Hello, new gym mom from region 3

DON'T LURK... Join The Discussion!

Members see FEWER ads

crystallions

Proud Parent
Hello!

I found ChalkBucket about one month ago and have learned so much already. While my youngest DD has been a gymnast 2 years I still have lots to learn, and I have found this to be a wonderful place to do so. Thank you everyone who are so generously sharing your knowledge and experiences as well as giving support and advice. :)

Here is my DD's gymnastic journey so far...

My DD said from about age 3 that she would be a ballet dancer when she grew up. She started taking ballet classes at age 6 and danced for 3 years. At age 9 I showed her a video of an Olympic gymnastic floor routine. She turned all serious and said "That is what I am supposed to be doing with my life!" I figured I better let her try it. There was a gymnastic school around 30 minutes away, and that was the only one I could find within a 2 hour drive, so I enrolled her there in recreational gymnastics. She was still doing dance as well. A couple of months later she came to me with tears in her eyes. She told me that she knew she had always told everyone she would be a ballet dancer, but she had found something she loved even more - gymnastics. I hugged her and told her that it is OK to change. We thanked her ballet teacher for 3 amazing years of dance, and she turned her focus fully toward gymnastics.

Turned out that the gym only allowed one hour of gymnastics per week for recreational, even though she kept begging for more. She had leveled out of all 6 recreational classes that they offered within 10 months, so I asked them what was next. They told me that the only way to learn higher level skills was to join a team, but that she was too old to be on a team.

My husband and I had already talked about moving for our work, and this helped us make that decision final. We narrowed it down to a couple of cities we were considering, and started contacting various gyms. After an evaluation at a gymnastic school in region 3 where she was offered a spot to train and compete, and considering what a move there would mean for our work, we decided to go for it.

Since our DD only had one hour per week previously, and no experience competing, they put her on TAAF level 3 to give her a taste of more hours + competing. She had a blast, but was still asking if she could get more hours. She was just moved to JO compulsory level 4 this month. It is quite a change going from 5.5 hours per week to 15, but while she is currently exhausted she is also very excited about learning more skills and getting stronger.

I look forward to learning more from everyone here while also watching my DD blossom and grow as a gymnast. I don't know if this will be something she loves and pursues for the rest of her life in one form or another, or if it is something that will last some few years, but either way I am excited that she has this opportunity to pursue something she loves so dearly. :)
 

DON'T LURK... Join The Discussion!

Members see FEWER ads

Gymnaverse :: Recent Activity

College Gym News

New Posts

Back