This was Z's last official meet of the season--before moving on to States. It was complicated a bit by the fact that I was going to be out of town visiting her older brother down at college and would be rushing to meet her at the meet itself. The nice thing was that her dad and sister were going to be there to watch as well. For me the morning started badly since I apparently mis-set my alarm and did not wake up until the time I was supposed to be leaving (I had a four hour drive ahead of me). I got ready and in the car in 18 minutes and was only four minutes late to the meet location. Once there, I met up with Z, got her changed and then worked on her hair. Finished her hair just as she was supposed to be checking in with her coach. Yay, success!
This was our first time at Halloween Jamboree. It is a very fun meet where the judges dress in costume and the teams dress up for their march in and there is a costume contest. While our team had come up with costumes well in advance, the older girls in our level decided that the cupcake costumes were too juvenile--Z is the youngest in her level by anywhere from seven months to almost four years. So, while the parents were all trying to decide to do for our girls, the coach made his own decision to make the costumes himself. It was so cute--he was a police officer and they were his prisoners--complete with striped pjs. It was great because they did win the costume contest. :)
I was very happy because our team was starting on vault--that meant we were again doing the traditional rotation and would end up on floor last. Z's first practice vault was bad--I mean hands slipping on the vault table, and landing on her stomach on the vault table, bad. Luckily, she said it was a result of her being on the wrong foot. The next two practice vaults were much better. She was the second on her team to go and scored a 9.225! This was her personal best and she was rewarded with first place. All of our girls did well on vault, taking first place in all four age groups.
Bars was next. Definitely her nemesis. Her warm ups looked really good. Then watching two other girls slip on the squat on made me nervous. Unfortunately, Z's foot slipped on the squat on, but unlike other times when she has fallen, she was able to recover and still do her kip to the high bar. Her score was an 8.425, but much better than the other two times when she fell.
On beam, she didn't fall--but did have some really big wobbles. She scored an 8.875, which was her personal best, but not enough for a medal.
Floor was last--her best event by far. And, as she has always wanted, her coach let her go last. Since we were the last team to compete on floor this meant she was the last person the judges saw. I could tell after her first tumbling pass and the huge smile she flashed that she felt good. Obviously the judges agreed because they gave her a 9.450--again a personal best and first place!!!
All season Z has wanted a 36.000 for all around. She just missed this week and got a 35.975. She was so close, and ended up in third place. Overall, she was happy with her scores and placing--although she knew that if she hadn't slipped on the bars she would have done even better.
Now it is time to start practicing for States. We have three weeks of practice and we are going to try to get in a private lesson or two before then. She needs to work on her bars and becoming more steady on the beam. Little things, but things she can definitely tweak and work on.
Wednesday, October 28, 2015
Monday, October 19, 2015
Disco-Tech Invitational
Wow, this was our fourth meet of the season. Only one left until States. I know little Z is getting bummed there aren't more competitions--she lives to compete. And with meets like Disco-Tech, she wants to compete even more.
We competed at Disco-Tech last year and it is a fun meet. The introductory march in is done in the dark with a disco ball, glow necklaces and disco music. The girls love it. Last year was not Z's best meet at Disco-Tech. But she wasn't going to let that bother her. She said it didn't matter what happened last year, instead it matters what happens now. She had a great attitude going into the meet and it paid off.
Once again we were in the first session, which means being at the gym at 7:30am. Luckily, my sister lives 20 minutes away, so we spent the night there. After the 3 hour drive to her house, I put Z in the shower and did the front part of her hair so that we didn't have to get up quite so early. We made it in plenty of time and beat the coach (so, yes, I could have stopped for coffee after all).
We were in the traditional rotation, starting on vault. I love being in this rotation as it means we are on floor last, which is typically the best event for all of our girls. Z warmed up on vault and looked pretty good. She ended up with an 8.900, not her best, but definitely not bad and it earned her a second place medal.
Bars was next. Bars has been her nemesis all season. The first two meets she fell--hard. It wasn't until the last meet that she completed her routine. Then we saw who one of the judges was--a judge who is typically very tough. Z's coach was nervous, but Z only remembered that he had given her a 9.150 on vault at her first meet this season. Her attitude before she was up? I'm on his 9.100 team, I'm getting a 9.100. Her warm-up looked rocky and I was nervous. But I think I'm always nervous because of the falls that she has had. No fall this time--nope! In fact, her routine was good and she did, in fact, make the 9.100 club, getting a 9.125, and another second place medal.
Next is beam. Beam has never been her strong event, but she has been getting better. The beam was pretty far from where we were sitting and I was trying to record it. The first half of the routine looked really strong. She made her cartwheel and all her dance skills looked good. Then she had to do her handstand. It looked really good when she was up, but when she came down, she fell and fell hard. One of those falls that makes you shake because you are sure there was a serious injury. From my vantage point it looked like she landed on her neck. But she shook it off and got back up. She did go over time, but the rest of the routine looked as strong as the beginning. She managed an 8.525--would have been at least a 9.125 without the fall and going overtime. It gave her seventh place, but the judges complimented her fall. They wanted to know if her coach teaches his girls how to fall because she did the right thing--didn't put her hands out and rolled her back. She said it didn't even hurt!
Finally floor. Again one of her strongest events. She looks so pretty on the floor and made a point of starting in the corner that would allow her ending pose to have her looking right at the judges and she flashed them a huge smile! She wound up with a 9.275 and first place. Her all around score was 35.825--not the 36.000 that she had hoped for, but pretty darn good and she was in first place all around!
As a team, her team placed first. This is a big deal because we only had six girls competing where some of the other teams have fifteen. We took first place all-around in all three age groups. Z scored the highest out of her team on bars and floor and only missed the highest all around by 0.250. If she had not fallen on her beam routine, she would have gotten her 36.000, and had the highest all around score of the entire session regardless of age.
After our session, we stayed to watch our Level 3 team. They also did well, placing first as a team again. I was able to also watch a friend's daughter do her best floor routine and finally qualify for States.
After taking a much needed Spagetti Factory trip, we went back to watch two other friends compete. One was on our team last year, but switched gyms. The other is the daughter of a friend from high school. Again, I was very glad that my sister lives 20 minutes away so that we could go crash before driving home on Sunday.
One more meet and then States!!!
We competed at Disco-Tech last year and it is a fun meet. The introductory march in is done in the dark with a disco ball, glow necklaces and disco music. The girls love it. Last year was not Z's best meet at Disco-Tech. But she wasn't going to let that bother her. She said it didn't matter what happened last year, instead it matters what happens now. She had a great attitude going into the meet and it paid off.
Once again we were in the first session, which means being at the gym at 7:30am. Luckily, my sister lives 20 minutes away, so we spent the night there. After the 3 hour drive to her house, I put Z in the shower and did the front part of her hair so that we didn't have to get up quite so early. We made it in plenty of time and beat the coach (so, yes, I could have stopped for coffee after all).
We were in the traditional rotation, starting on vault. I love being in this rotation as it means we are on floor last, which is typically the best event for all of our girls. Z warmed up on vault and looked pretty good. She ended up with an 8.900, not her best, but definitely not bad and it earned her a second place medal.
Bars was next. Bars has been her nemesis all season. The first two meets she fell--hard. It wasn't until the last meet that she completed her routine. Then we saw who one of the judges was--a judge who is typically very tough. Z's coach was nervous, but Z only remembered that he had given her a 9.150 on vault at her first meet this season. Her attitude before she was up? I'm on his 9.100 team, I'm getting a 9.100. Her warm-up looked rocky and I was nervous. But I think I'm always nervous because of the falls that she has had. No fall this time--nope! In fact, her routine was good and she did, in fact, make the 9.100 club, getting a 9.125, and another second place medal.
Next is beam. Beam has never been her strong event, but she has been getting better. The beam was pretty far from where we were sitting and I was trying to record it. The first half of the routine looked really strong. She made her cartwheel and all her dance skills looked good. Then she had to do her handstand. It looked really good when she was up, but when she came down, she fell and fell hard. One of those falls that makes you shake because you are sure there was a serious injury. From my vantage point it looked like she landed on her neck. But she shook it off and got back up. She did go over time, but the rest of the routine looked as strong as the beginning. She managed an 8.525--would have been at least a 9.125 without the fall and going overtime. It gave her seventh place, but the judges complimented her fall. They wanted to know if her coach teaches his girls how to fall because she did the right thing--didn't put her hands out and rolled her back. She said it didn't even hurt!
Finally floor. Again one of her strongest events. She looks so pretty on the floor and made a point of starting in the corner that would allow her ending pose to have her looking right at the judges and she flashed them a huge smile! She wound up with a 9.275 and first place. Her all around score was 35.825--not the 36.000 that she had hoped for, but pretty darn good and she was in first place all around!
As a team, her team placed first. This is a big deal because we only had six girls competing where some of the other teams have fifteen. We took first place all-around in all three age groups. Z scored the highest out of her team on bars and floor and only missed the highest all around by 0.250. If she had not fallen on her beam routine, she would have gotten her 36.000, and had the highest all around score of the entire session regardless of age.
After our session, we stayed to watch our Level 3 team. They also did well, placing first as a team again. I was able to also watch a friend's daughter do her best floor routine and finally qualify for States.
After taking a much needed Spagetti Factory trip, we went back to watch two other friends compete. One was on our team last year, but switched gyms. The other is the daughter of a friend from high school. Again, I was very glad that my sister lives 20 minutes away so that we could go crash before driving home on Sunday.
One more meet and then States!!!
Monday, October 5, 2015
Gold Country Classic
Before this week's meet, we had a private lesson with Z's coach to focus primarily on bars--specifically, her squat on sequence. This is where she has had issues since the beginning of the season. I actually had the time to go watch her private session and was really impressed with the change in her confidence and ability. Unfortunately, she got a rather large blood blister and that created some problems. The private lesson was Wednesday, and competition was on Saturday. Luckily, with the help of her coach, we got the blister issue resolved and she was able to practice on Thursday and Friday. By Saturday morning, her hand was looking pretty good.
Since this meet was about twenty minutes from my parent's house, we decided to stay there the night before. The other girls all opted to drive down the morning of the meet, but I'm really glad we made the decision to stay the night instead of driving almost three hours the morning of the meet--especially since it takes a good 40-45 minutes to do her hair. The other benefit to staying at my parent's house is that we were able to Skype with Z's big brother while I was doing her hair. He had been gone for two full weeks and this gave her a chance to say hi and for me to catch up a bit as well (it is difficult having him off at college).
After practice on Friday, Z kept telling me that she "had her squat on." She was so excited that it seemed to be working. And I was so happy that she seemed to be more confident.
Once we got to the gym and the coach checked in, we found out that we would be starting the competition on bars. This was definitely going to test her practice, drive and the results of the extra practice. Not only were we starting on bars, but Z was going first. I was very nervous, but during her warm up, she seemed strong and ready to go. Luckily, her routine proved that the practice was worth it. She made the squat on, didn't fall and completed her routine, scoring an 8.850. This was two full points over her score from last week and almost a full point over the first week. She got a big hi-five from her coach, that I was lucky enough to catch on camera.
Next was beam. She looked really strong during warm up, and was slated to go third from her team. The first two girls both fell on their cartwheel and I was nervous. Z tends to watch the other girls and sometimes it gets to her. This was one of those times. She also fell on her cartwheel, and had a couple of other big bobbles. Her final score was an 8.450.
Floor was next. One of her teammates, who always does well, scored high. Z was next and also did really well, scoring a 9.350. The other girls, however, all scored below a 9.00, which is not really normal for our team. I'm not sure what was up, but I could see that they were not completely into their routines.
Vault was next. During warm-ups, Z was having definite problems. Her first attempt during warm up was not very good, barely making it over the vault table. The second warm up attempt was a balk--which is not like her. When she got ready to go, I could see that she was starting back farther than she had during the second warm up. I'm not sure if that made the difference, but she did well, scoring an 8.800, which was the highest on her team. Her overall all around score was a 35.450, which was a personal best for Level 4.
When it came time for awards, I was again pleasantly surprised. She wound up first on vault, fifth on bars, tied for second on floor and came in second all around! This was a HUGE improvement over last week. Our team came in third overall.
I think her confidence was really boosted by her extra practice and the fact that they had the Level 5 girls competing with them. Normally the two girls that are Level 5 compete in their own session, but this time, they got to compete with our girls. It was a lot of fun to watch the older girls, plus I think they got an energy boost from having the extra cheering. They both did their personal bests and qualified for state competition.
The next competition is Disco-Tech. We have two weeks between meets this time, so I'm hoping that the extra little bit of rest helps her out. She does have to be at that competition very early in the morning, so we will be staying at my sister's house. Last year Disco-Tech was not one of our best meets, but I'm hoping that she will do well on the heels of this meet.
Since this meet was about twenty minutes from my parent's house, we decided to stay there the night before. The other girls all opted to drive down the morning of the meet, but I'm really glad we made the decision to stay the night instead of driving almost three hours the morning of the meet--especially since it takes a good 40-45 minutes to do her hair. The other benefit to staying at my parent's house is that we were able to Skype with Z's big brother while I was doing her hair. He had been gone for two full weeks and this gave her a chance to say hi and for me to catch up a bit as well (it is difficult having him off at college).
After practice on Friday, Z kept telling me that she "had her squat on." She was so excited that it seemed to be working. And I was so happy that she seemed to be more confident.
Once we got to the gym and the coach checked in, we found out that we would be starting the competition on bars. This was definitely going to test her practice, drive and the results of the extra practice. Not only were we starting on bars, but Z was going first. I was very nervous, but during her warm up, she seemed strong and ready to go. Luckily, her routine proved that the practice was worth it. She made the squat on, didn't fall and completed her routine, scoring an 8.850. This was two full points over her score from last week and almost a full point over the first week. She got a big hi-five from her coach, that I was lucky enough to catch on camera.
Next was beam. She looked really strong during warm up, and was slated to go third from her team. The first two girls both fell on their cartwheel and I was nervous. Z tends to watch the other girls and sometimes it gets to her. This was one of those times. She also fell on her cartwheel, and had a couple of other big bobbles. Her final score was an 8.450.
Floor was next. One of her teammates, who always does well, scored high. Z was next and also did really well, scoring a 9.350. The other girls, however, all scored below a 9.00, which is not really normal for our team. I'm not sure what was up, but I could see that they were not completely into their routines.
Vault was next. During warm-ups, Z was having definite problems. Her first attempt during warm up was not very good, barely making it over the vault table. The second warm up attempt was a balk--which is not like her. When she got ready to go, I could see that she was starting back farther than she had during the second warm up. I'm not sure if that made the difference, but she did well, scoring an 8.800, which was the highest on her team. Her overall all around score was a 35.450, which was a personal best for Level 4.
When it came time for awards, I was again pleasantly surprised. She wound up first on vault, fifth on bars, tied for second on floor and came in second all around! This was a HUGE improvement over last week. Our team came in third overall.
I think her confidence was really boosted by her extra practice and the fact that they had the Level 5 girls competing with them. Normally the two girls that are Level 5 compete in their own session, but this time, they got to compete with our girls. It was a lot of fun to watch the older girls, plus I think they got an energy boost from having the extra cheering. They both did their personal bests and qualified for state competition.
The next competition is Disco-Tech. We have two weeks between meets this time, so I'm hoping that the extra little bit of rest helps her out. She does have to be at that competition very early in the morning, so we will be staying at my sister's house. Last year Disco-Tech was not one of our best meets, but I'm hoping that she will do well on the heels of this meet.
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