Blackie6
Proud Parent
Just call us the lil caboose of the CB board. This is one of those meets that I ask myself afterwards if being in USAG gymnastics is the right thing for my DD. We have always taken things one day at a time, knowing that the tightness on her one side may become an issue. She's having major heel pain because of the Severs' and has lost a lot of flexibility on her one side. Of course in L5 this really affects the floor routine the most. Her bent leg look is just not pleasing to the judges eye. She has always known she has to work harder than most and bars is not bad, Beam is not bad, but having hard time with vault because of pain and the floor because of the tightness. Anyway, we may finish the rest of the season and opt to change her to JOGA program. The bent leg may not be as big as a problem there, she would get her own routines, up-train bigger skills and be cut gym hours which may help the Sever's too. Oh well, we will make a decision after states in Jan...OK, onto the meet....
This past weekend we went to the IGC Camp for a Halloween Invitational. It took about 2 hrs to get there & not at all what I thought it would be like! I guess that big book that comes in the mail makes you think it is a HUGE camp, but it really isn't. I wish we had more time to walk around and investigate, but our start time was 12:20 and by the time we left after awards it was already 4:30 and we were starving! We were in one of their gyms and we had anough seats, but the L4's in the session before us were way over crowded!
Up first was bars, my DD's favorite event and honestly she is always in the 8's on this. She never sticks the squat in warm ups, but always nails it for the judges. She got a 8.35 which was the 4th highest score of all our team's 12 L5's, but the scores were really LOW this meet for all the girls in all events!
Beam next. This has been the big surprise of my DD's L5 season. Never did great on beam as a L4, but seems to really nail it as a 5 during the in-house meets and the past meet. Well, only surprise on beam at this meet was how many bobbles, wobbles and falls! We think dad being too close video taping may have knocked her off focus, she fell not once but TWICE! 7.15 score, OUCH!
Floor is next and well, the bent leg look and not reaching a full split, leaps not great, still not 100% with the music, just not very artistic here. 7.75 score
Vault I had to leave during warm-ups. I watched DD do a "superman" over the vault and onto the mats & I think I gained about 100 greay hairs! However, for the judges she does one so-so vault and the other was better only she didn't stick it. Score 7.75
31.00AA
Oh, and prior to vaulting she is crying. I think it is because of the heel, but no, it is becasue another girl on the team told her she didn't like her! This is not a girl we practice with, she is in the other L5 training group and older than my DD. Her crying "Sophie hurt my feelings" made me upset too. Of course I quickly told her to not worry about it, but I am a little PO'd about it. Not saying anything to coach because again, we are never with her, only at meets...this is probably something that hopfully will blow over.
Awards. Only went out to 6 places events/AA and about 21 girls in the 8yr old L5 group. My DD didn't place on anything at all...and cried over that too! Guess she forgot about her first yr of L4 when she never won anything! It was hard though because all the girls scores were pretty low. Our highest scores were under 35AA and of the 12 girls only 4 got anything over a 9.0 but in the 9yr old and 10 yr old groups there were less girls but the places went out to 12th for AA which was nice. It meant DD's friends who scored only a tiny bit higher than her placed and got a medal. She did get a nice goodie bag w/a t-shirt and got to pick a pumpkin from their Halloween wagon which we carved tonight.
We did have a nice dinner on the way home though, DH's favorite place, Texas Roadhouse. Food makes it all better, LOL
I guess I just feel bad for her. We knew it would be a challenge & she is still very committed to being in L5, but I wonder if this season is going to wear her heart down. We have our 1st sectional next weekend and I really don't think she will make it to that 32AA for states. She was so close at our last in-house meet (31.9 AA) a couple wks ago I thought it would be a snap, but now I am thinking any falls off beam and we are done score wise until the floor or vault or BOTH scores come up a little more.
Also went to the Ortho this week to get the heel checked. No more evidence of the fracture from December, no more cysts in her heel, doctor feels it is just the Sever's. Suggested she cut back (we do miss a practice a week), try cheerleading (YUCK!) or dance (she says NO WAY!) and keep on stretching! We feel better knowing it isn't a fracture now, but some days I don't know if I could tell the difference between a real fracture or the Sever's.
OK, done with my pity party/ whine & cheese party....chin up and wish us luck next week on the sectional!
Oh, just wanted to add, there was one very heartbreaking mommet in our session. A girl on another team was doing her floor routine and was clearly not prepared. She did not know the floor routine and kept forgeting what skill was next. Coaches for other teams sitting at the other end of the floor were trying to tell her what to do next. It was embarrassing, and difficult to watch. It was like throwing a kid out there after letting them watch a couple routines to see what they've picked-up! Poor thing got a 5.0, which I think was pretty generous considering all she missed. Why would a team allow a child to go out there so un-prepared? Felt so sorry for her.
This past weekend we went to the IGC Camp for a Halloween Invitational. It took about 2 hrs to get there & not at all what I thought it would be like! I guess that big book that comes in the mail makes you think it is a HUGE camp, but it really isn't. I wish we had more time to walk around and investigate, but our start time was 12:20 and by the time we left after awards it was already 4:30 and we were starving! We were in one of their gyms and we had anough seats, but the L4's in the session before us were way over crowded!
Up first was bars, my DD's favorite event and honestly she is always in the 8's on this. She never sticks the squat in warm ups, but always nails it for the judges. She got a 8.35 which was the 4th highest score of all our team's 12 L5's, but the scores were really LOW this meet for all the girls in all events!
Beam next. This has been the big surprise of my DD's L5 season. Never did great on beam as a L4, but seems to really nail it as a 5 during the in-house meets and the past meet. Well, only surprise on beam at this meet was how many bobbles, wobbles and falls! We think dad being too close video taping may have knocked her off focus, she fell not once but TWICE! 7.15 score, OUCH!
Floor is next and well, the bent leg look and not reaching a full split, leaps not great, still not 100% with the music, just not very artistic here. 7.75 score
Vault I had to leave during warm-ups. I watched DD do a "superman" over the vault and onto the mats & I think I gained about 100 greay hairs! However, for the judges she does one so-so vault and the other was better only she didn't stick it. Score 7.75
31.00AA
Oh, and prior to vaulting she is crying. I think it is because of the heel, but no, it is becasue another girl on the team told her she didn't like her! This is not a girl we practice with, she is in the other L5 training group and older than my DD. Her crying "Sophie hurt my feelings" made me upset too. Of course I quickly told her to not worry about it, but I am a little PO'd about it. Not saying anything to coach because again, we are never with her, only at meets...this is probably something that hopfully will blow over.
Awards. Only went out to 6 places events/AA and about 21 girls in the 8yr old L5 group. My DD didn't place on anything at all...and cried over that too! Guess she forgot about her first yr of L4 when she never won anything! It was hard though because all the girls scores were pretty low. Our highest scores were under 35AA and of the 12 girls only 4 got anything over a 9.0 but in the 9yr old and 10 yr old groups there were less girls but the places went out to 12th for AA which was nice. It meant DD's friends who scored only a tiny bit higher than her placed and got a medal. She did get a nice goodie bag w/a t-shirt and got to pick a pumpkin from their Halloween wagon which we carved tonight.
We did have a nice dinner on the way home though, DH's favorite place, Texas Roadhouse. Food makes it all better, LOL
I guess I just feel bad for her. We knew it would be a challenge & she is still very committed to being in L5, but I wonder if this season is going to wear her heart down. We have our 1st sectional next weekend and I really don't think she will make it to that 32AA for states. She was so close at our last in-house meet (31.9 AA) a couple wks ago I thought it would be a snap, but now I am thinking any falls off beam and we are done score wise until the floor or vault or BOTH scores come up a little more.
Also went to the Ortho this week to get the heel checked. No more evidence of the fracture from December, no more cysts in her heel, doctor feels it is just the Sever's. Suggested she cut back (we do miss a practice a week), try cheerleading (YUCK!) or dance (she says NO WAY!) and keep on stretching! We feel better knowing it isn't a fracture now, but some days I don't know if I could tell the difference between a real fracture or the Sever's.
OK, done with my pity party/ whine & cheese party....chin up and wish us luck next week on the sectional!
Oh, just wanted to add, there was one very heartbreaking mommet in our session. A girl on another team was doing her floor routine and was clearly not prepared. She did not know the floor routine and kept forgeting what skill was next. Coaches for other teams sitting at the other end of the floor were trying to tell her what to do next. It was embarrassing, and difficult to watch. It was like throwing a kid out there after letting them watch a couple routines to see what they've picked-up! Poor thing got a 5.0, which I think was pretty generous considering all she missed. Why would a team allow a child to go out there so un-prepared? Felt so sorry for her.