Articles & information about gymnastics for parents & gymnasts on topics ranging from training, conditioning to nutrition and more.

A lot has been written about “attitude,” as it relates to sports in general, and gymnastics in particular.  In fact, in today’s society, we are inundated with catchy phrases like “attitude is everything,” and “attitude is a little thing that can make a BIG difference.”  The purpose of this article is to delve into exactly what “attitude” consists of.  In fact, this article would be more properly titled “Winning Attitude at Gymnastics Revolution.”                       

At Gymnastics Revolution, attitude is a piece of the overall puzzle of the health of our students, and a piece that is carefully watched and managed.  While we are not so trite as to simply tell our students, “think positive,” or “anything is possible if you…” we do monitor the demeanor of the gymnasts carefully.  And with proper proportions of reality, compassion, optimism, and supportiveness, we help the young gymnasts in our program to develop a winning attitude.

The elusive concept here is in the definition of a winning attitude.  At Gymnastics Revolution, a winning attitude is a blend of confidence and positive thought.  Confidence is built from past successes, and a strong understanding of one’s self.  It is important to note that success, as defined here, is “taking a positive lesson from a given circumstance.”  Positive thought is a habit, it is built in a positive environment, and with proper coaching.  Most children are easily guided into this type of strong mindset.  

At Gymnastics Revolution, our staff watches students, and is careful to point out the small achievements in a given workout.  Students are not praised to the point where praise loses meaning, nor are they ever given false praise.  In our philosophy, a gymnast, child, or any other person, will recognize, understand, and internalize such positive feedback only when it is deserved, and only when it is genuine.  In this way, the students begin to develop the ability to recognize their own achievements, and this leads to a stronger sense of confidence. 

As mentioned above, the positive thought process is built in a positive environment.  While this goes along with the concepts of praise and positive feedback, mentioned above, it is also important to recognize that Gymnastics Revolution prides itself on strong interactions with its students.  These interactions are only possible, and only successful in the positive environment that has been built in our gym.  Hard work, companionship, a good bit of fun, and a supportive coach are key ingredients to that environment. 

Many parents ask questions at Gymnastics Revolution, and are pleased to hear that we do indeed pride ourselves on our environment, and on our attention to attitude.  Rarely, however, do we discuss the questions beyond this point.  Why is this positive attitude so important?  Why do we want our children to have winning attitudes?  The answer is simple.  A winning attitude is one that will create progress, one that cannot be shaken, and one that will succeed in any area of life.  All gymnasts retire at some point or another, and it is vitally important that they leave the sport with a winning attitude.  In fact, this may be the biggest gift that our sport has to give.  A winning attitude will help in parenting, in the corporate world, in other sports, in other activities.  A winning attitude, as guided by Gymnastics Revolution, can be a tool that makes a good gymnast into a great person.