Out of WAG, on to T&T Update--long!

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msl529

Hi all,

I thought I'd check back & let you know how dd was doing, as she has been at her new 'gig' (T&T) for three weeks now.

She likes it! Enjoying the new/different skills, loving her coach. The gym is still very new (opened its doors in January), so they are still building up their programs. Hence, there are only a handful of T&T'ers at this time, and not everyone comes to every practice. Some days, dd is one of two or three kids.

T&T coach came from another gym nearby, and says some kids will be coming from his old gym soon. Hopefully, there will be some girls that dd can make friends w/. Having friends is a big peice of why she does an activity, and it really adds to her enjoyment of it. Wierd thing: T&T girls AND boys practice together, so wouldn't you know, one boy (her age) whom she practices w/ apparently already has a crush on her. Yikes.

Here's what I have gathered about T&T at her gym so far (and I may be wrong about a lot of it, it's quite different from artistic, and I only get what dd is feeding me, which is often incorrect!):

They do USAG T&T. I guess there are others 'leagues', maybe they even cross over, I don't know, it's still very confusing.

There are 3 events--Tramp, Mini-Tramp, & Power Tumbling. They can compete in any or all of the events, and can be at different levels on each event. I think that's kind of nice, b/c they can excel & move up in their favorite event and not be held back overall, if they are lagging in one event (as in artistic). She is working on L7/8 skills in power tumbling, working on a L7 tramp routine, and I am not sure what she is w/ mini-tramp. She thinks she may want to compete All-Around, and apparently to do that, you do have to be a the same level on all your three events. In other words, you can compete at separate levels on all three events, but you would not qualify for AA. If you want to get individual event AND AA awards, you have to be at all one level. I think!

It's nice to see her working hard, setting goals for herself, & looking forward to gym instead of dreading it.

I still have my doubts about whether or not she'll want to continue w/ it. Remember, I told her if she quit artistic, then THAT decision sticks for a year, no going back to that. But I will not make her commit to T&T just yet, as she is really still trying it out. There won't be any team fees/comittments for a while, as they don't start competing until January.

She recently started talking about volleyball, out of the blue, and I would love to see her join her school's team. But she doesn't want to, b/c then they are required to have 'athletics' as a course all year, which is like PE, and she doesn't want to do athletics when volleyball is not in season. So, I may explore 'Club', but I don't really want it to interfere just yet w/ her T&T (and neither does she), since she wants to give it a good, long try.

BUT, she did start complaining of ankle & wrist pain yesterday, for the first time in a long while, so if THAT becomes a problem for her, we may have to look into other sports. But we'll cross that bridge if & when we get to it, I tend to get way ahead of myself w/ the worries & the 'what ifs'!

As far as life without artistic gymnastics, she doen't miss it at all! And the artistic girls practice at the same time as T&T. It's hard for ME to watch her at practice sometimes, b/c I miss artistic, and the girls at this gym are looking beautifully trained. I try not to think about what a great season she might have had next year doing artistic w/ this gym, had she stuck w/ it. I can't go there, it wasn't meant to be! So that's a bit of a challenge for me. But she's fine & happy, which is all good.

Thanks for listening to my long, boring story. If you are still w/ me at this point, then you get a medal! ;)
 
:)I'm glad to hear she seams to be enjoying it so far and doesn't have any regrets. I totally know how you feel about watching the artistic gymnasts. I think I am finally past that (yes it does take us a lot longer to move on than them) - but every once and a while I still let my wander over into the what if area.

I hope some more girls start joining soon so she can have as much fun with the social aspect as the gym part :)
 
Wondeful that she is enjoying it, as with all new activities the honeymoon stage has to pass before they really know if they will stick at it. I like the fact that she can do all 3 at any level. If the wrists are an issue can she just do tramp? Tramp is so much fun and I know kids here can just do tramp up to the ELite level.

Volleyball is hard on the wirst hands for sure, so if she tries it you might want to look into wrist guards etc.

Hope you have settled in well down there and are ready for the heat that must be on it's way. How is the pool looking now?
 
Hey msl, Thanks for the update! And yes, I read every word!!! I love your posts!!! You make me feel like I'm not alone in my constant worry about DD's "next thing". I'm glad T&T is going well so far! Hope the ankle & wrist pain resolves quickly. The co-ed training with track this season, was something new to my DD too. I think she was pretty "popular" with the guys b/c they respected her talent. They actually wanted to "hang with her" on the field in between events. Seeing them all together was very sweet...it made me realize my little girl is growing up. I'm sure the guys on the T&T team have lots of respect for your DD's talent too:D! I hope it becomes more social for her as more kids join. This is a tough age...I wouldn't want to be 13 again:p! Good luck to your DD!!! So happy she's at a good gym with GOOD COACHES!!! The important thing is she's having fun & setting new goals. Please continue to keep us posted! Best wishes to you both:D!
 
Hi msl!!! Congrats on the switch over and I am glad that she is enjoying herself. That is so cute about the boy that has a crush on her!!! I bet there will be many more to come! I know what you mean, too about thinking about the "what ifs". When the cheer team first started practicing in the gym back in April, I would find myself (and Dani) looking over to see what they were doing. I could tell that the cheer bug was biting Dani because the more she "watched" the cheerleaders practicing, the closer she got to them to the point where she was following along with the motions behind them in the back of the gym!!! She was invited to a practice to "try-out" and the rest is history. I think it is good for kids to try new things and explore other options. I know a lot of parents whose kids are taking a break from cheer this year for different reasons and they would LOVE a T&T or power tumbling team! I do think that it is harder for us parents to "let go" and accept change than the kids themselves! Kids are very resiliant and we often want to protect them when they really dont need it.
 
Glad to hear that it is going well so far! One of the girls on DDs level 4 team (the one that came over from her old gym) is possibly switching over to T&T. She also dances competitively and it is just too much. She loves the tumbling parts of gymnastics, so she is hoping that T&T might be a good fit for her.

Hoping her wrist and ankle problems don't become an issue.

Can't wait to hear more. :) Keep us posted.
 
If the wrists are an issue can she just do tramp? Tramp is so much fun and I know kids here can just do tramp up to the ELite level.

How is the pool looking now?

Yes, I think she would be ok doing just tramp & mini-tramp. I can see her getting bored, but maybe not...we'll have to wait & see!

The pool...it's looking good, it hasn't been too hot here yet, still nice Spring weather. The kids are in it as we speak tho.

I am not sure I will ever get the courage to go in there though, since that day in March when we found 15 (yes, 15!) gigantic spiders drowned & dead in the pool. Creeped me out, big time. Oh, and last week, we found 4 frogs in there. I think the creatures from the woods behind us see this as their own personal watering-hole, yuck!
 
Yes, I think she would be ok doing just tramp & mini-tramp. I can see her getting bored, but maybe not...we'll have to wait & see!

The pool...it's looking good, it hasn't been too hot here yet, still nice Spring weather. The kids are in it as we speak tho.

I am not sure I will ever get the courage to go in there though, since that day in March when we found 15 (yes, 15!) gigantic spiders drowned & dead in the pool. Creeped me out, big time. Oh, and last week, we found 4 frogs in there. I think the creatures from the woods behind us see this as their own personal watering-hole, yuck!


I hear ya on the pool thing, ours is finally defrasted, and after I scooped the dead semi frozen bloated squirrel out (URGH!) the kids went for a dip, after I put the chlorine in of course. I rarely get in unless it 30 plus humidity, a cold beer always seems to fix the heat bfore the need for a pool hits.

Great that she can choose any of the apparatus. I am sure where you live there must be so many sports that she could try, and think of all the psycho parents you could meet!
 
Thanks on keeping us posted.T&T sounds like alot of fun !We do not have any gyms close by that over it.I hope her ankle & wrist pain clear up and is just temporary.I am dreading thoose teenage years.
 
Glad to hear she is enjoying T&T. I like it too that you can be different levels on each event. This year dd is the same level on everything, but last year she was a higher level on floor than tramp & double-mini. I look forward to seeing how well she does come competition time.
 
Great to see she reached a decision!

I hear you on the pangs watching the WAG girls practice. I used to have to take dd1 to/from work at the gym (she started work within weeks of leaving the team). I'd get there a little early sometimes just to watch and chat with my gym mom buddies! Dd1 has her license and can drive herself now, so I guess my days of sneaking a peak at team practices are over. You move on, though, and try to appreciate the new activities. I still have no idea what I'm looking at when I watch diving or fencing, but I bet before long, I see the beauty in it and find it as gorgeous as gymnastics was. I'm doing a little better with softball. It's got a rawness and energy that's new and exciting.

Anyway, I've yet to see an ex-gymnast NOT move on to something else. They've got to channel all that drive somewhere. Mine are both very happy with their "new" activities. Dd1, however, often complains that the kids in her new activities "just don't work hard enough." LOL. Some lessons from the gym never leave. You may not see that in T&T because I bet it attracts the same kinds of girls.

Congratulations to your dd for moving on. It's scary to leave gym behind, but when it's time to go, you gotta go.
 
Thanks so much, livin' ! Your comments are right on, and I always appreciate you perspective, as one of the gym moms who is now on the 'other side'.

That is so cool that one (or both?) of your dd's do diving. How do they like it? I have sugested that to dd in the past, w/ no results. Seems to me it would be a fairly easy transition from gym.

My older, non-gymmie dd did fencing for a while. It was pretty interesting, but she had kind of an odd coach, & she & eventually quit. A very elegant sport, imo.

Hope your dd's continue to enjoy the many wonderful activities that do exist, out there, in the big world beyond gymnastics. :D
 
That is so cool that one (or both?) of your dd's do diving. How do they like it? I have sugested that to dd in the past, w/ no results. Seems to me it would be a fairly easy transition from gym.

Dd1 dives. Dd2 wouldn't dream of it. She hates being cold in general and cold water in particular.

As for the transition . . . not as easy as one might think. Dd1 says it's way scarier than gymnastics (and this was a kid who lived on the beam). She says she'd rather fall on the floor than hit the water. She does come home with considerably more bruises than she ever did in gym. Personally, though, I'm more worried about hitting her head on the board than the sting from a belly flop or two.
 
MSL -
Great news about the T & T... sounds like fun! I am glad that DD is liking it and not feeling a lot of pressure. Wouldnt it be great if the girls that are coming from the coaches old gym would be just her age and they can be friends?

Good luck and keep the posts coming! I love hearing from you!
K
 
Dd1 dives. Dd2 wouldn't dream of it. She hates being cold in general and cold water in particular.

As for the transition . . . not as easy as one might think. Dd1 says it's way scarier than gymnastics (and this was a kid who lived on the beam). She says she'd rather fall on the floor than hit the water. She does come home with considerably more bruises than she ever did in gym. Personally, though, I'm more worried about hitting her head on the board than the sting from a belly flop or two.

Yikes! That board scares me too, whenever I watch diving on TV. A beautiful sport to watch though, can you post some pics or vids of her on CB? I know we're not a 'diving' chat community, but I'd love to stay caught up on your dd's! :D
 

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