Gymnastics - Things to look for
What sports is there for a 2-year-old little girl? When a 2 year old says “Mommy, gymnastics” you know you need to find a top notch gym that caters to all ages. In this case, we have one place that teaches gymnastics. I searched for information on the web, clicked on several links, went to numerous gyms web site on the internet. I didn’t have good results. The gym in the area must have the copyright anything related to the sports. We had to end the search and realize there was only one gym in the area. The gym is excellent so it isn’t as bad as it sounds.In the toddler classes the coach begins with simple tumbling, balance beams that are on the floor, spring boards and tunnels. Now during the gymnastics class I thought I am paying $50 a month for this 1 hour class for her to do this? But we kept at it. She loved it! Gymnastics let her work off some of that energy she had stored up so when she got home she crashed. The next year, in beginner classes she started using more of the equipment such as the rings, uneven bars and the trampoline. She was getting it too. We are now spending $60 a month for gymnastics classes. But she is taking off in the sport. Will she be a national gymnast someday? So like a good Mom we kept paying and taking her to 1 hour class.
Now we are into year 3. This is when I realized 2 things. First she is really learning a lot from gymnastics classes. The big thing she learned was how to take turns. The other was the obvious she was becoming a gymnast. Second thing I began to notice was the reason they ran their classes like this. The things she did in toddler classes actually lead up to the big stuff. She started doing the regular balance beam, she did flips into the pit and she could do a cartwheel. Oh….the pit, that’s fun it’s about 6 feet deep and is filled with foam blocks. The gymnasts perform dismounts into the pit to practice. During a gymnastics class my daughter got stuck in the pit and couldn’t get out. I jump in thinking how hard could it be to walk on foam. It’s tricky and not as easy as they make it look.
Gymnastics is a lot of hard work and dedication on the gymnast part. It also comes with a very high price tag. Gymnastics isn’t a cheap sport. Even at $60 a month that totals $720 for the year. Then if you want to join a team there is more cost including: leotards (that have to match everyone else’s) and can change for each meet. There are meet fees. The list seems to just go on and on. But my daughter enjoyed her time in gymnastics but for now we are trying t-ball and swimming. Good Luck.