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Competitive sports, such as traveling youth sports teams and high school team sports, are often lauded as being more beneficial than recreational, noncompetitive sports. Because of this belief, many children and parents overlook the benefit of recreational sports and believe that a highly-competitive environment is necessary to teach life skills, such as the value of hard work, the benefit of losing gracefully, and the importance of pushing one’s body and mind for success. In gymnastics, many parents and children believe team gymnastics, “the perfect 10,” and gold medals are preferred over recreational gymnastics.
However, research shows that competitive gymnastics is not necessarily more important or valuable than recreational gymnastics. In fact, researchers with the Athens Kapodistrian University and Hellenic Gymnastics Federation who studied girls enrolled in noncompetitive and competitive gymnastics found there was “no significant difference between competitive and recreational gymnasts in self-esteem,” including “athletic competence, physical appearance, behavioral conduct, and global self-esteem.” As well, the recreational gymnasts had greater academic success and more friendships because they were not training as extensively.
Parents and children should not shy away from recreational gymnastics as there is much that recreational gymnastics can teach children and teenagers. For parents who are new to gymnastics or want to get their children or teenagers started with gymnastics, start with the beginning participation class at our gym!
Try This At Home:
Families can learn important skills from recreational activities–and it does not have to be competitive for it to be beneficial. Regularly engage in recreational activities as a family.
Regularly discuss as a family what everyone’s experiences have been with recreational and competitive activities–being on sports teams, in competitive school clubs, etc.–and where the skills or learning overlap between the two.
Have a balance between competitive and noncompetitive sports or activities for family members. Place value on recreational and noncompetitive activities in conversations and in the family schedule.
Want to Learn More? Read This!
Janet E. Heininger and Sharon K. Weiss’s From Chaos to Calm: Effective Parenting of Challenging Children with ADHD and Other Behavioral Problems
Lawrence E. Shapiro’s The ADHD Workbook for Kids: Helping Children Gain Self-Confidence, Social Skills and Self-Control
Lawrence J. Cohen’s Playful Parenting: An Exciting New Approach to Raising Children that will Help You Nurture Close Connections, Solve Behavior Problems, and Encourage Confidence
Work Cited
Donti, Olivia, Kalliopi Theodorakou, Spiros Kambiotis, and Anstasia Donti. “Self-Esteem and Trait Anxiety in Girls Practicing Competitive and Recreational Gymnastics.” Science of Gymnastics Journal, volume 4, issue 1, 2012, pp. 33-43.
Ambrose, Helen. “Experiencing Success: An Occupational Therapy Partnership Programme. Gymnastics for Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.” Irish Journal of Occupational Therapy, volume 49, number 2, 2021, pp. 84-88. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJOT-03-2021-0005.
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