Knowledge is power. Who doesn’t want to continuously learn and improve themselves? The same things can be said about our kids or athletes. As a parent, you want to see your child grow and develop, hopefully showing some progress each time they come to class. As a teacher, we want to see our students master what they practice in class. Our students want to learn just as badly as we want them to, however they need to be given the tools to become successful students. So how can we accomplish these goals?

As a Parent – Parents have an incredibly important job in a child’s success in learning. Your children look up to you as a super hero, their number one role model. You help teach them timeliness, gratitude, work ethic, and much more. When they arrive to gymnastics on time, they begin to gain a sense of priority. When you thank them for their hard work in class, they will want to work hard to continue to earn that praise. This leads to children who want to say please and thank you to others, as well as help their fellow classmates when in need. Their positive attitude and work ethic also helps their fellow classmates, making a leader and positive role model out of your child.

As a Teacher – You mean a tremendous amount to your students and to the other teachers around you. You help to set the atmosphere in the gym. You are responsible for your students walking into a positive learning environment each day. You teach much more than just gymnastics; you are helping to build skills for life. You teach them how to listen and stay focused, how to work as an individual and as a team, to have a positive view of fitness and learning, to take constructive criticism in a positive way, how to succeed, and how to fail and get back up. You teach so much more than just gymnastics. You also have the responsibility of continuing to educate yourself. Every day should be a learning experience, learning to help different students in new ways, keeping your students interested in what they’re learning, and challenging them as they progress further.

As a Student – As a student you play a powerful role in your learning as well. You must condition your mind and your body to withstand gymnastics. You must stay up to date on your schoolwork so that you have time to participate in gymnastics.

Have a desire to be in the gym and work hard to make progress on your skills; don’t just show up to chat with your friends. Have goals set, and let your coach help make those goals realistic. Trust that your teacher knows the best way to get you to your goals. Be supportive of your classmates, encourage them to work hard, and cheer them on as they practice. Listen when your teacher is talking, be respectful and stay focused. If you have questions, ask your teacher when they are done talking. Tell them if you don’t understand something. Once you have learned a skill, you should be able to do that skill continuously and consistently during class.

This comes down to a few shortened things to remember for the kids in class: Listen to your teacher, work on gymnastics during class time, and expect yourself to do what you already know how to do.

In Conclusion… We all have an important role to play in the success of our children or students. Whether it’s setting a positive example, giving them words of encouragement, or not talking to our friends in order to get some extra turns in. Gymnastics is an amazing sport that helps children grow in many different ways not only as an athlete, but also most importantly as a person. Together, we can create an amazing learning environment that is safe and fun for our children to grow.