Gymnasts on Vacation

We all look forward to vacations, right?

I'll be perfectly honest ... for the first few years my daughter, A, was doing gymnastics, I worried about taking a vacation. 

Now, before you label me as a crazy gym mom, let me defend myself and others who may have felt this way. Gymnastics is a little more complicated than most sports, because you watch your child work-work-work and struggle-struggle-struggle, and then they finally get a skill, and then they lose it and then they get it again. You see all the hard work they're doing and the agony of it all, and honestly, you want to keep any momentum they might have going to make it easier on them. They've worked for three months on that cartwheel on beam, for example, and they're finally getting consistent, and now it's time to take a week off and go to Florida. WHAT?! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! Sometimes vacations seem to come at the worst times. 

I worried about all sorts of things when I thought about going on vacation: A being gone, losing momentum, losing skills, falling behind, maybe even realizing that she liked being on vacation better than being at gymnastics. Am I crazy? Am I the only one who has ever felt this way?

If you've felt that way, you're not alone. If you have never felt that way, that's wonderful. You probably have a better balance with the whole kids-sports thing than I did starting off. You can see the big picture-- that a week or two away from the gym in the grand scheme of life is not going to matter even a little bit. 

And that's why I'm here to tell you that vacations are good and you should take them. They're even good for your gymnast.

Your gymnast needs a break. Her body needs a break. Her mind needs a break. Do you know how tough this sport is? Yes, she (or he) needs a break from it. You don't want to risk mental, physical and emotional exhaustion. So, take breaks. Feel good about taking breaks. In my experience, A has always come back stronger after a break. She's ready to hit her training harder and she's excited to be back. Some kids do regress. I'm not going to pretend that that never happens, especially if you go on a longer trip. It's important to keep the big picture in mind, though: they'll get back into the swing of things at the gym. Everything will be okay.

Your gymnast won't like vacation better than gym. (And if she does, it might identify a problem you need to face.) We might fear breaks because it gives our gymnast time to consider a world outside her sport, but as parents, we need to recognize that for what it is: a selfish fear. If your child would really rather not spend most of her life in the gym, than that's going to come out sooner or later. Your vacation won't be the cause of this epiphany. At most, it will be a spotlight on a feeling your child already has. If your child is still excited about gymnastics when she gets back, you know she's in the right place.

Remember, your kid is a kid. You want them to have fun memories and experiences. You want them to be able to see the world outside your city, outside the walls of their school or gym. You want them to grow up to be well-rounded adults. Vacations are times when the pressure is off, when a kid can be herself, act her age. She has to be so mature during gymnastics practices. Let her be a kid when she's on vacation. 

Try some different, varied activities. I love vacation because we do things we don't usually have time to do, like hiking or kayaking or lots more swimming or walking around amusement parks. Vacation is a time to work out those other muscles that they don't use as much during gymnastics practice, and that will ultimately be great for your child's health. 

Don't have money for a vacation? One of A's first coaches had been an elite and division one college gymnast. I remember her telling me that every summer her parents made her take time off. I can't remember if it was a week or two weeks, but they took her out of the gym for that time, even if they didn't go anywhere, even if they just stayed home and played board games and swam at the local pool. Those parents were smart: they realized the importance of their child (who was involved in a very demanding sport) taking time off occasionally.

Should I have my child practice at a different gym when we're on vacation?

That's entirely up to you and your coach. If you're going to be away a longer period of time, this might be a good idea. Or maybe you have a gym in your hometown that you went to as a child and you think it would be cool if your child got to practice there while you're on vacation. Hey, why not? If they want to, that's fun. I do see the value in having a gymnastics-free vacation every once in awhile, though. That's not to say you ban gymnastics from your vacation. I mean, let the kid take a handstand picture if she wants to. Or if she likes to stretch because that's her habit, great! Her coach might even give her some little things she can do to keep up her flexibility and stamina. That's all good stuff. But I wouldn't head into a vacation and as a parent draw up a list of gymnastics exercises I wanted my kid to do every day. If the child initiates it, that's a different story. But if you as a parent are so worried about your child being away that you can't let go for even a minute, you need to check your heart and why your child is in this sport in the first place. Letting go while you're on vacation is healthy for your child and, mentally, for you, too.

Even though it was hard for me at first, we did take vacations. We're not fabulously wealthy, so our vacations are modest. There have also been summers when I sent A to church camp with her siblings. Other summers, we used our TOPs meets as excuses to camp in different parts of the state and take a few days off from the gym. Do what works for you and your budget, but make sure your child has a chance to breathe--and see a different side of life. 

So, tell me, how do you feel about vacations? I know parents with kids in a variety of sports struggle with this, especially as their children get older and the pressure gets more intense to earn spots on teams. Do you take vacations? Are you okay letting go for a little while, or is it a struggle?