The care and training of a young gymnast

I wish I had started this blog a while back. At that time I had no clue my youngest daughter would have the drive to be a gymnast. I just knew I couldn't contain her energy and needed an outlet for it's release. Hopefully this blog will be helpful to others that have a kid interested in gymnastics.

As I am a single disabled parent, money's been tight and this sport is not cheap. The commitment of financial resources, time and energy for the parent can be as demanding as the physical demands placed on the athelete.

This blog is created for all the unsung heroes behind that future medalist, the parent.



Sunday, December 11, 2011

Level 5 is DONE!

Well, Emily had her absolute worst meet of the season at State.  She hit the vault table with her chest because she jumped too soon for the springboard (there was a line on the floor that threw ALOT of the girls off) Her second vault looked pretty good  (what do I know?), her score was 8.25.

On to bars.  After the meet Emily tells me her coach Mac,  set the bars farther apart than Emily would work in practice. (Again, what do I know?)  When she grabbed for the high bar, she only caught it with her fingertips, which threw off her entire routine, but hey, she finished it without a crash and burn.  Score 8.25  She is now 0 and 2.

Luck of the draw, she starts the Beam rotation which is her best event. After two falls and an over time, she scored a 8.25.  At this point, she can no longer keep herself composed.  Svetlana tells her "just think Emily, you had a beautiful routine!  I am so proud of you!  If you had not fallen twice and did not go over time, you would have scored a 9.75!"  Well, those words of encouragement did nothing to ease Emily's troubled soul. She continued to cry until the next rotation.

Floor Rotation:  by this time Emily had just given up.  She was deflated.   Her score 8.95.  She was done. So between the tears and regrets we decided to go to IHOP and drown her sorrows in pancakes.  With the support of her two big sisters Kathleen and Annie, she made it through this dark period and realized the agony of defeat.   Her team mates fared somewhat better, though  I don't believe any TIGAR won an All-Around Medal for Level 5 in any division this year at State.  The team itself won 3rd place when all was said and done.

Emily had a dismal State meet - it happens.  Level 5 is finally behind her!  Now we have a chance to evaluate our direction and move on. Emily still loves Gymnastics and still dreams of that Gold Medal, it looks like she'll continue to drag me behind her in this personal quest... God help me!



2 comments:

  1. Taylor couldn't believe how badly the beam was wobbling. So many kids fell off and went over time that it was crazy to not have checked it before such an important meet.

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  2. Thanks GoldenNomad! I did not realize from my vantagepoint at the Vault table that the beam was wobbling. Emily verifies this. So many girls went over time, and there was no warning bell either. I hope that COUSAG lets TIGAR have a State Meet next year. They're far better equipped to handle it.

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