First Competition . . . Fall Festival

Little Z had been practicing very hard--a minimum of 11.5 hours per week, plus typically another two during open gym on weekends.  While she had learned the Level 3 routines at her old gym, she discovered that there were a lot of fine points that she did not know.  Little things, but little things that could add up to big points or big deductions.

During the Spring season, we had gone to watch her old teammates compete at two meets.  She had a chance to see what they were like and as such, she "kinda" knew what to expect.  Having been a competitive gymnast as a kid, I "kinda" knew what to expect.  But to be quite honest, being a gymnastics mom at a meet is MUCH different than being a competitor.

Our first competition was in September.  It was at a fairly small gym about three hours away.  It was also less than an hour away from my parents house, so they decided to make the trip to come watch.  Luckily, little Z's competition time was in the afternoon, so we were able to drive down the morning of the meet, instead of spending the night somewhere first.  Unfortunately, due to her big sister being a cheerleader and meets being on weekends, I was the only one able to go to the meet.  For that reason, I was glad my parents would be there.

The morning of the meet, we got up, showered and got her hair partially prepped.  The whole team wears their hair the same, so I was able to get the front part done, but another mom was going to help with the rest when we got to the gym.  After driving, and little Z taking a short nap, we arrived.  We went in to change into her leo and warm-ups, and then found the mom to help with hair.  Luckily, she taught me tricks and I was able to do her hair alone for the rest of the season.  :)  Grandma and grandpa showed up, we visited a bit and then it was time to go in for warm-ups.

Gymnastics competitions are very interesting.  There is first a general warm-up on the floor for about 20 minutes.  Then the girls "march" in as a team, and then go off to their first event.  At each event they are then given some additional warm-up time for that specific event.  At this meet, there were five groups, which means there was a "bye" at one point where the girls did not have to compete and could relax.  The parents, on the other hand, never relax--or at least I don't.

Little Z's first event was bars.  This is an event that I've seen her do well on in practice.  I've never seen her fall, but occasionally she will over-spin her stride circle.  Her warm-up looked good and she seemed very relaxed.  She was one of the last girls on her team to perform.  When her score was posted, it was an 8.900.  This was the highest of all the girls on her team (11).  But not all of the girls were competing against her.  They break the girls up based on age.  Her team has a pretty wide age range, from 8 to 11.  I was very excited for her.

I texted her dad, and posted on Facebook throughout the meet so that he would know what was happening.

After their bye, the team moved to beam.  This is an event where little Z struggles.  She is always nervous about falling on her half-turn at the end of the beam.  I hoped that she was able to keep this out of her mind, but I was on pins and needles.  Unfortunately, she did fall, but not on the turn.  She fell after her handstand, but got back up and went at it.  Her score was an 8.150, which considering the fall is almost a 1.000 deduction was good.  Later we were told that she was also given a deduction for another element, and could have had a score as high as 9.600 if she hadn't had the fall and other deduction.

Floor was next, which has always been one of Z's strongest events in practice.  She looked beautiful in my opinion and scored a 9.075.  Her highest score yet.  Finally, we ended with vault and she scored a 9.150.  Her all-around score was a 35.275.  I was beyond excited!  At Level 3, the girls have to score a 34.500 for all-around in at least one meet to qualify for the State Championships.  My girl qualified at her first competition!!!

Then came time for the awards.  I knew she had done well, and was expecting that she would place in at least a couple of events.  Z wound up with 2nd on vault, 1st on bars, 3rd on beam, 1st on floor and 1st all-around.  I think the best thing for me was being able to see her face.  While I knew she did well because I had been watching her scores, she had no idea.  Each time they called her name, her smile got bigger and bigger.  I don't think she ever thought that she was that good.  I had a feeling that she was, but this confirmed it for me.

Checking into the hotel late that night with her medals clanking around her neck and her face beaming was the greatest feeling in the world.  She even wore her medals to breakfast and on the way home.  I loved being able to see her experience this for the first time.

And, her season was only beginning. . .

Changing Gyms, part 2

Our little gymnast had only known one gym,  one coach and had made lots of friends.  She had gone to watch her friends compete and was going to compete with them.  But now her coach was gone,  some of the girls had left and we weren't sure she should stay.

She is very determined and sees herself becoming a great gymnast.  To us,  that means we need to put her where she will grow the most and it didn't seem like her current gym was still that place.

We had heard the coach at the new gym was tough,  but I think that is what she needs.  She needs someone who is going to push her and not make it easy.  In our mind,  we needed to move.  I felt thankful that we even had the option since we are in a fairly small town.

I know she was nervous,  but on her first try out,  a couple of girls made her feel welcome.  The coach had a serious talk with her and so did we.   She seemed ready to move,  but still didn't want to leave her friends.

Then there was a meeting at her old gym,  and we just didn't see that the gym still had a vision for the older girls.  They were dedicated to Level 2s, despite never having a Level 2 team in the past.  And the coach really had no clue as to our daughter's abilities.  She wanted her to compete down a level from where she had been training.  Right there,  we made the decision.  It was time to move.

Changing Gyms

My Z loved her coach and the feeling was mutual.  He was always on her side,  gave lots of praise and encouragement.  He told us that she has a lot of potential and seemed almost devastated when we told him that she was going to cut back to continue playing soccer and running cross country.  But he was there for her and thrilled when she came back to gymnastics full time.

And then he wasn't.

One day,  he was just gone.

No notice and no goodbyes.

Z was more than a bit upset.

So now the question became,  did we stay at the gym,  accept the new coaching staff,  or move across town to the other gym?

The other gym is where my older daughter briefly took lessons.  Other girls had come to our gym from there and said the coach was "mean." But we called and were told that Z would need to try out.  So we scheduled a try out.  And although she was nervous and didn't know anyone,  she did well.  Unfortunately,  the head coach and owner couldn't be there and asked us to meet with her a few days later,

We went to the gym and meet with the coach.  She explained her coaching philosophy and that she expects the girls to be there and work,  not goof off.  Then she asked Z to do another practice session so that she could watch.   After it was over,  we were told that they would accept her to the team.  

Now we had a decision to make.

How it all started . . .

You've heard of the soccer mom, the dance mom and the pageant mom.  I'm the gymnastics mom.  And to be honest, I've been the soccer mom and a cheer mom.  But at this point, it seems like gymnastics mom is my biggest job yet--and really, it's my gymnast that does the hard work.

Looking back, I never really thought that I'd become a gymnastics mom.  I was a competitive gymnast when I was younger.  I was never great, but I did compete for several years and was also on my high school gymnastics team.  Yes, I'm old enough that we still had gymnastics in high school.  Looking back to when I was on a competitive team, I remember practicing two hours a night, five nights a week.  I don't remember traveling too much for competition, but I guess I'd have to ask my parents for sure.

Once I had girls, I never really expected them to be in gymnastics.  I told myself I would never push my girls into the sport, nor would I push them if they decided to start.  My oldest daughter took a few lessons, but never really pursued it.  She just didn't seem like she was that into it.  Now, she is really into cheer leading and wishes that she had kept with the gymnastics if for no other reason than the tumbling.  She has also done soccer, softball and cross country.  But in the long run, her true love, and the only thing she has really stuck with, is cheer.

My youngest, who is now eight, started taking gymnastics lessons about twenty months ago.  She quickly excelled and was placed into the "pre-team" classes.  Before we knew it, her coach was talking about being put on the team and competing.  The problem?  She was also playing soccer and running cross country at school.  While we understood that the coach said she had potential, she wasn't ready to give up the other sports.  So, instead, we took a "break" from gymnastics.  She would work out with the pre-team class one day a week and take a 1/2 hour private lesson on another day.  Then, on November 4, 2013, she started working out with the team.  That meant three hours a day, three days a week of practice.

The rest of the team had already learned the competitive routines and were working on refining them.  So my kiddo was behind.  The competition season was supposed to start in January and we were not sure if she would be ready.  We took a couple of private lessons to try to learn the routines and she finally did.  Unfortunately, the team had already registered for meets and we weren't even registered with USAG, so competition was not going to happen for her.  We did attend two meets to watch.  This was a big deal.  She was able to watch her team mates and see what a competition was really like.  The main season starts in August, so we knew we would be ready by then.