H
Harv
Yesterday (Sunday) was the last day of season for our lower level boys. It was the Northern California Boys State Championships!
When we arrived at the gym, I was, like, totally intimidated. The place was huge, with two complete gymnastics setups in one gigantic room. I was even more intimidated when I opened the program and saw that 35 teams were competing! Then they announced that medals would only be awarded to the top 3 gymnasts in each age group.
I so wanted my boy to score a medal in this meet 'cuz he tried so hard to improve all season, and he deserved at least one nice shiny souvenir to commemorate this final competition. But with so many competitors, including the really talented ones he admired all season, it seemed like chances were pretty slim. I told him to just relax and have fun, even though my own stomach was starting to knot up.
Well, he told me that this was his last chance to "try some stuff" that he thought he could do but was afraid to attempt in previous meets. "Uhhhh.... sure, son. Go for it!". I wasn't sure if that was the wisest thing to say, but he had this seldom-seen glow of confidence on his face, so I simply said no more.
Well, go for it he did, and danged if he didn't pull it off. He went for 5 mushroom circles for the first time, and he nailed it! He straightened out his back lever on the rings for the first time in his life! He achieved new altitude on his high bar swings (that virtuosity stuff counts), and he stuck every single landing!
Ol' Dad was getting almost teary-eyed when the final event was over. To add to the drama, I had only a vague idea of how he was actually doing, 'cuz they were using that system that only displays colors, indicating the range of his scores, rather than actual points. Nobody, in fact, had any real clue as to anybody's true standings.
So.... when it was finally time for the awards, I could only hold my breath, cross my fingers and mumble a quiet prayer or two. After cheering for the younger age groups, the 11-year olds finally got their turn. In a nutshell, my young hero made not one, but four trips to the podium.
Floor: 1st Place
Pommel: 3rd Place
P Bars: 3rd Place
H Bar: 1st Place
That only left the coveted All-Around award. The announcer called out the first place winner, a name we were quite familiar with, 'cuz this talented young lad had been winning all season. No surprise there, but my boy still had 2 more chances to grab some glory. Then they announced that there were actually two first-place winners (the proverbial tie), and my heart nearly stopped. The next words over the loudspeaker were my son's name, and I all but passed out.
I guess I've done some serious bragging here, but the very notion that my very own li'l trooper would wind up holding gold for being an All-Around NorCal State champ, in his first competition season, was something I had never seriously considered.
I actually owe thanks to those of you on this message board who have tolerated my video postings, and those of you who offered some very helpful advice, especially BlairBob. Hey, Bob! Were you there?
- Harvey
When we arrived at the gym, I was, like, totally intimidated. The place was huge, with two complete gymnastics setups in one gigantic room. I was even more intimidated when I opened the program and saw that 35 teams were competing! Then they announced that medals would only be awarded to the top 3 gymnasts in each age group.
I so wanted my boy to score a medal in this meet 'cuz he tried so hard to improve all season, and he deserved at least one nice shiny souvenir to commemorate this final competition. But with so many competitors, including the really talented ones he admired all season, it seemed like chances were pretty slim. I told him to just relax and have fun, even though my own stomach was starting to knot up.
Well, he told me that this was his last chance to "try some stuff" that he thought he could do but was afraid to attempt in previous meets. "Uhhhh.... sure, son. Go for it!". I wasn't sure if that was the wisest thing to say, but he had this seldom-seen glow of confidence on his face, so I simply said no more.
Well, go for it he did, and danged if he didn't pull it off. He went for 5 mushroom circles for the first time, and he nailed it! He straightened out his back lever on the rings for the first time in his life! He achieved new altitude on his high bar swings (that virtuosity stuff counts), and he stuck every single landing!
Ol' Dad was getting almost teary-eyed when the final event was over. To add to the drama, I had only a vague idea of how he was actually doing, 'cuz they were using that system that only displays colors, indicating the range of his scores, rather than actual points. Nobody, in fact, had any real clue as to anybody's true standings.
So.... when it was finally time for the awards, I could only hold my breath, cross my fingers and mumble a quiet prayer or two. After cheering for the younger age groups, the 11-year olds finally got their turn. In a nutshell, my young hero made not one, but four trips to the podium.
Floor: 1st Place
Pommel: 3rd Place
P Bars: 3rd Place
H Bar: 1st Place
That only left the coveted All-Around award. The announcer called out the first place winner, a name we were quite familiar with, 'cuz this talented young lad had been winning all season. No surprise there, but my boy still had 2 more chances to grab some glory. Then they announced that there were actually two first-place winners (the proverbial tie), and my heart nearly stopped. The next words over the loudspeaker were my son's name, and I all but passed out.
I guess I've done some serious bragging here, but the very notion that my very own li'l trooper would wind up holding gold for being an All-Around NorCal State champ, in his first competition season, was something I had never seriously considered.
I actually owe thanks to those of you on this message board who have tolerated my video postings, and those of you who offered some very helpful advice, especially BlairBob. Hey, Bob! Were you there?
- Harvey