Such a fun night at gym

[NGL780309]

DD had such a fun night at gym and since the other thread was depressing me and making me want to pull her from gym immediately, I wanted to focus on what a wonderful time she had tonight and how much I want to enjoy watching these special moments before this becomes too serious.

DD always has a wonderful time at gym, but tonight was especially fun for her with lots of new skills to work on. She is the kid in the gym that all the parents and coaches comment about how she is always happy and bouncing off the walls. She gallops from place to place and you can always hear her giggles. The other parents will say they always know when DD is there because you can walk in the door and hear her before you see her.

She has been working on the low bar portion of the L5 routine and she has jumped to the high bar with help, but tonight she did it all connected by herself. They lowered the high bar quite a bit and put a giant mat underneath. It was so neat to see. She admitted she was a little scared the first time, but after that she was so happy. She had great tumbling tonight and looked so good. I was really, really proud of her because there was a station set up that she had never done and didn't quite feel comfortable doing and she went and asked the coach for help. In the past, just within the last few months, she would never have asked. She is so shy that she would just either a) do it even though she wasn't comfortable b) stand there with a petrified look on her face and bite her nails. It's probably a silly thing to be proud of, but I see such growth in her confidence and maturity. She has made giant leaps in that area.

 

[gymjoy]

Good for your dd. Sounds like she is really having fun and making progress.

And I think overcoming shyness is a excellent thing to be proud of!! I was an very shy child, and I am a pretty introverted adult. I had to work hard to talk with people, even ones I knew well. I think her being able to approach her coaches shows her maturity and her comfort level with them - so important!

 

[MaryA]

Seeing our girls grow more confident is certainly a HUGE thing to be proud of... in the long run, a bigger deal than any gymnastics skill, right? I have seen a huge increase in self-confidence this year in my non-gymnast daughter, Tory ("shy" is not a word that anyone would ever use to describe Kathy!). It still tickles me pink that she'll order for herself in restaurants now, talk to the cashier in stores, etc. And being able to ask for help when she needs it in the gym is a big deal because that's the safe thing to do. Congrats to your DD on reaching some big milestones! That level 5 bar routine is a pain in the cute, leotard-clad hiney (says the mom of a level 5 gymnast who only just now, more than half way through the season, finally has the routine down... most of the time)!