first off, I'm new here! *waves*
I'm in a bit of a decision making rut. I was a gymnast my entire life, and finished my senior year with 2 years of L9 under my belt. I only did 3 events my last year because of a scoliosis-type back problem (tumbling on floor was just not going to happen, and my beam was a matter of pride more then a score; my backtuck-backtuck series was inherently unconnectable, although impressive)
I'm now a sophomore in college and got the opportunity to do some rec level coaching at the local YMCA. At the encouragement of my former coaches, I now have a 5-8 Judges rating and I love being back involved with competitions. Here's where it gets complicated. I was on the club gymnastics team my very first semester but quit for a variety of reasons - my back was flaring up and I didn't have my PT & ortho to help me deal with it, the environment in the gym was less then competitive to say the least, and I didn't mesh well with the team.
I'm now on the rugby team, which I love because I'm encouraged to work my absolute hardest, unlike the gym team. But lo and behold, my back is flaring up AGAIN. I haven't seen my ortho again yet, but I know the "you need to take a break" is coming. So I'm weighing lots of options here:
-go back to club gymnastics and just vault (I LOVE vault and it was never a real problem with my back) and deal with the team
-start coaching club (which is a huge time commitment, and i'll be leaving soon for grad school, so i don't want to desert the girls, but)
-asst coach high school
-wait out my burning desire to be in the gym more
sorry that was so long, but I think this is the place I'm going to get the best advice
I'm in a bit of a decision making rut. I was a gymnast my entire life, and finished my senior year with 2 years of L9 under my belt. I only did 3 events my last year because of a scoliosis-type back problem (tumbling on floor was just not going to happen, and my beam was a matter of pride more then a score; my backtuck-backtuck series was inherently unconnectable, although impressive)
I'm now a sophomore in college and got the opportunity to do some rec level coaching at the local YMCA. At the encouragement of my former coaches, I now have a 5-8 Judges rating and I love being back involved with competitions. Here's where it gets complicated. I was on the club gymnastics team my very first semester but quit for a variety of reasons - my back was flaring up and I didn't have my PT & ortho to help me deal with it, the environment in the gym was less then competitive to say the least, and I didn't mesh well with the team.
I'm now on the rugby team, which I love because I'm encouraged to work my absolute hardest, unlike the gym team. But lo and behold, my back is flaring up AGAIN. I haven't seen my ortho again yet, but I know the "you need to take a break" is coming. So I'm weighing lots of options here:
-go back to club gymnastics and just vault (I LOVE vault and it was never a real problem with my back) and deal with the team
-start coaching club (which is a huge time commitment, and i'll be leaving soon for grad school, so i don't want to desert the girls, but)
-asst coach high school
-wait out my burning desire to be in the gym more
sorry that was so long, but I think this is the place I'm going to get the best advice
