WAG For everyone....

[gothgymmom]

Hey, I am posting this here that way all can see it. Coaches, if you have a gymnast that is going through a tough time, this is for you to recommend. Parents, if your DD or DS is having some trouble, this book is for you...

We had a meet this past Saturday (1-10) and someone there was selling a few books called "Let the River Flow". It is a very good book (mainly for the younger girls/boys) about a girl who won first place at her first competition, and she was daydreaming of her future grandeur, but the 2nd meet she didnt place and wanted to quit as she didnt think she was good enough anymore.

My DD has these same exact feelings (as she didnt place at all at the meet, and got 10th aa out of 13 girls) and I read it to her when we got home and dang it if I didnt have tears in my eyes! My sister was in the room and she even had tears listening to me read this book!

Its only a few pages long, but the moral of the story is very very good for those young gymnasts who feel lost when they "lose".

 

[Deleted member 17723]

Wow, that book sounds amazing! I got a 9.05 on vault and didn't place Saturday-neither did I place with a 35.9 aa. Let your child know that sometimes it doesn't matter how they place-it matters that they tried there best. I tried my best and got my highest score yet, so I didn't care I only placed on beam (9.7) and floor (9.0).

 

[gothgymmom]

I do try to tell her that, she doesnt listen to me. She says she always does her best and its not good enough. Im lost myself in knowing how to help her. I do notice she doesnt always pay attention in practice, and its like she doesnt listen when the coaches give her things she needs to fix on her routine.

 

[Ali'sMom]

I'm going to look into this!
We had an issue DD's first year of competing, albeit old L2. She came in 1st place AA for her first two L2 meets, then the third one called 1st AA only, and it wasn't her. She was DEV-A-STAT-ED. We had no way to even know how close she came. Coach gave her support, don't worry about it, etc, you're moving to L3 now anyway...
Lots of hugs and support to find out she missed first place by only .05. But we didn't know that for 24 hours. In that 24 hours she vascillated between "I will definitely do better" and "Mommy, I suck". That 24 hours was quite difficult. When we finally saw all of the scores, it was quite a learning experience for her. I explained that I was so proud of how close she came to 1st, but that also, all the sulking was not appropriate. I was glad it ended the way it did, but it was a learning experience, nonetheless.

 

[Deleted member 17723]

Let her know that she is improving-even if she can't see it. Encourage her to listen to her coaches, but don't mention it more than once (as a gymnast, it gets annoying!) Don't really talk about it unless she brings it up and remind her that its only gymnastics... and she will have many more meets in the future. Tell her I said she can do it, she just needs to BELIEVE in herself, TRUST her coaches and know she can do it. Maybe a fear is holding her back? Try and find the root of the problem.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

the book is awesome. Vanessa Atler is the author. today she is coaching. in her day she was awesome. i had a girl on National Team at the same time. loved watching her compete. had a helluva time with uneven bars but her other 3 events were incredible. look her up on youtube.

 

[dynamicduo]

She actually came to our gym a few weeks ago and did a book signing with the team and answered all sorts of questions about her gymnastics journey! She even asked the girls for more book ideas because she wants to write more geared towards the competing athlete!

 

[alr83]

Thank you for this recommendation! I ordered the book and we just got it today. My dd loves it. With everything she's been through, more than just winning or losing, this came at a great time!

 

[gothgymmom]

Thank you for this recommendation! I ordered the book and we just got it today. My dd loves it. With everything she's been through, more than just winning or losing, this came at a great time!

your welcome!!