So, this Crazy Gym Mom (CGM) is ready to share all the things I have learned through the years.  I am known as a bit of a gym geek in my group of gym parents.  I have an insatiable curiosity and a brain that pretty much never shuts off.  I also have a daughter with a tremendous passion for her sport and very big dreams, which she is well on her way to achieving.

This sport is a journey, not only for the kids, but for the parents too.  I look back to the days when my daughter was on pre-team and then the oh so scary and uncertain time of delving into competitive compulsory gymnastics.  There is so much to learn, so much to process and what seems like an endless list of things to worry about.  I often reflect on how the last nine years have been a constant lesson in letting go.

One of my ways of keeping sane through all the ups and downs and topsy turvys of this sport has been to educate myself.  Through my daughter’s passion, my own passion for this sport has grown.  As many do, I love the beauty and the strength and watching amazing talent, but I also love the technical aspects.  I love the physics and the intricacies of the code of points.  I love the stats and the analysis.  I love the beauty of watching a gymnast figure out a correction or the timing of a new skill.  I love watching coaches coach and gymnasts learn and observing the inside workings of a gym community.  I love watching my daughter and her teammates grow up into the most amazing, confident, brave, resilient and motivated young women.  These girls blow my mind every day.

I also love watching parents grow and mature as their kids grow and progress through the levels.  The naivety of a first year parent, the over-zealousness and anxiety of compulsory parents, the joy and ahh of a parent as they realize their child has what it takes to go far in this sport and watching them take ownership of their training as they move into optionals and the wise maturity of those that have lived through the grind and the pain and the unbelievable accomplishment of upper level optionals.  All of this amazes me and intrigues me and terribly distracts me.

As a result I am the holder of a lot of random information, some important and helpful and some complete nonsense.  I just hope that I can share some of what I have learned along the way with the rest of the gym parent world.  Something that may help you ask the right questions, or enjoy your child’s sport more, or lead you to a solution to a problem, or help you see your place and influence on your child and their sport and encourage you to be the best gym parent for your child you can be.

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