Help idk what to do!!!

[Gymnast234]

Ok so I have been doing gymnastics since I was like 8 years old.. And now I am 15.. I am a level 9 gymnast. I also have a little trouble with my back..But I am having trouble deciding if I want to continue... Last year I had a hard year... I didnt hav the best season.. At state I messed up on bars which caused me to not qualify for regionals.. Which was pretty disappointing.. And the so far this summer I feel that I am regressing instead of progressing... I feel that I'm not to be good enough next year.. I don't want to have another year like last year I was the only level 9 that didn't make it to regionals... I pretty much kno that I will not get a college scholarship, but my family thinks that I will... I love gymnastics but I don't know if I am just wasting my parents time money and effort.... I love having time off of gym but I'm afraid that if I quit I will regret it.. Also my sister is Pregnect and I am scaired that I will miss the baby growing up if I am always at the gym.. I really don't know what to do... Gymnastics has been my WHOLE life since I was young.. I stll lOve the sport but I don't know if I should cOntinue.... Thanks for the help!

 

[GymBee97]

Your probably going through a growth spurt. 15yo for a girl is an awkward time both physically and emotionally.
If you Love gymnastics it shouldn't matter if you score high - you do it because you love it. Don't quit because your sister is having a baby - its not your baby you will be an aunt and you don't have to be there every moment what ever time you have with the baby will be more than enough especially when you are only 15yo.

Have you talked to your coach to see what they think you need to do? L9 and L10 are hard and sometimes everyone just has a bad season - it happens. Don't worry about your parents money if it were an issue they would tell you that you are done. If they didn't think you loved it they would ask you.

So long as you enjoy it don't worry about scores, qualifying for meets etc just relax and enjoy it. sometimes you can get so stressed out about this stuff that you end up not doing your best. So Relax, enjoy and just do your best. It should be fine.

 

[MaryA]

First of all, I would talk to your parents. Tell them about how you are feeling about the expense of gymnastics and your worry that it will not "pay off" in terms of a college scholarship. Hopefully they will put your fears to rest and tell you that they are paying for gymnsatics because they know you love it and not because they expect it to get you a "free ride" to college. Maybe a meeting with both your parents and your coach to discuss the likelihood of a scholarship and your struggles in the gym would be in order. I'm 100% sure that you are not the first level 9 gymnast that your coaches have seen struggle with the skills. Level 9 is crazy hard (so I've heard) and the fact that you've made it there AT ALL is something to be proud of, regardless of how you progress from here. The coaches can talk to you about what might be causing your struggles, what their plans are to help you get past them, what you need to be doing/thinking to help you get past them, etc.

If you and your coaches agree that a Division I college scholarship is probably not a realistic goal for you, then you could try "toning down" the hours in the gym a bit... if there is an advanced Prep Op/Excel group you could participate in, or maybe cut out a day of practice and compete 8 this year... getting a bit of distance from it may help you decide if you want to continue devoting all of your energy and free time to the sport. Maybe you could see if doing a bit of coaching might be an option. If money is a concern, you could start partially paying your own way, and maybe looking at gymnastics from a coaches perspective will give new life to the sport for you.

Ultimately, while this is your life and the decision is yours to make, your parents and your coaches can give you guidance in this issue and help you explore your options better than anyone here on CB can.

Good luck to you, and be proud of everything you've accomplished rather than beating yourself up for what you haven't been able to do yet. Know that you have learned more about work ethic/goal setting/etc. in your 15 years than most people learn in a lifetime, and that will serve you well nomatter what you do next.

 

[cbone]

If you made a list of the "pros" and "cons" to quitting gym, no matter how many things stack up in the "pro" column you will regret your decision if "I still love it." is in the "con" column.

 

[SuperGirlmlm]

Wait for a day where your NOT tired, mad, hurt or biased. THEN, you can make your decision. Wait for your mind to be in the right place before making a big decision. Your mind isn't right when your mad or hurt.

 

[fliptwisttwirl]

Well how much do you love gymnastics? I think it all comes down to that. I'm 16 and only training 8 so sometimes it's hard to see little 11 year olds better than me. I've had really bad back problems from a fall in 8th grade and it hurts every time I do a bridge. But no matter how many times I have a bad meet or fall or get discouraged, there is nothing in the world I could ever love more than gymnastics. So that's what I'm sticking with.

 

[gymnasticky]

You definitely shouldn't quit completely. Not yet. You obviously love the sport and want to continue. I take it that your issue is really that you just don't think that it's worth it--which may be true, but is certainly not much of a reason to quit at this point because you enjoy it. So try to lay out your options for doing gymnastics. For instance, does your school have a team that could possibly be less hours to train? Come up with something that you would find fun and less demanding so that you can continue the thing you love and keep loving it.