Will work for iPod upgrade

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I got an email today from one of the parents of a new L7 that I coached at L4 & 5. It's pretty funny, and involves her work-around of the all too common hatred of dance on floor. She said it was ok to tell the story here, but sadly, I cannot include the video which was awesome. Long story, sorry!

Basically, her DD has always had issues with attitude and effort when it came to the dance portion of floor. Now that she's going into optional territory, the training wheels are off for real and the floor has been parentally declared a no-whine zone. She got an iPod for Christmas last year, and was happy with it until recently so she had something new to 'whine' about other than floor. Her parents didn't feel her pain (that part of the email was pretty lol). The whine-fest was brought on by a new coach who allows them to listen to music as they warm up, and for the elliptical portion of their conditioning. Some of the girls came in with a 'better' iPod, tech peer pressure set in.

Her parents used an interesting method of handling it. They listened to her current music, picked 25 very different songs, and gave her 3 months to explain them in her own words. What she thought the artist was trying to get across with the words chosen and how the music reinforces her interpretation. She had to print the lyrics she got off the internet and explain how they led to her interpretation, pick 3 feelings she associates with each song, and describe one real life situation that might have inspired the song. When I asked her if she thought that would be hard due to DD's age, she lol'd and asked if I've seen an episode of 'The Hills' or 'Gossip Girl' lately. I haven't, but point taken I suppose.

She did it, and her mom said she thought DD 'was deaf at first.' Her parents thought she was just throwing stuff out there, so thats when printing the lyrics became a req, and her interpretations started to make more sense and even surprise them. Afterwards she thought she was getting the new iPod right away, but she wasn't done! She's now on the part where she has to pick 25 songs with no lyrics. Her mission is to still find 3 feelings she associates with the song, and then to turn that feeling(s) into movement, aka the dreaded dance portion of gymnastics. I saw video of her and she looked awesome, she used the same choreography for 2 very different songs and got across the differences in feeling and mood quite well, down to facial expression. If she gets this 25 done by the beginning of December they're going to upgrade, and her current iPod will go to her little sister.

It was coincidence that this came up at the time she went to her yearly sports psych appointment. The plan was suggested by the doc as a way to improve and enhance her dance, make her work for it, and not waste her current iPod. Cheaper and much more to the point than actual dance lessons (which she has no time for), and there was no punishment for not doing it. She'd just keep her old iPod and have to be satisfied. Her dance has improved to the point her coaches notice it, and the floor whining has stopped.

One of the unexpected bonuses was her 'cleaning up' her playlist. Once she had to actually interpret songs, some of the more questionable ones she liked were branded as 'stupid' lol. She now has a playlist of lyric-less songs of a wider variety than just movie scores, and has taken the time to find out the stories behind the ones from ballet and theater. Her enjoyment of music has expanded from just 'cool' to include cultural, which her parents think is nice. They also hope now that she knows to accept gifts with grace, and appreciate what she works for more than freebies.

Anyway, long story but I thought it was pretty unique! I'm going to find the 3 songs in the video online and post them in an edit later.
 
I wouldn't have thought of it either lol! I couldn't edit the original post, but here's the music she danced to on camera.

Music:

Assassin's Tango (from the movie Mr. & Mrs. Smith, composed by John Powell)
Assassin's Tango audio music tracks on Project Playlist | Music Playlist || Facebook, Tagworld, Stickam, Hi5, Friendster, Infieldparking.com, Xanga, Myspace Music Playlists

The World (from the anime Death Note, I think the band is called Diru en grey(?) I'm guessing it translates to nightmare in English but I have no idea. Her dad is a animation artist, so she grew up on Blue's Clues and Robotech lol. She also is half Japanese and can speak the language fluently)
The World Nightmare audio music tracks on Project Playlist | Music Playlist || Facebook, Tagworld, Stickam, Hi5, Friendster, Infieldparking.com, Xanga, Myspace Music Playlists

Last of the Mohicans Main Theme (from the movie The Last of the Mohicans, composed by James Horner)
The Last Of The Mohicans Main Theme audio music tracks on Project Playlist | Music Playlist || Facebook, Tagworld, Stickam, Hi5, Friendster, Infieldparking.com, Xanga, Myspace Music Playlists
 
Darnet, my post was lost LOL... try again.

I am first off impressed that a former student's parents felt comfortable to e-mail you & share their story... to me that is the most obvious sign of a great coach!

The idea and what was accomplished was actually quite inspiring. I may actually use a similar tecnique on my 15 year old. :D Many great lessons achieved there... thanks for sharing :)
 
Darnet, my post was lost LOL... try again.

I am first off impressed that a former student's parents felt comfortable to e-mail you & share their story... to me that is the most obvious sign of a great coach!

The idea and what was accomplished was actually quite inspiring. I may actually use a similar tecnique on my 15 year old. :D Many great lessons achieved there... thanks for sharing :)

Thanks! I keep in touch with about 5 or 6 of my old gymnasts and their parents. I usually get a mad rush of emails during the competitive season or if they find out they're moving up and such. The one I posted about I used to jog with once a week. We lived pretty close to each other and her parents didn't want her out on the street super early in the morning or after dark alone. Her mom was 'Lucy' to another moms 'Ethel.' Those two were hilarious and always throwing team parties and whatnot on the weekend.

The gym they are at now offers some sort of coaching training for team gymnasts if they're interested. They start in the office helping out with the business end for about 2-4 hours for a few weeks, then they get paired with a coach who teaches them how to spot and such. They have to be 14, and they can shadow a coach til they're 16 and then get their own classes. Their daughter is almost 14 so they had a bunch of questions, the iPod issue was secondary, but it was so cool it stood out to me lol.
 
I am very impressed with those parents. To set up a situation where their child could get what she wanted for a price that would benefit her in the end is just awesome.

We could all learn a lot from that method of reward.

They must be very interesting people.
 
I am very impressed with those parents. To set up a situation where their child could get what she wanted for a price that would benefit her in the end is just awesome.

We could all learn a lot from that method of reward.

They must be very interesting people.

They were at a loss for awhile with the iPod, mostly bent out of shape at first since at the time hers was barely out of the box! They had just moved to another state and didn't want to fight about it and could feel a war brewing. When the solution presented itself they were relieved at being able to have terms that didn't make them feel like pushovers, and did more than just appease a 'gimme' whim. Disaster averted!

They are very interesting! Both are in very creative fields of work. They could best be described as a perfect blend of ingenuity and practicality when it comes to parenting. The only absolutes are doing well in school and upholding her commitment to the team, so their daughter is a slick negotiator through years of practice.

Both are very outgoing, they have established their new house as team party central by now I'm sure lol. The dad drew DD a picture of herself with a new iPod pirouetting on floor that she hung up on her locker. The rest of the girls decided they wanted one, so they invited the team and their parents to the house and the girls got their pictures. I hope the parents brought their designated drivers, 'Lucy' has a wicked wine and liquor collection that she's been amassing through years of travel!
 

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