I never thought that I would have to entertain the possibility, but my daughter told me that she wanted to quit gymnastics. This was a few weeks ago and since then her coach has convinced her to finish this season, which would be her first level 10 season at the age of 14. But in spite of this, DD seems to grudgingly participate in practice. She also has had a sore right elbow ever since returning from the camp in Texas and she is using this as an excuse, legitimately or not, to not have to do some drills.
Don't get me wrong. DD, or Jamy, is no malingerer. She is the only one in our gym doing some E-skills and works as hard or harder as anyone else. But she definitely does not have as much enthusiasm as before. One cannot manufacture enthusiam if it is not there. But I worry about how she will do as a level ten when she is not enthusiastic about gymnastics.
We are addressing the sore elbow issue. We are cognizant of the fact that if Jamy is hurt, her health is more important than gymnastics. We did get X-rays of her elbow which were negative, though they show that Jamy's growth plates(in both elbows though only one is sore)have not yet fused. She is said to have 'Little Leaguer's Syndrome' from overuse, which I assume occurred at the camp where they did 4 hour workouts twice a day. Jamy has only been doing about 24 hours a week, so she might not have been used to this. We are getting an MRI this coming Monday and seeing a sports medicine orthopedist(Dr Brody at the SOAR clinic in the SF Bay Area)the following day. I am praying that she can re-hab the elbow without sitting out for ten weeks as the first orthopedist advised.
Jamy just had a tremendous level nine season and we are very optimistic about a sports scholarship if Jamy were to continue gymnastics. Jamy is also a straight A student in high school. It is hard for me to talk to her about all this. But I can't help but to be anxious, as Jamy could be throwing away the chance to receive a scholarship to an elite private school which could top 50 grand a year, something I could not afford. And I hope that Jamy will not have to be burdened with student loans, etc. But don't we all....
Jamy's coach, Abra, told me two years ago that the age of 14 was the must difficult year because that was when higher level gymnasts were most likely to leave the sport. It's the hormones that come with puberty, she explained. It's just hard for me to accept. We have two girls that are graduating this year. Both are level nines and very smart. But I don't know if they'll compete in college. I don't know what kind of feed back Jamy is getting from them. I hope that Jamy can meet some gymnasts from Cal or Stanford(who are nearby) that might stimulate her enthusiasm. We are scheduled to meet the Stanford team next week and the Berkeley team sometime in the near future. My two nieces who were gymnasts at Cal live too far away to help Jamy out.
We are having out intra-squad meet this Saturday at our gym, West Valley in Campbell. I am not sure Jamy can or will even compete. We go to the Lady Luck meet in Las Vegas in a month and the WOGA Classic in two months. I am so worried..
Forgive my rambling, but I had to vent a little bit.
Julio Garcia,
Jamy's dad
Don't get me wrong. DD, or Jamy, is no malingerer. She is the only one in our gym doing some E-skills and works as hard or harder as anyone else. But she definitely does not have as much enthusiasm as before. One cannot manufacture enthusiam if it is not there. But I worry about how she will do as a level ten when she is not enthusiastic about gymnastics.
We are addressing the sore elbow issue. We are cognizant of the fact that if Jamy is hurt, her health is more important than gymnastics. We did get X-rays of her elbow which were negative, though they show that Jamy's growth plates(in both elbows though only one is sore)have not yet fused. She is said to have 'Little Leaguer's Syndrome' from overuse, which I assume occurred at the camp where they did 4 hour workouts twice a day. Jamy has only been doing about 24 hours a week, so she might not have been used to this. We are getting an MRI this coming Monday and seeing a sports medicine orthopedist(Dr Brody at the SOAR clinic in the SF Bay Area)the following day. I am praying that she can re-hab the elbow without sitting out for ten weeks as the first orthopedist advised.
Jamy just had a tremendous level nine season and we are very optimistic about a sports scholarship if Jamy were to continue gymnastics. Jamy is also a straight A student in high school. It is hard for me to talk to her about all this. But I can't help but to be anxious, as Jamy could be throwing away the chance to receive a scholarship to an elite private school which could top 50 grand a year, something I could not afford. And I hope that Jamy will not have to be burdened with student loans, etc. But don't we all....
Jamy's coach, Abra, told me two years ago that the age of 14 was the must difficult year because that was when higher level gymnasts were most likely to leave the sport. It's the hormones that come with puberty, she explained. It's just hard for me to accept. We have two girls that are graduating this year. Both are level nines and very smart. But I don't know if they'll compete in college. I don't know what kind of feed back Jamy is getting from them. I hope that Jamy can meet some gymnasts from Cal or Stanford(who are nearby) that might stimulate her enthusiasm. We are scheduled to meet the Stanford team next week and the Berkeley team sometime in the near future. My two nieces who were gymnasts at Cal live too far away to help Jamy out.
We are having out intra-squad meet this Saturday at our gym, West Valley in Campbell. I am not sure Jamy can or will even compete. We go to the Lady Luck meet in Las Vegas in a month and the WOGA Classic in two months. I am so worried..
Forgive my rambling, but I had to vent a little bit.
Julio Garcia,
Jamy's dad