We had a great week at Buckeye Gymnastics last week. Over 2,500 students turned up for class, team practice or a birthday party; we had students learning new skills in cheerleading, trampoline, tumbling, rings, beam, bars and vaulting; our beginning level team won the Level 5 State Championship competing with dozens of gyms from across Ohio; hundreds of thousands of skills were attempted at Buckeye last week and you know what?… not one kid got hurt. Not one.

Now that is not to say that no one ever gets hurt. They do. But most weeks we record zero injuries beyond those that require a band-aid or a single bag of ice.

When we do have students who require medical attention the overwhelming majority involve a sprain or a strain.

So is gymnastics a safe activity for your child?

I think the answer is yes, but it depends.

It depends on the facilities and the teachers.

Look around the gym at Buckeye and you will see mats… tons of mats. We have so many mats that we sometimes have to clear them out of the way so we can tumble and vault. And the reason that we have so many mats is because we expect our students to fall down. In fact, we want them to fall down.

The only way that we can teach the children to get up and try again is if they fall down first.

Simple.

We also want them to know how to fall safely and correctly so they will not get hurt. The only way to practice safe falling is to fall.

Simple.

That explains all the mats. But I urge you to look more closely at the matting in the gym. You will notice that every square inch of the gym is padded. The pretty red, blue, and gray carpet you see is not carpet laid over concrete (like many gyms in central Ohio) but is carpet over high-density foam. This is the same foam used to make the various mats you see. We know our students will fall but we do not know exactly where they will fall. So we provide extra mats where we know they will fall but we also pad the places where it is not likely that they will fall. Kids are kids and they fall all over the place.

Padding every square inch of the gym is not simple but it is important.

All the mats would be of little use if we did not have great teachers at Buckeye. I could go on and on about our teaching and coaching staff but I will limit my comments to just a few. Before a teacher or a coach is hired at Buckeye they are required to pass an extensive background check. Once they become a teacher they are required to obtain both First Aide Certification and Safety Certification through USA Gymnastics. In fact, both certifications are required for any salary increase or job promotion at Buckeye. There is much more and you can read all about our terrific teachers at buckeyegymnastics.com.

It is difficult to get a job at Buckeye Gymnastics. Only about one of every seven who apply for a teaching position at Buckeye ever get in front of our students and only about one in ten ever get a chance to teach their own classes. Once on staff our teachers continue their education through in-house clinics; team teaching with our most experienced teachers and coaches; and through state, regional, and national clinics and training camps.

None of this is easy or simple but it is very important.

It is also important that we respond when our sport and our safety record is questioned. The Olympics is coming this summer and gymnastics is the most popular sport in the summer Olympics. This means that the news and entertainment media is out to attract viewers through the creation of controversy about the most popular Olympic sports. This happens every four years.

We should be used to it. We know that it is coming but we never get used to it. The opening shots were fired last week on the Today Show and in various print outlets. I will not respond to or refute the various distortions and outright fabrications here. I will post a very detailed response on-line at buckeyegymnastics.com within a couple of days. Should you want additional details simply ask for a copy at the front desk.

I started my love affair with gymnastics over 40 years ago after taking classes through the Worthington Recreation Department. That love continues. I have three children and all three of them took gymnastics throughout their preschool years and they all went on to compete on various teams at Buckeye including Girl’s Team, Boy’s Team, Buckeye Cheer Elite, and the Flyers Trampoline and Tumbling Team. Then they took the speed, strength, courage, and power they developed at Buckeye and applied those skills to soccer, fencing, basketball, dancing and track (so far).

They had a great experience in gymnastics and cheerleading and now they are having great experiences in other sports and activities

I would not have allowed my own children to excel in gymnastics if I did not believe it was both safe and beneficial.

Best of all my kids love sports and they love to be active. They did not spend much of their childhood sitting in front of the TV or computer screen.

Are their risks involved every time you set foot out your door? Of course there are.

The better question might be what are the risks of sitting inside?