For almost two years, Abirami had been looking for a gymnastics class for her seven-year-old daughter Nila. “But I only came across centres for adults.” Her luck changed last year when she discovered gymnastics classes exclusively for children from 2.5 to 11 years held at Little Zebra School, in collaboration with Chennai-Based BackFlip.
Head coach Somnath Majumder is a national gymnast from West Bengal. “Gymnastics is a ‘mother’ sport,” he says and explains that, in the West, children who train in gymnastics from an early age are better equipped to play sports such as football, badminton, and tennis. “The body becomes strong and flexible,” he says. “Every child requires strength building in different areas of the body. Through gymnastics, we identify those, and work on them.”
The sport is also a confidence booster. He cites the example of, “one child who wasn’t very active when he first came about two months ago. Now he is already showing keen interest to jump, roll, and more!”
Five-year-old Ved, the first student to enrol, says that it his favourite extra-curricular activity. His mother, Aishwarya, says that his interest grew after watching the Olympics.
Anjana, also five, was also inspired by watching the Olympics last year. “She used to imitate Dipa (Karmakar) at home”, says her mother Priya, who would like her daughter to be a keen sportswoman. “My daughter was always active. But I felt she could enjoy herself more if she improved on her flexibility. I can see that gymnastics has helped her a lot in this area.”
Another mother, Vishnuvarthini, agrees. “I’d initially enrolled my son Vainav in skating classes. He was not interested in it. Gymnastics is the only class he is happy to be regular with. I can also see how it is helping him become more flexible.”
Bindu’s daughter, Vruddhi, has been attending the classes only for the last 15 days. “Initially I wanted to put her in swimming classes. But, at five, I felt she could develop some more flexibility. I think gymnastics will be a great platform from where I can put her into swimming and dance.”
Vishnuvarthini points out, “All children are hyperactive, especially during the early years. Gymnastics is a great way to channelise that into something more positive!”
Archana, mother to six-year old Sadhana, concurs, “My kid has only been here for five classes. She used to do handstands, and rolls and other gymnastic moves at home, from watching videos on YouTube. Bringing her here makes so much sense!”
