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SHARED by: Coach Sam, Gymtime Gymnastics

For as far back as I can remember I have always loved gymnastics. I remember being 5 years old and taking my after school classes a little more seriously than any of the other students. A few years later, when my dad asked if I would like to practice more than one day each week and join my gym’s competitive team, it was a dream come true! As I developed as an athlete, my passion for the sport did, too. It was no longer just a fun activity I enjoyed doing, now it was something to be respected. I learned how hard gymnastics can be. I learned how much dedication and effort was required to excel. But it was not until I reached adulthood that I could finally appreciate gymnastics. Looking back, I realize it taught me so many life lessons and helped shape me into the person I am today.  Every aspect of my life has been touched by the fundamentals instilled in me during my gymnastics upbringing. Here are some things I learned along the way…

• FOCUS.  The gym is an extremely chaotic environment for a sport that is so dangerous. Whether it is during a competition or a regular practice, distractions are everywhere and unfortunately, distractions often lead to injury. Knowing this, it was always my responsibility to tune out the rest of the universe while I trained. So often we hear about others having trouble listening to their teacher at school or finishing a task. I have never had that issue. I learned focus a long time ago and now it is a part of who I am.
• CONFIDENCE.  When performing at a competition, the gymnast is alone. Coaches are not allowed to assist; they are not even allowed to speak to the gymnast while she is competing. The only person she can rely on is herself, which is a ton of pressure.  We ask a child to leave 100% of her best effort on the competition floor to be criticized, picked apart and judged by an adult.  That is the absurd reality of competitive gymnastics. I clearly remember the anxiety I had at my first meet. I was shaking the entire competition. But as time went on and as I tucked each meet experience under my belt, I was slowly able to shake the nerves away. I was able to hold my chin a little higher and trust myself. I learned that despite my nerves, I excel under pressure, something I remind myself of any time I feel overwhelmed as an adult. After learning to handle the pressure of competition, school presentations were easy for me, public speaking never intimidated me and I was confident to stand up for myself.
• PERFECTION.  A 10.0 does not come along everyday. 10.0 is perfect. It takes immense attention to detail and most gymnasts will never achieve one. That does not mean to stop trying! A perfect score reminds us there is always room for improvement.  This is true about gymnastics. This is true about life.
• LOSS.  Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. Gymnastics is a unique sport because it is simultaneously an individual and team competition. Every gymnast learns how to handle a disappointing loss and still congratulate her teammate who won.  Gymnasts are taught to win with grace and humility. As an adult, I am grateful for every loss and every win I experienced. It prepared me for life where wins are wins, and losses are hard and count.
• ENDURANCE.  Gymnastics hurts. The bars rip the skin off your hands and hips, one missed foot and the beam will shred the entire side of your leg, and any gymnast can feel the impact in her knees and ankles from pounding the vault springboard. But none of that compares to the long term physical and mental endurance needed for stretching and conditioning. Each gymnast is expected to push herself a little farther every practice: get that split 1 inch lower; do 1 more pull up. That intensity teaches the gymnast how to handle pain and carry on. This regular struggle developed into a strong work ethic, which translated to every aspect of my life: hobbies, school work, and eventually steady employment.

But of course, all of these lessons would be useless if they were not instilled by wonderful coaches and amazing parents.  This leads me to the most important lesson of all; no one accomplishes anything alone. Thank goodness I had wonderful coaches who truly cared about me. Thank goodness I had awesome teammates who muscled through those difficult practices with me. Thank goodness my parents worked so hard to shuttle me to practice and all over the country for competitions. Thank goodness my family supported me even when I doubted myself. Thank goodness for gymnastics.