DD's First L5 Meet

[gymdad2011]

DD scored over 38 in first L5 meet. Any suggestions on keeping expectation her expectations in the realm of reality?

 

[bogwoppit]

Welcome to the Chalkbucket.

My best advice is to show her how to be a good winner, how to praise others hard work and how to accept that some days things can wrong. Knowing how to be a team player is a great lifelong skill.

Congrats on a great first meet.

 

[gymmomtoo]

Totally agree with Bog. And congrats to her too! (your daughter I mean, not Bog)

 

[gymmomntc2e6]

wow ! huge score! congratulations to her & what Bog said.

 

[vagymmomma]

There are some great videos on You Tube that show montages of some great gymnasts falling on skills. It's a good reminder that everyone falls and you can't rest on your laurels. Our head coach always tells DD to never lose sight of the next set of skills. The beauty (and challenge) with gymnastics is there is always something new to learn. Best advice is to remind her that a fall can happen to anyone and to work on uptraining.

 

[gymdad2011]

Thanks for the advice. I always reminder my DD that you can always improve. Her goal is now to get a 39 in level 5 and/or her first ten. Her first meet was 9.6 vault, 9.55 bars, 9.6 beam, 9.6 floor. She is pretty consistent, and tell her the ultimate goal is to be an all-around gymnast and to always strive to improve skills and to learn new ones. Thanks again.

 

[gym law mom]

Gymdad, a little piece of advice from one who has been there. Don't talk numbers! When my gymmie started competing(L5 was her 1st competitive level) all she could think of was the score. She was not even close to a 38AA, but she put alot of pressure on herself which in turn caused rather poor routines. Her former pre-team coach sat her down and talked with her about focusing on each routine---take them 1 at a time. Do the best routine you can on that day and let the scores fall where they will. The gymnast has no control over how judges see them and score them. One meet, it can be a 9.3 on bars and the next its a 8.9. Tell dd to go to each meet for the joy of it, have fun, support her teammates and be gracious in victory.

 

[Galadriel]

just thought i'd share a snippet from an interview today with Shawn Johnson, returning to competition talking about if she thinks she will be in 2012 Olympic team, being interviewed after silver medal in Pan Ams bar final

Even if she is named to the team, she said “I have no expectations in London. I’ve never dreamt of a certain medal or a certain score. My coach taught me that when I was little because it’s something you can’t control. You can never really expect anything.â€￾

Link Removed Link to interviewAND VERY WELL DONE TO YOU TALENTED DD!!!