gracyomalley
Proud Parent
OK, so winning, moving up, achieving new skill, etc are all great motivators in life and sport. For each kid and adult, there are times that these goals keep us pushing ourselves to learn and grow, and of course, being a "winner" in many aspects of life brings financial and cultural rewards which in turn make life "better". Interesting conversation, for sure.
My kids started gymnastics because their old nanny happened to be a former optional level gymnast and wanted something to do with a couple of active toddler/preschoolers during the winter. Oh, and my kids happen to be short and strong, so it was a natural fit. What little kid doesn't like running about a gym, jumping, flipping and climbing on things and then getting a cool stamp after its done (a few, I suppose). It was fun, healthy exercise and also developmentally built coordination, balance, concentration (listening, waiting turn, etc)....as a pediatrician I loved it. They made friends, they learned to focus and keep trying something and with time they had the experience of being able to see themselves do "skills" they couldn't a few months ago. They tried other sports (well, the boys did) and in the end didn't like them as much. They progressed. DD got "eyed" by coaches as having potential and put in hot shots programs. (That, of course, made me happy as a parent - who doesn't like someone say their kid is talented?) She had fun and worked hard, looked up to the big girls and wanted to be like them. The boys wanted to be super strong, do triple flips and iron crosses....and mostly run around and jump off things.
Goals have changed and continue to change. The kid who was a fast tracked/like to be challenged with new skills 9 year old became a "maybe I'll repeat and win while I finish growing" 11 year old (and did at L7) and a "maybe I'm not even sure I ever want to make myself do another flipping vault or BHS-BHS on beam, even though I know I can because I repeatedly have with good scores but they really are hard and scary and its just a sport anyway but I love gym and my coaches and friends so I think I'll take my time and stay in shape and figure out what I really want" 12 year old. All three thought processes have been developmentally appropriate goals and she's learned a bunch and will continue. (Took me a while to give up on her "old dream", and its hard to think of not getting to see her compete this year - both because she's a lovely gymnast to watch, but more as a "loss" of my confident little one...although we aren't paying as much for the work out but don't compete choice right now, which meets my mommy goals....).
The oldest boy went from "mom says I have to do a sport and gym is fun, maybe someday I'll get out of L5 but if not I don't really care" to a "I'm skipping a level, and maybe another, I'm the second strongest boy at gym and get to show off all the time now, these new skills hurt and are sometimes scary but I feel confident as a young teen boy doing all this and really love it" . He may not continue after this year due to other interests, but has grown hugely emotionally, physically and confidence-wise through staying in gym through the "hard times". And he can beat his dad arm wrestling already at 14!
And the just turned 10 year old boy still mostly needs a safe place to flip and jump about, but is learning how to turn his "game on" and use good form in meets, how to get over fears (high bar...) and navigate how to have fun with similar ADDish friends but listen to the coach and be respectful. He sometimes gets a medal or 2 (much less often than the other 2), but right now is feeling like a "winner" as he worked harder and got to move up to L6.
Soooo....although there are a group of people on CB with amazingly talented kids, who have the gift of parents who can support them, coaches and training centers able to offer the best possible training, and a driven personality that will lead them to Elite or college gym (and my kids have friends on the college track, which DD just jumped off by her choice), my guess is that most of us just love our kids and find gymnastics fascinating. We are certainly invested (can I admit to hyper invested) type parents. But the goals for most I would guess are for our kids to get the most out of a sport they love - and learn and grow from it. In reality, most of the good coaches I have had the pleasure of either my kids working with or "heard from" here on CB have similar goals - for a very few kids that means helping them get to the "top"....but even my kids HC, who has personally "been there, done that", wants each kid to use gymnastics as a way to grow into a confident, healthy adult, and love what they are doing!
My kids started gymnastics because their old nanny happened to be a former optional level gymnast and wanted something to do with a couple of active toddler/preschoolers during the winter. Oh, and my kids happen to be short and strong, so it was a natural fit. What little kid doesn't like running about a gym, jumping, flipping and climbing on things and then getting a cool stamp after its done (a few, I suppose). It was fun, healthy exercise and also developmentally built coordination, balance, concentration (listening, waiting turn, etc)....as a pediatrician I loved it. They made friends, they learned to focus and keep trying something and with time they had the experience of being able to see themselves do "skills" they couldn't a few months ago. They tried other sports (well, the boys did) and in the end didn't like them as much. They progressed. DD got "eyed" by coaches as having potential and put in hot shots programs. (That, of course, made me happy as a parent - who doesn't like someone say their kid is talented?) She had fun and worked hard, looked up to the big girls and wanted to be like them. The boys wanted to be super strong, do triple flips and iron crosses....and mostly run around and jump off things.
Goals have changed and continue to change. The kid who was a fast tracked/like to be challenged with new skills 9 year old became a "maybe I'll repeat and win while I finish growing" 11 year old (and did at L7) and a "maybe I'm not even sure I ever want to make myself do another flipping vault or BHS-BHS on beam, even though I know I can because I repeatedly have with good scores but they really are hard and scary and its just a sport anyway but I love gym and my coaches and friends so I think I'll take my time and stay in shape and figure out what I really want" 12 year old. All three thought processes have been developmentally appropriate goals and she's learned a bunch and will continue. (Took me a while to give up on her "old dream", and its hard to think of not getting to see her compete this year - both because she's a lovely gymnast to watch, but more as a "loss" of my confident little one...although we aren't paying as much for the work out but don't compete choice right now, which meets my mommy goals....).
The oldest boy went from "mom says I have to do a sport and gym is fun, maybe someday I'll get out of L5 but if not I don't really care" to a "I'm skipping a level, and maybe another, I'm the second strongest boy at gym and get to show off all the time now, these new skills hurt and are sometimes scary but I feel confident as a young teen boy doing all this and really love it" . He may not continue after this year due to other interests, but has grown hugely emotionally, physically and confidence-wise through staying in gym through the "hard times". And he can beat his dad arm wrestling already at 14!
And the just turned 10 year old boy still mostly needs a safe place to flip and jump about, but is learning how to turn his "game on" and use good form in meets, how to get over fears (high bar...) and navigate how to have fun with similar ADDish friends but listen to the coach and be respectful. He sometimes gets a medal or 2 (much less often than the other 2), but right now is feeling like a "winner" as he worked harder and got to move up to L6.
Soooo....although there are a group of people on CB with amazingly talented kids, who have the gift of parents who can support them, coaches and training centers able to offer the best possible training, and a driven personality that will lead them to Elite or college gym (and my kids have friends on the college track, which DD just jumped off by her choice), my guess is that most of us just love our kids and find gymnastics fascinating. We are certainly invested (can I admit to hyper invested) type parents. But the goals for most I would guess are for our kids to get the most out of a sport they love - and learn and grow from it. In reality, most of the good coaches I have had the pleasure of either my kids working with or "heard from" here on CB have similar goals - for a very few kids that means helping them get to the "top"....but even my kids HC, who has personally "been there, done that", wants each kid to use gymnastics as a way to grow into a confident, healthy adult, and love what they are doing!
(at L4, she's got a list going already).
