MAG pre-meet week for some of us!

[profmom]

I know several of our guys have meets next weekend -- hope everyone has a great time! How do your coaches run practices the last week or so before the meet? For our guys, it will be all routine run throughs all week. I'm pretty sure all the practices will be six-on-ones instead of only three events plus strength and conditioning. No practice tonight, but they're back in the gym tomorrow!

 

[skschlag]

So exciting! I love the start of meet season! Good luck to all of our boys that are competing this weekend!!!

 

[MyBoysFlip]

Good luck everyone! I can't wait for the season to start.

 

[gymboymom]

Excited and nervous here! Ds totally blissfully oblivious. Love that about him. Good luck to all the other boys competing next weekend!

 

[OwlGalLiz]

Little guy can't wait. He keeps asking if it is Saturday yet. He will be talking about it all week long. Lol.

 

[Deleted member 10727]

I'm sure we'll just have normal practice. My younger one keeps making up scenarios for what could happen at the meet. "Imagine you win all the events but somehow they put you in last place?"

 

[sjm2b3]

Good luck to your boys! DS doesn't start until Jan.

 

[Dr Maleficent]

we have ds's first meet of the season on Sunday. As he has just started the intensive training program, the other parents of kids on the program keep asking me how he is feeling about the upcoming meet. His main worry is that he doesn't have his backflip yet (this is only an option). My main worry is EVERYTHING! I know he has no chance of a medal, and he will be so disappointed. I know this is a valuable life lesson for him, but as a parent it is hard when they're only 8. I am hoping for him to have the strength and maturity to understand that it is a marathon not a sprint, and that next year he will have a much better chance as he will hopefully have caught up (he started last year, and has to compete with 10 year olds as it is done by year of birth here, and the other boys at his gym in his group are 1st and 2nd in the whole zone of France that we are in!). We have hugs and ice-cream on standby!

 

[profmom]

DS really wants his team, which has several second-year L5s, to win the team award for L5. They will have to beat the team with the top compulsory boys in the state to do it. He's loaded for bear, but we'll see.

 

[Dr Maleficent]

DS really wants his team, which has several second-year L5s, to win the team award for L5. They will have to beat the team with the top compulsory boys in the state to do it. He's loaded for bear, but we'll see.

ok, here's wishing for some pre-Christmas luck for our 'underdogs'!

 

[profmom]

GymMum, does he have goals that he can set for himself and achieve? That's often been the key to a feel-good meet for my two when they've gone in knowing that they had little or no chance at medals.

 

[Dr Maleficent]

GymMum, does he have goals that he can set for himself and achieve? That's often been the key to a feel-good meet for my two when they've gone in knowing that they had little or no chance at medals.

I'm not sure really - he doesn't understand the scoring system (nor do I tbh!) and so scores aren't really a goal, and plus if we put improved scores as a goal this may backfire as the 'strictness' of judging seems to vary a lot with meets. He only performs skills his coach is very certain he can pull off (so for example he won't be trying to do his endo-press-handstand thingy as he only got that last week - you can tell I'm good at this gymnastics terminology, can't you?!), so apart from having a goal of not having a complete meltdown and thinking he's the worst gymnast on the planet when he doesn't place, I'm not too certain what we could have. Any ideas very very welcome!

 

[profmom]

Staying on the apparatuses? Sticking every dismount? Making all his skills, or perhaps the one that is the least consistent that he's competing? For DD, it's been things like sticking her beam routine or doing a bigger split leap. For DS, staying on the mushroom was a big one for a while. Last year, it was a good meet for him if he made his kip and a bad meet if he didn't, regardless of what else did or didn't happen. He was in fact prouder of making his kip at the second-to-last meet of the year than he was of doing his best Pbars routine of the year and placing very well.

Edited to add: I think the coach for our L5s is going to give a special award after the meet to anyone on the team who sticks all of his dismounts, no matter what they score on the events. I like this a lot, because it's something that some of the guys who are still struggling with bonuses might still be able to achieve, and it's something that more than one guy can "win."

 

[Dr Maleficent]

Good ideas - definitely staying on the mushroom would be a great improvement - he has now reached a whole 1 circle, and as he has to try that no matter what, it would be fantastic if he could do it at the meet. Now I just have to hope he will! I have been talking to him a bit about what I have found out about the amazing kids whose parents are on this forum, and how they started off with no circles and are now achieving mind-boggling things, and I think it is gradually getting through. Thanks for your support and inspiration profmom, it is a great help to have experienced parents to be in contact with.

 

[profmom]

Tell him to keep at it! Never give up!! One of DS's best friends could not quite make his three circles at states last March. Poor guy stayed on the mushroom I think once the entire competitive season. He didn't manage to make it even once the previous year.

Last Wednesday at practice, the guys had a circle contest. Guess who did SIXTY FIVE mushroom circles?

 

[MyBoysFlip]

My favorite meet last year was when my sons best friend on the team's goal was to break a 50 AA and my son decided he would smile after every routine (he's a very serious little thing!). We got a cute little smile after every dismount from my son - even with his first fall all year- and his friend scored a 50.2. J had his season high AA and placed great but the whole way home all they talked about was smiling and breaking a 50. It's all about how you look at it - all of these boys are doing things most kids will never do! He will write out some goals for each meet and I can't wait to read them. So tell him to relax and enjoy the meet!