Natalia
Proud Parent
France is the land of centralized power.
Our national gymnastics program is a reflection of this.
Gymnasts that show a certain potential are invited to national training centers around 10 years of age.If they wish ,they can then attend THE national training center in Paris at the age of 13.
The passage from primery school to secondary school also occurs at around 10 years of age,and girls enter that wonderfull moment of being a pre teen.During this challenging moment in their lives they are expected to pack up their things ,move away from their families and come home on week ends .They attend special schools that allow them to continue with their training.
French gymnastics results on an international level are dismal .
I know centralized systems work,but perhaps they're not so effective in a privileged society.We, the french, are extremly privileged,and rather lazy.Sports is suppose to be enjoyable or there's no point to it.Many parents simply don't agree with the idea of sending their 10 year olds away from home for the sake of a sport,even if the kid is begging and pleading to go.
When a girl goes off to one of these "pôle",the points she obtains at competitions are awarded to her club for 2 years.This is to encourage local coaches to "hand over "their gymnasts.
But the coach/athlete dynamic that allowed that young girl to progress is interupted,and the coach isn't really allowed to follow his athlete through every aspect of her journey.
I wonder if a more decentralized system would allow more participation at a grass root level,more gymnasts would go on to higher levels and the depth of talent would increase.
I guess it would be more a matter of My gymnastic,My coach,My club,My progress,rather then being shuffled around by a "system"
Our national gymnastics program is a reflection of this.
Gymnasts that show a certain potential are invited to national training centers around 10 years of age.If they wish ,they can then attend THE national training center in Paris at the age of 13.
The passage from primery school to secondary school also occurs at around 10 years of age,and girls enter that wonderfull moment of being a pre teen.During this challenging moment in their lives they are expected to pack up their things ,move away from their families and come home on week ends .They attend special schools that allow them to continue with their training.
French gymnastics results on an international level are dismal .
I know centralized systems work,but perhaps they're not so effective in a privileged society.We, the french, are extremly privileged,and rather lazy.Sports is suppose to be enjoyable or there's no point to it.Many parents simply don't agree with the idea of sending their 10 year olds away from home for the sake of a sport,even if the kid is begging and pleading to go.
When a girl goes off to one of these "pôle",the points she obtains at competitions are awarded to her club for 2 years.This is to encourage local coaches to "hand over "their gymnasts.
But the coach/athlete dynamic that allowed that young girl to progress is interupted,and the coach isn't really allowed to follow his athlete through every aspect of her journey.
I wonder if a more decentralized system would allow more participation at a grass root level,more gymnasts would go on to higher levels and the depth of talent would increase.
I guess it would be more a matter of My gymnastic,My coach,My club,My progress,rather then being shuffled around by a "system"