Parents Two great stories from State Champs

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There were two really cool things I saw at my daughter's state champs weekend- one involving my princess and the other not.

The first was that two girls from the same gym tied for first all around in their age division. That is going to be a lifetime bond and the excitement they shared on the top of the podium was so sweet. When I asked my daughter if if she would rather be state champ all alone or share it with a teammate, she smiled big and said, "Share it!"Congrats to those girls!

The second story revolves around my daughter. Her session was on Sunday and Saturday she was bouncing off the walls at my sister-in-law's house where we were staying. I decided that I was going to take her to an open gym at a local gym. I found a gym that had an open gym that allowed kids who weren't on their comp team to use the apparatus and headed off. My daughter was kicking and screaming the whole way. I told her to get on the mat for five minutes and if she was done being there after that we could leave. About ten seconds after hitting the floor she was beaming (the gym is her happy place). Parents have to sit in an observation room at this gym and about two minutes in, I see two coaches surrounding my daughter. I rush into the gym worried about what's happening since we were far from home in "enemy territory". I asked if everything was okay and they said they were just introducing themselves and wanted to know if we were moving to their city. I told them we were just visiting. It turns out the two coaches were married and owned the gym. They were incredibly welcoming and were an absolute credit to the sport.

Meanwhile, my daughter has already made a friend and they're playing away during the whole open gym. Toward the end of the open gym, I start talking to the girl's dad. He was a great guy and and we wished each other's daughter luck and realized that they would be one age division apart. Fast forward to meet time, both girls win all-around in their division. Who would have known that two future state champs were horsing around when they met at that open gym?

As an aside, when I asked some parents in the front row if I could sit in front of them to record my daughter's floor routine, they said, "No, we have an extra chair. Sit next to us." They happened to be from the same gym where we did our open gym. I usually try to keep names out of my posts, but the gym was Flip For Me in Las Vegas. The owners and parents deserve recognition for their exemplary attitude!
 
Kicking and screaming is figurative. She said she was nervous because she didn't know anyone. She wasn't literally kicking or screaming, nor did I literally drag her. And I felt it would be better to get the nerves out going somewhere unfamiliar the day before rather than the day of her meet. This sport is all about going into unfamiliar places with a ton of pressure. We disagree and that's fine.

I do find it funny that "I don't mean to be rude" almost always translates into "The next thing I say is going to be rude."
 
MD Gym Mom,

Usually I agree with you but this time I see things differently. If the kid was bouncing (and most likely being a bit of a pain), she clearly needed to get out some excess energy, either in a positive or a negative way. When I was a kid, if I got overly hungery I would refuse to eat, just too upset to feel it. My parents laugh about one day when they pulled into a fudge shop, and when I said I did not want any, they shoved it into my mouth. I was calm in minutes. Mom also used to put me in bright sunlight, forcing me to close my eyes when I refused a nap. After my eyes closed, I slept and we were all happy. Both stories did not make my parents "nice" but they did what was best for me.

I see this the same way, mom knew what her kid needed and she woud get it, Just becasue a kid is fussing does not mean she knows what she wants or needs. Sometimes her Mom knows better.


Congrats to your dd, on the meet and making a new friend. Hopefully they can meet again when you visit your sister in law. So nice to hear about kids getting along.


PS and OT, How is Dani doing in her dance?
 
Great job to your DD on her accomplishments! She sounds like a very motivated little girl! Good luck to her as she moves onto the next level!

Awesome story about the 2 teammates sharing their success!

As for open gym, I have to agree with MGM - not something I would ever do! For us, the day before a meet is a day for chilling, maybe a light workout and refining routines. No need to risk injury especially before States. And I would not take DD to a 'strange' gym...that's just me.
 
Cute story about the two sharing and being so happy about it!

I can see both sides on the open gym thing--I certainly wouldn't take my daughter to open gym the day before a meet--too much risk of injury. But your daughter's only a level 3--so I can understand that getting out the wiggles and excess energy would be a good thing. And at that level, risk of injury isn't all that high. Glad she made some friends!
 
Congrats to your daughter. She must be a great gymnast. You seem very enthusiastic about her progress (and should be). I would just add a bit of caution. Don't get too over involved with your dd's gymnastics that you end up turning her off. My dd also had a fantastic and VERY successful Lv 3 season last year (I won't give details because that is just not my thing), so I know how exciting it can be. However, you just need to remember that it is her sport and that she is really JUST STARTING.

I am not saying that you are necessarily over involved (I don't know you), and I am sure you are a level headed and wonderful parent. I just want to reiterate the "gymnastics is a marathon, not a sprint" thing (by the way, whoever first said that Kuddos to you!)

Take care. I hope your daughter has continued success and more important lots of fun.
 
Great stories! I too was like, "kicking and screaming?" but I guess I have used that to describe my dd when she really wasn't ACTUALLY kicking and screaming.

I love how the girls just automatically make friends when they go to meets or other gyms. You should be a proud mama.
 
Congrats to your daughter. She must be a great gymnast. You seem very enthusiastic about her progress (and should be). I would just add a bit of caution. Don't get too over involved with your dd's gymnastics that you end up turning her off. My dd also had a fantastic and VERY successful Lv 3 season last year (I won't give details because that is just not my thing), so I know how exciting it can be. However, you just need to remember that it is her sport and that she is really JUST STARTING.

I am not saying that you are necessarily over involved (I don't know you), and I am sure you are a level headed and wonderful parent. I just want to reiterate the "gymnastics is a marathon, not a sprint" thing (by the way, whoever first said that Kuddos to you!)

Take care. I hope your daughter has continued success and more important lots of fun.

First of all, thank you for the kind words.

This sport is brutally difficult to be a parent in. I have coached my 3 boys in every sport they've done and it's been great. I'm simply not qualified to coach my daughter in this sport and I think most gymnastics coaches don't want parents coaching anyway. I try to encourage her to work hard, never complain and reinforce things her coaches say, but the balance really is difficult. There are times where I think I'm too involved and times where I feel like I'm too aloof.

I'm not sure if gymnastics is a sprint or a marathon. If my daughter told us that she was really done with the sport tomorrow, we'd let her walk away with no regrets. That said, I would love for it to be a marathon. I have fallen in love with the sport. I think she's looking for a marathon, too. I've never seen her unhappy in the gym. I hope we can keep that going!

@Canadian_gym_mom - I am incredibly proud, but I'll stick with being a papa!
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I'm not sure if gymnastics is a sprint or a marathon. If my daughter told us that she was really done with the sport tomorrow, we'd let her walk away with no regrets. That said, I would love for it to be a marathon. I have fallen in love with the sport. I think she's looking for a marathon, too. I've never seen her unhappy in the gym. I hope we can keep that going!

First off congrats to your DD she has much to be proud of.

I think Clover was referring not to how long your DD may stay in gymnastics but, rather the progression of the sport in general. Long term sucessful gymnasts are built slowly over time each race is different depending on the gymnast. Some are great at lower levels and get lots of medals others are slow to start and great as the growin themselves. Either way long term sucess is built on much praise and letting the coaches do their job and parents doing theirs. Parents job is to support and love them in the marathon called gymnastics. I think we all struggle with the balance in this crazy sport but, ask any older gymnast what she attributes sucess in the sport to and she will say "good coaching and parents who supported her but in the end owning the sport as her own."

Off the soap box now these are only my humble opinion of s mom with many gymnastics years under her belt. May your gymnast have many years of fun and sucess but remember sucess is measured not only by medals but by personal growth as a person.........

Again congrats to your DD.
 
PS and OT, How is Dani doing in her dance?

Thanks for asking--Dani is doing great with dance--having fun and learning lots. I don't want to hijack cbone's thread so that is why my response is short :).

cbone--I apologize for being rude. I have just seem many gymnasts and dancers quit prematurely because of parental pressures and hate seeing little ones growing up with big pressures on those little shoulders.
 
Your apology is accepted, but I appreciate your concern more than your apology. Wanting to help people get the best for their children is admirable. We all have different ideas on how to best prepare our daughters for competition. My decision was made to get her energy out, not wear out our welcome with my sister-in-law and to perform in an unfamiliar setting without the pressure of state on her mind to loosen up. I'm still not sure if the latter worked, but the first two objectives were met and that's what really matters.

As I've been on Chalk Bucket, I've learned it's best to steer away from placement- and score-oriented goals. We've worked very hard at preparing our daughter to compete at every meet and to have fun. We've taught her to be gracious in victory and defeat. She and we have grown. I'm certain that she feels pressure from us, though we try to minimize it. We aren't perfect, but the feedback we get from good parents here helps us get closer. Your input is important to me, even if we disagree. ;)
 

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