As embarrassing as this may be to admit, I am a 19-year-old college student who watches ABC Family every Monday night at 9pm to see “Make it or Break it.” That being said, I know that many of my gymnast friends who are adequately beyond the typical ABC Family viewer age love to watch it as well. And for me, this past week was no exception. In fact, it tied in perfectly with our past social foundations of coaching class: sports as play.
For those of you who aren’t avid watchers, here is a brief summary: 4 high school-aged female elite gymnasts from one gym went to nationals at the end of last season with hopes of making the national team prior to the 2012 Olympics. Although all 4 are strong athletes, it was clear that Payson was the most devoted to the sport, Kaley was the daddy’s girl/princess who was loved and envied, Lauren liked to stir up drama, and Emily was the new girl from a less privileged background. As Payson was staged to win nationals, during her turn on bars she fell on her head and broke her back. After being told she would never compete again, this season’s story continues on from there.
At this given gym, it is traditional for the team to participate in an open house competition to attract new gymnasts. However, following Payson’s career-ending fall, her mother made a comment to the coach saying, “sometimes they get so medal-driven they forget why they started gymnastics in the first place.”
With many sports, athletes get so motivated by winning that they lose sight of why they loved sports initially. With the “need to win” mentality, athletes begin to think of sports as work: they need to practice longer and harder to do better at the next competition, only to repeat the cycle in subsequent weeks. In my opinion, there is no sport that highlights this to the degree gymnastics does: where else do “careers” last a matter of years, being entirely wrapped up by the age of 20, if not earlier? Where else do you have to explain to a girl that she was simply born in the wrong year for Olympic ambitions—too young at 15, but pushing “retirement age” at 19? Many gymnasts feel compelled to practice all the hours of their childhood and adolescence in pursuit of their dreams, simply because one does not see gymnasts beyond those ages.
I feel it is entirely up to a coach to figure out how to deal with this problem. While some do not succeed and cause burnout to occur, others are able to deal with it in constructive manners. For example, in “Make it or Break it,” though the girls are still training heavily for their international competitions, the coach decided to make their open house into a performance instead. With the help of an “applause-o-meter” they would still be able to compete, but for the love of the crowd as opposed to a score. All the girls composed routines, expressing themselves in whichever form struck them most. Little did the girls know that their coach had a trick up his sleeve: the meter, in fact, was not working.
Though I was never to that level in gymnastics, I remember some nights I would come home and beat myself up over a bad practice. How was I ever going to advance levels? Win state competitions? I had to be reminded: was that really what I was working for? If that was the only thing, why was I still there? Where did the fun go? My coach was definitely instrumental in causing many girls in my gym to have a healthy relationship with the sport: being competitive when necessary, but balancing that with fun. I believe it is due to his work that I continue to love the sport today. Why else would I spend my Tuesday & Thursday evenings during college going to the gym? As I am a member of a club team, I am able to witness that my teammates were shaped in similar ways by their coaches: none of us are near the level of varsity, division 1 athletes. Yet, we choose to attend practice nonetheless because the sport is still fun for us.
Although many athletes feel the weight of the pressure to succeed, many need to be reminded of why they started sports in the first case. It wasn’t for the glory or success. It was for the fun of it.
Olivia Schreader
Notre Dame ‘12
Social Foundations of Coaching Course
