Recent content by gympunkin

Wallflower, I am not sure what you mean by nobody was there but me. This occurred at a meeting of all the parents and kids in dd's group. And I am really not sure how anything I am saying is "speculation based on human nature." As for the head coach having a thousand things to do, this was...

Wallflower, my dd will turn 11 this summer. Not sure what difference that makes. I am a little confused by your suggestion. There are only two coaches involved in this situation - my dd's group coach who is now gone and the head coach. I think it would have been a great idea for the head...

I really appreciate everyone's comments and points of view. I know everyone is trying to give me constructive and realistic advice. I just want to clarify that the problem is NOT that my dd might have to repeat L4. The problem is the fact that the head coach (who barely knows my dd - it is...

Sorry, this is so long. Last winter, at the end of our compulsory season, dd was put in a group of mixed level 4's and 5's. Dd competed L4, and did fine on everything but bars, where she struggled. The idea of the mixed group is that the girls get a chance to see if they could get their L5...

I would not skip your family trip. My dd went to the So Cal one in 2012, which was held at AGA. She was 9 and had competed old level 4 the previous season. She enjoyed the novelty of it and they do try to make the girls feel special. She still wears the t-shirt. It was not at all...

My dd finally got contacts after a couple of years of wearing glasses for gymnastics. Her doctor's standard practice is to have the wearer start out wearing them only a few hours a day and then gradually build up. So it was a slow process for us. DD was able to put them in by herself (and...

We have never been to the Presidential Classic, but I love Disney World. A great resource for planning your trip there is disboards.com. It has forums on many different topics, including one with ideas on how to save money. You can post specific questions and get them answered. I think there...

My dd is a leftie. She got a little confused with the right side/left side of the beam terminology. Here is how she does the L4 mount: She stands with her right side next to the beam, pivots/turns clockwise and swings her left leg over the beam. She said that all the L4's started off...

My 10 year old level 5 dd has been wearing glasses for gymnastics for about 18 months now. She wears a wire frame brand called Flexon. These are the glasses that can be tied in a knot. It is extremely difficult to break them, or bend them out of shape. They stay on without a strap. So far...

My dd is 10. Here is what she has enjoyed in Las Vegas. Sorry for any duplicates. M & M World was a huge hit. She really enjoyed looking at all the M & M merchandise. And there is a cute free 3-D film on one of the top floors. DD loves Despicable Me, so we went to see the Statute of Liberty...

Gym Survivor -- I ordered regular leos and grab bag/mystery leos from Destira for my daughter last summer. She loved all the leos. They have held up well. They seem to me to fit her about the same as GK. She doesn't have any Snowflake leos, so I can't compare.

Thanks for the advice, everyone! It will be good to have some alternatives if the coaches' only suggestion is private lessons.

My dd had a pretty average year at level 4, and will be repeating it in the fall. Originally, there were about 12 girls who were going to repeat level 4, but over the course of the spring, some have quit for other sports, some have moved residences and some have changed to other gyms. Now...

The Gym Stars books can be purchased from a British site for shipment to the US (or anywhere in the world) at what seems to me to be the same price as on Amazon. The site is bookdepository.com. Right now they have a coupon code for 10% off, so it might actually be less. I have purchased...

Here in Southern California, the rule at the compulsory level is if you score a 37 at states and then repeat a level, your score does not count toward the team total at any sanctioned meet that second year. This is meant to discourage "sandbagging." The girl's score does count individually. So...