Editorial: Is Gymnastics an Overlooked Sport?
Football has been a loved sport since…forever. But is it the hardest sport out there?
Absolutely not. Gymnastics is by far one of the hardest sports, yet it is one of the least talked about. Gymnasts do death defying flips all while looking pretty in a leotard. And we don’t wear helmets with a face mask, knee pads, shoulder pads, or mouth guards. Quarterbacks have their offensive line to keep people away. Gymnasts on the other hand, have nobody.
According to the New York Daily News, in football athletes have to run a little less than two miles in every game, but in gymnastics athletes condition every single day. So they can build muscle to be able to be strong when doing their skills. I bet I am stronger than 80% of the boys in my grade because of the conditioning we have to do.
In gymnastics athletes have to give 100% every time they take a step in that gym. If not then their skills will slack. Gymnasts are as tough as nails. They work ALL year long and don’t take breaks. Football players work what like 6 months out of the whole year. Yet all that’s talked about is football, football, football. Even though it’s turning into a girl sport. Like “Ow I have a cramp in my leg, I need to go to the hospital.” Gymnasts are more like “oh yeah I just straddled the beam and then landed on my neck no big deal,” then starts laughing.
Gymnasts have to compete in four events remembering all their routines and having to do flips that defy gravity. But no big deal, football players have to run down a field while throwing a hunk of leather. Go see what you’re missing. Watch a level 10 or collegiate gymnastics meet on TV or YouTube. Trust me, you will be amazed.
A gymnast has to warm up a beam routine in two minutes with a double back flip dismount. That’s two flips, in the same time you’re in the air. I am pretty sure gymnastics is hard, and a crazy awesome sport.
In gymnastics they have to be able to handle the pressure. In football if you screw up your teammates can cover for you, in gymnastics if you screw up the spotlight is on you, and there is nobody there to cover for you.
Gymnasts also have to be able to handle the stress. I am a level 10 gymnast and I have to practice 20 hours a week. According to Jack Lewis, a freshman football player, football players practice a wimpy 10 hours a week. That means I practice twice the amount of time a football player does.
Abby • May 4, 2016 at 10:11 pm
I am a former gymnast so I know the stress of practices and competitions. It should not be compared to Football or any other sport. It is different and they are both tough. They both put in a lot of hours to do what they do. I remember always seeing shirts that said, “If gymnastics were any easier, it would be called football,”. But it was just as a joke. I know lots of people do not consider gymnastics as a sport, which annoys me. There are a lot of different types of sports. One is not better than the other.
someone who thinks this is ridiculous • Apr 15, 2016 at 2:18 pm
I’m sorry but i disagree with this. Football players work year round whether it be lifting, running, or practicing. The examples that you got for the time spent at practice has clearly never been to a varsity practice. Also if a wide receiver drops a pass the spotlight is on them as well. Also you compare football players games to your weekly practices, football players have practices as well every day of the week, so you cannot compare the game to the practices, that’s like comparing apples to oranges. There both unrelated to one another. Finally, gymnasts are not tackled at full force, and there for they do not know the impact that is put on your body.