MAG missing summer practice

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Men's Artistic Gymnastics

gracyomalley

Proud Parent
This is a mirror of a thread on the WAG forum.

DS the elder is also a serious musician. He was accepted into a prestigious music festival for 5 weeks this summer, with a big scholarship. There's really no question that he will attend (we of course discussed that before the labor intensive application), but it will mean probably 6 weeks out of gym this summer, when combined with gym closures. His coach is aware and supportive, but also encouraging him to try for Level 9 next year, concentrating on his 4 strong events and "figuring out something" for the others. :)

DS is a mass of stress about everything right now, wants to stay in gym and wants to try to move up (he'll be a sophomore next year), but obviously gym will end in the somewhat near future and music will hopefully be for his lifetime. I want him to do what he wants to do with gym, but I also want him in the gym often enough to be safe and enjoy it - he was injured this year, and had to leave out tons of "almost there" skills mostly due to just not having enough training time. His coaches and team are all super supportive, but he doesn't really enjoy feeling like he should have done better...

He'll have to figure out how long he can manage this balance, and he's already paring down some of the extra music stuff he did this year that doesn't impact his learning/progression there, but was a major time and energy drain on him, as well as trying to balance his AP classes with a rest friendly schedule. I think that will allow him to be in the gym more and get more sleep next year, and we already agreed he needs to take it year by year. No plans for him to graduate or leave school early and head to conservatory as of yet....

He will have access to a college weight room and work out area while away this summer, and can do cardio also. He'll be super busy but the festival is long enough that I think he'll settle in after a couple weeks and workouts will be a good way to clear his head...after playing for 8-10 hours a day. Clearly there's always splits and flexibility to work on.

In the past he's missed 2-3 weeks and not really seemed to be much impacted, I think the weekly interruptions in practice have had more impact that the summer time off... their coaches train both fundamentals and drills for new skills all year round, and its a small enough team that level decisions aren't made based upon a certain date of the year, etc. I personally think he can still add lots to Level 8, if it comes down to that but really that part is totally up to him and his coach.

Any ideas of specifics he should or shouldn't do? His coach will give some advice, but will also probably try to keep it really low pressure as he knows how hard DS works at pretty much everything. Any one with teen boys who have missed like this and advice? Obviously we are not worried about college gym - someone in music someday soon is going to freak out about the risks he takes with his hands at gym :)! He won't even be "in age" for Nationals unless he does Level 10 before he quits, and there are almost no older L9s, so its not about "winning" anything much either. Just safety and being able to progress at his own pace/feel good about gymnastics.
 
Congratulations on getting into the music program. I'd probably tell him to just stop stressing. He's old enough to take responsibility for strength training while he's away. As long as he maintains his strength he'll be fine in the gym. Jake Dalton has been posting a lot of training stuff on Youtube my DS finds interesting. He could follow Jake's channel and get some ideas to supplement what his coach gives him.
 
Honestly I wouldn't worry.

Back in my day we used to train out of school halls. The school shut every summer for 6 weeks, so no training. We all managed- most kids came back pretty much where they were without losing any skills. Some even came back better after the mental and physical break- niggly injuries healed properly and blocks went away. Sure we were sore for a couple of weeks, but soon got back into it.

Keeping fit will help. Is there a local team he could maybe train with on weekends or if he has a spare evening?
 
Congratulations to him! That is huge!!! HE is goign to have so much fun and learn so much.

IF he can work out this summer, then that will be good. I also agree about finding a gym close by if possible that he can either train with their team, or maybe do a private every now and then. Otherwise, I would say that he knows what to do to keep his strength and that will be enough!
 
Congrats on getting into the music program! It is incredibly hard to be competitive in that world, and takes loads of discipline. I applaud you and your son for all the hours of practicing!

Regarding gym, I agree about having a morning or evening conditioning/flexibility routine. I enjoyed doing that when I traveled as a gymnast. I remember hollow rocks and over splits in hotel rooms, toe raises by subway railings, pull-ups/ leg lifts on anything I could find. I also agree that skills come back quickly.

Like @Faith, I was going to suggest a local team or gym that would let him practice, even if only for a couple days a week. I know there won't be much time w/ music schedule, but a smattering of real equipment gymnastics will be helpful. My kid always thinks visiting another gym is a complete treat.
 
Omg that is so fantastic to get that music scholarship!!! What an honor, and it will look great on a resume for college (meaning college app).
I agree with everything posted above. Now go celebrate if you haven't already!!!!!:D:D
 
Thanks all for the congrats - he was really happy when he found out!

I will look into local gyms, but usually at these things they are working from 8am-10pm (there are concerts they play in OR have guest artists at most evenings), with maybe a little downtime Sundays....and he is pretty shy, so I don't think he'll want to or be able to go to an actual gym practice. The longest he's done before was 2 weeks, but he definitely didn't have time for practice there.
 
Congratulations!! He should just immerse himself in this music opportunity as much as possible. I agree he should do conditioning and stretching but wouldn't worry about finding a gym. As long as he stays somewhat in condition, he will be fine when he returns. Again congratulations!!
 
Can he find a gym to go to during the week that your gym is closed (and he's not at the festival)? Then he'd be missing five weeks instead of six.
 

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