~*~ Stick It! A thread for Gymnastics Parents ~*~

[dis4me]

Ha-ha-ha funny, small world huh! Having said what you said, I have an idea where your dd might be from too.

Funny how the USAG girls think of JOGA as the plague! It really isn't, but they just don't see it as an option for themselves. I glad that there is something out there for everyone though.

I figured you would know when I said that. I don't like to post the name for fear of some else finding too much info on my dd. I know I am a little crazed on that but Oh well.
We do love our gym DOn't get me wrong.. Last year my dd was the level 6 beam champ and placed second on floor and AA so she was one of the Tops Dogs. This year though she has slipped into the "other group" LOL and I am not sure how much longer she will last. Just keeping my options open. I know your gym is a hike from us and there are several in between.

 

[carone0318]

I have a child who is a high school junior so I spend some time on a "planning for college" message board. The folks there always say you should only put on college applications things you did in high school-not before. However, even if these girls quit gymnastics in middle school, I still think it says a lot about them that they spent 8 years doing 15-30 hours in the gym instead of watching Full House reruns every day after school!

Heck yeah! It is the equivalent to having a part-time job and furthermore if they were in the gym for 30hrs a week - they could qualify for benefits !

I would definitely put it on - the only thing that I would also consider when you do put it on is you could possilby be asked why you stopped and you should have a well thought out answer instead of ummm, I wanted to get to Friday night football games at the school. I think if it is injury related or such, you have every right to have it on there.

 

[joyjoy]

Wow, I wish y'all had been around a few years ago!

My daughter competed through Level 8 and retired at 16 due to numerous injuries. She started gymnastics when she was 5 and was competing Level 4 when she was 7. Back in those days, there was no competive level under 4 and lots of gyms didn't start sending them to meets before Level 5. We have lifelong "gym friends" and it was a good experience (other than the injuries) for her. Compulsory is all right, but the real fun starts with optionals. Good luck to you all!

Oh, I just remembered something. When she was 10 years old, her dr. told her she had 40 year old feet. They're fine now. Her back is another story....

 

[carone0318]

Wow, I wish y'all had been around a few years ago!

My daughter competed through Level 8 and retired at 16 due to numerous injuries. She started gymnastics when she was 5 and was competing Level 4 when she was 7. Back in those days, there was no competive level under 4 and lots of gyms didn't start sending them to meets before Level 5. We have lifelong "gym friends" and it was a good experience (other than the injuries) for her. Compulsory is all right, but the real fun starts with optionals. Good luck to you all!

Oh, I just remembered something. When she was 10 years old, her dr. told her she had 40 year old feet. They're fine now. Her back is another story....

Welcome Melanie! Sorry we weren't here a few yrs ago, but we're here now and you can still share your expertese (sp?) with everyone. There is always something new to learn. Haveing lived through it yourself, I know you can probably relate....

Sorry to hear about your dd's injuries, glad to hear that she is doing better now though....

 

[sharlon]

Okay, back from our meet. DD's first meet since her abdominal surgery exactly 3 months ago today. She was the only level 4 at the meet as our compulsory season is in the fall, so she got first in everything. Her all around score was within .1 of what it was before her surgery. Absolutely a miracle! She also had her best bars and beam scores ever. She deserved the trophy for all around more for the hard work she has done the last 3 months more than anything. I'm sooooo proud of her!

 

[dis4me]

Okay, back from our meet. DD's first meet since her abdominal surgery exactly 3 months ago today. She was the only level 4 at the meet as our compulsory season is in the fall, so she got first in everything. Her all around score was within .1 of what it was before her surgery. Absolutely a miracle! She also had her best bars and beam scores ever. She deserved the trophy for all around more for the hard work she has done the last 3 months more than anything. I'm sooooo proud of her!

That's wonderful! Congratulations on overcoming all of her obstacles and winning first. Will she have to wait until the fall to compete again?

 

[carone0318]

Okay, back from our meet. DD's first meet since her abdominal surgery exactly 3 months ago today. She was the only level 4 at the meet as our compulsory season is in the fall, so she got first in everything. Her all around score was within .1 of what it was before her surgery. Absolutely a miracle! She also had her best bars and beam scores ever. She deserved the trophy for all around more for the hard work she has done the last 3 months more than anything. I'm sooooo proud of her!

Great job for your dd - you must be so proud of her, she did fantastic! Here's hoping that the rest of the season is just as good, if not better.

 

[Terry36]

DD placed 4th overall in her group; there were 20 others...For her 1st meet I think this is good! I was very proud of her; she did not seem nervous either. Boy is it hard to sit and watch your child and not be able to tell them anything! The only thing she did not score a 9.0 or higher on is the floor routine so she really has to work on this one.

Thank you all for your advice! It is hard being a newbie and not knowing what to expect.

Carone, she loved the hairstill also!

 

[dis4me]

DD placed 4th overall in her group; there were 20 others...For her 1st meet I think this is good! I was very proud of her; she did not seem nervous either. Boy is it hard to sit and watch your child and not be able to tell them anything! The only thing she did not score a 9.0 or higher on is the floor routine so she really has to work on this one.

Thank you all for your advice! It is hard being a newbie and not knowing what to expect.

Carone, she loved the hairstill also!

Terry that is great for her first meet. Congratulations! HOw did she like all the excitement? Did she medal in everything? The floor routien takes time to become fluid. She will get a 9 next time after more practice.
What did you think of the meet? Was it what you expected?

 

[Terry36]

Terry that is great for her first meet. Congratulations! HOw did she like all the excitement? Did she medal in everything? The floor routien takes time to become fluid. She will get a 9 next time after more practice.
What did you think of the meet? Was it what you expected?

She medaled on the Bars and on Vault..Not the floor or the balance beam. She loved the excitement; it was not a very big place; it was about he size of our gym. I did not know what to expect so I was in awe of everything. It is so hard to pay attention because there are several things going on at the same time. THe next 2 meets are @ Tulane and LSU so I imagine these will be bigger and more stiff competition.

 

[dis4me]

She medaled on the Bars and on Vault..Not the floor or the balance beam. She loved the excitement; it was not a very big place; it was about he size of our gym. I did not know what to expect so I was in awe of everything. It is so hard to pay attention because there are several things going on at the same time. THe next 2 meets are @ Tulane and LSU so I imagine these will be bigger and more stiff competition.

I think the smaller meets are so much better for 1st meets. My dd's first meet was at Hill's gymnastics in a huge stadium. There was so much going on I just sat there amazed. Her second meet was Parkettes which was much smaller but still grand scale. Her 3rd meet was at a normal gym and was so much more fun and personal for the girls.Of course the 3rd was also the 1st one she medaled at so maybe that is why I liked it.
One thing our coach told us at level 4 was not to focus on the numbers but to make a personal goal like staying on the beam, sticking the back handspring,etc so that you always had some type of improvement. One meet my daughter got a 9.2 on floor and didn't even place, the next she had a 8.95 but came in first and beat all her teammates who had previously placed. It just is so subjective and different judges take off for different degree of things.
Now that the 1st one is over you can take more in at hte next one. The fun begins.
Good luck at the next meets.

 

[mom2cinderella]

Her all around score was within .1 of what it was before her surgery. Absolutely a miracle! She also had her best bars and beam scores ever. She deserved the trophy for all around more for the hard work she has done the last 3 months more than anything. I'm sooooo proud of her!

Oh yay, how awesome!

The only thing she did not score a 9.0 or higher on is the floor routine so she really has to work on this one.

Whoa - she got three blue ribbons at her first meet? AMAZING!!

I think the smaller meets are so much better for 1st meets.

I agree. Our compulsory girls' first meet every fall is a meet we host. It used to be just our gym but now we invite three other gyms. Even so, dd was a nervous wreck and I think her AA score was a 28.45?

I really think our gym needs to hold mock meets when the girls are level three. The girls had no idea what to expect that first time, and the parents are the ones who have been trying to teach them meet etiquette and being respectful to the host gym.

Michele

 

[Terry36]

I really think our gym needs to hold mock meets when the girls are level three. The girls had no idea what to expect that first time, and the parents are the ones who have been trying to teach them meet etiquette and being respectful to the host gym.

I totally agree; I do not feel my daughter was prepared for level 2 either, but she still did well.

 

[sharlon]

Great job for your dd - you must be so proud of her, she did fantastic! Here's hoping that the rest of the season is just as good, if not better.

Thanks! She is actually out of her season, so will only do one or two more meets this winter. Then her season, compulsory in NC, starts in September with states in December.

DD placed 4th overall in her group; there were 20 others...For her 1st meet I think this is good! I was very proud of her; she did not seem nervous either. Boy is it hard to sit and watch your child and not be able to tell them anything! The only thing she did not score a 9.0 or higher on is the floor routine so she really has to work on this one.

Terry awesome job to your DD!

 

[carone0318]

DD placed 4th overall in her group; there were 20 others...For her 1st meet I think this is good! I was very proud of her; she did not seem nervous either. Boy is it hard to sit and watch your child and not be able to tell them anything! The only thing she did not score a 9.0 or higher on is the floor routine so she really has to work on this one.

Thank you all for your advice! It is hard being a newbie and not knowing what to expect.

Carone, she loved the hairstill also!

Yeah Terry - your dd did great! I would think that 4th place AA is awesome for her first meet, especially out of 20 girls. I think she is going to have a great season! With compulsory, especially on floor and beam, there are so many little things that they can take off for. Even if she looks like she nailed the routine, if her hand is out of place or her head or anything it is called a text error and they take off for it. Granted there is a max that they will take off, but as a parent you will sit there and wonder what is going on because the routine looked gorgeous to you. Leaps are another killer. Even though she is doing the leap, if she doesn't reach a certain degree in leg seperation, it's a deduction.

I have to say though that she still did fantastic!

Oh, and I would love to see how her hair turned out! Hope you are taking pictures....

 

[castleview]

. FLoor is usually her best event and normally scores anywnere from 9.5 - 9.7. Well we had someone come in and "fix" our routines to the tune of $50 right before states. She did her routine.. no major mistakes .. She got a 8.95. She was devastated. The judege told her that her floor routine lacked dynamics. Any idea what that means? 2:

Level 10 judge here. Dynamics is pretty self explanatory. Basically, the judge did not think your DD performed the routine with as much enthusiasm as she could have. The jumps/leaps could have been higher, the tumbling could have been faster, her movements could have been sharper, etc. Keep in mind this is only what one judge thinks.

Also, it's normal for a gymnast to not perform to the max when they have newly adjusted choreography. She needs time to get comfortable with it.

When I do mock meets, many times the coaches ask me to go hard on the girls. Not that they want me to crucify the girls, but they want a dose of reality too. Scores are extremely high these days. Back in my competing days, maybe one girl would score a 9.0 - it usually meant she was ready for the next level...or more! LOL That's a whole different story though.

Anyway, I hope your daughter is not discouraged.

 

[TnTsParty]

My neice did good at her comp at Disney this weekend. She was in the first session. She did prep opt. She came in 6th AA and came in 2nd on bars and her best friend came in 1st so they were very happy!!! Don't know what happened on vault that made her score so low but oh well what can you do. She is very excited to go to gym today to see what they have to say.

Congrats to Sharlon's dd for a great meet - what an accomplishment after having the surgery she just had.

Terry - congrats to your dd as well. Great job.

 

[Terry36]

Thanks guys! I will post pictures later.

 

[missypie]

My neice did good at her comp at Disney this weekend. She was in the first session. She did prep opt. She came in 6th AA and came in 2nd on bars and her best friend came in 1st so they were very happy!!! Don't know what happened on vault that made her score so low but oh well what can you do. She is very excited to go to gym today to see what they have to say.

It took me YEARS to kinda sorta be able to tell a good vault from a bad one...I mean, we all know that if they end up on their bottom half way across the gym, it wasn't a good one, but I had a hard time with the ones that all looked good to me, that were scored so differently. I think my eye is trained now, but it took a long time.

 

[dis4me]

Level 10 judge here. Dynamics is pretty self explanatory. Basically, the judge did not think your DD performed the routine with as much enthusiasm as she could have. The jumps/leaps could have been higher, the tumbling could have been faster, her movements could have been sharper, etc. Keep in mind this is only what one judge thinks.

Also, it's normal for a gymnast to not perform to the max when they have newly adjusted choreography. She needs time to get comfortable with it.

When I do mock meets, many times the coaches ask me to go hard on the girls. Not that they want me to crucify the girls, but they want a dose of reality too. Scores are extremely high these days. Back in my competing days, maybe one girl would score a 9.0 - it usually meant she was ready for the next level...or more! LOL That's a whole different story though.

Anyway, I hope your daughter is not discouraged.

Thanks Castleview That's what I thought it meant but then I was told something else by another know it all parent.lolI know it will take her a while to get use to doing the new part I just don't understand why her coach would do that right before states especially since she had been scoring so well with the routine the way it was.
Next weekend we have another meet so I guess we shall see if she has improved any.