Life Lessons from a Gymnast

By Hannah Gunnell

I've been landing on my head since I was 7.

Every time I mess up, land on my knees, or faceplant, my coach tells me to get up and do another one.

Those are words I live by. Do it again. Try harder.
Gymnastics has been the most brutal and inspirational aspect of my life. By training my body to physically defy gravity and shaping my mind to cope with fear, I gave myself the ability to jump over any obstacles placed in front of me (such as the vault table).

As a result most cover letters and internship essays I wrote focus on my ability to push on through tough times.

Even as I write this reflection, a gymnastics-related concussion pounds away at my skull, but this temporary handicap does not inhibit me from attending practice and coaching new teammates.

Coaching gymnastics is just as mentaly brutal as learning a new flip.

I began coaching 5 and 6 year olds 5 years ago. I didn't realize it, but I was emotionally invested in the classes I have taught. I expressed concern when a little girl in a pink leotard missed many classes; clapped ecstatically for a small boy when he finally got his backward roll; and even felt like an inadequate coach when one of my students didn’t move up to the next level class with her classmates.

Being invested in my students progress sparked a passion that split over into other areas of my life. You can see it in my academics, my career and my relationships.

I feel that same passionate investment now, as I coach my adult teammates. If anything, I have to invest more now into my teammates to compensate for the fear they’ve spent their childhoods learning.

My teammates tend to refrain from physically challenging themselves to progress in gymnastics because they worry about getting injured. This forces me to have to work harder to build trust by encouraging them and ensuring that I won’t let them fall.

I don’t let people fall. Not just as a coach, but also as a team player.

Pushing on, passion and supporting others are three lessons I learned from gymnastics that are etched into my personality, and now roll over into other areas of my life.