How Gymnastics has helped your dd/ds transition into other sports/activities

[MdGymMom01]

I thought it would be fun to start a new thread on the topic of "Life after Gym" . There are quite a few members on CB who's dds have transitioned out of gymnastics (and survived LOL). Mine has been out of gymnastics for about 3 months now and is doing great. She has filled her time with dance (mostly ballet, but is also taking pointe, jazz and lyrical). I think the gymnastics has really helped her in dance. Not only with the flexibility and strength, but also with the mental discipline and determination that is essential in gymnastics. She is a very hard worker in her dance classes and never gives up. She knows that it takes lots of practice to get the steps or routine down and doesn't get discouraged like some of the other dance students. DD knows that you just keep plugging away and continue to go over the step 20-30 times if thats what it takes to get it.

How have your dd's or ds's managed to transition into new activities when retiring from gym? What have they learned from gym that made the transition easier or harder?

 

[Panda-girl's Mom]

My daughter has been just as busy but definitly has more variety of activites and activities that are more fun and less pressure. She is doing dance 3 days a week including Irish and point. She is also doing cheer and swim team (winter with her school and summer with the swimclub team) She plans on doing track and softball in the spring since cheer and swim will be over. She is also taking a sewing class every other week and just became an alter server. Gymnastics definitly helped with the dance and cheer but it also helped with swim , she has a beautiful dive and I am convinced that it is from jumping to the high bar all those years . Her feet are together and she dive out halfway to the pool so it helps with her time. I think all those years of being tight on the balance beam has helped her with the cheer mounts. She is also very focused and organized. These little things are conforting to know that she did not waste all those years in the gym for nothing.

 

[wandrewsjr]

In addition to those that are often mentioned - cheer,diving,dance - my oldest, who "retired" a few years ago has discovered gymnastics has helped her in just about every sport she has tried:
Softball - learning to sprint down the runway is a perfect prep for speeding around the bases
Pole vault - not many girls have the upper body strength required to do this, but gymnasts do!
Triple jump - the coordination to do the hop,skip, jump while running full speed came from gymnastics
And her newest discovery..Rugby! - knowing how to fall without injury has benefited her greatly in this sport (who would have though all those falls of the beam would come in handy some day!)

 

[All Chalked Up]

I haven't got to the "life after gym" stage yet- I'm there everyday! But, in adddition to gymnastics, I wrestle a bit and gymnastics has helped me ENORMOUSLY. Not many girls in my weight class/age division are strong enough to take each other down, but I am thanks to gymnastics!