Gym Anxiety
Submitted by Boys and Schools Blog
I can’t say that it was particularly surprising to discover that some boys are afraid of gym class. I was afraid of gym class myself on occasion, namely when we did square dancing (not very coordinated), gymnastics (again with the non-coordination), rope climbing (no coordination and scrawny arms), and dodgeball (my middle school class had a boy that later went on to be a pitcher on a Division One baseball team). So I definitely understand the concept of gym anxiety. I was a little bemused to learn that someone commissioned a study on why some boys experience gym anxiety–I’m not sure whether the grantors were all spectacular athletes in their youth who fit in well at school and have never seen a single movie or television show set in high school–but sure enough, the main sources of the anxiety were concerns about being teased about their physical appearance or athletic prowess.
