Parents Just curious: Goals

[LGnyc]

What are yours and your DS or DD's goals in gymnastics?
Elite? College? Be involved in a sport?
I think about all the time we put in and the money spent or the hours lost as a family and I often wonder so I wanted to ask what motivates others.

 

[reluctant]

What are yours and your DS or DD's goals in gymnastics?
Elite? College? Be involved in a sport?
I think about all the time we put in and the money spent or the hours lost as a family and I often wonder so I wanted to ask what motivates others.

Neither college nor elite. I don't think they are realistic goals for 95% of the gymnastics population. I have a level 9 who does it because she loves the friends, the fitness, and the thrill of learning new skills. It's worth it to me because she knows the value of discipline and teamwork and it keeps her off the street. When the time comes to retire, she'll be a great addition to any other sports team.

 

[LGnyc]

How old is she and what other team sports do you envision? My DD isn't really interested in much of anything else. But she will certainly not go down the Elite or college path either.

 

[Really]

DD's (and at least one of her coaches') goal for her is to make it to level 10 "or as far as she can go." My goal for getting her into gymnastics was to boost her confidence, which I think has been accomplished thanks to the sport. So DH keeps asking me if we can have her quit now. My new goal for her is to be happy, active and have fun. It doesn't necessarily have to be in gymnastics, as I've signed her up for a couple of other activities (diving & trapeze) that I would be more than happy if she decided to prioritize instead of gymnastics, which I think is too time-intensive and expensive especially as she moves up in the JO track. Right now she enjoys diving and trapeze when she gets some extra time, but gymnastics is her passion. This may change as she moves up the levels because she's also a kid who values her social life outside of school and the gym. Her dive coach told me that she wants DD to switch over to being a competitive diver who does gymnastics for fun rather than the other way around. I gave her my blessing to try and convince DD to re-arrange her priorities.

 

[skschlag]

My ds is a L10 this year. His goal is college gym. My goal is to keep him out of trouble....

 

[gymmomx2]

My goal is to get them through gymnastics without injuries that will affect their life after gymnastics. I realize I don't have much control over this but I do make sure that they are well fed, well rested, and put them in gyms with proficient coaches who have their best interests at heart. We also take them to PT anytime there is pain that last for more than a few days or doesn't look like just normal sore muscles. So far so good but they are not doing the really big skills yet.

My other goal is to get them through gymnastics without impacting my own financial future

My oldest says "go as far as I can". No specific goal.
My youngest's goals are fluid It's normal, she's only 11....

 

[reluctant]

How old is she and what other team sports do you envision? My DD isn't really interested in much of anything else. But she will certainly not go down the Elite or college path either.

Just turned 13. Truly any sport, but possibilities are diving, volleyball, tennis, track and field: hurdles, pole vault, ultimate frisbee, rowing. The sky's the limit for these kids with insane musculature, well develped cardio capacity, flexibility, coachability and great mind/body communication. My kiddo also happens to be tall -- not so great for gymnastics, great for almost everything else. Right now she still loves gymnastics.

 

[Committed]

Mine is training level 9 and has voiced that she would like to do college gymnastics. It seems completely feasible at this point, but you never know where life will take you! She has many years to fall out of love with gym, sustain injuries, or whatever. The strength and life lessons are invaluable though.

 

[raenndrops]

OG (age almost 16) goals: To compete L7 and hopefully L8 by senior year while also playing varsity volleyball and running track.
YG (age almost 13) goals: To compete L6 or Xcel Platinum this season… currently leaning toward Platinum because she "likes the girls trying for Platinum better" … but eventually, she wants L7.
My goals: a drama-free / injury free 3-5 years that will allow the girls to go as far as they can.

 

[Livlovestoflipandfly]

My daughter just turned 10 so she would say her goals are to be in the Olympics, but she would be happy with a college career. Right now, she breathes, sleeps and eats gymnastics and is highly motivated. Since day one we have always said it is "her thing", "her goals" and "her dreams" that we are supporting. I look at my husband's and my involvement as more of "along for the ride" and we feel fortunate to be able to support her emotionally and financially as she chases her dreams. We don't have any expectations or goals for her other than her remaining healthy and having fun. We admire her drive at such a young age (she competed level 8 last year and spends at least five days a week in the gym, most weeks opting for extra hours to condition for fun) and we will see where it takes her. Don't get me wrong, while we would love to see her achieve her dreams, regardless of where she ends up we are immensely proud of the young person she is becoming and, in large part, we feel that is due to the relationships she has built in the gym and the lessons of the sport.

 

[John]

DD started gymnastics to boost self-confidence. She was 5 when she started and a parent had to be on the floor for 6 months before she gave the thumbs up. Now she is 10 and dreams big, loves the gym friends, they understand each other. She switched to JO from IGC and will compete in many levels this year. My goal as dad is to keep her happy, healthy and out of trouble while at the same time teaching her your dreams and the best things in life require dedication and work. Nothing is given to us in this world.

 

[MuggleMom]

DD says Olympics or Level 10 I think she just wants to be "good" and all kids her age (7) think OLYMPICS!

For me personally I love the drive and overall physical fitness that Gymnastics promotes. I did the sport growing up for awhile and I know that the body awareness has helped me take on other sports and physical activities with ease...I just pick things up quickly...and I would love that for her as a life skill. Also I am not going to lie I would love to see her get some of the skills I never got to in the sport. I was a big daredevil so while some parents cringe and the bigger tricks I think it would be cool. But I am saying that now when we are working on back handsprings so what do I know?

 

[LGnyc]

DD says Olympics or Level 10 I think she just wants to be "good" and all kids her age (7) think OLYMPICS!

For me personally I love the drive and overall physical fitness that Gymnastics promotes. I did the sport growing up for awhile and I know that the body awareness has helped me take on other sports and physical activities with ease...I just pick things up quickly...and I would love that for her as a life skill. Also I am not going to lie I would love to see her get some of the skills I never got to in the sport. I was a big daredevil so while some parents cringe and the bigger tricks I think it would be cool. But I am saying that now when we are working on back handsprings so what do I know?

Yup, at 7, it's all possible. Btw, love your moniker and image.

 

[amiandjim]

DD (8 yo) wants to do college gym, specifically LSU. Obviously, this is unlikely to happen but I won't tell her! For me, I just want her to continue to love Gym (she has been miserable this week because she "only" had 3 days instead of 5 bc of optional team camp at our gym), to learn to work hard and persevere, and be healthy.

 

[Jazzjerz]

My daughter's goals right now are college gym, and coaching. My goals are to help provide her the best opportunity I can to take it as far as she wants (mainly getting out of her way, finding good coaching, allowing the hours, etc.) As long as she is passionate about the sport, and it continues to be mentally and physically healthy for her, we will support it.

 

[duyetanh]

Also I am not going to lie I would love to see her get some of the skills I never got to in the sport. I was a big daredevil so while some parents cringe and the bigger tricks I think it would be cool. But I am saying that now when we are working on back handsprings so what do I know?

I used to feel that way. I would so love to be back where you are today with the knowledge I have now....I would run away from the sport screaming, lol! I dont think i have ever felt such stress as a parent as I do watching a beam routine....

 

[SMH]

I asked my 7 yr old and she said 'to place first in all the events and do gymnastics FOREVER'

She's mentioned she'd like to be a coach one day, so perhaps that is another goal.

My goals for her- to continue to be passionate about the sport she loves so much. To learn to work through obstacles, both mental and physical. To stay healthy. To continue to develop the already strong bond and friendships she has with her coaches and teammates. To challenge herself, and to excel at her sport to the best of her ability.

 

[DADGYMDAD]

My daughter as been dreaming about the olympics since she discovered them, she was 4 1/2. Nothing as changed. She just turned 8. Learned the national anthem same year because she tought she needed it. [emoji4]. She as benn driven by this passion since forever. She wants the go down the Elite path and nothing alse. but so far, nothing to do with college. Trains like a monster and breath gymnastics. Let's see how far it will bring her. We are from Canada so levels are different but she will compete next year in something similar to level 7 or 8.

 

[Amanda]

My daughter is less than a year into team gymnastics with a late start. She just turned 11 and will be competing L3 or L4- she's right on the bubble right now. Right now I think she wants to get to optionals so she can pick her own floor music! I don't know how far she she will go in the levels. We know college is not in her future- unless she competes on a club team. She loves to help her younger brother and friends with "skills" and is a natural teacher- I think she would make a great coach someday. Right now I love that she is learning to work hard, persevere, take constructive criticism, and is physically fit. Fun topic!

 

[gymbeam]

Our goals have for sure changed over time. Here's how:

Initially, my goal was simply for my daughter to learn how to do a back handspring. That's it! She wanted to be like all the cheer girls on the playground at school so I just googled for a place to teach her that. So, we signed her up for rec at age 8 with only simple tumbling in mind.

Then, very soon after that she was asked to team. I had no clue kids even competed gymnastics in our area. I had never known anyone's kids to do that so really didn't know it was even a thing. We asked my daughter if she wanted to compete and shockingly she agreed. I say shockingly because she was very, very, very shy and reserved at that point (like she barely talked at school during kindergarten and first grade at all- and had never agreed to participating in any sport or activity prior to agreeing to gymnastics). So our new goal with supporting her joining the team was simply to farther promote her socialization and self-confidence and give her something to be proud of and something to relate to other kids with.

After seeing how much confidence she gained we of course wanted to continue to nurture this activity which was bringing about so much positive change in her. Into year two of gymnastics, I still had no idea there were even college gymnastics teams. And I especially had no clue there scholarships and what kind of work it took to get there. We were still just focused on the immediate goal of keeping her engaged in this new found love of hers because we were so excited to see her opening up to others through gymnastics.

Then, year 3 she was invited to join JO and whole new world opened up. Hours vamped up, intensity increased and all this talk about being on a college track and stuff started. Now, we are exactly 4 years to the month from when she first walked in a gym and training Level 9 and while we (her Dad and I) still try to stay realistic and focused on the short term benefits of gymnastics for her, SHE now has her own gymnastics goals which do include reaching Level 10, then competing at Nationals and then continuing gymnastics into college.

Sometimes I still can't believe that learning that darn back handspring has led to all of this!