Women A new chapter in the journey of Puma Jr:USAIGC

[dancingimmie]

Holy crap!! Good luck to her and you!!

 

[Mrs. Puma]

It sounds like you and the rest of the rest of the puma pride have thoroughly thought it through.

I am ever so appreciative of your alliteration.

 

[CTMOM]

Well, here's the really crazy part. We switched Monday night and she is competing next Saturday. (I know...my mind is blown too) When she wanted me to call the new gym in February, I told her they probably wouldn't take a kid mid-season and even if they did she probably wouldn't compete until the new season started (Nov/Dec around here). She accepted this though she loves competing, but I was wrong! Lol! Apparently in USAIGC Bronze you have to compete in three meets (only get the qualifying score in one) to do States. The new gym has exactly three meets left before States, so they want her to compete! My head is spinning, but she is out of her mind excited. So here's the timeline: She started seriously wanting out mid February. I do tons of research for a week. She decides this is what she wants, and I attempt to talk to (old gym) HC last Friday, but she's not there. I message her. I schedule evaluation at new gym on Saturday afternoon for Monday. I finally am in contact with old HC Sunday. (She was wonderful!!! Wants her to stay, but supports us either way) Monday at 4pm she has evaluation. She takes a trial class Monday at 5:30. Monday at 8:30 Mommy writes a big fat check to the new gym. (Please imagine 4 meet fees, new comp leo, warm ups, tank leo, backpack, hairpiece, choreography, USAIGC fees all at once......thank god the owner offered to let me pay March tuition next week!!) She is doing choreography this Sunday and competing it next Saturday. Things escalated quickly.... LOL! I can't make this stuff up....

It actually sounds really exciting! Good luck to her! Can wait to see how she does.

 

[Mrs. Puma]

It actually sounds really exciting! Good luck to her! Can wait to see how she does.

It will be interesting!! I really have no idea what to expect. I'm all over learning about USAIGC (I will take any info/insight anyone has? I know it's not super popular!) and I feel like she SHOULD score at least a little better in IGC bronze than L5, but who knows! I keep telling her it's still all about form...

 

[Ali'sMom]

I am in Syracuse, NY. So far the new gym has been amazing. Very friendly and flexible. Thank you! I hope this is the right call!!!

I was correct
If you've got a happy child, then it's the right call

 

[l.c.o]

How exciting! So happy for her. I am looking forward to updates. Best of luck to her while settling in!

 

[e'smum]

i don't even want to know how much that check was for!
i think it sounds like it was meant to be. it was a lot of work on your part but it fell together quite easily, if you look at it from my angle.
i wish her the best of luck in her first competition with her new team and good luck with her new choreo!

 

[mom2newgymnast]

Good luck to her on her new adventure!

 

[NutterButter]

Good luck to Puma Jr! The new opportunity sounds wonderful!

 

[Kcanflip]

Best of luck. Sounds like the excitement is back for her and that's got to make it all worthwhile. Hope she has a great meet and loves her new coaches and teammates

 

[GymDad9.9]

One door closes, another one opens. Good luck.

 

[JMACAZ]

How exciting!! My DD a similar thing a few years back (jo to xcel and gym switch) Competed 2 weeks later and won floor and vault. Good for you for listening to her and making it about her. Can't wait to hear how it all goes!!

 

[AgingHippie]

So exciting. Please keep us posted!

 

[MomIdidit!]

It is tough when you have to do this. Both of mine did the same at one point to save their bodies, they ended up happier and still felt like real gymnasts. If it isn't fun, then it isn't worth it.

This is so true Bog!! There is a girl in dd gym who is done but mom and dad won't pull her out. She tells the other girls she can't do x skill because her back, toe, neck hurts. It's so sad because you can see it on the little girls face that it just isn't fun anymore.

I'm sorry that your family has to transition to a new situation but good for you for listening to your girl. Congratulations to puma Jr on her new journey, I hope it is challenging but always fun.

Please keep us posted

 

[mariposa]

Good for you for listening to her! Hope she has a great first meet! Can't wait to read about her adventures.

 

[coachmolly]

Good for her- and you! With USAIGC she will have the ability to remove some of the skills that gave her trouble in compulsories and compete routines that are more based on her strengths which I think will really help with her confidence. She can keep working those skills in the gym, but no need to rush into competing them.
Glad she is excited about the quickly approaching meet! I can't imagine teaching a kid new routines in a week, but if she's a willing gymnast she'll make it work!

 

[triplethreat+1]

Good on you for keeping the right perspective! And good on Puma Jr for sticking with it and also knowing herself.
I have to admit, I'm kinda jealous of you for having several options, DD9 could use something different.

 

[Mom2G&D]

Good luck to your daughter in USAIGC!!!

My daughter competed in that organization for four years (two at Bronze and two at Silver) before moving back to USAG this year. In fact, her old gym competed at a few gyms in Syracuse! I'm sure your daughter will do very well coming from a JO program. And, it wouldn't surprise me if she made states and moved on to Nationals (which are in Nevada this year)!

I am not in any way trying to put a damper on your expectations, but I do want to give you a heads up about the level of competition you might eventually face. My daughter was fortunate enough to qualify for states each year - and made the qualification scores at states for nationals (which alternated between Palm Springs and Orlando those years). While local and state competition may in fact be easier and more laid back than JO, the girls at Nationals (especially from other states) can score very well and are some tough competition. I had the opportunity to speak to a coach from California the first year. Her girls did not follow the recommended practice hours... and in some cases the hours were more than double the recommendation. The following year in Orlando, I spoke with some folks with another team - and they informed me that the majority of their girls were also JO girls who were doing USAIGC in their off season to have some fun with optional routines. I do know that there was discussion about addressing those issues in the future, but don't know for sure what course of action was taken.

That said, my daughter had a wonderful experience in USAIGC and loved the flexibility. For example, she was able to compete Bronze AA and then up to two events at Silver as an event specialist. For what it's worth, the gymnasts she encountered were all friendly and supportive of each other. Coaches were friendly, and parents from other teams were great too. I hope your daughter's experience is just as wonderful!

 

[Mrs. Puma]

Good for her- and you! With USAIGC she will have the ability to remove some of the skills that gave her trouble in compulsories and compete routines that are more based on her strengths which I think will really help with her confidence. She can keep working those skills in the gym, but no need to rush into competing them.
Glad she is excited about the quickly approaching meet! I can't imagine teaching a kid new routines in a week, but if she's a willing gymnast she'll make it work!

Exactly! She keeps saying "Wow, skill x is easier when I don't have to worry about skill y". One of the biggest ones is how much better her cast flyaway is vs the tap swings. She was getting dinged big time with releasing way too low. And in IGC Bronze you can't do saltos, so even though she's been competing ROBHSBT for 2&1/2 years, her tucks still aren't high and beautiful so she'll compete ROBHSBHS and get the tucks better in practice. So hopefully she'll be cleaner and score a little better? I guess we'll see next Sunday! Lol Yes, I'm super proud of her for accepting the challenge of competing a routine she'll have learned 7 days before. They are letting her use the music she's had her heart set on and she is out of her mind excited. I think this is going to be a good thing! (I hope!!)

 

[Mrs. Puma]

Good luck to your daughter in USAIGC!!!

My daughter competed in that organization for four years (two at Bronze and two at Silver) before moving back to USAG this year. In fact, her old gym competed at a few gyms in Syracuse! I'm sure your daughter will do very well coming from a JO program. And, it wouldn't surprise me if she made states and moved on to Nationals (which are in Nevada this year)!

I am not in any way trying to put a damper on your expectations, but I do want to give you a heads up about the level of competition you might eventually face. My daughter was fortunate enough to qualify for states each year - and made the qualification scores at states for nationals (which alternated between Palm Springs and Orlando those years). While local and state competition may in fact be easier and more laid back than JO, the girls at Nationals (especially from other states) can score very well and are some tough competition. I had the opportunity to speak to a coach from California the first year. Her girls did not follow the recommended practice hours... and in some cases the hours were more than double the recommendation. The following year in Orlando, I spoke with some folks with another team - and they informed me that the majority of their girls were also JO girls who were doing USAIGC in their off season to have some fun with optional routines. I do know that there was discussion about addressing those issues in the future, but don't know for sure what course of action was taken.

That said, my daughter had a wonderful experience in USAIGC and loved the flexibility. For example, she was able to compete Bronze AA and then up to two events at Silver as an event specialist. For what it's worth, the gymnasts she encountered were all friendly and supportive of each other. Coaches were friendly, and parents from other teams were great too. I hope your daughter's experience is just as wonderful!

Thank you! That is good to know, and I did warn her to not think she's going to go in and sweep the podium. I really have no idea what to expect and I keep telling her to just do her best and know there is zero pressure on her in this whirlwind situation. I checked out her teammates' Worlds scores from last year and I think they did pretty well. One girl got 3rd on beam out of 40-something. One thing that stuck me is that bars scores overall seemed low-ish? I'm not sure if it's scored harshly or if the particular few groups I looked at just weren't great on bars, but first place was very low 9s and even an 8.95. Bars is Puma Jr's strength, so I'm not sure if this is good news or bad for her! ETA: At World's last year the 10Jr Bronze bar champion was 9.050 and 10Sr was 8.650