By Bella Punzio

Practicing in an actual gymnastics gym is more beneficial for me than having a gymnastics gym in the school. I think it would be cool to have a gymnastics gym in the school, but then if I think about it, I am not guaranteed the same equipment nor am I guaranteed a plethora of options of different equipment to better my performance or my skills. I wouldn’t be able to work on upgrades if I didn’t have the right equipment. 

If I was to work on floor upgrades as in different passes, I wouldn’t be throwing my skills straight to the floor. I would need to work up to them. Like when I’m working on tumbling I start at the tumble track into the pit, then to the floor. If we had a gym in the school, we wouldn’t be guaranteed a tumble track or a pit. I work on my new skills during the season and during the off season. I wouldn’t be working on harder skills during the season, but I would be working on them during off season. Even though the season is to show what you have earned during the off season, you still want to practice on what you want for the next season. If I don’t have a skill I want for the season, I work for it during the season too because if I stop, I could possibly lose the progress of that skill. 

 Having a space created for being comfortable with your skill level and not being afraid of getting hurt and not having the right equipment is beneficial because it helps build confidence in what you’re doing. I feel comfortable working in a gym with options of equipment to then show my confidence in the skills and at a meet. I think most of my confidence comes from knowing I am preparing myself as much as I can in the environment created to help me and my teammates.

With working in the gym outside of being at the school, we get more opportunities to practice during the weekdays and weekends without having to work a time with other sports. We also have a flexible schedule for practices over the weekends, or over breaks and even last minute before a meet. Last minute changes do occur, and having the gym open for us to practice when things change is also beneficial because we might not have to cancel. Having a gymnastics gym to practice in is more beneficial to me personally because I feel like working out in an area created for what you’re doing is more beneficial because you’re more comfortable and know what to expect.

I think that having Excel gymnastics doesn’t hurt the team because we are a strong team. And without the practice we get from having all the equipment we are privileged to use, we wouldn’t be as successful as we are now.