The Many Benefits of Participating in Gymnastics
Most people think of
gymnastics as the star of The Summer Olympics. What people dont know is that it
is one of the most beneficial activities for children of all ages and abilities
with fitness, academic and social benefits.
Fitness/ Sports Readiness
Benefits:
Gymnastics requires
strength, balance, flexibility and coordination. These are the cornerstones to
sound physical fitness and athletic performance in all sports. Core strength is
the buzz word in fitness and sport specific training these days. Core strength
in children can help maintain proper posture while sitting in a classroom.
Gymnastics is all about core strength. The simple skill of performing a forward
roll requires core strength in maintaining a rounded body throughout the
movement. Walking across a 4 beam requires balance and an ability to use the
core muscles to maintain that balance. What seems like the simple task of
running and jumping onto a springboard to vault onto the table requires the
coordination of combining running, jumping and squatting onto a raised surface.
Hitting a ball, kicking a soccer ball are both enhanced with improvement in balance
and co-ordination. These are all elementary skills that are repeated over and
over in our classes.
Academic Benefits:
Movement can be the
architect of a child’s brain. Bilateral movements commonly found in basic
gymnastics activities help in the communication between the left and right
hemisphere of the brain. Reading is a balanced coordination of the left and
right hemisphere. The left hemisphere sees the letter and the right side
comprehends what it sees. Gymnastics
requires a similar coordination of building simple movements into a complex
skill or routine. This early learning
transfers to the classroom helping your child with sequenced instruction from a
teacher.
Social/ Organizational
Benefits:
Participating in a class
environment at an early age is crucial to helping a child adapt to a school
setting. Gymnastics participation is no
different. Your child will learn to move from station to station in a sequence
without getting lost. They are required to sit and listen while getting
instructions. Children are taught how to wait for their turn and that they are
now always going to be first in line. Learning
a new skill helps to show a child that success requires repetition. The joy of mastering a skill after multiple
repetitions is the ultimate benefit in helping a child gain the confidence
needed to succeed.
So the next time you see
high level gymnastics, remember that it is the basics of rolling, jumping
tumbling and running and swinging that will help your child build a foundation
for a strong future in whatever they do.
