“Never go backwards. Attempt, and do it with all your might. Determination is power.” – Charles Simmons
When an individual is determined to be successful nothing can stop them. In gymnastics the struggles children face change from day to day. For example, one day an athlete could be struggling with their giants on bars, while the next day they could be having a hard time with a back-handspring on the beam. Everyday these young athletes have to be determined to push themselves thru the obstacles that may arise.
In 1996 the woman’s Olympic gymnastics team won the first ever team gold medal. These seven young ladies won team gold by a heroic effort from Keri Strug on her last event and very last vault. When Domonique Moceanu went up to compete her consistently easy vault, she shockingly fell on both vault, placing added pressure on the anchor Keri Strug.
When Keri landed her first vault there was a loud gasp from the crowd when she fell. Not only did she have an uncharacteristic fall on her first vault, but she also hurt her ankle in the process. As she walked back to do her second vault she looked at her coach Bella Karolyi for guidance. With fear in her eyes and pain in her ankle she started running for her second vault. As she landed and put her arms up to salute the judge’s two things were evident. The United States had won the team gold medal and Keri was very hurt. She was determined to land on her feet for her team no matter what kind of pain she was feeling.
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“Failure will never overtake me if my determination to succeed is strong enough.” -Og Mandino
When a child is enrolled in gymnastics it’s important to make sure they are enjoying what they do. Although gymnasts often get frustrated and struggle, they continue to train, because they thoroughly enjoy the sport of gymnastics. Not every child trains to be an Olympian, but every child has a dream. It’s important to help each individual child reach their own personal goals.
Through the constant obstacles and daily frustrations an athlete goes through, they are gaining life skills. Determination is a valuable life skill that children will carry into adulthood. Not only are they learning how to set goals, they are also learning how to persevere through hardships and be determined to accomplish their goals. This is a life skill that children will use for the rest of their life.
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