Sovetsky Sport. November 29, 1967. Recently, the question has been hotly debated: at what age should one start practicing gymnastics, with the goal, of course, of achieving the highest levels of mastery?
In the noisy stream of conflicting opinions, arguments, and beliefs, the most sensible voices are those that appeal to sports scientists: investigate the problem, and tell us what needs to be done.
The problem of early specialization in gymnastics has also become a topic of concern for sociologists. The Laboratory of Social Foundations of Sports Excellence at the All-Union Research Institute of Physical Culture conducted a large-scale survey of participants in the IV Spartakiad of the Peoples of the USSR and the X Schoolchildren's Spartakiade. After analyzing 600 questionnaires, we obtained interesting and in many ways unexpected data.
We classified the participants of the Spartakiad of the Peoples of the USSR into the 'adults' group. On average, these were gymnasts who began their sports careers 8-10 years ago. The second group was 'schoolchildren.' Their sports experience was no more than five years. The research showed that adult men, on average, started practicing gymnastics at 13.7 years old, and women at 12.1 years old. Our questionnaires were anonymous, but we know that one of them was filled out by the all-around world champion Mikhail Voronin. It is well known that he first came to the gymnastics hall at the age of 14. However, if he had started at that age five years later, he would quite possibly not have been accepted 'due to his age.' The average at which boys begin gymnastics is 11.7 years, and for girls it's 11.2 years. It's worth noting that this data refers to gymnasts who started their training five years ago. Since then, the trend towards a lower starting age has intensified even further.
Youth and new trends have now become synonymous. In fact, that's always been the case, and that's how it should be. However, due to the trend towards early specialization, this truth has been modified somewhat. 'The younger the gymnast, the more new things!' - that's how it seems to sound in the mouths of many coaches. Indeed, the new generation of young gymnasts, who have only recently reached the competitive level, have brought with them many new compositional elements and complex moves. For the girls, this includes, for example, back handsprings and somersaults in quick succession on the balance beam, and other tricks based on youthful daring. But the main thing that surprises and sometimes even touches us is the age records. We recall our recent gymnastics competitions and exclaim: "It's unbelievable! A 13-year-old girl is performing such an exercise... Five top-level groups, just think of it!" And the following year, a 12-year-old is already performing these five top-level groups... But, strangely enough, our Olympic team has a very meager reserve. Where did those girls go, the ones who were also surprising us with their top-level performances not so long ago? And what guarantee is there that the new generation of 12-year-old prodigies won't share the same fate in a few years?
Another 'but.' If we proceed from the premise that the younger the athlete, the greater their potential for growth, then Vera Caslavska should have been surpassed long ago. However, the pioneer of the 'new wave' remains unsurpassed to this day. The situation is similar with men. Let's not even consider our own gymnastics, but Japanese gymnastics. There, too, they are now starting to recruit into sports sections earlier, and new talents appear every year. And it seems that they should be displacing the veterans. The 'Olympic Week' in Mexico City has now concluded. Yukio Endo, who started practicing gymnastics at the age of 15, made his international debut at 23, became the all-around Olympic champion at 27 and now, at 30, has won third place, not giving way to the best of the young Japanese talents, Sawao Kato, on any of the apparatuses.
Examples can be given of gymnasts who started early and progressed rapidly from one medal to the next. The Italian Menichelli is one such example. However, such examples are exceptions, not the rule. The optimal age for starting training and the patterns of development have not yet been established. And so far, we have not empirically confirmed the correctness of the early specialization practices that are currently in place.
During our research, we obtained data on the time it takes to progress from a beginner to a master of sports at different ages of starting training. In the table below, the first number indicates the age at which training began, and the second number indicates the time it takes to progress from a beginner to a master.
| Men | ||
|---|---|---|
| 10 Years | 9.6 years | |
| 11 Years | 7.3 years | |
| 12 Years | 8.2 years | |
| 13 Years | 7.2 years | |
| 14 Years | 6.6 years | |
| 15 Years | 6.5 years | |
| 16 Years | 5.6 years |
| Women | ||
|---|---|---|
| 10 Years | 5.9 years | |
| 11 Years | 5.6 years | |
| 12 Years | 4.8 years | |
| 13 Years | 4.7 years | |
| 14 Years | 5.3 years | |
| 15 Years | 5.5 years |
These are average figures for participants in the Spartakiad of the Peoples of the USSR, that is, athletes who did not start their careers recently. The situation is probably different now, especially for women, where the time required to achieve different skill levels has been drastically reduced. As for men, the indicators remain typical for the present time. And, of course, one should consider the four-year difference (!) that distinguishes the path of a 10-year-old and a 16-year-old gymnast to the coveted victory.
The lowering of the age at which children began training was a spontaneous process from the very beginning. On the one hand, it was spurred on by the example of the successes of Kuchinskaya and Petrik, and on the other hand, the coaches proceeded from the assumption that at an early age children are more coordinated and more daring - and therefore much can be achieved. It's true that gymnastics has changed significantly in recent years. It's probably necessary to start recruiting children into gymnastics programs (for girls, at least) at an earlier age than before. But every step should be scientifically justified.
L. BOCHAROVA, Master of Sports, Research Fellow at the All-Russian Scientific Research Institute of Physical Culture