Don't wanna be...

[MaryA]

All by myself! Don' wanna be... All by myself, anymore....

That's the song I've had stuck in my head since the Level 6 States schedule was posted. They've broken it up by age, not by team, and DD is the only one in her team in her session. She's also the only one on her team on Sunday, so the poor coach, who would otherwise be done by dinnertime Saturday, is going to have to stay over just for my child.

I guess I could see it being a good meet for her because she won't have any distractions, but mostly I'm afraid it won't be a good meet for her because she won't have the support of her team. For those of you who have been in this situation, which did it turn out to be?

And, of course, I won't have my own gym parent buddies to hang out with either.

Going back to feeling sorry for myself and for DD now.

Don' wanna be...

 

[bogwoppit]

Ah it'll be fine. Mine competed alone many times and they often did better without their team mates.

 

[sportsmommy]

My dd has been by herself before. She had a very good meet but she didn't have as much fun.

 

[Gymmonkeymomma]

States is always by age, and Little Monkey has been by herself her entire career (5 years prior to this year when all of her teammates came to hang with her!)

 

[MaryA]

Level 4 and 5 states were by gym, so I sort of thought the "dividing by age" thing might not happen till optionals.

DD isn't thrilled, but luckily she's a "take things in stride" type of kid. And she ADORES her coach, so she's ok with it just being the two of them. She does want to go the day before to watch her teammates compete, so we may see if we can try to make that happen.

 

[Gymmonkeymomma]

Level 4 and 5 states were by gym, so I sort of thought the "dividing by age" thing might not happen till optionals.
.

Didn't know that States split differently, how do they determine age group winners?

I guess I should qualify my statement with "our state" always splits by age

 

[MaryA]

Didn't know that States split differently, how do they determine age group winners?

I guess I should qualify my statement with "our state" always splits by age

They don't. Can't really be "the" state champion at those levels in our state. I guess you just get to be "a" state champion (as in one of many, I suppose). Hardly matters at those levels, does it?

 

[wallinbl]

That's the prized slot among people in our gym! You get the full focus of the coaches during warmups.

 

[Quadqueen]

My DD was alone for her L5 states this year. She didn't really like not being with her teammates, but she got through it.

 

[gymmomntc2e6]

mine was always alone @ states. ours was broken down by age too.

 

[gasrgoose]

All by myself! Don' wanna be... All by myself, anymore....

That's the song I've had stuck in my head since the Level 6 States schedule was posted. They've broken it up by age, not by team, and DD is the only one in her team in her session. She's also the only one on her team on Sunday, so the poor coach, who would otherwise be done by dinnertime Saturday, is going to have to stay over just for my child.

I guess I could see it being a good meet for her because she won't have any distractions, but mostly I'm afraid it won't be a good meet for her because she won't have the support of her team. For those of you who have been in this situation, which did it turn out to be?

And, of course, I won't have my own gym parent buddies to hang out with either.

Going back to feeling sorry for myself and for DD now.

Don' wanna be...

I think she'll be fine. My daughter had that happen this year and had a great meet. Sure she would have loved having her team with her but it was state so it was time to compete. Our gym places an emphasis on the state competition and really focuses the entire year/season on having the girls at their best for the state meet. They also prepare them for the fact that they won't be competing with their entire team (and maybe individually) when the meet is divided by so many age groups.

In our state they have a team final competition and our team qualified, so the team got to compete together as a result of their ability to succeed individually. A great lesson I think.

Good luck!

 

[Deleted member D3987]

it is what it is. this is the consequence of dumbing down the system so that everyone has a bigger chance to win and bring home a medal. this is what happens when you have 5676003756697 age groups. and you were right to be mindful of the coach. we all suffer at this time of year...

 

[pattymello]

and you were right to be mindful of the coach. we all suffer at this time of year...

I fall into the best sleep after working all day at a comp. Soooo tiring.

 

[MaryA]

I fall into the best sleep after working all day at a comp. Soooo tiring.

I can only imagine. I am exhausted and emotionally wrecked (doesn't matter if it was a good meet or a bad one... I'm equally wrecked) after watching one meet. I can only imagine how coaches must feel after two, sometimes three, days of them! And I'm just sitting there in the stands... the coaches are changing equipment and acting as physical/mental/spritual advisors to a bunch of little kids out on the floor! Believe me, I appreciate the heck out of my daughter's coaches!

 

[AlwaysCuriousMom]

I can only imagine. I am exhausted and emotionally wrecked (doesn't matter if it was a good meet or a bad one... I'm equally wrecked) after watching one meet. I can only imagine how coaches must feel after two, sometimes three, days of them! And I'm just sitting there in the stands... the coaches are changing equipment and acting as physical/mental/spritual advisors to a bunch of little kids out on the floor! Believe me, I appreciate the heck out of my daughter's coaches!

I KNOW!! While we stay for one session, Coach stays for 5 sessions. It's amazing!

 

[Deleted member D3987]

thank you for recognizing that!

 

[Natasha]

My dd was alone for states this year too. It was the first meet she ever competed by herself. I too was worried about her not having the distraction of her teammates, but she handled it fine and hit all of her events. Because of how things break up by ages for states, there will certainly be other girls competing by themselves, and hopefully in her rotation. My dd actually had a nice time getting to know one of the other girls in her rotation that she had seen at lots of meets before but never really talked to much before. The girls in the rotation all cheered for each other also which was nice. I think overall it ended up being a positive experience for her. I didn't like being by myself, but there is always plenty to watch to keep my occupied. We also stayed for the following session which all of her teammates were in. It was fun for her to be able to really cheer for her teammates without having to be focusing on her own stuff.

 

[Optionals United]

Been there done that, she will be able to get through it. Even though she wont have her teammates there she should still be able to have a fun meet. She will get a lot of fun time with the coaches and meet others girls, that she otherwise not meet because she would be with her team.

I competed a whole season by myself and I can tell you sometimes I miss those days. It is a lot less stressful than having a whole team running around. You could just get up and compete your event and not think about the rest of your team doing well. because I like seeing my whole team succeed and having a ton of people tryin g to have a good meet can cause you a lot of stress.

Next weekend at regionals I will be all by myself.(because of the 0182365038156103265 age groups(my age is split up into 2 groups 1*A and 1*B)) And to tell you the truth it will be a huge culture shock after competing this season with 15, yes 15 other level 8s on my team. after only being on a real team since level 4.But I am super excited to just enjoy the meet, have a few good laughs with my coaches, and meet some new girls.(hopefully, if the dont bite )

That kind of went way OT. but she will be fine nothing to worry about. they are all going to have to do it at some point in their life.

 

[2gymmies]

We've been alone and had it go both ways (good and bad being alone) - dd says she feels bad for her coaches when they have a child alone because they have to try to keep them entertained yet focused. DD was state champ once alone and had also completely melted down alone. She says warm-ups are harder because you cannot "block" warm up time.

Best of luck and no matter what be positive about it!

 

[flipandtwist]

I have competed by myself too many times to count. It never really affected my performance. If anything I was better because my coach's attention was all on me. Sometimes, I'd even have 2 coaches, if my competition was in the middle of the day.