Good afternoon,
I hope this blog finds you all well. In the mist of all this crazy madness, I wanted to bring some normalcy to you. As I embark on this venture of bringing you information about our great sport, I thought that I would simply start with a very easy and basic question: Why do gymnastics? Out of the hundreds of extra activities family’s have the option of putting their children into these days, one of the most beneficial, by far, is the sport of gymnastics. Does this mean being in it for the long haul? Absolutely not. It is not a sport/activity for everyone, but what it is for everyone is a basic foundation building pathway for anything else active you do in your life. I have first hand experienced the benefits of this sport through my successes in other athletics and in my everyday life as a Husband and soon to be father.
For youth, this sport is an incredible avenue to help teach the basic functionality of the human body. Balance, muscle and mind coordination, and focus are just a few of the essential basic skills developed for our bodies functions on a daily basis. Do we all acquire these skills over time, absolutely, but being in the sport of gymnastics accelerates the bodies mobility and functionality at an earlier age. I strongly believe that with what this activity entails, it speeds up brain development also, with what we are asking our bodies to do with this sport. This special sport also allows our youth to become more in tune with their body and mind as it teaches them how to focus on not just the body “as a whole” but as little individual pieces of the body. There are not a lot of sports out there that teach athletes how to isolate muscle groups through flexibility and strength.
Will my child do gymnastics? Absolutely he or she will:). Does that mean that will be their sport of choice? No, that will be determined but I can tell you that he or she will be taking classes until he or she is old enough to go in one direction with their athletics or the other. I grew up a gymnast and moved into organized sports and give 100 percent of my talents and success to the sport for giving me the tools needed to succeed. My wife was a gymnast also and plays a huge role in her profession as well. Bottom line, this sport is a great stepping stone to help develop children’s motor movements that will greatly enhance their bodily functions later in life. If you are in the sport, good for you and keep pushing. If you are not, let your children give it a try. You have nothing to loose and everything to gain from them being active in a sport like gymnastics.
Brad