Sketchy Scoring.

Do you know what makes Gymnastics lose fans? It is often the scoring. The scoring is the most controversial part of gymnastics, because a trip that looked cool or a routine that you thought was awesome just watching the judges can see something and post a score that would reflect the total opposite. Often times you work so hard and do what you think is the routine to clench the title and then are unjustly rewarded with a score that is awful. Many gymnasts take that as a low blow when that score costs them the all around title, or the trip to state, or even for that matter the US Nationals. Scoring is often frowned upon from the REC leagues all the way to the Olympics. Gymnastics is a sport which is unfortunately based on someone's opinion of what looks good or not. But if you love the sport you learn to live with the bad days. Last year I was in one of these situations when I missed the scored for regionals by .125 this later on I found out wasn't even the case because the floor judges had deducted me incorrectly on my prescence on floor. Which means the way that I presented the routine, my facial expressions and attitude, which you can only deduct up to .5 for had lost me 1.0. they had messed up and because of it I did not make it to Regionals for my level 8 season. As much as I was upset by this and cried to say the least. I love gymnastics so much that I am just going to keep working and hopefully I will make regionals this upcoming year as a level 9 :D

A Gymnastics Inspiration.

Gymnastics is often unfortunately alot about the way that your presentation is. Many girls make their hair a big deal. Put it up in fancy ways, put a ton of glitter in it, hair spray it to perfection, or what ever else they can think of. One little girl really got to me at a big gymnastics competition where I competed. She is eleven years old when they fancy hair dos, and make up is a lot of fun for many girls, she has a disease that makes her have no hair on her body. She is completely bald and also has no hair on her legs or arms. It makes me realize how awesome she is too do gymnastics, in a sport that is often based on that unique appearance. I am proud to say that she is my friend, and she is an awesome example of someone who will do what ever it takes to do what she loves.

Missing Practice.

Some coaches are very strict on making sure that you never miss a practice or do anything fun. Lucky for me I have coaches that think you should have some fun as well as work hard, do well, and achieve goals. Sometimes skipping practice for a football game, dance, or vacation is okay, but sometimes missing practice is not acceptable. I do not think that missing a practice for something every once in a while is bad. The problem is when the gymnast is too lazy to come in a work out like they supposed to. Gymnastics is not a sport that you can half do. You have to be all in or all out, no where in between. Other times it takes a while to get back into shape when you are sick or if you are injured. It is important to come to every practice after that once you are well, and work as hard as possible to get back to the top of your game. But with a good coach and a positive team it can work out. I hope that with my surgury coming up that all of the people at the gym will be able to help me to gain back the stregth and energy that I need to do my routines well.

Stress.

It is easy to get incredibly stressed being a gymnast. Working out 12 hours or more a week and then you have school work, maybe church, extracurricular activities, jobs, etc. I know personally I do all of that and more. When you load your plate so full of things to do it is often hard to keep it all under control without developing stress problems. There are several ways to learn how to deal with stress. My coach gave me a good example of how to do it. I was under a pile of things that were important for me to get done. They just kept piling higher and higher. I would get one thing finished feel good about it just to find out that I had about four more things added to the list. Prioritizing is very important in gymnastics, as well as time management. Putting things such as school work first have always been important to me. Stress is something that can be avoided and is important to know how to take care of when it hits you. Do not ever let stress tear you down. Just ask for some help and find ways to maybe take a  break if you have too many things scheduled.

Gymnastics.

You know that feeling when you are just absolutely exhausted and do not know how you are going to stay awake? It is those days and pretty much only those days that I dread going to gymnastics practice. My body is saying I am exhausted, can barely move, and my mind says you need to sleep, to rest for once, but my coach and my other thoughts say well maybe just doing one more practice will be okay. Gymnastics is a sport that pushes your body to the limit! When you say I am done, so tired, there is not possibly any way that I can do anymore, it kinda mocks you saying well I don't care your tired get up and keep going. This is thought is probably the reason that most gymnasts get burnt out on work and quit! I have many friends who have thought I don't want to do anymore practice, I could be at the dance or I could be at the football game but no instead I am here. Gymnastics is a sport that demands many things, time, strength of body, and of mind, and the perseverence to never give up!

Coaches.

One thing that I have learned from gymnastics is that being around someone so much you really need to like them and get along with them because it is very hard to work well with them if you are annoyed or angered by them very quickly. Now throughout my days as a gymnast I have had many coaches and alot of them have moved away or have not gotten along well with me. I have been to four different gyms because of many various reasons and all of them seem to have some good things and bad. At my first gym I had an older coach who in his prime had been very good but he was just old and burnt out. At my second gym I had a guy named Barry and a girl named Karen. They were both good coaches, then Barry moved away and in the end Karen switched gyms. I followed Karen to her second gym, my third, where we worked well together for many years, then she found out her husband got a job in Florida and moved. By this time a nice lady named Jeri and her son, Josh had taken a job at Mega. But after the new owner bought the gym they ended up switching gyms as well. I then moved with Jeri and Josh to the gym that I am working at now, Todds. Through out all the years the coach that I think has best understood me is Josh. Now do not get me wrong we have had our little arguements, and big fights, that have escalated becoming bad at times or two, but most everytime we get through them and become even closer with a new way of looking at things. The biggest problems that we share is that we are so much alike. We both have to have that final word that sometimes makes the arguements worse then they should have been. Most always we get through a hard space and even now as we try to make things work I have faith that somehow he will find the way for me to make it to my dreams of collegiate gymnastics. I just hope that the coach I know that he has been and will continue to be can shine through. I just want to say thank you to all the coaches that I have ever had and learned from and continue to everyday.

Stress.

As a gymnast a big thing that you deal with is stress. I find it very stressing to have alot homework, and need to practice, and everything is boiling down to one time that I hit a routine or one time that I do not. A big dream of many gymnasts including me, is to make it to college on a gymnastics scholarship. That is one of the biggest stressing thoughts to me, that a one meet, on one day, and a specific event I have to hit the routine of my life with the college scouts sitting there staring me down. It is almost always the most nerve racking experience of a gymnasts career. One thing that is good is that gymnastics teaches to split up your time well. Alot of gymnasts do well in sports, and have good grades even with practicing about 12+ hours a week. Even if you do not make it to college based on your gymnastics it'll teach you life lessons such as time management, how to handle stress, and how to resist temptations, that you will need to know to make the best decisions you can in the rest of your life.

Eating Disorders

Many gymnasts struggle with Eating Disorders. Something very stressful in the sport of gymnastics is the way that you look when you are wearing that leotard and all eyes are on you at that important competition. Not only is it hard for you to accept the way you look all by yourself, there are many people, whether it be teammates, other teams, coaches, judges, that often say things that help increase that stress when they make unwelcome comments. I have always been a power gymnast, who is a little bigger, with big legs and wide hips, not fatter just bigger built. Two years ago at gymnastics camp a girl who was smaller then me at age 12 while i was 14 made a comment that very much hurt my feelings. She said, " Why are you in a leotard? You don't look like a gymnast." That motivated me to lose some weight. I got to the point where I became a little bit obcessive. I lost 22 pounds in the next 6 months that followed, most of it being in the first couple of months. This was eating a strict diet, working out twice a day, as well as having the normal four hour practices, three to four days a week. My mom became very worried about me because I ate less and worked out more. She was very concerned because one of the things that coaches say is that in gymnastics eating disorders do occur. I did not have an Eating Disorder, but I became very worried about gaining the slightest bit of weight. I also have had friends that have given into things such as eating disorders. My old coach once told my friend that she was getting fat and needed to watch it otherwise she would be off the team. She only weighed one hundred pounds at the time, and she was 17. She then turned to anorexia, after going about a week she decided that she missed her food. She then became a bulemic, someone who eats but then makes themselves puke afterwards. It took me a while to figure it out, but as she became smaller and smaller, I became a little worried. After many months off of gymnastics, and a doctor by her side, she because getting stronger and eating better again. Gymnastics really can mess with your mind if you let what people say get inside your head. I was strong enough to just get a little heath concious, but other people really care what people think about them. So I think it is important that coaches, and teammates should really think about their comments before they make them.

Injury.

As a gymnast one of the biggest obstacles is getting through tough injuries. I know from first hand accounts and personal experiences. Often time gymnasts do not want to have an injury so they will put off a doctors appointment until it cannot wait any longer, also they push their bodies to the breaking point. When I was 14 years old I had a back pain and did 20 hours of gymnastics on top of it a week anyway for about a month. Finally I told my mom and coach who both told me to suck it up. When I made it to the doctor after barely being able to move he told me that I had two fractures in my lower vertabrate. Needless to say I was out for about 4 months completely. The fight to come back was one of frustratiion and rehabilitation. Many injuries cause gmnasts to quit or have physical pain that never goes away. An injury can one of two things: end a career or make an athlete stronger willed. If I could tell any gymnast any advice about an injury it would be do everything that the doctor allows to keep you in shape and follow the doctor's orders to heal as quick as possible. Also, make sure to give your body the time and rest it needs to heal itself and do not push it to hard right away. Give yourself a little bit of time to get back into things and try hard to keep a possible mood even when things are not going as you would want. One of the hardest parts for me was to not get down on myself, when I could not do something that I had before I fractured my back. I had to remember that I had been out for four whole months and only half way back for two more. But in the end you will get through it and know that you are stronger because of it.