Wow! I’m literally overwhelmed by all of the support. Thanks. You don’t know how much it means to me that there are so many CBers out there that are rooting for my dd.
what team did she make. JO, Xcel, IGC. And which probable level??? Really let out a huge part of the story.
Her level doesn’t matter to me and it turns out that it doesn’t matter to my dd either but I’m happy to share that she’s Copper 1 in USAIGC.
When she was at her old gym my dd wanted to be placed on the JO team (level 3). At the time I didn’t fully understand why it mattered so much to her. Now that I’ve seen what it’s like at another gym I feel like the JO team at her old gym was more than an aspirational group. From what I gather, the coach's focus/attention and also recognition at the gym all seemed to revolve around the JO team. I think that my dd thought that if she had been placed on the “other” team it would have meant that she wasn’t good enough for JO and that wasn’t something to be proud of. I personally didn’t even know what the other team track was until my dd received an invitation to be evaluated for team with a list of the placement possibilities.
A few weeks after being evaluated at her old gym we received an envelope from them. My dd excitedly/nervously asked me to read it to her. I did my best to hide my emotions as I read to her that she was placed in advanced rec (yes, from level 2 “pre-team” to advanced rec). This hadn’t even been listed as an option. She took the news much better than I would have but I knew that she was very disappointed. I literally didn’t know what to say. I had no words, just hugs.
This really turned out to be a blessing in disguise. I don’t think I would have questioned her coach and we wouldn't have found a new gym if she had made it onto one of the teams or possibly even if she had to repeat “pre-team” but was given an explanation of what specific skills or requirements were needed for her to make it onto one of the teams.
Her new gym doesn’t have a JO team. She is on her gym’s only team track. I believe this is the gym and the track that’s right for her. She hasn’t mentioned getting to level 3 since she started training at her new gym.
Here are some of the things that I hope she gets out of her first season on the team:
- Have fun and work hard (that what I always tell her before practice)
- To compete at a meet!
- For her to feel like she’s had a successful season while building more confidence, overcoming fears and gaining new skills with a coach that believes in her, regardless of the level.
