Exploring my limits as both a person and a gymnast was an enormously rewarding part of doing gymnastics. Feeling the rhythm of the music to my floor routines, swinging from bar to bar, and trying to find my balance on the beams gave me a sort of power and love for the sport. I began doing gymnastics at the fresh age of five. Back then, I knew only one thing and had only one thought: This stuff is fun! It took me blank years of devotion and persistence to finally earn a spot on the competitive team.
I started gymnastics as a clumsy, unbalanced kindergartner trying to find somewhere to start a lifelong dream. Other kids were soccer players, ballerinas, and some were even set on becoming millionaires already. I didn’t have a hobby, or any goals to achieve other than figuring out why messing with play-dough was so darn addictive.
…show more content…
The coaches had been impressed with the work that I was doing, and were interested in letting me begin competing.
After each gymnastics meet, I would ask my coaches the ways that I could improve my skills and correct my mistakes. I
Gymnastics gave me another opportunity to make friends, too. All the girls on the team were extremely friendly, and we all bonded fairly quickly over at least one. Thing. We all supported one another with everything we did. We’d cheer each other on when someone was competing, and everyone knew that the other girls had their backs. Whenever we were given challenges, we would all work together and
Learning something new always excited me, and I would always show up to class early and prepared to gain new
That was my favorite part of cheerleading because a bunch of squads from different schools come to compete against each other to see who’s the best. We would put up flyers around the school so people might come to watch us but they never did and some were even taken down. Now as far as our cheer squad went, we weren’t that good still because we had an inexperienced coach who did not know how to choreograph dances or cheers. So we continued to be made fun of and not taken seriously by our classmates, which was extremely annoying because we just wanted some respect for the work that we put it. When sophomore year came around we were starting to get a little sick of never placing at competitions and to our luck, we got a new coach the next
They reported that the foremost reasons for leaving the sport were psychological fatigue, general health, and difficult loads (Barynina & Vaitsekhovskii, 1992). Rhythmic gymnasts, those who specialized earlier and spent more hours training from age 4 to 16 years, rated their health lower and experienced less fun (Law et al., 2007). Despite early specialization being beneficial to attain elite-level skill in a sport, intense training in a single sport and the exclusion of others should be delayed until adolescence to optimize success, while minimizing the potential for
For years gymnastics has been a sport that many children participate in. But as the years have gone by it has turned into something other than a place for kids to grow and learn. Its overwhelming commitment has continued to replace kids’ childhoods with stress, mental and physical pain and eating disorders. Many results have come from this change in the gymnastics society. Gymnasts have come to a point where they have been told and directed to understand that winning is the only important factor in gymnastics. “ It’s about the elite child athlete and the American obsession with winning that has produced a training environment wherein results are bought in at any cost, no matter how devastating. It’s about how cultural fixation on beauty and weight on youth has shaped the sport and driven the athletes into a sphere beyond the quest for physical performance.” (Ryan 5)
The second year of the competition, I was only one of two returning students. I took an active role in recruiting new students, and our membership doubled. It was a complete role reversal for me because all of a sudden I was the experienced team member. We finished fifth out of forty teams at the regional competition, and at the national tournament, we placed in the top third.
When I go to a gymnastics meet and do really good, so I get that 1st place medal or trophy. It feels amazing, I mean the sport gymnastics is competitive and I sure do love competitive sports. The competitiveness gets you that rush of excitement. You feel nervous, but excited to get in there and try your hardest. Kids make better choices and have committed when they have the drawbacks of participating in competitive youth sports.
Gymnastics is the foundation of who I am. My experience has shaped me, challenged me, and inspired me.
I had little to no motivation for a while and thought that maybe wrestling wasn’t the sport for me. I had shown promise in practice but as soon as I got on the mat for a tournament or duel I just drew a blank. I wasn’t executing any of the techniques I had learned after so many repetitive drills. I wasn’t the only one that had faced such miserable losses but it felt like it. My teammates helped me through my rut by giving me additional advice during practice and being in my corner while I wrestled matches. It was a great feeling knowing that I had people who had my back whenever I needed help. The wrestling team was a close knit group that dealt with all our problems together. We worked hard and played hard together till none of us could go any further. We were each other’s motivation, rivals, and family on and off the mat. If I had any doubts about a match my team thought the exact opposite and made sure that I understood why they believed so. But what made us a strong unit was the fact that we had similar goals and values. None of us wanted to lose and planned to make it past districts. We all wanted to take home hardware not only for our own self recognition but also to bring back a trophy to put on our principal’s desk who just so happened to love the wrestling program about as much as our team. All of us valued the effort that was put into every early morning practice so no one looked down on each other. The connection we had as a team made my experience wrestling all the more worth
“Gymnastics taught me everything- life lessons, responsibility and discipline and respect.” -Shawn Johnson (Former Olympic gymnast). In my interview with Franchesca Hutton-Lau I found this quote to prove very true to her. Franchesca Hutton-Lau, often called Frankee by her friends and teammates, has been a gymnast ever since she was five years old. In my interview with her, she enlightened me on her struggles, experiences, lessons, and successes which she’s taken from this treacherous sport. Chesca, as I call her, has a very different life from the average high school student.
I’ve been involved with sports since I was 2 years old, participating in these taught me more than the sports themselves; they taught me who I am. I put in countless hours of gymnastics practice, so many that the majority of kids couldn’t imagine the dedication needed to become a state and national champion. It taught me a few of the most vital lessons that I will ever learn; to contribute 100 percent in everything I do and to balance various aspects of my life. Gymnastics also taught me perseverance, how to work harder to achieve a goal, no matter how difficult.
For many of the people on the team, it was a way to break out and be who we really are, instead of hiding. Sometimes when people came to the dance team, they were shy and quiet, but the team was a nut-cracker for that shell, most people did not leave shy anymore. I was a prime example. We had the typical ones, be on time, keep good grades to continue to be eligible, and many others.
A parent putting his/her child in sports gives the child something to do and keeps them fit. Parents also put their child in a sport hoping that he/she will get success out of it “Eager to nurture the next A-Rod or Michelle Kwan, parents enroll their 5- or 6-year-olds in a competitive sports league or program” (Stenson). While not all parents are pushing for future Olympians, the fight for a sports college scholarship is competitive and parents may feel that their child will have a better chance of gaining one if he/she starts competitive sports early. Parents push their children to succeed, and children—not wanting to disappoint their parents—push themselves, sometimes harder than they should. If done right, pushing a child into sports can have a positive effect on the child’s interaction with other children while teaching them commitment and healthy competition.
...in a lot of computer gaming events which were L.A.N. based & have achieved victory in college events. Involvement in sports has also meant that competitiveness and team-skills have become a part of my lifestyle, but I simply believe that I have a lot of patience and the willingness to learn and accept every challenge that comes my way.
I had never really been a part of a team that had a chance to win something, but the potential was always there. I finally got my chance to be a part of such a team my sophomore year of track. Mr. Jones, the head track coach, had decided to experiment with some different races to gain more team points. Since the girls' team lacked a medley relay, he placed Cindy, Kim, Susan and I in those spots. Cindy would run the 400, Kim would run the 200, and Susan and I would start the race off by each running the 100. We all had worked viciously to earn those spots by running off against our teammates.
“When you’re not at the gym or out on the field, you’ll be studying videos of your past performances, opening your eyes as to how you can improve in the future” (Anne). In this quote, Melodie Anne contributes to the idea that athletes are required to give up a lot of time in order to go far in a chosen sport. As an athlete, one must also be willing to sacrifice money. Many children that
I am forever grateful for the lessons I learnt, the people I met, the experience I gained and I now know what true love is. Gymnastics has made me into the person I am today. When something scares me I know how to conquer my fears, I know how to set goals, to deal with disappointment and I will always keep the leotards and tracksuits as memorabilia of a very special time in my life. I am not a quitter, I have left a