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THE TRUTH
Team Marriotts
Gymnastics training can be the springboard to improved performance in other
sports. Many Marriotts Ex Gymnasts - have succeeded in competitive
Trampoline, Diving, Hurdles, Pole vaulting, Triathlon and other activities that
demand extreme body-awareness, agility, flexibility, explosive power, and
strength.
Only a very few
gymnasts will ever compete in National Competitions and even less into
International Competitions.
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Many children
become interested in other sports. |
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Many children
lose interest as the training becomes more challenging. |
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Many
families cannot afford the
time and cost demands
of competitive gymnastics. |
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Because gymnasts
train intensely while they are young and growing fast, some kids develop
growth-related injuries that force them to stop training. |
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Only a few
children have the physical and emotional
characteristics that are required to compete at anything more than
County or Regional Level Gymnastics. Those characteristics include
focus, determination, competitive spirit, willingness to work hard, physical
and emotional endurance, and patience - because it takes years to develop
certain skills. |
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EXPECTATIONS OF PARENTS
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Communication
is the key to successful coaching, so talk with Svetlana
or other coaches about how to help your child get the most out of their
training. |
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Discuss progress and plans
for your child with the coaches. Making mutual agreement with the coaches and
parents regarding plans for next competitive year can take away frustration
and false expectations. |
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Respect our
coaches, Marriotts Coaches are all very carefully selected and well
qualified. |
| Remember, coaches goal is to
prepare your child to compete with the best of their abilities, and to compete
SAFELY! For example, if your child
struggled throughout the competitive season, it is better sometimes to compete
another season at the same level and have better results than to struggle just
to make it to the next level. |
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Positive experience in
early years is very critical for your child's success in the future!
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| Always know that you can talk
to Dr.Chris Hirons if you can't
reach your child's coach. |
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A PARENTS POINT OF VIEW (Life
Skills) |
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.
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