The-Slight-Edge

Afterword 193
Through the sport of gymnastics I have learned time management,
self-discipline, teamwork, and most importantly the power of one’s mind.
Gymnastics is a sport where progress is slow, skills are perfected
through muscle memory, patience, and hard work. It is a very strenuous
sport, both physically and mentally, and takes years of a solid foundation
to build off of and improve. I did not have a solid foundation when I started
competitive gymnastics at age seven. I had moved gyms two years after I
started the sport and when I made the transition to the new gym, I basically
had to learn the sport all over again. Through patience, hard work, and
many hours at practice I became one the top ranked gymnasts in California.
By age 12 I was practicing twenty five hours a week, and commuting two
hours a day. There were days when my body hurt, when I had homework to
do, when I thought I could not handle doing another routine at practice,
when my mind and body wanted to throw in the towel and give. But I
didn’t. I learned through thirteen years of competitive gymnastics that
there are going to be rough days, there are going to be days when you have
given your full effort and you still come up short, there are going to be
days that you want to forget. But in reality those are the days that make
you stronger, that make you realize anything is possible with effort and a
positive attitude. I learned at a very young age that your mind can control
your body in positive and negative ways. Your thoughts are so powerful that
they can pull you out of a rut or keep you buried deep within. Gymnastics is
all about seeing and believing the positive. If you cannot see yourself succeed
and improve, than there is no way that you will. Gymnastics has taught me
that you cannot go through the motions, you cannot mark your skills. This
concept can be brought over to daily activities in life. If you go through the
motions of life without being conscience, without being purposeful, then it
is a danger to you and others.
Small steps can make a huge difference, and with a strong support
system, such as my teammates and family, good role models, and strong
work ethic, barriers can be broken and huge accomplishments achieved.
Jereme is attending Oregon State University and was a part of the Oregon
State Gymnastics Team for two years before a career ending injury forced her to
retire from the sport. She continues to impart her wisdom to younger gymnasts,
however, as a team coach at a private gym. Some of her students have competed at
top state levels while simultaneously cultivating the same valuable life disciplines
that Jereme first honed within gymnastics herself.