This week I am going to be visiting my daughter's gymnastics academy to record the gymnast's workout. If I recorded everything during their one practice, my recording would be six hours long of the most intense workout you will not see in any other sport. I am hoping to edit the video and play a very, tiny, little, barely anything (you get the point) clip of their workout. My daughter is a top gymnastics athlete. She will never go to the Olympics even though she is at an elite athlete's level. She takes all of her school courses and then has a full time job (or at least she is at practice every week as long as adults work during the week) and then she comes home and does her homework. That does not include youth activities on Wednesday nights, waking up early to read her scriptures, passing off Personal Progress goals on Sundays, playing the piano, Family Home Evenings, traveling to meets, or hanging out with friends on the weekends.
In the past few months Kendra has come home to tell us a few things that people have said to her that make her laugh. I am happy it makes her laugh and that she thinks it is funny. I just think it is people saying things about a subject that they are completely clueless about.
One day Kendra was sitting in her math class and a boy that is on the football team talked about how he did not finish his homework the night before because his football practice went so long, he had to practice in the heat (this was not in the summertime), and he had to do certain conditioning that about killed him. Kendra thought the boy was funny, but she couldn't help compare. The boy's practice was two hours and the conditioning he had to do would have been cake for a gymnast. The main thing was the homework comment because she comes home after a six hour practice and has to finish all of her Honors homework. For this boy his practice was hard and his perspective is his only reality. To tell him that his practice is easy would not be true because for him his circumstances were hard. The next story happened at an Easter family event. The cousins were split up in teams to go on a scavenger hunt. Kendra and her girl cousin her age were put in a group with a bunch of her high school boy cousins that all play sports at a high school level. One of the cousins said to Kendra and her other girl cousin, "You guys better keep up or we will leave you behind." Kendra, of course, did not say anything. What I wanted her to say is, "YOU will need to try and keep up with me! Come to one of my workouts and you would be dying in the first hour!" But whatevs! Even her cousins do not get that Kendra is at an elite level of athletics. One day in her science class the teacher had the kids go outside and race. I have no idea why, it had something to do with science. Well, Kendra beat everyone in her science class, including some girls and boys that are in track and field and take running seriously. One of the girls came up to her and said, "Kendra, I've gotta be honest, I am surprised that you won." I was not surprised AT ALL! Did this girl think she was going to beat an elite leveled athlete? LOL. The thing is they look at Kendra and she doesn't have a runners body. She has major muscles. She isn't a runner, so how in the world is she faster than everyone else? Well, it isn't the first time she has won running races against boys and girls. She runs every week as part of her gymnastics training and she has stamina and speed like no other. One must have intense stamina and speed in the sport of gymnastics. Also, there are no gymnastics teams at school, so a gymnast's peers have no clue what it takes to become a top gymnast. If Kendra, or any top gymnast, stopped gymnastics today and decided to do another sport, they would quickly pick up on the sport and master the sport. And warning to all the boys and crossfit junkies out there: You will NEVER beat a girl gymnast at a push-up, sit-up, plank, pull up, or any other strength contest other than arm wrestling (only because of body mass).
In Kendra's Sunday School class they were playing the game Concentration and the subject was sports. One of the girls said dance and another girl said cheer. Any gymnast that hears a comment like that will cringe. Kendra told her friend, "Cheer and dance are not sports." Her friend said, "Cheer does the same thing as gymnastics." I chalk it up to cluelessness, so the girl is forgiven. LOL. She is one of Kendra's good friends and such a good, sweet girl. But cheer leaders do not even come close to gymnasts. They aren't in the same category in any way. Okay, so a cheerleader can do a back handspring or a back tuck, or at the most a full. Well, that is basic stuff on the floor in gymnastics. AND...the floor is the easiest event in gymnastics. The floor are the basics. The real power, muscle and strength are in the other three events. AND...tumbling is NOT the same thing as the floor in gymnastics. Any gymnast can tell if a cheerleader just took tumbling or taught themselves how to tumble. There is nothing wrong with that at all. My point is that the two can not compare. Tumbling is not gymnastics. Top gymnasts cringe to be compared to a cheer leader. The reason is not because there is anything wrong with a cheer leader. The reason they cringe is that it is like comparing preschool to a college physics class. It is like saying, "Ya, I'm in preschool. Preschool does some of the same things as Physics. They are basically the same." Ya, no!
These stories do not bug me, they are just funny because of the cluelessness. And it does not take away from the hard work and dedication one puts into a sport of athletic event. It is only to educate a little on the sport of gymnastics. People seem to say things that show that they have not a clue what it takes to be a gymnast.
These stories do not bug me, they are just funny because of the cluelessness. And it does not take away from the hard work and dedication one puts into a sport of athletic event. It is only to educate a little on the sport of gymnastics. People seem to say things that show that they have not a clue what it takes to be a gymnast.
In my opinion, and it doesn't bother me at all if you disagree, cheer is not a sport and neither is dance. I do not think many people would argue that dance is not a sport. It is a known art. Dance is an art form. It is an expression of emotions, it has aspects of acting. It is very athletic, but it is not a sport. To be just a "good" ballerina takes years and years to master. There are intense long practices, blood, sweat, tears, sacrifice, dedication. Well trained ballet dancers are the best dancers in the world. They can dance any form of dance. They are definite athletes. They are some of the best athletes. But dancing is not a sport. Since dance competitions have come about, there are girls that think it is a sport. It is not a sport. Dance is not part of the NCAA. The NCAA does, however, give out gymnastics scholarships, and gymnastics is one of the most popular sports for college students to watch. Cheer is not a sport either. Cheer is athletic. Not anywhere close to the athleticism of trained ballet dancers or gymnasts, but definitely athletic. Cheer leaders were made to pump up the crowds at ball games. It baffles my mind that there are now cheer competitions outside of schools. I guess to me it is funny that they are cheering for nothing, no team, etc. And there is no crowd to pump up for a game. At the same time, it is wonderful to be involved in something that is active and to be part of a team. I was a cheerleader that competed and it was very athletic and practices were long. I had cheer every day when I was on cheer in high school, including many Saturdays. It did take time and effort and lot's of hard work. But because I had done gymnastics (not anything close to the gymnasts now days and I was not even a top level gymnast) I knew then that gymnastics was something completely different and waaaaaaaay more difficult and grueling. Even the best athletic cheerleaders would throw up, faint, or basically have a heart attach if they tried to work out like a high leveled gymnast. Again, no one should ever compare the two. A flip does not equal gymnastics in any way shape or form. They have basically zero in common. I don't care if you are competing in cheer, I will never consider it a sport. If you have to shake pom-poms, wear glitter, wear makeup as a requirement, have every hair in place as a requirement, and your expression counts as part of the score - then no- not a sport! The only reason why I am sharing this is because of the lack of knowledge that I hear from people.
Gymnastics is the hardest sport in the world and produces the best athletes in the world.
http://gymnasticszone.com/science-shows-gymnastics-is-the-most-difficult-sport-in-the-world/
People would like to argue this point, but it is obviously people that are into other sports, but have never competed in the sport of gymnastics or trained like a gymnast. Any gymnast that has done gymnastics and another sport will say that gymnastics is more difficult. It does not mean that other sports are not hard or that other athletes do not sacrifice much of their time and efforts into their chosen sport. It doesn't take away from their training and their hard work. But anyone involved in gymnastics and other sports knows that gymnastics is in a world of its own. Look at the studies and they say the same.
My husband did not grow up thinking anything about the sport of gymnastics. The only thing he remembers about gymnastics is that there was a girl that would leave early every day from school for practice and he was jealous of her because she got to leave early. Well, ya, she was leaving early to work her butt off and then go home and do homework. When I put Kendra in gymnastics it was only to help her get coordinated and healthy. My husband fell in love with the sport. He loved that his daughter was so athletic and he admits that he had no clue as a boy that gymnasts would have squashed him as a basketball, football, and baseball player. He says nothing compares to gymnastics and he says boys are clueless that these girls are so much tougher than them. In the gymnastics world girl gymnasts are beasts mentally and physically. My husband says that boys think that what they are doing is hard, so they would never want to admit in fear of emasculation that any girl athletes are way beyond anything they do. I think it is just the lack of education about what gymnasts do. And that they only know the world they live in. If they live in the sport of football then they can only compare to what they do in football, etc. I think any boy that wants to play football, basketball, baseball, soccer, rugby, well, any sport, should take gymnastics at least at the beginning levels. Gymnastics is the mother of all other sports.
Challenge: Go to a six year old's Little League practice, Pop Warner practice, or any other sports practice. Then go to a class of six year old gymnasts in an advanced class at a top level gymnastics center. The difference is obvious. I love when dads are super into their son's sports and not much into their daughters gymnastics classes... until they see what their sweet "princess" is doing in those gymnastics classes. It's basically boot camp, but the coaches are peppier and make it more fun. Hello! They're six year olds! AND the girls love the challenge. At least the ones with a gymnast's personality. No one can tell them to quit! They won't give up! Give me a challenge and I'll squash it type attitude. No complaining or whining or crying. They are the ones that climb the rope without legs in elementary school all the way to the top while the boys are sitting their with their mouths hung open. Those Youtube videos of kids lifting weights? Ya, big whoop. Gymnasts have six packs, not because they are working towards getting a six pack, but just because of the difficult level of athleticism they are required to do.
Again, I wrote this mainly because of the lack of knowledge some may have of the sport of gymnastics because they are not around it like they are school sports (football, tennis, soccer, volleyball, basketball, baseball, etc.) and it is obvious by the comments that some make.
My last thought that I have had is about the comment, "So, is she Olympic bound?" Uhhh...no. Gymnastics is the most highly competitive sport to make to the Olympics. There is basically a less than 1% chance that a top gymnast will go to the Olympics. There are politics involved (everyone had to have seen that at the last Olympics), TONS of money and I mean TONS because just to be a top gymnast is ridiculously expensive to get there, and the competition is so fierce it is unbelievable. It isn't like the NBA where there are many teams and tons of players that make it.
The NBA is the perfect analogy to make since any boy that played basketball, even in elementary school or recreational, can relate to a certain point. You may have thought in Elementary school that you want to play for the NBA someday. By junior high you knew that you may have a good shot at making the school team, but that there is no way you would ever make it to the NBA. By high school you realized that your glory basketball days would be over in high school and there was no hope of even a college scholarship. You know how tough it was just to make the high school team? It was a miracle for anyone to get a scholarship to any college let alone somewhere like Duke, and pretty much non-existent to know someone you played with that went to the NBA? So, you can get just a little of how talented those NBA players are, right? Well, take ALL the NBA players and let's say they are ALL as talented as Kobe Bryant at the sport of basketball. Then the NBA decides to only have one NBA team and the team will only consist of 10 players. In the sport of gymnastics it is just like that to make the National gymnastics team. There are hundreds of elite leveled gymnasts, but there is so much more that goes into making it to the National team. So, just to be one of the 10 members on the National team is pretty much impossible. Then, let's say the NBA is going to the Olympics. They can only pick 4 of the National team members to go to the Olympics. FOUR!!!! So, yes, politics, luck, and a bunch of other crap go into the 4 that are picked. That is just an inkling of how tough gymnastics is. Plus, all those amazing NBA basketball players? Well, they never worked out or sacrificed so much time as any gymnast did at age 9 or 10 or a gymnasts whole life. They might have gone outside and shot baskets outside of their small school or club practices every day. But that's it. And yes, I know basketball players are top athletes. I am just making the comparison to show how difficult and competitive the sport of gymnastics is. Top leveled gymnasts are not thugs. They have goals and are ambitious. They are willing to sacrifice momentary pleasure for a long-term goal. The NBA does not compare with the competitiveness in gymnastics and that is why I make that analogy.
To get a college scholarship in the sport of gymnastics is like making the Olympic team in other sports. To even make a good college gymnastics team without a scholarship is like being a freaking Olympic alternate in other sports. Kendra's goal since age 11 (yes, competitive gymnasts are very goal oriented) is to get a college gymnastics scholarship. I am positive she could get an academic scholarship much easier than a gymnastics scholarship because the competitiveness for academic scholarships is easier. I have told her that I could care less if she gets a gymnastics scholarship. I think it is what she is learning throughout the journey that matters. If she is injured or decides not to do gymnastics then I am completely alright with that. I feel that gymnastics is her choice and if that is her dream then she should shoot for it. She is definitely talented. Sometimes I wish she would get involved more at school. She would whoop everyone's hineys. But that isn't Kendra. She doesn't care about people recognizing her accomplishments. Sometimes I wish she cared just a tad more. LOL. It is so obvious that her peers have absolutely no clue what she goes through and as her mom I sometimes wish they did. Instead, the top cheerleader gets all the recognition because she has perfected the art of flirting. But I digress...
What I write in no way takes away from any other sport or activity. But if those that have no clue what they are talking about are going to compare then I think it is good to get the comparison from someone that actually knows a thing or two about the sport of gymnastics and other sports.
The NBA is the perfect analogy to make since any boy that played basketball, even in elementary school or recreational, can relate to a certain point. You may have thought in Elementary school that you want to play for the NBA someday. By junior high you knew that you may have a good shot at making the school team, but that there is no way you would ever make it to the NBA. By high school you realized that your glory basketball days would be over in high school and there was no hope of even a college scholarship. You know how tough it was just to make the high school team? It was a miracle for anyone to get a scholarship to any college let alone somewhere like Duke, and pretty much non-existent to know someone you played with that went to the NBA? So, you can get just a little of how talented those NBA players are, right? Well, take ALL the NBA players and let's say they are ALL as talented as Kobe Bryant at the sport of basketball. Then the NBA decides to only have one NBA team and the team will only consist of 10 players. In the sport of gymnastics it is just like that to make the National gymnastics team. There are hundreds of elite leveled gymnasts, but there is so much more that goes into making it to the National team. So, just to be one of the 10 members on the National team is pretty much impossible. Then, let's say the NBA is going to the Olympics. They can only pick 4 of the National team members to go to the Olympics. FOUR!!!! So, yes, politics, luck, and a bunch of other crap go into the 4 that are picked. That is just an inkling of how tough gymnastics is. Plus, all those amazing NBA basketball players? Well, they never worked out or sacrificed so much time as any gymnast did at age 9 or 10 or a gymnasts whole life. They might have gone outside and shot baskets outside of their small school or club practices every day. But that's it. And yes, I know basketball players are top athletes. I am just making the comparison to show how difficult and competitive the sport of gymnastics is. Top leveled gymnasts are not thugs. They have goals and are ambitious. They are willing to sacrifice momentary pleasure for a long-term goal. The NBA does not compare with the competitiveness in gymnastics and that is why I make that analogy.
To get a college scholarship in the sport of gymnastics is like making the Olympic team in other sports. To even make a good college gymnastics team without a scholarship is like being a freaking Olympic alternate in other sports. Kendra's goal since age 11 (yes, competitive gymnasts are very goal oriented) is to get a college gymnastics scholarship. I am positive she could get an academic scholarship much easier than a gymnastics scholarship because the competitiveness for academic scholarships is easier. I have told her that I could care less if she gets a gymnastics scholarship. I think it is what she is learning throughout the journey that matters. If she is injured or decides not to do gymnastics then I am completely alright with that. I feel that gymnastics is her choice and if that is her dream then she should shoot for it. She is definitely talented. Sometimes I wish she would get involved more at school. She would whoop everyone's hineys. But that isn't Kendra. She doesn't care about people recognizing her accomplishments. Sometimes I wish she cared just a tad more. LOL. It is so obvious that her peers have absolutely no clue what she goes through and as her mom I sometimes wish they did. Instead, the top cheerleader gets all the recognition because she has perfected the art of flirting. But I digress...
What I write in no way takes away from any other sport or activity. But if those that have no clue what they are talking about are going to compare then I think it is good to get the comparison from someone that actually knows a thing or two about the sport of gymnastics and other sports.
I hope that this has given some an idea of what it takes to be a gymnast. Is it worth it? I am still trying to figure that one out. I am constantly praying and trying to be guided by the spirit as to what is best for my children and my family. My beliefs have to come first or the balance is off. Whenever I feel like gymnastics is taking over our family life then it is time to reevaluate and shift. This is not a post about balance and the gospel of Jesus Christ though, so I'll leave being a parents of a gymnast for another post (which I do plan on writing). I like to write my thoughts and feelings down. I like to be able to express myself. If others don't want to listen to someone that has been in the world of sports and gymnastics or every other person that has ever done gymnastics and other sports and knows the difference then that is fine. It is nice to get out my thoughts, but in doing so hopefully someone will learn something. What that is, I don't know. LOL.
