The Dangers of Taking Summer Off of Parkour
We see it every year. Families start making summer plans, they take their child out of parkour classes, they enjoy their vacations, and summer ends. The school year starts back up and it’s time to get back into parkour. Then BAM. They can’t keep up with others in the class, their confidence drops, they take that home and carry it with them, and now it’s a mental block coaches have to fight for the student.
The Impact Of Stopping Parkour for Summer
Here’s what we see each year:
Students who stayed over the summer leveled up. Summer is a catalyst for student growth. They’re not burnt out from school. They have energy to use and get out in parkour classes. They’re ready to be there because it’s summer.
When students return after taking the summer off, their progress towards a higher level is lost and they cannot do the things they were once able to do. This leads to frustrations, especially when they cannot execute a move they once did with ease.
They begin to compare themselves to others who are now ahead of them. Inferiority complexes that were never there before can develop. Fixing this takes time to build back up by coaches and parents. It’s highly dependent on the inner-narrative of the students mind.
Confidence and self-esteem drop. Coaches work to build their esteem back up. However, students often place their value in their negative feelings or listen to their self-defeating thoughts. Do they believe in the reality of what they are being told by their coach or the illusion created by what they feel?
They lose interest in parkour, and they drop. However, this loss of interest doesn’t stem from actual loss of interest. This comes from unmet expectations they have for themselves, self-worth comparisons against other students, regression of the progress they once had, and failure.
The most at-risk students are the ones who:
Already have self-esteem issues (any progress coaches had on their psyche is lost)
Compare themselves to others (it hits harder when they get back)
Just had a spurt of leveling up (retention is key at this point)
Are about to move into an advanced level class (progress gets lost)
Just moved to an advanced level class (they can’t keep up upon returning)
The Decision Parents Face
Here’s the part that parents have to decide on: Do I keep my child in an activity they don’t enjoy anymore, or do I keep them in an activity with the hopes they’ll enjoy it again.
This is a teachable moment for parents to make. There’s a line between quitting and perseverance. It’s up to you to determine whether you’re teaching your child a life lesson or giving up.
We see it constantly. Students say they lose interest (and sometimes they don’t even have a reason when their personal growth is insane), and parents let them. This programs and teaches your child that quitting without reason or perseverance is what to do when faced with hard times.
We are not saying people should not quit, but when a student honestly enjoyed parkour, this is the perfect time to teach perseverance, especially when they loved it, it’s an impact moment to develop their understanding of failure and overcoming challenge, and they have a supportive coach to get them there. Nothing in the world worth having comes easy.
Keep Training Over The Summer
Keep your training up, in some way, to some consistency as best you can. Classes are only 1 hour per week at the minimum. If you can’t keep supporting your small business, find a park over vacation or drop into an Open Gym (if you pause, you can use your makeup classes).
How to Balance Your Membership Over the Summer
Take Advantage of Our Awesome Makeup Policy
We have a super flexible makeup policy where if you miss a class, you can make it up in another class time aside from your regular enrollment or for an Open Gym on Thursday or Friday at 7:30 PM. Makeups do not expire until after 3 months of the original missed date, stack on top of each other, are free to reschedule, and can be scheduled ahead of time too. Stack your makeups ahead of time or plan for a week of parkour everyday.
Pause for a Shorter Amount of Time
Pausing for only a portion of the summer makes sure you or your child doesn’t get rusty. The best part? If you pause your membership for only 1 month, you keep your place in class. Then, take advantage of makeups.