9th July 2008

One for the team

posted in Gymnastics, OmegaDotter |

I’ve been fairly quiet about the dotter and gymnastics.

I originally put her in a beginning gymnastics class last fall because it was one of the things her occupational therapist had strongly recommended as a channel for her need to bounce, thump, tumble, move.  Before we left Small Mountain University Town, one of her buddies had hauled her along for a “friends’ day” at her gymnastics class, and the dotter seemed interested.

Shortly after I put her in gymnastics, it was obvious she loved it, so I decided to add a second class per week.

Last spring, her teacher approached me and strongly suggested that I move her into an intermediate class.  It was late in the teaching year, so she didn’t think it would be good to just move her then and there, but as soon as the summer session started, in she went.

It’s been pretty obvious to OmegaDad and me that the dotter has a natural talent for gymnastics.  When she focuses, she’s “on”.  And fellow gymnastics parents, watching from the sidelines with me, have made comments.

Then there was the time that one of the main coaches substituted for the dotter’s beginning teacher and shepherded her out to manage a nosebleed in the bathroom.  While we were there, she stooped and murmured to my dotter, “OmegaDotter?  You’re really good at this.  How’d you like to be a star?”

To be honest, that really freaked me out.  Fer cryin’ out loud.  She’s only six, dudes.

It so happens that the Tiny Team trains at the same time she’s taking her intermediate class; the TTs are 5, 6, 7 years old.  They had a tryout a few weeks ago, and I thought about having the dotter try out for the team, but decided that I’d wait.

Well, maybe that waiting is over with…Mr. Jay, coach of the Tiny Team, cornered me after the dotter’s class.  “You’re OmegaDotter’s mom, right?”  I allowed as how I was.  “Have you ever considered having her join the team?”

Um.  Yeah.  So.

He made it pretty clear that I could just put her in; he emphasized that even though the kids are doing a lot of work (we’re talking three three-hour long practices per week), they have fun and goof off and are silly; he suggested that we might consider “trying it out” for the remainder of the summer session, or just join up in the fall.

On the one hand, I really think it’s good for her.  It helps her focus.  She loves it–she’s always tumbling and doing cartwheels and practicing handstands and begging for help doing bridge-overs and backwards bridges at home.  Being able to do it on a regular basis, getting the confidence that being able to do the more complex things–these are good.  The discipline would be good.

On the other hand…damn.  She’s only six, dudes.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 9th, 2008 at 9:37 pm and is filed under Gymnastics, OmegaDotter. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

There are currently 6 responses to “One for the team”

  1. 1 On July 10th, 2008, Johnny said:

    But….if it’s her DESTINY?

  2. 2 On July 10th, 2008, Z said:

    I was your daughter back when I was that age. And I joined the team.

    20+ years later: I have had 10 surgeries, one for a broken back, all for orthopedic issues caused by or exacerbated by gymnastics. When I look back, it is not fondly.

    As a child, I loved jumping and flipping and tumbling - and I was good at it. I could do a backhandspring by myself at the age of 6, a back tuck less than a year later. I chose to join the team, and become a “serious” gymnast - it was not something my parents forced on me. But once in, things changed. Gradually, but inevitably. Gymnastics changed from something I loved and looked forward to, into something I had to do - every day, for hours on end. It became my life, and though I grew to hate it, I didn’t know how to stop it because it was all I knew. My parents, I know, would have supported me no matter what, but I just didn’t know how to tell them I wanted to stop. After all, I was good. And I’d chosen it. And it would get me a scholarship and an education, so… I couldn’t just quit, could I? (I remained a gymnast until my injuries sidelined me at the age of 18)

    And then I broke my back. On top of the foot and knee injuries I’d already been suffering through. And that ended it. And as much as it sucked, I was relieved, too. It was over.

    So: my admittedly completely biased perspective? I’d try to keep it as fun and light as long as possible. Then let her choose. And always keep checking in on her to make sure the choice remains the one she wants… (I wouldn’t advocate taking her out mid-way through a season she’d adamantly committed to in the beginning, but at the end of each one, have a serious discussion about the next one)

    Also? Every gymnast I know got injured. Some more seriously than others, but I don’t know of one yet who hasn’t spent a good portion of time on crutches. Yet another thing to consider…

  3. 3 On July 10th, 2008, you know where you are with said:

    I’d let her try it, but like the above commenter said, I’d keep it light. And check in. It’s anorexia that I worry about with girls and gymnastics, rather than injuries (which I’m sure are real and serious). But, nonetheless…my 2 cents.

  4. 4 On July 10th, 2008, Blog Antagonist said:

    I had similar concerns about my son and baseball. When he plays Allstars, he ends up playing baseball about 9 months out of the year.

    Granted, baseball is not as rigorous or as physically demanding as gymnastics, but I did fear that so much baseball would kill his love for it, turn it into a chore.

    That has not proven to be the case. We opted not to play Allstar ball last year, a nd though we had a wonderfully relaxing summer, my son missed baseball and talked about it constantly.

    He has been asked to play travel ball several times, and I have resisted, because it’s a lot more work and a lot more expense…but eventually, I think he will. He was not happy that he wasn’t allowed to join the travel team.

    It’s a tough decision, I know, but if it’s her thing and she loves it, you might be surprised.

    Give it a try. You can always quit if it isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

  5. 5 On July 10th, 2008, noreen said:

    I’m impressed that she has such ability. I think you are sensible enough to keep it all in perspective, because as you said,”she’s only six.”

  6. 6 On July 13th, 2008, D2 said:

    The way competitive sports makes people forget all common sense worries me. I see the few exceptions (our neighbors 8-year-old daughter has been doing tons of gymnastics and dance over the last four years but somehow neither she nor the parents got sucked in to that degree that they ignore the rest of the world) but very often this seems to take a life of its own - and it’s not a good one. There was an interview on NPR just a coupe of weeks ago how training for the same sport all year round was really bad for kids - how they need to do different things while they grow. And how it’s not only bad for their body but also bad for their mind - they are getting mono-focused way too early.

    As much as I don’t know enough details about your situation, I know that with my girls I’d be extremely hesitant to let them near anything that smells of competitive sports.

Leave a Reply