Personal Narrative-My Thirteen Years Of Gymnastics

When I joined the Upper Bucks YMCA gymnastics team my freshmen year, I did not realize how much of my life would have changed. I took gymnastics classes ever since I was six, and even though the coaches would pester me about joining the team, I never felt the need to participate in gymnastics competitively. It wasn’t until I began to practice with the team girls that I realized how much I was missing out, and I never regret the day that I became a member of the Upper Bucks gymnastics team. Not only was it a place where I challenged my gymnast abilities, where I learned what it meant to be healthy, and where I discovered the thrills of competition, but it is a place that I call my second home. I met girls of all ages coming from different

Imagine walking on a four-inch piece of wood that is four feet off the ground, or flying through the air performing skills people only dream of doing. Gymnastics is a sport that taught me many things including, how to preserve through difficult situations and how to overcome my fears. I did gymnastics for ten years before I decided that the sport was too stressful and time consuming.

I wouldn’t be in this place if it weren’t for gymnastics, I highly love gymnastics and It really makes me work hard for the things I want to happen!

I work as a gymnastics coach at Trousdell Gymnastics Center. It is a recreational center that provides programs for all Tallahassee residents, specializing in gymnastics and exercise. The goal of this organization is to provide a safe and affordable program that keeps the community fit and engaged. They offer recreational gymnastics classes for boys and girls of all ages. There are also preschool and kindergarten programs for the younger children. On the other end of the spectrum there are adult classes that teach gymnastics and overall fitness. In addition, the gym offers classes for children with special needs. Finally, Trousdell offers a competitive gymnastics program for exceptional boys and girls. Three Olympic gymnasts have come through this program. Trousdell Gymnastics Center is named after a former Tallahassee Parks and Recreation Director Randy Trousdell, a man passionate about his community and the health of its children. Since it’s opening over 60 years ago the gym has impacted 500,000 children’s lives. I coach recreational classes for girls ages seven to fifteen years old. I begin every class by leading an extensive stretch and then we go to the events of the day where I set up stations for gymnasts to practice different skills. I end every class with conditioning to help the gymnasts grow stronger so that they can perform skills successfully. Trousdell Gymnastics Center coaches have a responsibility to these children. It is our goal to make the two hours a

Everyone remembers that one place, that one place that instantly makes you feel good, that one place where you can completely act like yourself. For me, that one special location forever remains Texas Best Gymnastics, in McKinney, Tx. What I always adored was practicing with my team.I began competing there at the age of eight, and I competed my last competition shortly after my thirteenth birthday. However, even though I no longer spend half my time at the gym like I used to, it still invokes the same effect on me. Now that I stepped away from competing for a few years, when I look back on how stressful it seemed, I can still see all the wonderful memories I created. More than anything, I see what a wonderful impact the gym had on my life.

         For years gymnastics has been a sport that many children participate in. But as the years have gone by it has turned into something other than a place for kids to grow and learn. Its overwhelming commitment has continued to replace kids’ childhoods with stress, mental and physical pain and eating disorders. Many results have come from this change in the gymnastics society. Gymnasts have come to a point where they have been told and directed to understand that winning is the only important factor in gymnastics. “ It’s about the elite child athlete and the American obsession with winning that has produced a training environment wherein results are bought in at any cost, no matter how

I started taking tumbling classes to work and improve my skills. During the summer, I started all star cheer which greatly improved my skills. That taught me that people I don't know can become your best friend. Also I learned how to handle disappointments and being replaced better. Throughout the season I grew a lot, I learned many new skills. During competition season I learned to never give up. Even though I could barely breath, I had to give all my effort. If my team wanted to win we had to work as one. If one person was struggling, we all were. We were united as

Most of my life was consumed with the sport of gymnastics. I remember the rush I would get as it was my turn to compete in front of the cheering crowd. In those moments nothing else mattered; just me, the chalk on my calloused hands and the equipment in front of me. I have competed in gymnastics ever since I was five years old. I spent six days a week in the gym practicing all year round and even volunteered part of my time to a community program teaching gymnastics to children. Gymnastics had a tremendous role in shaping me into the person I am today and it is also what led me to want to become a Physician Assistant.

Some may see my life as a series of disappointments. I see my life as a path to molding my future. Since birth, I have been met by doctor's giving me disappointing, challenging, restricting news. I was born with one club foot, and severe flat feet, along with congenital hip dysplasia forcing me to crawl and walk later than normal development. As I began elementary school, I developed a love for gymnastics and pursued this path through 6th grade, only to be told again I could not continue due to now developing scoliosis, spondylolisthesis, and spondylolysis. Having to give up my love of gymnastics, and wear a hard plastic brace was disappointing and challenging, but this led me to a new love and passion to play tennis. I was able to finish

The most memorable achievement from my athletic career at Dakota High School is an unusual one. It is not an incredible play I made, or an exciting game that we barely won. Rather, it is the impact I made on the young girls watching me from the stands. Throughout my time as a cheerleader at Dakota, I have had the privilege of being a Mini Cheer Camp leader 5 times. During my time as a leader, I was able to not only help the young girls learn more about the sport I love so much, but also teach them to be confident young women. As a young girl, I attended the Mini Cheer Camps put on by the varsity cheerleaders. I remember looking up to these girls and wanting to grow up to be just like them. I admired their intelligence, their charisma, and,

I can still recall the day my dad snuck me out of the house like a refugee to go to gymnastics tryouts; the air was packed with tension from every girl desperately wanting what it takes to succeed at this crazy sport. I was one of the most ecstatic little girls when I heard I made the cut with a grin on my face that stretched from ear to ear. Since the

Using my old experience and old habits I had become just as good or even better than before. As I was on the freshman team for gymnastics, I had brushed off the rustiness from the break that I had taken. Even though the sport is as not tough and rough as club, I still felt the rush that I did before. As I take the skills and lessons that I learned from club gymnastics, I still work just as hard and have just as much fun. As freshman year continued, I started to remember the habits and the reasons why I loved this sport. With a different coach and new teammates, I still felt at home. Jumping back onto the equipment was like riding a bike, even though I was a little rusty at first, I will always remember what was taught to me. Throughout freshman year I have improved and grown potential that I hope to apply later in life and later in gymnastics. I push for new skills and moves every day, but most importantly the sport makes me feel

My reactions failed me. All I’ve ever wanted is to not get hurt in gymnastics. Every week I would go to gymnastics to practice. I only hurt myself once in gymnastics. It was when I was doing a backflip into a foam pit, but I hit my head on the edge of the foam pit. After that I don’t think I ever did a backflip into the foam pit. I wanted to go to gymnastics because I thought it would be fun, it was something I liked, and it made me feel happy.

As well as dedication and teamwork, gymnastics has also taught me how to never give up. As a gymnast, I was constantly working on skills and getting stronger. Sometimes though, it would take days, months or even weeks to perfect the skills I was working on. Even though I wasn’t able to do the trick the first time, I knew that if I didn’t give up, I would eventually achieve my goal. Not only were the skills gradually getting more difficult, my back injury was also getting worse. Therefore, not only was I going against my body, I was also trying to achieve something a normal middle school student could not do. Although my injury eventually forced me to give up the sport entirely, it influenced and molded me into the person I am today. I remember for about a month before I had to give up the sport, I was working on trying to master a

At the age of three my parents decided to put me in gymnastics, I excelled immediately and after a couple months I entered into the pre-competitive program. My love for gymnastics continued and I became a provincially ranked, high level gymnast until the age of fourteen when I shattered my ACL and meniscus in my knee which required surgery. However, my years of gymnastics taught me a great deal of skills that I carry with me to this day. Primarily, I learned exceptional self-discipline, time management, and balance (metaphorically and physically). Gymnastics is exhausting on the body and the mind as you need total cohesion of both to excel. During my peak, I was training five hours per practice, upwards of five days a week and during the summer I would train six hours a day, six days a week. Gymnastics taught me that if you want something badly enough you will work as hard and as long as it takes to reach your goals. After shattering my ACL I pushed to continue training and I competed in my final competition and was the provincial champion on the bars event for my age category. I refused to let this surgery end my career. Six months after the surgery, I joined a competitive cheerleading team who I competed with for three years. Cheerleading was very different for me because it required all of the skills I had learned from gymnastics and on top of that I had to learn how to work with a team. I believe gymnastics is a huge part of who I am and has helped me to become the