What's the point of gymnastics?

Gymnastics is a fundamental sport, like dance. It teaches the kinesthetic and proprioceptive (body shape) awareness to build skills moving the body in, literally, "extra-ordinary" ways, ways you or your child might not think of during normal play and work activity.

For Seattle Gymnastics, there is an additional dimension: building the character to "think about what happened, make a correction and try again." We teach your child how to achieve a goal by taking small steps: a progression of skills. This progressive approach is an ability that  helps our students throughout life. They develop the confidence, perseverance, and determination to succeed, in some degree, at whatever they attempt. When SGA speaks of developing "strength, skill and character," the personal grit to pick oneself up, make a change, and try again is what we aim to train. This is why we call ourselves a progressive program.

Additionally, though, gymnastics teaches us to condition our bodies' strength and flexibility. It is not a cardiovascular conditioner, however; instead it is an anaerobic sport. Gymnasts are typically very fit (they max out in school testing) and trim, but they usually cannot run very far!

For children, it's simply fun to climb, tumble and be upside down.

For some children, worried about being upside down or "flipping" out of control, gymnastics training can show them surprising things about their abilities, giving them more confidence in their physical capacities. You may remember this as a major issue on the playgrounds of your youth!

We think that supportive staff, a safe environment and a careful progression can make this discovery more likely.

Of course, individuals differ. The best way to find out is to try a free lesson.