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By Jimmy Burch
Star-Telegram Staff Writer

The plain, white sheet of paper hangs prominently on the wall of my daughter’s bedroom, flanked by four gold medals — two on each side — earned at USA Gymnastics competitions.
Six autographs are scribbled on that paper, two of which stand out: Carly Patterson, the 2004 Olympic gold medalist in the women’s all-around competition, and Nastia Liukin, who hopes to win the same title in 2008.

Julianne, now 15, collected those autographs years ago, long before either gymnast was known even throughout North Texas. They crossed paths during a meet at the World Olympic Gymnastics Academy in Plano, where Patterson and Liukin trained.

Even better, a couple of those medals on the wall came from that WOGA meet, allowing Julianne to grab some age-group gold at the same venue where many of the world’s elite gymnasts have competed for years.

It’s a cool memory, one of my favorites collected during seven seasons as a gymnastics parent. I wouldn’t trade any of them, and we’re still adding more in power tumbling, gymnastics’ close cousin and a sport that has proved to be a better fit, timewise, for a girl who also runs track and plays the flute in her high school marching band.

In the world of competitive gymnastics, there is no room for multi-sport athletes. That’s something you need to know up front if your daughter dreams of becoming the next Nastia or Shawn Johnson, both of whom could claim Olympic gold in multiple events in Beijing.

If you wake up next week to discover that your daughter, inspired by this year’s Olympics, suddenly wants to test-drive the world of balance beams and uneven bars, I’ve got two words of advice: Embrace it. Although the odds are stacked against seeing your child tumble across the floor in an Olympic venue, the journey down that path is a rewarding one.

Yes, it’s a path filled with clauses on waiver forms seeking a release from liability and describing potential injuries that will make you blanch. So be prepared for bumps and bruises along the way. But the upside is huge. Gymnasts tend to be achievers, on and off the tumbling mats. The self-discipline and mental focus required to succeed in the sport will serve your child well in other endeavors.

Even if your daughter’s stay in gymnastics is a short one, I’d recommend letting her plug into the Olympic dream. That’s how we got started, shortly after the U.S. women won the gold in the 1996 Games team competition.

Julianne, then 4, became smitten while watching Shannon Miller, Kerri Strug and their teammates capture gold medals — and the hearts of U.S. sports fans — in Atlanta. When an older gymnast who lived across the street invited Julianne to practice at her gym, my wife, Jana, purchased a $12 leotard from Target and drove Jules to her first workout. It was the first of hundreds to come.

For months, we wondered if Julianne would ever complete a straight-legged cartwheel. Soon thereafter, we watched her do one on a balance beam. And then a back handspring, followed by countless other skills.

There have been some hold-your-breath moments, like the day she led with her head instead of her arms on the vault. This summer, she giggled while sharing a post-workout story about her over-rotation and the subsequent face plant that her coach deemed “the greatest crash” he’d witnessed in his coaching career.

Jules’ reaction? She wished it had been captured on film, just like the clip from suburban Chicago in 2006, when the public-address announcer said: “And your new Junior Olympics national champion — Julianne Burch.”

I still get chills every time I watch or think about that moment. It came in power tumbling, a sport that produces our Olympic trampoline competitors in Beijing. But the foundation was laid during thousands of hours in gymnastics practices, which taught us many things about a sport that soon will take its traditional, post-Olympic spike in new participants.

What should parents of a beginning gymnast know that we did not back in 1996?
* Don’t be afraid to start young. Classes will focus on basic tumbling skills until kids are physically mature enough to handle more.
* You don’t need much money to start. That will come later, if your daughter advances from the once-a-week beginner’s class ($45 to $75 per month, plus an additional $20 for a beginner’s leotard) to a spot on a competitive team. At that stage, time commitments and costs increase exponentially. But as kids’ sports go, it’s a cheap date for a trial run.
* It’s not unusual for 10-year-olds to practice 20 hours a week if they are members of a team that fares well in meets sanctioned by USA Gymnastics, the organization that feeds our Olympic team.
* Time commitments vary by age and ability level, which is how children are grouped for competitions (Examples: Level 5, age 10 or Level 7, age 12). Once an athlete reaches Level 7, she gets to pick her own music for floor exercise and is deemed an optional gymnast. That’s when the push begins to reach elite status (above Level 10).
* Make sure your child masters each skill level before moving to the next. Everyone progresses at a different rate, and bad habits are hard to break and increase the potential for injuries.
* If you’re joining a team, forget convenience and focus on the bond between your daughter and her coach. If that relationship is not working, it’s worth making a longer daily drive to find a better fit.
* Do this only because your daughter loves it. The chances of earning a college scholarship or making an Olympic team are remote at best.
* All gyms aren’t equal. If you truly have an elite gymnast, a good local coach should eventually refer you to the appropriate, national-caliber training center best suited for her skills.
Above all else, enjoy the moments. They go by quickly, and you never know when your daughter will cross paths with the next Olympic champion. Or become one.

Notable competitive programs
There are myriad local gyms that offer beginner-level, noncompetitive gymnastics programs. From discussions with local coaches and personal observation, here are five gyms in Tarrant

County (listed alphabetically) capable of developing a beginner gymnast into a successful competitor in USAG events:

* Empire Gymnastics Academy, www.empiregymnasticsacademy.com
701 S. Industrial Blvd., Suite 105, Euless
817-355-0000

* Starfire Gymnastics, www.viperathletics.com
1120 Eden Road, Suite 104, Arlington
817-701-2822

* Sunbelt Gymnastics, www.sunbeltgymnastics.com
4701 Bransford Road, Colleyville
817-788-9040

* Texas Tumblers Gymnastics, www.txtumblers.com
6120 Huddleston St, Fort Worth
817-498-8700

*Top Flight Gymnastics, www.topflightweb.com
2100 Crooked Lane Blvd., Southlake
817-481-8188

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