WAG Advise for mom for first meet

[Popcorn]

My struggle at my son's first meets was not yelling pet names across the floor. No "Hi Sweetie!" or babying in front of older gymnasts. (ie., do not tuck in the shirt of the gymnast or clean his face in front of older gym friends.)

You might be surprised at being more nervous than she is

 

[3 little monkeys]

The morning of DD's first meet I wanted her to have a good breakfast because the meet time was going to go through lunch. My husband made a big breakfast of all of her favorite things. 10 minutes after eating she threw it all up. My husband insisted she had the flu and should stay home. DD said she was sick and needed to stay home. I knew it was nerves and made her go. All went fine even though no medals and a few mishaps. She has never been sick again, looks forward to the meets and ends most with smiles and the top of the podium. I think you just need to get through that first time. During the first few meets my DD would be upset when a teammate beat her. At one meet my DD had a really high score on floor. While filming awards my husband filmed her teammate at awards when my DD won. The excitement that her teammate showed for her was worth more than any award. She has been much more supportive of her teammates since then.

That's a lovely story, I love how the girls pull together at such young ages and are genuinely happy for their friends/training partners!

 

[Deleted member 14190]

To answer the OP, you don't need to do anything. IF she brings it up prior, just say, "you will be fine, have fun". That's it. Other than that, just watch and smile no matter what. Afterwards tell her that you love to watch her and you are proud. If she has a horrible meet, tell her the same thing and add, "you will get it". That's it. Don't let your nerves show, and don't let your nerves influence your actions towards your daughter, (in other words, don't have a big conversation with your daughter because you are nervous.... that only makes you feel better)....

 

[gymmomof1]

We really enjoy going out to dinner when it's over. Sometimes with teammates sometimes just the family. Oh yeah remember to breath especially when she does beam lol. Try to enjoy the journey cause it goes fast!

 

[Ali'sMom]

There is really not much else for me to add, but just remember absolutely NO FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY!!! Usually at meets they remind everyone in the audience and if someone's flash accidentally goes off, they usually call them out over the loud speaker!! Yikes!! Have fun and good luck to your DD!!!

Our first meet, I brought my little point & shoot camera. Couldn't get any decent picture. Next meet I brought DH's digital SLR (one step below professional). I turned the flash off. Sometime before we started, I turned the camera off to save battery. Turned on when DD started. Took tons of floor pics. Got some great ones!
THEN.... the announcement.... I looked at my camera and took a picture of my lap to see, and OMG, the flash was on. Yup, it was about me. Floor judge stared right up at me while the announcement was made. I was so embarrassed!!! But then I was also so upset that I did something wrong When the meet was over, I apologized to our coach, and explained.

Since then, I just use my iphone to video, and then I do screen shots of the video. No flash, and I get to stop the action wherever I want

I will never forget that!!!

 

[Anna's_Mom]

I can't add much to the what to do/say advise. Hopefully your coach has done a really good job of going over all of the crazy rules for gymnasts and their parents. If she/he hasn't find out now. Our first few meets as a team (brand new team, but experienced coach who just didn't remember all the parents were green) we had girls with deductions for earrings, for nail polish, for fiddling with their leo after the salute. And we had nervous moms get spoken to for leaning over the rail and fixing hair or calling their daughter's name and on and on. And I made the mistake of not sending the little "candy gram" that was offered. OMG you would have thought I was the worst mom ever! And I think the absolutely best thing you can do is get there super early -- you never know what parking will be like or if you miss the turnoff from the highway or whatever. It's really awful to be stressed about the time and your daughter will start breathless and stressed, or, worse yet, be excluded for missing the start of warm-ups.

 

[sce]

I can't add much to the what to do/say advise. Hopefully your coach has done a really good job of going over all of the crazy rules for gymnasts and their parents. If she/he hasn't find out now. Our first few meets as a team (brand new team, but experienced coach who just didn't remember all the parents were green) we had girls with deductions for earrings,

Another new to meets Mom (well not boy's meets, but girls are different.) No one has explained anything. Please elaborate on earrings. Not allowed at all, only small posts allowed???

 

[wheezy]

I always start off the season telling DD that 9s are hard to come by in the first meets. Then I tell her that whatever her AA score is! it is a great starting place. The goal is to try and have the AA move UP throughout the season....other than that! a final 'have fun!' And 'I love you' is it.....
I also try not talking about meets too much as the day approaches. I find the anticipation can be stressful.
GOOD LUCK!!!! I am sure she will do great!!!
Oh yeah, and make sure she eats what she usually eats!!!

 

[profmom]

Haha, one of DD's coaches always brings a bottle of nail polish remover and a stash of cotton balls.

 

[Quadqueen]

Another new to meets Mom (well not boy's meets, but girls are different.) No one has explained anything. Please elaborate on earrings. Not allowed at all, only small posts allowed???

As far as I understand it - one pair of studs is allowed. Nothing dangling/hanging off the ear. Definitely make sure nail polish is removed.

 

[Anna's_Mom]

On earnings - I think the official rule is one small stud. But we had one judge who penalized if the stud was colored or a graphic so now we are just really careful - either none or tiny metal stud. Other threads here have nail polish isn't an official no no, but apparently is a bugaboo with out frequent judges, so again, better to play it safe.

 

[tuckfull]

I don't have much to add other than I was surprised how nervous *I* was at DD's first ever meet three years ago!! I remember feeling a little nauseous and thinking that I'd eaten something funky until three different moms of DD's teammates mentioned they felt the same way. Meanwhile, the girls were all SO excited and they had a blast!

Just tell her to smile and have fun - and no picking wedgies while she's competing!!

 

[headoverheels]

Small studs (or no earrings at all, if you really want to be safe) and no nail polish. I love the poster above who said to tell her to smile and have fun. That's really what it's all about anyway. I have on occasion had a talk with my gymmie before the meet to remind her that not everyone gets a medal, and that she's a winner no matter what the leaderboards say. I make sure she eats and try to get her to the venue at least 15 minutes before stretching, but I confess that several times we've arrived right when her group was called down to the floor to warm up. Oops! Bring money for snacks for yourself, extra batteries for your camera, and just try to enjoy it. Your daughter will pick up on any nervousness or anxiety on your part. Remember - this is not the Olympics and her performance at this meet is not going to change her life one way or the other. Whatever happens try to put a positive spin on it and don't let yourself be drawn into the post-meet analysis trap, as tempting as it is. Also, remember (and remind your girl, if necessary) that the judges are only human and a routine that one judge scores as an 8.5 could be a 9.0 for a different judge. In other words, judging is very subjective.

Once you get this first meet over and done you'll realize that you were worried for nothing. Have a great time!

 

[mumoftwogymnasts]

I just always tell my gymnasts to "Have fun out there" and afterwards I tell them how proud I am. For afterwards I would take the cue from your daughter, one of mine likes to talk about the meet, the other doesn't. We have a tradition of getting lunch/dinner/ice cream depending on time of day afterwards- regardless of how they scored, it is a celebration of getting out there and doing the best they could do on that day.

Tips for mum, meet hair will probably take you longer than you are expecting. The meet will probably go for longer than you are expecting, a cushion, water and snacks for you can be helpful. Your gymnast is likely to be ravenous when she comes off the floor, a small snack to tide her over can be a lifesaver.

 

[aksaunders]

Tell her that you are so proud of her and that you loved watching her. Then ask her if she had fun.

 

[Muddlethru]

I only always say "have fun" before the meet. After the meet, I'll flash her a big smile and give her a big hug. If she did well, I congratulate her. I'd let her take the lead. Kids like to please and can easily pick up on what the parent is thinking/feeling. The less I make out of a meet, the more comfortable my daughter is, the less pressure she feels and the better she does. I feel my role is just to try to take pressure off her. They are nervous and hard on themselves as it is. I also feel they know when I am just trying to make them feel better. So if it is not a good meet, I let it go uneventful.

 

[dna3262]

Before my dd's meets I always tell her to try her best and have fun. This year was a rough meet season for her. Every meet she scored really well on 3 events and bombed one event whivh took her out of the aa running. At the last meet she cried after her last event (never has she cried at gymnastics) after the meet I gave her a big hug and told her how proud i was that she finished her last event even though she had a rough fall. We always celebrate each meet no matter how good or bad by going out to eat or getting a manicure. Her choice. I also always ask how she feels she did. I let her point out the weak points but I make sure to say she can correct them anf I point out all of the good things she did.

 

[wnl256]

I only always say "have fun" before the meet. After the meet, I'll flash her a big smile and give her a big hug. If she did well, I congratulate her.

At the end of every meet I always give my DD a hug and tell her how proud I am of her. Because no matter what the scores say I am proud of her and what she has accomplished, and that she has the courage to compete at all.

 

[Iwannabemargo]

if you are allowed I would take a cushion (over here we sit on bleachers or school benches), food and drink - its a long old day, plus make sure to charge the camera batteries and take a spare memory card

 

[Deleted member 14190]

One last thing! Be prepared to have that compulsory music ingrained in your brain for life. Or, bring some Bose noise canceling ear buds for when she is on Vault, bars and beam...