BENEFITS OF GYMNASTICS

Flexibility is extremely important for gymnastics. All of our classes, from preschool to competition team, work on developing our athletes' flexibility. Flexibility is not just useful in gymnastics; it is beneficial to athletes of all sports because it increases range of movement and helps prevent injury.

Gymnastics is a great way for children of all ages to get active and have a lot of fun doing it! Strength is extremely important for our competitive athletes and our lower levels athletes to be able to perform their skills successfully. Our preschool and rec athletes spend time each class working to develop their strength in order to be able to perform the skills of their level. As athletes advance through the levels, they will spend even more time working to develop their strength.

Gymnastics is great at teaching athletes self-control, as well as self-discipline. Athletes develop self-control through making corrections and following gym rules, and they develop self-discipline by staying on task, even when the coach is not working with the athlete directly.

Athletes indirectly learn a lot of social skills from gymnastics. They learn to listen when their coach is addressing them, to be patient when they wait in line for their turn, and how to work with others through the training methods we use in our classes. The best thing about our gymnastics classes is that all of our athletes, from preschool to competition team, are able to make life-long friends.

To progress in gymnastics, an athlete needs to work extremely hard. Skills are not achieved overnight, and depending on the level of the athlete, it can take weeks to months to successfully perform a new skill. Learning a new skill involves lots of repetition and dedication, and athletes will quickly learn that the harder they work, the more quickly they will progress. Through this process, athletes develop a strong work ethic and determination.

Each skill in gymnastics requires going through a series of progressions before the athlete finally can perform the skill successfully and properly. By successfully achieving one progression, athletes gain confidence in their abilities, and they become encouraged and excited to work on the next progression. When athletes gain that confidence in themselves, it increases their self-esteem. Progressions are used for all levels at our gym, so even our rec athletes will gain confidence in their abilities.

Gymnastics has a multitude of other benefits as well. It helps improve children's coordination, and it gives them greater body awareness. Gymnastics is also great because it teaches athletes how to overcome their fears. Gymnastics constantly challenges athletes to try new skills, and athletes are often afraid of these new skills. Through practice and encouragement from their teammates and coaches, they learn to deal with and overcome these fears. Gymnastics also improves cognitive functioning. Athletes indirectly learn concentration in our classes when they are asked to work at a station on their own and when they are asked to listen to their coach to understand what they should be working on. Finally, gymnastics teaches athletes how to perform in front of others. Most of our competitive athletes are scared to perform in front of others when they first start, but by the end of their competitive careers, performing in front of others becomes second nature to them. This is a valuable to skill to learn because it is a skill that the athlete will use throughout their life.