Posts Tagged ‘Character’
6 Points to help the ride home after practice
Kids as early as 4 years old can detect false emotion. Saying something like “I don’t care how you did today, I love you just the same” is a great message. But the phrasing is cliched and will put a pre-teen or older child into defense mode. Child behavior specialists will tell you how important it is to say this and I agree, but as a coach I can tell you that cliches and following expert scripts will have the opposite effect from what you were looking for. Better yet, make a comment on how proud you are for effort, hard work, progress, or anything that will reinforce that you were actually watching. Their effort is really the only thing that they can control. To compliment it means you value what they did and who they are.
Read MoreHow To Win
It’s all about cultivating the habit of achievement. Why a person learns to set and work toward goals it eventually just becomes a habit. Whether it’s training in a sport or buckling down academically, accomplishing goals is something you can practice and get better at over time.
Read MoreYouth Sports and the “Goldilocks” dilemma
As a coach I have seen parents that are too hard on their child, pressuring them to win at all costs. Result? The child wants to throw in the towel, pack up the grips, and call it quits. On the flip side (gymnastics pun), a parent who’s too laid-back and disengaged sends a message that commitment and involvement are about as worthwhile as a crooked balance beam. The child loses interest, and sports become just another forgotten thing they tried….once.
Read MoreIndividual Sports: A Parent’s Guide
All sports are great for kids. However, individual sports offer a wide range of benefits for kids that often get overlooked. They teach important life skills, promote physical activity, and help kids make new friends.
Read More6 Reasons why Gymnastics is More than just Cartwheels
In a world where screens and sedentary activities often take precedence, finding ways to keep our children active and engaged is crucial to our kids growing up healthy and happy. Gymnastics offers a wide array of physical, mental, and social benefits that go far beyond mere exercise and often exceeds what can be provided by…
Read MoreThe slap heard around the gym
I explained that I overreacted and wanted to make it clear that this gym would always be a safe place for them, despite my ridiculous actions the night before.
Read MoreLife skills through Gymnastics
If the sports program is right, the following landmarks will be developed by practical application in training and in competition or performance. Parents should see each of these displayed as the coach works with the athlete and the athlete participates with the team. Year to year and season to season the athlete maturing in skill and character should be obvious.
Read MoreBeing lost with a borrowed compass
fear of a virus that statistically doesn’t have them high on the risk-o-meter. I struggled with staying masked, for how long, which kids? I also thought about how I have kids I have been coaching for 2 years and I cannot remember what their faces look like. Then again, I worried that if we take masks off, that we will see kids by the dozens calling off due to the virus. I needed to stop. I needed to find my compass.
Read MoreGymfinity’s Secret Sauce
We have assembled the best teachers and coaches of any gym I have seen. It is quality in the head: being able to teach and educate kids, and in the heart; having a passion for teaching, learning, and impacting others that makes these very special coaches.
Read MoreHow did I ever get here?
I look at those formative years and recall some of my role models. Most of them would not even recognize me if I walked up and shook their hand. If they did, it would be as Harry’s little brother, the quiet nerdy kid who was either reading or standing on his hands.
I was thinking the other day, how so many of the people who influence us in life rarely ever realize the impact they had. I wouldn’t even know if they were aware of me let alone know that after 40+ years, I am still in the sport.