Sovetsky Sport. December 9, 1967. Several years ago, I happened to read an article about how an American man, deciding to 'start a business,' was teaching his young children to jump into to the water from a diving platform. The children, naturally, were afraid, but the enterprising father tied them up and simply threw them into the water. It all ended with one child dying.
It's possible to start gymnastics from infancy, and doctors recommend it, but 'infant' gymnastics is aimed at making the child healthy. However, what is the purpose of gymnastics for children aged five and older, as recommended by Merited Coach of the USSR I. Mametyev (Sovetsky Sport, November 25)? What is it aimed at, what is the goal? By starting to specialize children in gymnastics at this age, "without days off or holidays," what is the author of the article trying to achieve? Is his statement scientifically sound: "Physiology has proven that a skill fades during the day and needs to be refreshed"? It smacks of pure empiricism.
Yes, every person should have a core, a 'unique quality'. When I ask my tenth-grade graduate which university he plans to attend, and I hear the answer, "I don't know yet, a technical or humanities university," it surprises me. But aren't we starting too early, forcing and artificially trying to seek out and develop this 'unique quality' in children?
The child wants to run around, play, ski down a hill, swim in the pool, and throw a ball. I observe my grandson: today he's playing with toy soldiers, tomorrow with cars, then he's digging in the dirt, drawing, then building a fort. He's 5 years old. He changes his interests on his own, not sticking to anything for long.
Our children's sports schools do not lack interested participants. Children are drawn to all kinds of sports. It's excellent when several hundred children train under the guidance of experienced coaches for extended periods. But some coaches are primarily interested in only a few 'promising' athletes, whom they want to guide towards breaking world records!
And so, these future world champions are deprived of ordinary childhood joys, hobbies, and entertainment - instead, they focus on routines, elements, combinations, and difficulty coefficients. By the age of 11 or 12, such a gymnast is like an old man, serious like an adult. We are impoverishing the child's inner world with this forced approach.
You often hear from former student-athletes that they've stopped training because they don't have enough time, the demands are too high, they don't have time to go to the theater, and they're so tired after training that they can't even hold a book. A few years ago, a student from our school trained with a well-known Moscow coach. Let's call him Gennady. He turned out to be a talented athlete, and the coach latched onto him and began to push his training. Gennady got up at six in the morning every day, traveled to the other end of Moscow, trained there, and was at school for classes by half past eight. After school, there were more training sessions. Gennady earned the title of Master of Sports. Both he and his parents were overjoyed with his coach. The coach, incidentally, persuaded Gennady to switch to evening school: "It's easier to study there, you'll be able to train more, and I'll get you into university." Soon, however, the coach found another, even more promising student, and all his attention shifted to him. This new student moved forward, towards greater achievements, while Gennady was forgotten.
We are talking about character development in sports. But sometimes it happens that a young person develops courage and perseverance, but these qualities are not transferred to life, studies, or work.
So what should be said about early specialization? My opinion is: the earlier a child starts playing sports, the better, but the activities should be varied: swimming, skiing, running, and of course gymnastics - but school gymnastics: climbing ropes, acrobatics, using the gymnastics wall, benches, medicine balls, gymnastic sticks, and much more. But specialization in the full sense of the word should begin around the fifth grade.
S. PARAFIANOVICH, Physical Culture teacher at Moscow School #325