Comments on: Getting Past “I QUIT”

By: Teri Dioslaki

Teri Dioslaki — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 15:57:52 +0000

Thanks , I think you are right. maybe I used the wrong words(burnt out) but I do Thank you for your advice. He seems to like skateboarding….

By: coach Rick

coach Rick — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 01:13:53 +0000

That’s quite young to be getting “burnt out”.

Perhaps a break?

Cross training? … Another acrobatic sport.

By: Teri Dioslaki

Teri Dioslaki — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 16:22:06 +0000

Hi my 8 year old boy is getting burnt out from gymnastics . He loves the sport and has a natural talent. I dont want him to quit, but I dont know how to get his passion back before he really gets tired of it. He doesn’t want to do any other sport, he belongs in this sport.It is what he has wanted since he is 3 years old and loves it but now I see the signs. Please if you have any other tips I could use it. Thanks Teri

By: Kyle

Kyle — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 17:22:23 +0000

well said Evelyn.

By: Evelyn

Evelyn — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 16:13:45 +0000

It is my opinion that if a talented child wishes to quit, once you have done what you can to encourage them to stay then you should just step back and let them go. The reality is that if a child has that personality type to want to give up when things get tough, then they arent going to go far in the sport regardless of talent. Commitment is a HUGE part of gymnastics. Without it, talent is useless!

By: fargo

fargo — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 14:00:12 +0000

As a coach, I always tried to see what factors were involved, in and out of the gym. Tried to address those and also sometimes time off, a week or even a month, was enough to rekindle the love so to speak.

I often found with the younger kids it was a matter of speaking up and sometimes just feeling overwhelmed and needing a bit of breathing room.

It was always heartbreaking to loose someone you felt had a lot of potential, but without the desire the potential will only go so far. I don’t want to torture a little kid if they are not enjoying themself.

By: fargo

fargo — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 13:56:19 +0000

As a gymnast I was going through a hard time at gym (lots of fears) and did not want to deal with it anymore.

I think my mom realized I wouldn’t be happy if I just avoided it so she said I could do what I liked, but first had to write down everything I would do in place of gymnastics with all my new found free time…surprisingly I couldn’t really come up with anything.

And she asked me to reconsider and that maybe we’d have to find new ways do work on the fear issues I was experiencing.

Kind of luckily I was also faced with a pretty serious injury not too long after (not gym related) and was forced to take about a year off. That definitely gave me the break I needed and I came back to the sport happily and worked through my issues.

By: anna

anna — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 06:34:10 +0000

My big stand when athletes tell me they want to quit is to ask them to continue through to the end of the competition season, or term (which Mum has already paid for!). I understand if you really don’t want to be in the gym you shouldn’t be there, but kids need to remember they made a commitment and honour it.