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JACKSONVILLE GYMNASTICS - LEVEL EIGHT GYMNASTS AT PEPSI CHALLENGE - FIRST PLACE TEAM
or
(Gymnasts, that is!)
Sugar and spice and ...
Abilities - beyond anything my parents or I could imagine.
Behavior – good behavior and good listening skills are required.
Courage – I know that it sometimes takes a little more courage to achieve my goals.
Dedication - to gymnastics and to keeping my body healthy.
Fortitude – because I know what it takes to compete.
Goals – I will set reasonable goals for myself.
Good Practice and Conditioning Habits – I will not cheat myself!
Great Attitudes - I know that I can do it and I will practice until I can.
Heart – I Love Gymnastics more than just a little – a whole lot!!!
Perseverance – Willingness to go just a little further than I did yesterday.
Respect - of my teammates and my coaches.
Respect - for other teams and their coaches.
Teamwork – I won’t let my teammates down. Gymnastics is for me and for the team as well. I will show up and give it my best.None of us really know in which direction our child’s lives will go. What we do know, as gymnastics parents and grandparents, coaches and owner, is what gymnastics can do for your child. We know that if the child sticks with the sport, it builds strength of character as well as body. It is amazing how the conditioning and stretching can strengthen the body in about a year’s time. We have also found that the girls can likely outdo the boys in their classes in athletics and races and chin-ups.
We also know that in many of our gymnasts, the child’s grades have improved. Many of our gymnasts are straight A or A-B students.
We think we know some of the things that are required for the makings of a gymnastics champion. And before I start that, to reap the benefits, one does not have to be a champion on the stand – in our hearts, each child is a champion and winner for just being on the floor!
I had some ideas, plus I asked a friend who has been involved in gymnastics for many, many years; and then I also asked Laurel and I realized that I had missed the most important thing. Her reply was that the child has to have heart – in other words, true love for the sport. In order to be able to train like they do and work as hard as they do, the child must love the sport. And it is so evident when you watch our gymnasts.
The training and conditioning are very important. If the child is not willing to strengthen and stretch and condition, and if they cheat on the conditioning, they may not make it to where they would like to be. Conditioning is important so the child will have the strength to perform the skills required for their level. Conditioning is also very important to prevent injuries. And with the conditioning, comes perseverance - the willingness to train and practice the same drill over and over. Each day, the performed skill will be better. We’d like to say that “Practice Makes Perfect” and we may never really achieve perfection in gymnastics, but we do know that practice makes better. And with that, comes confidence—the confidence that I can do it and I will do it to the best of my ability.
Which reminds us that attitude is very important – not only the child’s attitude but the attitude of the parents. Please see “The Ten Commandments for Gymnastics Parents.” The child needs the tireless support of the parents saying “You Can Do It!!!” “Do the Best you Can!” Remember, parents, it is the trying that counts for the child -- and having fun! If your child is not having fun, then we may be doing something wrong or we may be expecting too much of the child. The attitude of the parents toward their home gym and coaches is also very important – don’t undermine your child’s feelings toward her coach. And leave the coaching to the coaches – that is probably one of the most difficult for us parents and grandparents to remember.
It’s also most important to have coaches who care for the child as much as coaching the skill. Unfortunately, we have heard about some places where the children are coached in a way other than we would. The child must be built up – not torn down or verbally abused. We naturally think that at Huff ‘n Puff we have the best staff around. We also think our coaching staff for Jacksonville Gymnastics is among the best in the state and we appreciate it so much when you leave the coaching to the coaches.
I have said before, without you--our parents--we would be nothing. We appreciate your support and your continued appreciation of us. One last thing – we do think it that it is important for a child to begin gymnastics at a fairly young age – as long as the child can understand and pay attention to the instructor, and can move their body as they are instructed, they are not too young.
slz
Heart of a Champion
It takes more than skill and talent, and muscle and brains to become a gymnast. A gymnast must have heart and with the heart comes the love for the sport and the fortitude to stick with it when the going gets tough. Who else would want to go the gym to work as many as 16 hours a week at conditioning, or to work at those bars skills, and continue to work until they have blisters on their hands that end up in a rip that bleeds. Who else but a gymnast would want to condition for an hour each day and then go run at full speed toward something that others call a “vault” and hit it at full speed, to tumble over it and land on your back, or your knees or wherever, until you finally learn to pull off a tsukahara, not even knowing for years what that thing that the coaches called a “Tsuk” is. Wait – it’s the parents who don’t know for years what it is – most of even these young gymnasts these days know that a tsuk is a move that can be done over a vault (with difficulty). Even though the younger gymnasts do start their vaults out on a big block of foam, many of them can tell you Ms. So and So is doing her Tsuk now, or Ms. So and So can do a Yurochenko now. Many of our gymnasts put their heart into gymnastics every day and never end up on the top of that award stand for the First Place for Individual All-Around. But when they do earn that award for the very first time, and the pride hits them and they see the pride in their parents’ eyes - then they know that this moment is just the icing on the cake.
slz Feb 07
JACKSONVILLE GYMNASTICS
LEVEL NINE GYMNAST
Edgin Sisters - Kayla and Haley
JACKSONVILLE GYMNASTICS
LEVEL EIGHT GYMNASTS
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