Posts Tagged ‘Fitchburg’
Youth 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 MorePost Pandemic; Sport Are Important for Kids’ Mental Health
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a detrimental impact on the mental health of children, but participation in sports has proven to be a mitigating factor in alleviating some of this harm. Although the physical and mental benefits of sports are widely acknowledged, recent research emphasizes the crucial role of sports in enhancing children’s mental well-being during the pandemic. This underscores the importance of ensuring easy access to a wide range of sports activities for youngsters.
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 MoreGuest post: The REAL skills learned in gymnastics
In life, just like gymnastics, it takes discipline and dedication to make a difference. Success doesn’t come
over night or without challenge. An important part of success, regardless of the degree, is failure. In
gymnastics, you rarely land a new skill on the first try. You must do drills repeatedly to build the
foundation for the skill. Even then, you will fail. You will need to shake it off, reset, and get up to try
again.
GYMNASTICS FOR AUTISM (edited guest post from USGCOA)
This article is shared from the blog of the United States Gymnastics Club Owners Association (USGCOA). It was originally written to encourage club owners to offer a program in their gyms that allows for children with Autism to experience gymnastics. I did edit it from it’s original, removing the parts that applied to club owners specifically. I felt that the information was worthy of sharing with our families, friends, and fans. Gymfinity does offer a class every Saturday morning for children with special needs. We have had this program since Gymfinity started in 1999. We were then, and remain today, one of the few programs that offer a class for differently abled kids.
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 MoreKeeping Kids Healthy and Bright
Gymnastics is the learning of new skills as the athlete develops into a gymnast. A somersault or roll on the floor develops into a handspring, develops into a front flip, develops into a twisting front flip etc. New pathways are created with every new layer of skill acquisition. This is markedly different than a sport like baseball, for example, where the basic skills are refined as the athlete progresses but no new skills are learned. Throwing catching, swinging and running are the same skills for a 5 year old in T ball as they are for an MLB player, albeit at a different level of performance. So again, gymnastics is at the top of the list for helping children develop. This time it’s their brains.
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