Are you a born gymnast?  

Got the perfect build for gymnastics?  

Dr Kevin Thompson, physiologist at the EIS (English Institute of Sport), explains the physical characteristics that make up the ultimate gymnast.

A small frame 

Female gymnasts are small and light, while men are closer to average size. Being light helps the gymnast to achieve a high strength-to-weight ratio, and being small helps with rotational skills (for example, somersaults). For the same reason, gymnasts also tend to have short arms and legs.  

Flexibility
Flexibility is vital to achieve certain movements, but it's not necessarily a pre-requisite. That's because gymnasts often take up the sport at a very young age (nine-years-old or less), and undergo a stretching regime which trains them to be flexible. 

Strength
Male gymnasts are very strong - their large shoulder muscles are very evident when they perform on, for example, the rings. Female gymnasts have a light bodyweight but are very strong - and they have broad shoulders. Their strength enables them to move, support and control their body through a range of positions - for example, in some of the slow moving hand-stand positions on the floor exercise.

Is My Son or Daughter Talented?

One of the most common questions coaches hear from parents is “Is my gymnast really talented?”  For gymnasts on our team who have been tested, screened and chosen to join the team our answer is always positive.  This is not, as you might suspect, for financial reasons, but because it is simply impossible to predict which gymnasts are going to end up being the best on the team.

Anyone Can See Obvious Talent, but Not The Mind
 This is not to say that some gymnasts are so obviously talented that anyone can see their ability, whether parents or coaches.  What is not as obvious is whether that gymnast or any gymnast has all the other characteristics to progress successfully through all the years and levels of the sport.

Need Balance of Physical and Psychological
Physical abilities are often fairly visible to parents and coaches, but it is the psychological factors which are invisible and often the most important for long-term success.

Late Bloomers not Uncommon
Successful gymnasts come in many varieties.  Some are late-bloomers who just seem to be on cruise control or meander through the sport in their early years.  Some gymnasts hit their teens and all of a sudden get serious and make a huge jump in progress.

Early Rapid Progress Not Always a Great Sign
Some gymnasts, often talented ones, make rapid easy progress early in their career and then stall when they hit the higher difficulty levels.  While talent alone let them zoom through the lower levels, talent alone is not enough in gymnastics.  No one is talented enough to just go out and do double backs on floor.

Gymnasts Have to Learn How to Work Hard
Sometimes very talented gymnasts who progressed rapidly early have never learned to work hard and when faced with skills that require hard work are unable to adapt and eventually leave the sport.

Battle Burn-Out
Sometimes young talented gymnasts are the focus of so much expectation and pressure so soon that they burn out before they have a chance to reach the age required to compete internationally (currently 16).

Don't Bet on Who Will Be the Best, You'll Likely Lose Your Shirt
There are just so many factors, physically and psychologically, that no one can accurately predict which gymnast or gymnasts will ultimately end up the best.  Russian scientists for years tried to find factors predictive of success and were never able to get any more effective than a flip of a coin would have been.

If They Made the Team, Their Chances are As Good As Anyone's
So if your gymnasts has already been picked for the team, you can be relatively certain that they have as good a chance as any at becoming the best, but no one is going to be able to tell you who is going to eventually be the best.  In fact, it is often impossible to even accurately predict who is going to be the best on your own team only two years from now.

Should I Watch My Son/Daughter in the Gym?

There is the question of whether parents should watch their children practice or not.  At the preschool and lower levels, the short class time and lack of other nearby adult activities results in a naturally higher percentage of parental viewers.  This percentage decreased to near zero at the upper team level.  But what is the “right” thing to do?

Should Be Allowed but Discouraged
Coaches are universally convinced that it is usually best if parents not watch their children every class period.  Some gyms go so far as to ban parent viewing of team and training team programs.  There are legitimate reasons to do this, but we believe that it is best to allow parental viewing at any time, while discouraging it for the benefit of the child’s advancement.

Want Practice Time, Not Always a Performance
Some gymnasts feel extra pressure to perform for or in the presence of their parents and do not progress as well under that pressure.  If parents are constantly in attendance, their gymnast may be constantly performing as opposed to the more relaxed, progressive state of practicing.  Coaches need to be able to control this balance of pressure and relaxation and the presence of parents can complicate that.

Don’t Try to Coach Your Child
Children are often distracted and pay attention to their parents instead of the coach, when parents are in the gym.  This happens at all levels of the sport from preschool to team.  Parents sometimes try to do their own brand of coaching from the sidelines which distracts the gymnast, complicates and slows the coaching process and even may be dangerous.  A parent who coaches their child to point their toes, when the coach is emphasizing somersault rotation could be distracting the gymnast from a safety point of view.

Leave It to the Pros
Gymnastics is a very complicated sport and constantly evolving.  It is a full-time job just to keep up with the rule changes. Even parents who were gymnasts will find their knowledge limited.  Coaching is best left to the professionals, especially at the team level.  While gymnasts are paying attention to signals from their parents, they are unable to absorb important feedback and information from the coach.

Watching Class vs. Watching Team Practice
It is much more understandable if parents of preschool and recreational class gymnasts watch their gymnast's  whole practice.  Since they are likely there for only about an hour, it can be a waste of time to drive back home and come back right away.  Watching an entire team practice or the majority of it (most parents don't have the time) however, is also much more likely to be a bad idea

Watch If They Ask
While there may be instances where it is not true, in general, it is a good idea to watch your child do their gymnastics if they ask that you do.  Try to understand the reason (the underlying need) they wish you to watch.  They may have a desire to share something that is important to them with you.  You don't want to miss this opportunity,

Observe Regularly but at Intervals
Parents will find it easier to see progress of they observe at regular intervals, rather than every day.  Step by step progress, even on a daily basis, is not as dramatic as viewing progress on a monthly basis, either at practice, exhibitions or competitions.

Insist on Viewing Privileges
In this day and age, it seems more appropriate that any gym be open to parents if they should desire it for whatever reason.  Some parents schedules may preclude viewing their gymnasts during normally scheduled viewing times.  Parents should also be able to observe the safety and well-being of their children at any time.

Watch Every Meet
Meets are a great way to regularly view your gymnast's progress. You want to go and watch every meet that you can.  The spacing between meets provides a view of the natural progression your gymnast will be making and you will most likely and should see individual progress from meet to meet.  Look first for your child's personal progress, not medals.  Progress is more important.

Do What’s Best for Your Child’s Progress
Parents should remember that their gymnast’s progress is likely to be faster if they do not view too often.  Viewing once a month is an acceptable amount, either during formal situations or in their regular practice time

Is There a Problem with Your Son/Daughter?

For a number of reasons, many parents have difficulty approaching their child’s gymnastics coach.  One of the main reasons is that it is an extremely rare parent who understands enough about the sport to have any opinion at all.  Gymnastics is a complicated sport with obscure and ever changing rules that even coaches have trouble keeping current on.  Parents have little chance to do keep up.

Coaching is Already a Full-Time Job
Coaches rarely have the time to sit down and explain everything they are doing and why.  With practice time and planning time and other coaching management responsibilities, coaching is a more than full-time job with barely time to explain the sport to gymnasts, much less parents. 

Beware the “Phone” Game
Gymnastics team practices are usually too long for all but most compulsive parents to sit through and observe.  Thus parents only hear second hand what is going on in the gym either from gymnasts or parents.  We all know how accurate second-hand information is.

Everyone on the Same Page
The coach should hopefully have discussed their coaching philosophy, goals, methods and training system.  This information should help you understand why your gymnast's coaches are doing what they are doing. Sometimes, however, issues or questions may arise during the year that you might feel have to be addressed by the coach. 

Don’t Try to Argue About the Sport
It is rarely useful, possible or wise for parents to challenge coaches on anything to do with the sport itself.  Parents are not experts in the sport.  The coaches are.  Realistically, parents may not know if coaches really know what they are talking about because coaches will certainly know more than the parents will.

Parents Are Experts With Their Own Child
This leaves the areas where parents are expert – that is the behaviour and feelings of their own child.  Parents should definitely approach coaches whenever they detect something in the behaviour or attitude of their gymnast occurs that interferes with their gymnast’s progress or continuance in the sport that coaches are not aware of or the coaches may appear to be mishandling.

Make an Appointment
If you believe that there is a problem with the coach and if the situation warrants, make a private appointment to meet with the coach, but outside of practice time. You may wish to let a few days pass first if the situation would benefit from perspective or a cooling down period on either side. 

Know What You Want to Say
When you meet, carefully and concisely explain the problem to the coach and ask for the coach's perspective on the situation.  Listen carefully to the coach's response. At his point you may discuss any differences between your perspective and the coach's viewpoint and try to come to an agreement about how the problem will be resolved or take some time to evaluate the coaches response. 

Keep and Eye Out for the Silent Response
Often, even if coaches are negative about a solution during a meeting especially if it is in the least way confrontational, they will absorb and digest the situation and take some action quietly on their own.

What Gymnastics Parents Can Do to Help Their Gymnast?

Of course the first responsibility parents have is to choose an appropriate gymnastics program for their child and provide them all the necessary equipment and clothing.  And it is extremely important to make sure they get to all their practices and competitions.

Parents are Not Gymnastics Coaches
There are also many things a parent cannot do for their gymnast.  Gymnastics is unlike other team sports, like baseball or soccer, where the rules and skills have not changed significantly for many years

Coaching is Specialized
Gymnastics is a unique sport that requires highly specialized knowledge to coach.  It is different than any other sport that we can think of in this regard.  Even parents who may have been gymnasts in their youth will not likely have kept up with the increases in difficulty, rule changes and new training techniques and equipment.

Rules Change Frequently
Even coaches have to work and study to keep up with the rule changes and qualification procedures.

Hundreds of Skills and Infinite Combinations
There are hundreds of skills in each gymnastics event and an infinite number of skill combinations.  The knowledge required to understand the proper safe progression and correct execution techniques is so extensive as to be beyond anyone not involved full-time in the sport.  This, of course, eliminates all parents except those who are themselves coaches, from the expert category.

A Little Knowledge Can Be a Dangerous thing
As such parents should not be coaching or giving coaching advice.  There are concrete reasons and safety considerations as to why parents should not be giving coaching advice, especially on difficult skills. 

Pointing Toes is Not Always Good Practice Advice
For example, a parent might think they are doing their gymnast a service by encouraging them to point their toes during some skill, perhaps having heard this advice from coaches at some point and noting that their gymnast is not doing this on some skill.

First You Need To Land Skills
However, if that skill happens to be something like a Tsukahara vault, double pike or some other skill with an element of danger, misapplied advice could cause the gymnast to concentrate on something other than what the coach has told them (like block and lift) and cause them to fail to complete the skill and risk injury.

Parental Support Not Pressure
Also, parents should realize that all necessary competition performance pressure is supplied by the coaches.  Extra performance requirements or requests by parents may upset that balance. Basically parents should refrain from any gymnastics coaching.

Hey! You Get to Be the Good Cop
What should parents do?  Primarily, the best thing parents can do is to provide love, emotional and financial support.  A parent’s job at meets and after practices is to share their gymnast’s successes and provide moral support for any difficulties.

Raise Funds to Better Your Gym and Program
Supporting the fundraising efforts of the team is another important function for parents.  Parents should realize that the more funds that are raised the better the program for their gymnast and all the other gymnasts.

Strength and Flexibility Help May Be Okay at Lower Levels
The only a few things parents might even possibly be able to help their gymnasts with that are related to the sport.   Strength and flexibility training are not so difficult or different from strength training for other sports that it would be beyond the understanding or abilities of parents to help.  While hopefully all the necessary strength training is being provided by your gymnastics program, especially at the lower levels or if your gymnast does not have practice or strength training everyday, you can help give them an edge by helping them in those areas.

Enjoy Their Gymnastics
There are always going to be some bad days in the sport and your gymnasts will need some support.  There are also going to be some wonderful celebrations of the real successes your gymnast is sure to have in the sport.  Supporting your gymnast emotionally usually means just listening to them, celebrating their successes or commiserating with them over their problems