My boys spent their first gymnastics lessons on the balance beam and the uneven bars. Why on girls’ events, you may ask? Because they were the only boys in the beginning homeschool gymnastics class. In the United States, gymnastics is looked upon as a female endeavor. This past Christmas, is was almost impossible to find attractive boys gymnastics t-shirts that weren’t glittery or girly.
But boys’ and men’s gymnastics is a sport of strength and great skill. Three of the events (parallel bars, pommel horse, and still rings) depend mainly on the competitor’s upper body strength. The other three events (vault, high bar, floor) is a combination of upper and lower body strength. All six events take skill and concentration to attain a skill. Kids in gymnastics learn hard work, self-discipline, and conditioning. Even at the recreational levels. In addition to that, it’s a lot of fun. Kids love to jump and flip, especially into the foam pits, which most gyms are now equipped with.
This photo was used with permission from allfreedownloads.com. It was hard to find a men's gymnastics picture to share, much less a picture of a boy doing gymnastics. Hopefully more boys will get involved and the sport will become more popular in the future.
After every class I’ve seen, kids run from their classes to their parents bragging to their parents saying things like, “Mom did you see me do ____________?” “I can’t wait to show dad what I learned today!” “Did you see me land my vault today?”
Some kids only do recreational gymnastics, between seasons of other sports. Other kids are on the competitive team and are at the gym all year. But any parent at our gym will proudly brag about how gymnastics has helped their children in all parts of their life. Some tell stories about how gymnastics helped their kids gain strength for another sport. Some will tell about how gymnastics helped their child pay attention in school or read better. Others will talk about how their kid is now self-disciplined because of the sport. All parents are happy with their family’s decision to get involved in this sport.
As for my family, my boys finally learned the boy’s events. Thankfully, after the Olympics last summer, more boys were interested in classes. My family brags about how gymnastics helped one boy with his reading. We talk about how the other one has gained self-confidence. The boys like to brag about how strong and fast they are now, especially compared to their non-gymnastics friends. Whatever the benefit, we hope more boys will get involved in this amazing sport.