The Gymnast's Mistress: Other Activities

The first gym I attended did not support extracurriculars. I remember drama with an older teammate who was secretly playing softball. Such gyms require an intense focus on gymnastics. At others, the practice times simply aren't conducive to afterschool activities.

The second gym I went to, and stayed at, had no such restrictions. As long as you told the coaches when you had to miss practice, nobody minded.

So in middle school, I ran cross-country, played basketball, and competed for the gymnastics team. In eighth grade I went up to varsity gymnastics, which meant cross-country had to go, but now the spring season was free for lacrosse. I played one season of JV lacrosse in high school and then converted to winter and spring track. Ah, and we can't forget a minor role in the school production of South Pacific and a role with actual lines and a cool costume in Hamlet. Thanks to Beth, I brought such multitasking to my final semester of college, doubling as both gymnast and cheerleader.

There were weekends when I'd compete at a gymnastics meet in the morning and a track meet at night. During "tech week" of the school plays, when we were required to be in the auditorium from the last school bell to midnight, I practiced at the gym on Sundays during birthday parties.

It was all a matter of choice. I loved track, and it was especially alluring when I was frustrated in the gym. Senior year of high school, I considered dropping varsity gymnastics for cross-country. But I knew I wouldn't really do it. Those other sports and activities gave me fantastic experiences and stories, but I always preferred gymnastics. I knew what I wanted. So did my parents and so did my coaches.

So I support my gymnasts in their pursuits of lacrosse, school plays, trombone, dance, basketball, softball, what-have-you. The complication comes when they miss practice for weeks in a row. They come in three or four times a month. When their other activity winds down, they return to gymnastics in the lull and wonder why they can't do skills as well as they did before. Then their parents want to know why they're not progressing.

Is progress possible? Yes; I moved steadily through the USAG levels with my jam-packed middle and high school lives. I had a pretty sweet GPA, too. All this considered meant sleep often fell by the wayside. But I didn't enter the gym lightly. Sure, I laughed and had fun with my teammates. But I was always ready to work.