“Good, Better, Best. Never let it rest until your good is better and your better is best”. – Tim Duncan

Gymnastics, at the highest level, is a sport that requires countless hours of training, extreme mental toughness and a tremendous amount of physical strength. In order to progress, at any level, a gymnast must be DETERMINED to persevere through the daily challenges that will arise. There will be days when an athlete wants to give up – skills become harder to conquer, and fear may enter the picture. This is where being DETERMINED comes in to play. An athlete must focus on the end result.
When children are enrolled in recreational gymnastics classes they begin learning the basic fundamentals of gymnastics. This is also where children begin building their physical strength, and mental toughness. These classes are an opportunity for young children to learn determination thru the challenges they meet in class. For example, when a child is learning their back-handspring, they go through a sequence of drills until they are ready to do the skill alone with no assistance. Drills and repetition with a sense of determination build self-confidence. Before you know it, they are ready to do it by them self. Sheer determination eventually outweighs fear, and progress inspires further determination.
Physical training with determination also develops a life skill that translates to the achievement of any goal. My personal goal was to be an elite athlete. The determination I practiced resulted in a full ride scholarship to do gymnastics at the University of Nebraska. I won many accolades, because I was dedicated and determined to reach my goals. There may have been sacrifices along the way, but I gained the knowledge of how to use determination to achieve goals.

“Failure will never overtake me if my determination to succeed is strong enough”. – Og Mandino

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The video I posted spotlights 2008 Olympian Alicia Sacramone. She is the definition of DETERMINATION. After failing to make the Olympic Team in 2004, Alicia was left disappointed and broken. She had a goal of making an Olympic team and was not ready to give up on that dream. She decided to keep training in hopes of making the 2008 team. Through her hard work, dedication and determination she made the 2008 Olympic team and was captain of that team. Her unwillingness to give up on her dream showed her dedication to the sport and her determination to fulfil her dreams.

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