This applies for all of the events but in beam, BALANCE is the most important skill. Basically because you have to do all of your moves on a four-inch platform three or more feet of the ground. What beam really is, is just a much more challenging version of floor. For example, once you master your BACK WALK OVER with hands perfectly together and all lined up, then you may have a chance to do it on beam. (For the first time you may need a spot from a coach however.) Another important skill on beam is FOCUS. This is because you have to be really focused while doing a skill. Otherwise, you could miss your footing or where you place your hands on the beam and come crashing down and hurt yourself immensely. Anyways, SAFTEY is the most important thing! BEAMBEAM

BARS

The hardest thing about gymnastics my team and I would say is conditioning. There are many types of conditioning from bar to abs to arms to legs, even running miles on the track it is sure very challenging! But without conditioning, we wouldn’t be able to do gymnastics. This is because conditioning makes you stronger and we need to be strong. Otherwise, we would collapse and could hurt ourselves very badly. Another important thing involving being able to do gymnastics is stretching. Now I bet you know why we need to stretch but for those who don’t know, we need to be flexible! Without flexibility, you would get many tenths off at meets for not completing the skills that involve flexibility because EVERY ROUTINE INVOLVES FLEXIBILITY!!! Whether you’re doing a split or a leap, flexibility is always important. Conditioning and stretching may not be the most fun things in the world, but they are definitely important!

Finally, all your hard work really pays off… at gymnastics meets! This is where you get to show off your moves and impress the judges. Unfortunately, meets can sometimes be kind of emotional. Why they can be is let’s say you get a bad score on bars. You’d feel kind of sad after working all that hard right? I know I have. Although the best thing about meets is getting a good enough score to stand on the podium with a medal! I always feel really proud and know that I did really well and I reached for the stars. This is where my hard work pays off. On the other hand, it’s not really about the medal but about the ways you feel and the proudness after knowing you did really well after a routine. That is my favorite part about gymnastics meets. However, in order to do well, you need to really work hard at practice and not to slack. This is the number one rule. COMPETITONS

After all the hard work, pain, sweat, and tears, you actually get to have some fun at the gym and make new friends on and off the team. Since I came to be a part of the 92 nd street Y gymnastics team, the Gym stars, I have made tons of friends that are caring, nice, and definitely funny! We help make each other’s gymnastics better and cheer each other on at meets. The best thing me and my gym buddies ever did together was have a buffet of snacks in the locker room. We shared stuff about gymnastics, laughter, complaints, and most of all our friendship. I love gymnastics so much but I couldn’t and wouldn’t do it without my friends. HAVINGFUNHAVINGFUN

WHAT IT TAKES TO BE A GYMNAST!!! In closing, I bet you know now what it takes to be a gymnast and that it’s not just a walk in the bark. You need to be able to fight to hold that chin hold, be able to stand your coaches and listen to their criticism, and you need to be prepared to work, perfect and put all you have into that skill or conditioning move. Trust me and I bet you will gymnastics is one of the hardest sports there is. It’s in the Olympics for crying out loud! However, in the end, your hard work really does pay off and you want to be proud. Life is gymnastics… in life, when you’re facing something tough, fight for it and you will be proud. Not that you get the medal, but that you worked for it and that your accomplishment will stay with you for the rest of your life.