At a crossroads: to stay a dilettante or become a prof

Sooner or later rhythmic gymnast (as any sportsman) asks herself: “What comes next?” The fact is many parents bring their little children to gymnastics club in order to:

1.  Develop the upright posture and beautiful figure of their child

2.  Bring up a girl to be self confident and disciplined

3.  Shape a character (sport really helps to do that thank to training and competitions)

4.  Teach their child to move beautifully and listen to the music (they think that’s come in handy in life, supposing she’ll go in for dancing in future or something)

5.  The last thing the parents think about is to make their girl a real  professional sportsman with all ensuing consequences

As a rule, children are brought to the rhythmic gymnastics club at the age of 4-6, as this is the age when they still have inborn flexibility and it’s quite easy to work with them, especially on stretching. However, after 5-7 years of training the X-Hour comes. This is the time when gymnast should make a choice. Frankly speaking, this time comes not to all the sportsmen, but only to those who has achieved a lot and who is really talented. In short, a child at the age of 11-12 has a serious problem to choose whether to step on thorny path or not to strain and just enjoy the process. Of course those, who’s less talented, hardworking and self-rigorous doesn’t worry about it. They just proceed their training for some time and then retire with satisfaction (their figure is great, legs are slim, the posture is as upright as the ballerina’s, what more could they want?)

The choice is more difficult for those girls who has already felt the taste of the victories and feel they’re good at gymnastics, but they also understand how hard they should work in order to achieve the higher levels and become a champion. Rhythmic gymnastics is known to be severe, and no other sport could be compared with it. It’s for you to decide. Here’s the interview with Irina Deriugina (the only Soviet rhythmic gymnast who possesses two all around world titles) about the adult gymnasts training:

-How much time do the gymnasts, claiming to be the champions, spend in the gym?

- A lot. We have 2 hours of choreography classes, then 3-hour training and then another 3-hour training

- 8 hours?

- It’s minimum

- Every day?

- Every day

- Hard work…

Severe and ungrateful sport:

-Our girls are very shy. Do you know the amount of the presidential scholarship? They get it. Tamara Eropheeva get 800 hryvnas, Anna Bessonova gets more.

- But don’t they have any other additional sources?

-No, they don’t

So, this is the real picture of rhythmic gymnastics today. So is the cake worth the candle?

Of course it is! Only because you are doing what you like, and then everything heads for back: fatigue, lack of time, physical pain and soul pain, you should overcome and move on, and a lot of other things. Because the delight you get after the results of your work is quite bigger. Those who are talented, they know that and don’t doubt. Parents doubt. So just listen to your children. First, explain them all the difficulties and problems they will have to face, especially about the fact that they can’t predict the future (but never dissuade them), and then ask them one more time and listen…