01/06/2026
I completely love this parents perspective! Stay with it for the LOVE of it, the feeling of flying, achieving more than you thought possible, and overcoming that which you thought was impossible!! Love gymnastics and all my gymnasts! ☮️💙🤸♀️
During our holiday vacation, my daughter was doing gymnastics on the beach.
From cartwheels in the sand.
To leaps in the water.
To spins on the waves.
Even though we had stepped away from the gym for a week to be with family, it was clear that gymnastics never left her.
I couldn't help but step back and have a moment of seeing the kid behind the competitive gymnast...
.. reflecting back on the fact that before there were practice schedules and routines and meets and medals...
There was a kid who simply fell in love with the movement.
A kid who noticed that trying new tricks and stretching herself further than she thought she could ... gave her a feeling of fun and freedom with which she didn't want to disconnect.
And that right there?
THAT is what I'll forever try to protect.
Because while she has a passion for being out there and competing, I also know there are also days when the pressure or the frustration of missing a skill can consume her.
It's part of the sport.
But my job in the midst of all of that?
Is to make sure she never loses that joy.
And to remind her that the reason she started was never about being perfect.
It was about noticing a freeing feeling that connected with her... the curiosity to try….. the challenge to do something new..... the joy of seeing what she was capable of...
I want her to always hold on to THAT.
So that whatever she does in life, she will always remember to go back to her "why" - and never it that get lost in the journey to reach her goals.
--
The Top Bleacher
