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Mysterious Muscles
Off to the Olympics! Game Over?
10 Let’s Go Zorbing! 11 Swim Teams Are Terrific! 12 Puzzles 14 Dream Team 17 Pickleball, Anyone? 18 Speed 20 10 Crazy Food Sports 22 Trampoline Fun 24 Robots Can Play Soccer! 25 Max & Gracie 26 Riding the Boards 28 Sport Shorts 29 Kids Corner 30 Puzzle Solutions 2
Sports can be a fun activity to share with your family. Perhaps you all enjoy snow skiing together in the winter or water skiing in the summer. Many kids within a family have individual sports they enjoy. One may be on a soccer team, another on a baseball team. And yet another may prefer tennis or horseback riding. Whatever your interest, whether it is a team sport or one you do alone, strive to do your best. In the meantime, take a break from skateboarding, trampolining, biking, or whatever you are doing. Settle back and discover some new and awesome facts in the world of sports.
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Off to the Olympics!
Not only do families enjoy sports together and individually, they support each other. Parents, grandparents, friends, and family can be found at soccer games, swim meets, and other competitions. They are all cheering for their family members. The Yoder family from Indianapolis, Indiana, has two boys and one girl. One of the boys, Alec, and the girl, Ashlyn, are passionate about gymnastics. Their brother Austin prefers golf. We recently talked to them about their love of gymnastics. Alec is a member of USA Gymnastics Senior National Team and has a great shot to make the Olympic team in 2020. He is in school at Ohio State University on a full scholarship for gymnastics. Here are some of the questions we asked Alec and Ashlyn.
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When did you know you were serious about gymnastics? Alec: I started gymnastics at four years old. When I watched Paul Hamm in the 2004 Olympics as a child, I knew that is what I wanted to do. I didn’t become serious about the sport, though, until I was 13. Ashlyn: When I was six years old, watching my older brother made me want to be involved in the sport. I started when I was seven. I would have loved to have had a good chance to make the Olympic team someday like my brother hopes to, but the competition to do that is so hard. My more realistic goal is to earn a scholarship to college in gymnastics and participate on the college team.
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What have been the most difficult challenges in all of your years of gymnastics? Alec: It was recovering from injuries and missing out on special times in junior high and high school with my family and friends. Ashlyn: Sometimes when I was sore, fatigued, and frustrated, I would feel like I wanted to give up. Then I would remember how much I love the sport. How often do you spend time at the gym working on your techniques? Alec: When I was in high school, I spent 30 hours a week training at the gym. Now that I am in college, the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) only allows students to spend 20 hours a week in the gym. Ashlyn: When I was younger, I practiced twice a week. Now, in junior high, I practice six days a week. You might be wondering how Alec and Ashlyn could spend so much time at the gym and still have time for their studies. The answer is, they were homeschooled by their devoted mother. She also drove them back and forth to practices. We asked their brother Austin if he was ever interested in gymnastics. He told us he remembered going to gymnastic classes when he was very young. He said he complained and was more interested in snack time. Although gymnastics was not his interest, Austin has become a very good golfer. That goes to show that not everyone has to enjoy the same sport. But whatever it is you like doing, Alec and Ashlyn had some words of encouragement. Alec: If you want to be the best, you have to dedicate yourself to hard work. Realizing there is significant sacrifice and discipline required. For me, it has been worth it. I have made many lifetime friends and have competed all over the world. Ashlyn: Have a positive attitude and be thankful every day for having a sport that you enjoy, even when it gets hard.
Watch for Alec in next year’s Olympics and also keep an eye out for Ashlyn! If you have questions for Alec or Ashlyn about gymnastics, write to us at Fun For Kidz and watch for their answers in a future issue of your magazine.
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When you play sports, your muscles get a workout. Here’s a fun experiment that will show you what happens when the muscles that move your fingers get tired.
What You Need: • your two hands
What You Do:
1. Weave your fingers tightly together. Squeeze them HARD and count to ten. 2. Now hold both of your pointing fingers out straight, as though they were pointing at something. Keep your other fingers locked tightly together. 3. Spread your pointing fingers apart so there is a space between them. 4. Watch your pointing fingers and TRY to keep them apart.
What Will Happen
While you watch them, your two pointing fingers will move toward one another until they are touching. Even if you try to keep them apart, if you hold your pointing fingers like this for a minute or so, the fingers WILL move together. It is weird to watch and to feel!
The Science Secret
Muscles work like rubber bands. They stretch out and pull back. To move a finger back and forth, you use two muscles. When you point your finger, the muscle in the BACK of your finger pulls tight. When you curl your finger in, the muscle in FRONT pulls, and the back muscle rests.
In this experiment, you are using the muscles in the BACK of your pointing fingers to hold them out straight. Before long, these back muscles get tired and begin to lose strength. When they get tired enough, the muscles in the FRONT of your fingers take over. They have not been working, so they are strong. The front muscles will pull your fingers together until they touch. There really is nothing mysterious about this. Everybody’s muscles – all over our bodies – get tired when they are made to work hard.
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by Chris Sabatino
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