Sovetsky Sport. December 2, 1967. It is neither too early nor too late to start doing gymnastics. It is necessary to do it in a timely manner - only then will we raise high-class gymnasts.
What age is optimal for the transition from basic gymnastics to sports gymnastics? This question is not so easy to answer. Different apparatuses become available to boys and girls at different periods of their development. For example, floor exercises, even quite difficult ones, can be done by boys and girls aged 12-13, many pommel horse and horizontal bar exercises are also within the power of boys of this age, and difficult exercises on the beam are within the power of girls. At the same time, girls are not yet at all prepared for even the slightest bit of difficult exercises on the uneven bars, and boys - on the rings. One might object: what about Burda from Voronezh, who performs an interesting uneven bars routine, and what about Kuchinskaya, Petrik, Klimenko, and some others who have earned recognition among gymnastics fans?
There are undoubtedly talented young men and women, but it seems to me that here we are only encountering a pleasant exception to the general rule. However, we cannot turn exceptions into rules, because with so-called early specialization we cause a lot of damage to our young generation. We can't demand that a 14-year-old girl perform a routine on the uneven bars at the level of an adult Master of Sports, can we? But we do!
Quite often, it is possible to 'pull' girls aged 13-14 through the Masters program. But, frankly speaking, these children are very, very far from being a real Master. It is no coincidence, apparently, that some coaches strive to release their students to compete in the Masters program when the compulsory program ends!
The first conclusion that the USSR Gymnastics Federation must come to is not to award the title of Master of Sports to those who do not participate in competitions under the compulsory Masters program. It's time to put an end to the rush. The rare exceptions that are found in women's gymnastics at the present time cannot become the general rule. As for men's gymnastics, there are no 'wunderkinds' here, because every gymnast needs strength first and foremost, and strength appears extremely rarely before the age of 17.
What should be the 'strategy' for training gymnasts? Obviously at 9-10 years old, both boys and girls should be engaged in basic gymnastics, using at the same time such means as acrobatics, floor exercises, vaulting, choreography, and rhythmic gymnastics to form a school for the development of gymnastics. Later - after a year - girls can begin to master the simplest exercises on the balance beam, continuing, of course, to improve in the technique of acrobatics and floor exercises, vaults and choreography. Boys should begin to master the school of movement on the horizontal bar. There is no need to worry about learning classical exercises on the parallel bars (for boys and girls), rings and pommel horse (for boys). If you systematically engage in the all-around events that are available to childred aged 9-12, then at 13 and even 14 years old you can begin training on the parallel bars, rings, and pommel horse. At the age of 13, girls can probably start learning 'bodybuilding' exercises on the uneven bars. If the boys start learning sports technique while being physically prepared enough, the growth of sports skills will go quickly and well.
I am convinced that gymnasts should be trained more thoroughly than is currently the case. It is important for us to have strong adult gymnasts - girls from about 17 years old, and boys from 19 years old. All work with the younger generation should be subordinated to this task.
M. UKRAN, Professor, Head of the gymnastics department of the State Central University of Physical Cultureand Sport