Only 17 Years Old, With a 15-Year Career Behind Her

Yesterday my daughter retired from gymnastics. After 15 years of training, competing, and dedicating herself to the sport, she is hanging up her leotard at just 17 years old. It feels surreal to even write those words. Fifteen years is almost her entire lifetime, and when you look back on what she’s lived through in that time, it’s nothing short of a career.

And that’s what I want to reflect on here. Because sport is so often reduced to medals, rankings, and selection letters. We measure a child’s “success” in sport by the podiums they’ve stood on. But the truth is, a sporting life brings with it an experience that is every bit as valuable as a career in any professional field.

Think of it this way: imagine opening a CV and seeing “15 years’ experience” in any job. Immediately, you know that person has done more than just learn a skill. They’ve turned up, day after day, through the highs and the lows. They’ve made connections. They’ve failed. They’ve bounced back. They’ve kept going when it was hard. That is what 15 years in sport gives a child.

The Lessons You Can’t Measure in Medals

My daughter’s ultimate dream was to compete at the World Championships. It was the goal that lit a fire in her belly, the reason she showed up at the gym even on the days she was exhausted or hurting. And yet, she didn’t reach that dream.

That used to be painful for her to admit. For years, she equated not achieving that goal with being a failure. But gradually, she came to understand something so much more powerful: the dream was never wasted. Aiming high gave her the drive to achieve things she never would have imagined.

It is important to set audacious goals. They push us to grow, to stretch, to discover what we’re truly capable of. Whether or not we achieve them, the journey leaves us transformed.

Her 15 years in gymnastics weren’t defined by one competition she didn’t reach. They were defined by resilience, discipline, friendships, triumphs, heartbreaks, and the quiet courage of getting back up again.

What 15 Years in Sport Really Means

When I look at what she has experienced, it’s impossible not to see the bigger picture. Sport isn’t just a set of physical skills. It’s a training ground for life. Here’s what those 15 years taught her:

• Commitment - Showing up to the gym week after week, sometimes twice a day, balancing schoolwork and training.

• Resilience - Learning to deal with injuries, setbacks, and disappointments without giving up.

• Connection - Building friendships that will last a lifetime and experiencing the unique bond between athlete, coach, and teammates.

• Adaptability - Adjusting to growth, changes in routines, and the ever-present ups and downs of performance.

• Emotional depth - Feeling the heartbreak of loss and the elation of success, sometimes on the same day.

• Self-knowledge - Discovering who she is, what she values, and what she wants from life beyond the gym.

  
  

These are not small lessons. These are the foundations of adulthood.

Sport as More Than a Podium

As a psychologist, I spend a lot of time thinking about how we view youth sport. Too often, it’s framed as a pipeline: start young, train hard, and (if you’re good enough) win medals.

Parents, coaches, and even children can become consumed by the dream of success.

But we have to broaden our lens. Sport is not just about who makes the national team or who brings home the hardware. It’s about how it shapes the person who walks away at 17, 21, or 30, with a “career” of experiences behind them.

My daughter didn’t fail by not reaching the World Championships. She succeeded in ways that no medal could ever fully capture. She became someone who knows how to persevere, who knows how to connect, who knows how to chase a dream and then gracefully step into a new one. That is the gift of sport.

A Personal Reflection

I think about this often in the context of my own life. I never imagined I would earn a PhD in sport psychology. That was never part of my “ultimate dream.” Yet, here I am, because I allowed myself to aim high and follow a path that unfolded in unexpected ways.

Now my mission is to transform the experience of youth sport by providing education to sport parents. And to be honest, this is a huge dream. I’ve never built a business before, I have very few connections in the sporting world, and “sport parent education” isn’t something people are queuing up to ask for. But I’m taking a leaf out of Lily’s book - I’m aiming for the Worlds.

I believe with all my heart that sport parents are the key to shaping their child’s experience. They hold the power to make their child’s 15-year career in sport as supported and positive as it can be. Parents can’t take away the highs and lows - I could never stop Lily’s tears of disappointment - but I was always there to wipe them away as well as cheering from the stands when things did go her way. And that, I think, is where our role as parents truly matters.

Wishing Her Well

As my daughter steps into this next chapter of her life, I feel both pride and gratitude. Pride in the young woman she has become, and gratitude for all that gymnastics gave her.

She may be only 17, but she has 15 years of lived experience that will carry her into her future - whether that’s in academics, career, relationships, or perhaps even another sport.

So, join me in wishing her well as she begins her next “15 years.” The journey will be different, but the lessons of sport will always be with her.

A Call to Parents

To the parents reading this, I want to leave you with this thought: the real measure of sport is not medals on a shelf. It’s the character, resilience, and life skills your child builds along the way.

If your child dreams of standing on a podium, encourage them. Support them. Let them chase that goal. But also, remind them - and yourself - that whether they get there or not, sport is giving them something invaluable.

Because one day, at 17, 21, or 30, they will walk away from their sport. And when they do, they will carry with them a career of experience that will enrich every aspect of their lives.

And that, in the end, is worth more than any medal.

A Call to Coaches

And to coaches reading this: help me support your parents. Parents hold the key to shaping their child’s experience in sport, and your guidance can make a huge difference. This might mean helping to change outward behaviours, or simply making sure parents know the right things to say and the best ways to behave.

Believe me, even if they aren’t saying anything, many parents are feeling unsure. In fact, 75% of the sport parents who participated in my research said they didn’t think they needed education - but 95% loved it once they had it.

Help me achieve my goal of transforming the experience of youth sport by giving education to those whose influence matters the most and who are often most in need of support. Together, we can make a child’s sporting journey not just about medals, but about feeling supported, confident, and empowered every step of the way.