I agree with sugar80 100%. Was talking to other parents at a tournament just yesterday, a mom mentioned that they’d recently had their daughter switch gyms to give her a break so that she’d “only” have to practice gymnastics 12hrs/wk vs the 15-20 she was doing. We’re not talking Olympic level either, think she said her daughter was a level 6. 20 hours! Blew my mind, had no idea the time involved with gymnastics. One or two 2hr practices/wk in the off-season is NOTHING compared to the time these girls put in. Even during the season wrestlers don’t come close.
Unrealistic expectations from parents cause kids to quit this sport. I feel for some of the kids who start wrestling at 10,11 or later. Parents screaming at the mat from the bleachers, yelling at their kids later not realizing that the 10yr old kid who beat him w/5yrs experience spent the better part of his 1st year losing lots of matches too. He just had the benefit of spending that first awkward year or two wrestling other equally as awkward 5-6yr olds also new to the sport.
