Getting Hooked on Gymnastics!

It happened to me when I was young, and it may happen to your child as well. The first symptom is the enthusiasm that young gymnasts feel towards the sport of gymnastics. You see it in the faces of gymnasts who finally make that new skill they've worked so hard to accomplish. It's what helped me develop from an eager little girl attempting her first back handspring into an accomplished college gymnast and eventually into a successful gymnastics coach. It starts with drills and techniques taught by dedicated coaches who simply love the sport of gymnastics like no other. Young gymnasts begin with "basics" to learn body position and develop muscle memory, and repeat those skills over and over and over with each workout until it practically becomes a lifestyle. Their little muscles learn what to do, when to pull, when to push, how to become flexible and how to get stronger. With each success comes an enthusiasm that makes them want to do more, to get that first kip or round-off back handspring. Suddenly your child is begging for more time in the gym to work on skills and you can feel the excitement and the commitment that starts to bubble up as the child progresses. As they notice more advanced gymnasts working out and perfecting that giant or flyaway, the sparkle in their eyes intensifies and they picture themselves achieving that same degree of perfection one day. It becomes a mission, a devotion, and an incentive to work harder until they eventually find themselves like me, hooked on the sport of gymnastics, always looking towards their next workout, skill or competition and transferring that intensity to everything in their lives. Look out world, another gymnast has arrived!

Learning to Plan with Purpose

As I reflect back on this experience as a whole, I'd like to share what I've learned about planning a gym. Like running a marathon, building a gymnastics school from scratch takes a tremendous amount of strategy and preparation, planning for both the easy stretches when you are full of energy, and the long arduous miles, which make up the bulk of the race. There are two kinds of runners, and for that matter, business owners: those who have a plan and those who plan with purpose. The first type knows what they should be doing (or should have done) but stumble along hoping to finish the race, while the second type takes the proper steps one-by-one to accomplish the plan and win the race. When I first started this endeavor 5 years ago, I knew what I wanted and formulated my plan, but I learned it takes a lot more than that. You can't pursue any plan haphazardly and expect good results. You can't just sprint to the finish line in the fastest way possible. You'll trip, stumble or just run out of gas and others will pass you by. I've learned that a plan with purpose does not take any shortcuts. I could have cut corners, purchased old equipment, saved money upfront and settled for a lot less, but where would I be down the road? Planning without purpose leaves you running a race without a finish line. In short, I've learned that opening a gymnastic school the right way has a steep learning curve, but there is only one way to do it for long term success. It means planning harder, thinking further, and going the extra mile in every step of the process. I've learned that it's not important what is easiest, what someone else has done, or what others think you should be doing. It's essentially choosing to prepare with purpose for what can only be described as a marathon.