unconcern. She always looks amazing to me, but I have noted that since she moved to her new gym she has really turned up her competition 'channel'. She is now getting more and more competitive and doesn't want to be left behind. However, that doesn't necessarily mean that she 'beats' herself up when she makes mistakes. She has the 'neat' tendancy of taking mistakes in stride. That is more due to her personality and the fact that we never place pressure on her to perform well, etc.
I want her to work hard, but I also want her to understand that mistakes happen and what she does to learn and build on those mistakes will carry over into her every facet of her life.
I think every child has a way to deal with what they do in their own way. Further, I don't think there will ever be one 'right' way to do things. The factor that we are all different should tell us that there is more than one way of doing things. I have three children, and I can attest to the fact that they all have a very unique way of doing everything!

 

[Shewhodrives]

Up until last week I might have said that my dd wasn't very competitive, but there has been quite a lot of "talk" from one little girl on her team about who will be moving up levels and apparently she doesn't think my daughter will. Up until now, my dd had never been concerned about moving up through the levels, but thanks to this little friend she is now more aware. Gee, thanks!

 

[sportsmom22]

alexsgymmymom, you described my youngest dd. She is so laid back and has no concerns about scores at all. It looks to me like she never gives 100% at gym. But, then again who am I to say what 100% is for her. My oldest is so competitive and driven. However, she did not stick with gym. When things got hard, the fight for perfection was just too much for her. She has moved on to ball team sports and is finding a nice balance in that the win/loss/placement is not totally on her shoulders. Some of the coaches at our gym have coached each of my girls. And I think that the coaches have loved and disliked something about each of their personalities. I know they get frustrated with little gymmy, but I also know that they love how she cheers for everyone. She is the first to give a high five and is so proud when her friends get new skills. I think the coaches loved oldest dd because of how dedicated she was. Conditioning was one of her favorite times in the gym--little gymmy never keeps track of number of reps, just stops when neighbor does--oldest did everything asked of her and more. So like someone above said the answer is yes, it really is yes. Good luck to your little princess on her road through the gym. It's a fun one!

 

[hawaii_gymnast]

At my gym the hardest workers are the ones who don't get all worked up at meets (for the most part) because if you work hard you should know that you performed to the best of your ability and there is nothing else you could have done. The ones who cry and get all worked up at meets tend to be the ones who sit around at practice, don't show up all the time and never give 100%. Just my observations from my gym.

 

[CoachGoofy]

I've got an extremely competitive athlete in my team group, and I love her to bits, but she is INTENSE sometimes. She gets very frustrated at meets if she has even the tiniest error, & she has a neurodevelopmental condition, so she can't calm down once she gets worked up. She works her BUTT off at the gym, & she's good, but oh man once she gets frustrated and stuck at the same time, neither of us is having any fun. (And now I know what my coaches felt like).

And then I have my "just here for funsies" team kids. They aren't as driven, but they're also not on the radar for burning themselves out from stress. Most of them can say "eh, whatever, there's always another meet" if they do something silly at a meet. They're not as motivated to get new skills--but, again, there's less of the getting stuck-frustration-lack of progress feedback loop.

I like working with all our athletes who love the sport. They just have different needs & desires & dreams and that's good for them. If winning isn't what they want out of gym, so be it. If I want someone to win that badly, I know where the equipment is.

 

[Bajanswife]

My DD can do such good work when motivated (like when the coach is offering money or temp. tattoos for the first to get a skill, or the one to get it done the best), but if she doesn't feel like it she will be sloppy. She just isn't a very driven personality most of the time. She gets a little nervous for meets, but not horribly so. She likes to win a medal, but doesn't get hung up on her scores. I wish sometimes she'd work harder more often, but then I think that if she did that she might not enjoy it as much, and maybe she's struck the right balance for her.