Here We Go - First Meet Ever!

[thefellowsmom]

This weekend will be The Fellows' first meet ever (Lv4). It is a small invitational and the coaches are telling them it's kinda like a practice meet. They didn't do a mock meet or bring judges in so at least they aren't laying on the pressure.

For the past several weeks she has seemed nervous and hasn't wanted to talk about it much. She just kept saying she didn't feel ready.

But, she has made some great progress the last few weeks (see my coach story thread) and last night came home super excited because she made her beam dismount every time on the regulation beam at practice and feels confident she will make it in the meet - we will see when the nerves kick in

She finally has her ROBHS back, but her coaches are not allowing her to do them yet on the hard floor until we receive full clearance from the physical therapist and her doctor. I think it is great that they are supporting her through her injury and she will just not compete it and take the deduction. Experience is the key here.

Last night before bead she talked non-stop for 15 minutes about how excited she was and couldn't stop bouncing up and down.

It is thrilling to see her so happy right now and I am so excited for her and her first meet experience. My only hope is that she has a great time and comes out feeling good about it. Hugs and ice cream all around from our side no matter what happens. I am already so very proud of her. She amazes me every day.

I will admit, I am more than a little nervous. She says she isn't so I guess I will just be nervous for both of us

I am having a horrible time with her hair. We have been playing around, but I can't seem to get anything to work. She has long, rather thin hair. We also have to leave the house at 6:45 so we need to keep it simple, but her standard pony hangs to the ground when she does a handstand and I heard somewhere that is a no no (it doesn't interfere, just touches the ground). A bun looks kinda silly since her hair is so thin and I haven't been able to convince her to let me cut it a bit.

I'll figure it out, I'm sure.

Please send the first meet ever good luck fairies our way and I will be thinking about all of you and your years of wisdom and experience as I sit through my first meet ever too.

 

[Pineapple_Lump]

Good luck to your DD

I think this hairstyle is fairly easy and good for those with long hair. If you do it with only three plaits it is very easy for a coach to fix should it come undone.


(Picture is from gymnastics coaching site)

 

[mumoftwogymnasts]

^^^^ That hairstyle is my daughters standard comp do. I normally do about six plaits, but she has a lot of hair, with fine or thin hair I would think that 3-4 plaits would be sufficient.
DD has the same problem with an ordinary ponytail, in handstand or BWO it touches the floor. Also in bars it tends to "whip" back over her face. We've never had a problem with the tucked under plaits and it is quick and easy to do. Hope you have invested in a huge can of hairspray

Good luck to your daughter, I hope she has heaps of fun. First meets are very special, treasure every moment and I hope you are not too nervous

 

[Deanna]

GL to your DD. Im sure she will do just fine. Us Mommys always seem to get more nervous than they do..lol. And Im sure you will do just fine with her hair. Kadee has hair like your DDs and it's not easy to find a way to get it to stay. LOTS of gel and heavy duty hairspray will make any style stay pretty much...lol.

 

[MaryA]

Oh, I know I'm always way more nervous than my DD. I get crazy-bad stress headaches during the meets!

My dd has fine hair, and while her bun is not substantial, it doesn't look bad. If you put a scrunchie around the bun (put 2 tiny little holes in the scrunchy and feed a Bobby-pin through, catching the elastic, to keep it from popping off) it gives it a little more "heft."

Good luck to your DD (and to mamma too). I hope you all have a blast!

 

[AlexsGymmyMom]

I remember Alex's first meet ever. I don't think I slept a bit the night before. I know I was more nervous than her and I was not sure what to expect having never been to a gymnastics meet before. I was worried she would freeze or forget her routines.

Now...4 years later and I still get nervous but now I know what to expect and I can sit and enjoy the meets knowing that whatever happens happens and just be the cheerleader and supporter she needs!!

As for the hair, my DD used to have very long fine whispy hair that was a bear to get up into a bun. Luckily our team wears bun covers so that makes the bun look fuller. I have seen quite a few gyms this season have a side bun and put a cute flower next to it. I am sure that the flower is attached to an elastic. Plus with the side bun you don't have to worry about it getting in the way of the handstand forward roll on the floor which can be a little uncomfortable with a normal bun!

Tell her good luck at the meet and sending fairies your way!!!

 

[Azgymmiemom]

Good Luck to her, and you! I'm sure when it is over, she'll say she can't wait for the next one. I must admit, I see all these other complex, beautiful hairstyles and I get a wee bit jealous-My dd's team has a mandatory bun. Well, at least I don't have to spend time deciding what I'm gonna do with her hair, lol! Right now our biggest choice is "do you want gold or silver glitter for today?"

 

[cher062]

Good luck to your DD and the hair style pineapple posted works great. Just make sure to add hair spray so the hair is sticky when tying it up or the hair tie could slip. think of that cheap lacquer hairspray as glue LOL. spray the braids too when you put them up.

We uses to do that style then pin each braid around to make the bun, put a bun cover over it and pin it in so the pins go under the hair tie. then a scrunchi around the base of the bun for decoration and to hid the pins. My DD had hair she almost sat on and it was thick and HEAVY. This type of bun I could do the night before spray it all down and she could sleep on it. In the AM it looked just as good as when I put it up. all the "fly away" hairs were clipped, Very useful for those early AM meets.

Now that she started HS she cut her hair to just below the shoulder and wears a ponytail (still with spray so the elastic won't slip)

 

[thefellowsmom]

Thanks everyone! For the luck and all the great hair advice. I love the one pineapple posted. We tried something similar last night that we liked, but couldn't get to stay, but this looks like it will work much better. I also like the idea of the scrunchie around the bun to make it look bigger. We will give that a try too.

Is there a trick to sleeping in a hairdo? She tends to toss and turn a bit. Does it stay or at least recover well? Do I need to cover it with something?

Jeesh, such a newbie am I

 

[mamaoftwo]

Just wanted to say, "Good luck!" I hope you both have a ton of fun!

Also, let me know how the hair works out. My DD has not competed yet but will in the fall (well, might compete one meet this spring???). She also has long, fine hair (with very interesting cowlicks!), so I may "borrow/attempt" those styles that work for your DD.

 

[shelovestoflip]

Have fun! My daughter still has memories of her first meet. Turned out half the girls didn't go because of a blizzard the night before but when we woke up, while still snowing, the roads had been plowed so I figured I'd leave early, drive slow and see how it went!

My then 8 year old put on her leo, warm ups and then snow pants and boots to leave on the adventure!

And when we got there, the parking lot had been plowed and there were many crazy gymnasts (and parents) who survived the drive there! It actually wasn't a bad drive as the roads had been plowed and the only cars on them were likely others driving to the meet!

To this day, when we go to that gym for a meet, my daughter will comment "Remember when I had my first meet and it was a blizzard?"!!!

As for meet hair, we've done buns and ponys over the years....her gym doesn't have a requirement. I find the bun challenging so just go with a pony tail now...placed in just the right spot so as not to interfere! If you have to leave at 6:45, I would stick with something easy. I have noticed many mom's doing hair at the meet those early morning check ins. However my daughter likes to be completely ready when she gets there so we do hair before leaving.

Good luck and have fun!

 

[lhmom]

Good luck to her! Hope she has a great time. Let us know how it goes.

 

[profmom]

Good luck! She must be so thrilled! Amazing how much work and dedication goes into getting to that first meet!

 

[Danica76]

Sending the very best of luck to the Fellows So exciting! I was an absolute wreck before DD's first meet (as you can recall, since it was only about a month ago - lol) - I totally sympathize. Then, at some point in the middle of the meet, I just let it all go and marveled at my beautiful daughter and her courage to go out there and show what she's learned. I cried b.c. I was so happy for her and because I become highly emotional when I haven't slept, am stressed or haven't eaten properly (walking taco's don't count) - lol. Have a great time with her this weekend...such a special celebration of her accomplishments! Let us know how it goes!

 

[sportsmom22]

Good luck! I was going to suggest the same hair style in the picture--just with less braids. My dd has fine thin hair, but it's not long enough for that pony tail with braids. I have not found a hair style that she can sleep with and it still look ok in the morning. I usually just do a spider web with tiny rubber bands and 2 pig tails. I hope she has a great first meet!

 

[UnoMas]

So exciting! I hope all of you have a great time!!!

I still stress about meet hair at every single meet. Our new team does buns which are easier than what I had to do before but I still stress about being able to get the darn hair done. It always turns out fine but I feel like it is my "contribution" to the meet and I had better not screw it up! And, I also still get nervous at every single meet. I don't know if it has gotten any better or not. Maybe a tiny bit

 

[C's MOM]

Good luck little Fellow!! She will do so well! She is a toughie I see!!

 

[thefellowsmom]

The hair thread this morning reminded me that I should update the hair situation. Well, I did it. It wasn't super pretty. It was 6 in the morning after all and we didn't have time to do a dry run the day before. But, we got it done and I learned a lot for next time.

We ended up going with the bun scrunchie combo with a few braids up from to keep the fly aways down. A mom at my gym gave me some crazy, but good advice about putting a second hairband around the ponytail. Even with all the tumbling, it didn't move an inch. So, that's a keeper.

Anyhoo, here's a picture. Don't laugh