DD Competing Level 8 States

[jsfofec]

What started as a day of excitement and anticipation with the hope of qualifying for regionals, turned into an evening of disappointment.

We all knew going in that she would have to nail her floor and beam in order to make it. Considering she's still doing her level 7 vault and has had an extremely difficult time doing level 8 bars. She worked very hard all week trying to fix her bar problems, like free hip circle, split legs and bent knees. She came out and did her best bar routine of the season. Floor and vault were fine.

It came down to her best event...beam. She's been scoring around 9 all season and all she needed was an 8.6 and she's on her way to regionals. She was wobbly the whole routine...on her final skill, a front handspring into a scale...she fell on her front handspring. She has never fallen on this skill...and has been doing it since level 7. When the score came up and showed 8.225, she was crushed. DD and her coach sat in the corner of the arena and had a talk for about 20 to 30 minutes (DD was the only one competing)...by the time they were done, DD was feeling much better. Later the coach told us that she was shaking the entire time she was doing her routine because she was so nervous.

Here's a link to her competition: Heathr Finger - 2012 Level 8 States - YouTube

 

[Natasha]

I'm sorry. I think it is so hard to watch our kids go through the times like that. Gymnastics is such a tough sport with so many times for disappointments. But, that is what makes those meets where they stick all 4 events so very special. My dd had very disappointing state meets the 2 prior years, both years falling on stuff she had never fallen on before. I think the only thing that helps is that they get to go into the gym the next day and start working skills and forget about routines for a while!

 

[Quadqueen]

aw, it is too bad she was so close to qualifying!! She is a BEAUTIFUL gymnast though, and so talented and poised at 11 years old! You should be proud!!

 

[Mom2Brats]

Ah, what a bummer. Allison did that last year, fell on beam for the only time the whole season at state and ended up placing last AA because of it. BUT at least she didn't have the pressure of trying to qualify for Regionals. I'm not looking forward to that next year! We had a few girls that had been consistently scoring high enough all season who just didn't get the score at state and I feel so bad for them. It's so hard only having that one meet.

She looks amazing, though! Especially her beam is beautiful!

 

[jsfofec]

Thank you everybody for your support and encouragement. Competing at states or higher is so different than any other meet. No matter how much you try to tell them that it's just another meet, inside they know it's not.

I never said a word to her about the meet, I knew she would talk when she was ready. After the meet, we all went out for a late dinner and yesterday she went to watch Hunger Games. Last night, she finally said to me, "I'm mad that I didn't qualify". I told her she can take some time off if she wants and rest (she has a sore wrist, hip flexor strain and a sore ankle). She looked at me and said "why? I want to get ready for level 9."

It's nice to see that she's not dwelling on it and is ready to move on

 

[2gymmies]

I thought your dd's bars looked tighter and stronger! Too bad about the fall, but it will make her a stronger gymnast in the future. Congrats on a good season.

 

[gymmomtoo]

Bummer that she fell. Too much stress on herself! Good luck to her as she works on skills for level 9.

Editing to add--just saw that she's only 11 yr. Can I ask why she's rushing to level 9? If she's not up to level at 8, she's going to really struggle with level 9 and being young, she's going to get killed in awards. I know it's not all about awards, but it's really hard when they never place at any meet--and that's very possible in that age group. Just curious why she's pushing so hard.

 

[Gymmonkeymomma]

Very pretty routines, too bad about the fall. Difficult when kids are hard on themselves...good luck as she trains for 9!

 

[wandrewsjr]

Her bars look SO much stronger, great improvement! And as to the level 9 thing, here is how I am betting the dicussion between the girl and her coach went - "Your bars and floor were AMAZING today, by far your best of the year! I know you are sad that you didn't qualify for Regionals, but look at the positive - for the next couple weeks you get to uptrain level 9 skills while everyone else is working on routines!" You don't tell an 11 year old that she will repeat another year at the same level the same day she didn't qualify for Regionals! And even girls who will repeat a level get to uptrain skills for the next level between seasons. Who knows how much improvement will happen in the next 9 months?!

 

[jsfofec]

I thought your dd's bars looked tighter and stronger! Too bad about the fall, but it will make her a stronger gymnast in the future. Congrats on a good season.

Thanks. She worked so hard on it during the week. She was actually suppose to do her free hip on the high bar, but warming up she fell over 5 straight times when casting...so at the last second her coach said to do it on the low bar...and it all worked out. Her coach was very happy with her giants

 

[jsfofec]

Her bars look SO much stronger, great improvement! And as to the level 9 thing, here is how I am betting the dicussion between the girl and her coach went - "Your bars and floor were AMAZING today, by far your best of the year! I know you are sad that you didn't qualify for Regionals, but look at the positive - for the next couple weeks you get to uptrain level 9 skills while everyone else is working on routines!"

That's pretty much how the conversation went. I asked DD last night if she wanted to take a little time off and heal from some of her aches and pains. Her response was, "why? I need to start getting ready for level 9"

 

[jsfofec]

just saw that she's only 11 yr. Can I ask why she's rushing to level 9?

Our gym's philosophy is not to hold the kids back if they have the skills and can perform those skills "safely". We're not concerned with individual scores or team scores for level 8's and under. Of course, we all want them to do their best, but they won't be held at that level just so they can get big scores. The goal is to get them to level 9 and eventually 10 as soon as they can "safely" perform at that level. The ultimate goal is to give the kids a chance to be able to compete in college.

Our coach believes and so do we, that it's better to spend 3 years at level 9 rather than spend them at level 7 or 8. We understand that we are forfeiting the opportunities to "clean up" at meets and win lots of awards. But at the same time, by moving the kids up and giving them new challenges and opportunities, it also keeps them from burning out on the same thing for so long.

Don't get me wrong, if a kid is not ready to move up, she will repeat and continue to be developed until she can safely move up.

Take my DD for example, at level 7, she was horrible on bars, but was doing well on the other events. She had all her 8 skills for beam and floor, so would it have been better to keep her as a 7 or to move her to 8? As an 8, she continued to work on her bars, but was able to excel on floor and beam. And now that the season is over her, bars are tons better than they were at 7, she's continuing to work on a vault and she's already been working on her beam and floor skills for level 9.

Moving up through the levels is always a touchy subject and gyms and their coaches all have their own beliefs and ideas. The ultimate goal for all gyms is to give the greatest gymanstics experience they can for their gymnasts. It's a great sport, full of really good people.

 

[Empowered]

I love watching your daughter. There is something very calming about her routines, she never seems rushed or panicked. Her leaps on floor are wonderful.

And though I wasn't there to watch the meet, I have it on good authority that the beam was cursed so tell her to not sweat the fall at all

 

[flippysmom]

Jsfofec.. Our gym has a similar philosophy regarding moving up, especially at the lower levels.

Your dd is a beautiful gymnast, you should be so proud. Congratulations!

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[jsfofec]

Thank you everybody for your input and comments. DD read all your comments and now feels so much better about herself and what she was able to accomplish at states

wandrewsjr, when she read your comment, she kept laughing because what you were saying was pracitcially word for word what her coach told her