profmom
Proud Parent
- Nov 18, 2011
- 9,461
- 17,029
So my DD is now in college and recently competed in her first NAIGC meet. Her psycho mom packed up her (not so) little brother and drove the 4.5 hours to see it. The bottom line -- she loves her team and the program, and if your high schooler still wants to continue in gymnastics in college, this is a great option.
There were five teams at this meet (Temple, UDelaware, GWU, Brandeis, and one other team that I now cannot recall for the life of me). The skills competed ranged from around L6 to the upper end of L8. This meet was mostly women, but there were a few men there too, so they had the women competing in separate squads and the men all competed together with a single judging team following them from event to event. The atmosphere was really fun and supportive. While the athletes were obviously very serious about their gymnastics, the teams were all reinforcing athletes' achievements of their own personal goals.
I think the most interesting event was bars, because I saw a bunch of skills that I have rarely or never seen -- hecht dismounts, straddle turns on the low bar, and even a few twisting layout dismounts. Some of the routines were really innovative and interesting. And the floor choreography was way more varied and interesting than I've seen in either JO or XCel. Some of the athletes had strong dance backgrounds and gave wonderful performances on floor. Her team won the team award, which made them really happy. The grand prize, rather than a banner, was a big bag of cookies.
My DD's club has practice times every weeknight, and athletes choose how many days a week they want to work out. She goes four days a week. She's really happy, but my psycho child has allowed her roommate to talk her into adding club volleyball next semester. She has, however, figured out a way to make all of this insanity work. She is also planning on going to nationals this year, which will be in Rhode Island, close enough for me to crash!
I think for gymnasts considering this route, it's probably a good idea to check out the club options, but at least where she is, it seems like a wonderful way to continue with gymnastics -- she's already planning some upgrades for her next meet.
There were five teams at this meet (Temple, UDelaware, GWU, Brandeis, and one other team that I now cannot recall for the life of me). The skills competed ranged from around L6 to the upper end of L8. This meet was mostly women, but there were a few men there too, so they had the women competing in separate squads and the men all competed together with a single judging team following them from event to event. The atmosphere was really fun and supportive. While the athletes were obviously very serious about their gymnastics, the teams were all reinforcing athletes' achievements of their own personal goals.
I think the most interesting event was bars, because I saw a bunch of skills that I have rarely or never seen -- hecht dismounts, straddle turns on the low bar, and even a few twisting layout dismounts. Some of the routines were really innovative and interesting. And the floor choreography was way more varied and interesting than I've seen in either JO or XCel. Some of the athletes had strong dance backgrounds and gave wonderful performances on floor. Her team won the team award, which made them really happy. The grand prize, rather than a banner, was a big bag of cookies.
My DD's club has practice times every weeknight, and athletes choose how many days a week they want to work out. She goes four days a week. She's really happy, but my psycho child has allowed her roommate to talk her into adding club volleyball next semester. She has, however, figured out a way to make all of this insanity work. She is also planning on going to nationals this year, which will be in Rhode Island, close enough for me to crash!
I think for gymnasts considering this route, it's probably a good idea to check out the club options, but at least where she is, it seems like a wonderful way to continue with gymnastics -- she's already planning some upgrades for her next meet.
Time flies! I am so happy to hear that she is still doing gymnastics.
