A great perspective on competitive Gymnastics

I get many e mails from friends and colleagues regarding gymnastics, tumbling, fitness, circuses even still cheerleading. Some of the information is great, and some is just the current hub-bub in these activities. Recently a friend sent me the link to the video below.

I have explained many times the legacy of gymnastics to our team kids. Sometimes parents may not see it, and may not understand the emotion of a child that grows into being a gymnast.  This video, more than any other I have seen, shows it.  Movies have been made that show the bonds of young athletes on a team, Like STICK IT: where we see team-mates throwing away a championship possibility to support a friend. Or the horrible train wreck of a TV show that is MAKE IT OR BREAK IT where we see that even shacking up with a team mate’s loser boyfriend doesn’t separate the team. I’ve coached for 30 years and I have never seen either of these two scenarios, thank goodness. But DO YOU REMEMBER WHEN… shows the very real relationship that gymnasts have with the sport and with their own legacy. The important subtext is that life parallels the gym. We see that through our trial and tribulations we lead others through tough times. And those ahead of us lead us.  “It’s the circle of life Simba!” Or at lease it’s an example of why we train the way we do.

Thanks Rick for sending this to me. I’ll admit, I foster the image of being tough, but this made me a little misty. 

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ACPSechyzs]

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