Parents Still not stellar scores, but I've never been more proud of this kid...

[Mrs. Puma]

So Puma Jr apparently had been struggling with her tucks out of nowhere, and HC decided to scratch her on floor. She held it together at the gym (she found out Wednesday and meet was Saturday) but the ride home and bedtime was awful. She was devastated. Hysterical. My heart broke for her, though I was appreciative for her coaches and knew they were making the right call. She wasn't taking correction well. She proclaimed in the heat of anger that she would not compete at all if she couldn't do all four. I took a deep breath and told her that it was her call, but it was not a decision that would be made while upset, that she would go and support her teammates no matter what, and that it was a terrible idea and all the reasons why. She pulled it together for school and practice Thursday (ok Thursday ride home/bedtime was rough too, but better) and Friday, and I think she was clinging to the hope they'd give in. Friday night before bed she once more (though calmly this time) said it was all or nothing. I repeated the reasons, but told her again that she would have to make that decision. So on Saturday I literally did not know what she was going to do until she presented to the judges for her first event. I had to fight tears. I was so proud of her. She got up on that beam and had her best routine of the season. Then she swallowed her pride and smiled while stepping onto the floor to scratch and cheered her teammates on after. She also had her best vault and bars of the season. Again, the scores were nothing to write home about, all in the 8s, and still no medals (so close on bars! 6th and they placed out to 5) but they were the best she's done all season and with the circumstances (and she sprained her finger badly and could barely do bars for 2 weeks) I couldn't be prouder. Hopefully this is a great lesson for her. I feel so lucky to have coaches that care about her and are open with me. The next meet is in two weeks and I'm hoping she'll kill it!

 

[amiandjim]

Way to go Puma Jr!!! You should be very proud!

 

[skschlag]

Way to go Puma Jr and mom! It is so hard to leave this sport in their hands, but it is always the best call!! She developed some nice coping strategies this week

 

[MomIdidit!]

Wow....that's awesome!! I am so happy to read this post.

 

[duyetanh]

Ooh she is improving!!!
Blocks come and go...and 2 weeks is plenty of time for that skill to come back. Darn though....wish she could have placed, it really would have helped her mentally. But it was close! That should help. At least she is seeing improvement. That in itself is huge

 

[cadybearsmommy]

That's amazing! I know you are a proud Mommy! If she's grown recently that can temporarily throw off the tumbling but hopefully she'll have it back in no time. Huge congrats to Puma Jr on all her improvements and also her great attitude at the meet!

 

[Mrs. Puma]

That's amazing! I know you are a proud Mommy! If she's grown recently that can temporarily throw off the tumbling but hopefully she'll have it back in no time. Huge congrats to Puma Jr on all her improvements and also her great attitude at the meet!

I think she just needs to listen to her darn coaches! Lol! Some of it is still unlearning bad habits, and she swore the finger sprain only affected bars, but I can't imagine it didn't affect tumbling too? And yes, she has gained some height. Honestly though, I think the biggest problem is her taking correction better and doing things correctly all the time, not just the first time then go back to bad habits. Hopefully it's a maturity thing and something will "click" soon! I think she's her own worst enemy sometimes!

 

[duyetanh]

You know, I got curious about something....if she said she wasn't competing, would this be ok with her coaches?
Because there is honestly NO way this would fly here. It would be seen as disrespectful of the coaches' decision, and it would get ugly. Fast. And btw I love my kid's coaches and think they are awesome. But they are in charge of the ship, not the gymnasts, and while they are up for discussions, they make the ultimate decisions.
I am so glad she made the decision to compete...for many reasons.

 

[Mrs. Puma]

You know, I got curious about something....if she said she wasn't competing, would this be ok with her coaches?
Because there is honestly NO way this would fly here. It would be seen as disrespectful of the coaches' decision, and it would get ugly. Fast. And btw I love my kid's coaches and think they are awesome. But they are in charge of the ship, not the gymnasts, and while they are up for discussions, they make the ultimate decisions.
I am so glad she made the decision to compete...for many reasons.

Totally agree-it would have been disrespectful. Poor sportsmanship, too. I told her she may be banished to the stands with me, and if so there would be no drama involved. Do what the coach says, done. I was prepared to sit there for 3 hours with a pouty little Puma if necessary (yes, I would have been mortified) but thankfully that's not how it turned out! Puma and I talked about this whole thing and we decided it was one of those "have to let them fail" things. I think in the big picture it would have been way worse if I dug my heels in and forced her to compete. It's her sport. But if she had gone down that path, we'd have to start rethinking some things. I'm just hoping this is a lesson and she grows from the experience.

 

[LizzieLac]

It is just the first on MANY decisions gymnasts have to make. I believe in talking through the options with the gymnast so she can seen things clearly, but they must make "most" decisions in order to be in control of their training, competitions, and progress.

 

[beachgirl]

Great job, Puma Jr. and excellent parenting Mrs. Puma.

 

[Mrs. Puma]

Great job, Puma Jr. and excellent parenting Mrs. Puma.

Thanks. Believe me, there have been more not-so-great-parenting moments than I'd like to admit in the last year or so too. Nine is the bad age in my house apparently! My older DD and I butted heads big time at nine but since the day she turned ten she's been a dream. Puma Jr turns ten next month so hopefully the same thing will happen! It's been a rough year!

 

[mommyof1]

Good job to Puma Jr. and Mama Puma too! Sounds like bars especially was a big victory considering that she is just coming off an injury.

I hope you are right about ages 9 and 10. Mine is about to turn 10 and I am ready to be DONE with the tweenager nonsense!

 

[NY Dad]

Well done!

There are so many decisions to make along the way. Hopefully, when we all look back we'll feel like we had more great parenting moments than less-than-stellar moments.

 

[Ali'sMom]

Great job!

 

[Mrs. Puma]

Good job to Puma Jr. and Mama Puma too! Sounds like bars especially was a big victory considering that she is just coming off an injury.

I hope you are right about ages 9 and 10. Mine is about to turn 10 and I am ready to be DONE with the tweenager nonsense!

She was actually super disappointed about bars! She expected the score to be higher. I did too actually, but a couple people I've shown it too thought it was scored properly, so what do I know? Lol I can share with whoever wants to see it. The biggest issue I see is her cast on high bar. But overall she's pretty tight, especially compared to a year ago. Small victories, right?!

 

[sce]

She was actually super disappointed about bars! She expected the score to be higher. I did too actually, but a couple people I've shown it too thought it was scored properly, so what do I know? Lol I can share with whoever wants to see it. The biggest issue I see is her cast on high bar. But overall she's pretty tight, especially compared to a year ago. Small victories, right?!

I'd love to see it. She has progressed so much, would love a glimpse at the continued progress.

 

[CTMOM]

Great job! You should both feel really proud!