Hello, gymnastics community! Summer is coming to an end which means gymnastics meet season is coming to a start soon. As we all know, gymnastics is an extremely hard sport that includes some serious dedication. I can only imagine how hard it must be to be an actual gymnast, and I have seen with my very own eyes how gymnasts … Read More
Signs Your Gymnast Needs a Sports Psychologist
Everyone knows and recognizes that gymnastics is a very physical sport, but not everyone understands how truly mental the sport is as well. It takes a lot of emotions for gymnasts to be able to do the things they do in the gym. For instance, dismounting from high bars, or tumbling through the air can’t be done without a bit … Read More
5 Steps to Develop Mental Toughness
Mentally tough people can get through just about anything life throws at them. It’s an invaluable quality that will allow you to always perform at a high level, no matter how difficult your job or life gets. Mentally tough people just know how to thrive. And it’s a skill you can build. We figure there’s no better expert on the … Read More
Sacrificing the Ordinary for the Extraordinary
People often come up to me and ask me if I am upset about sacrificing my entire childhood for gymnastics. Spending over 14,000 hours of my youth in a gym could seem like huge sacrifice to many, and at first I bought into that idea. After all, it made my athletic story better when it is full of drama and … Read More
Self Growth Interpretations of 10 Levels in Gymnastics
Having a son in Taekwondo for the past 7 years has taught me so much about this amazing sport and discipline. When my son was 6, he was going through a tough time where his behavior passed the “cute” stage and so he would act out to get attention. My husband and I tried to refocus him and enrolled him … Read More
A Letter to New Gymnastics Mom
Dear New Team Mom, A big warm welcome to the team!! Get ready for an amazing ride filled with many ups and downs and plenty of plateaus. I am sure your athlete was ecstatic about being asked to join team and worked really hard to get there. She was jumping up and down with her team mates and couldn’t wait … Read More
A Salute to Gymnasts Who Never Stand on the Podium
Unless you spend a great deal of time in a gym, you don’t understand everything that goes into creating gymnast. Gymnastics is more than four routines, high scores, and podiums. In fact, if an athlete wants to get shiny new bling and their chance to salute the audience from the podium, they need to put in work, and lots of … Read More
Finding Zen in Gymnastics
Recently I was reading an article on the teachings of Buddhism and I couldn’t help but draw certain correlations between the basic philosophies and how we can easily apply them into youth sports today, particularly competitive gymnastics. In today’s fast paced world where everyone is trying to get somewhere as quick as possible, we often forget that what is happening … Read More