Parents DD's Questions/Concerns

[lilgymmie7]

I'm sure a similar post as this one is floating around in this site. However, I thought to ask because DD just made this statement today, but I have heard it from her quite a few times within the last 6 mos. I have to add that this little girl likes to do too much in just about everything. She doesn't want to just read stories from her first grade readers, she wants books like her 7th grade brother- chapter books. Today, she was attempting to learn her times tables using newly found multiplication cards that her brother threw away. As I am typing, she is figuring out "3 +3+3+3+3+3+3..." Her mind is continuously working. As a teacher, I am so happy. But as a Mom, I'm constantly wondering if I am doing enough for her.
Well the statement that prompted me to post was, "When are they (coaches) going to let me do harder skills? I don't like the easy stuff." DD is at a very good gym. Her coaches really do have a handle on what she can do, and I think they are doing all that is needed to get her to reach her potential. I don't think they would have asked us to move her to train level 5 as a 5 yo if they didn't think she had talent or had some sort of plan for her. I never ever supercede anything they do gymnastically with DD. I trust their opinions and decisions with DD completely. I know that I will inevitably mention DD's words to them, but I always wait until I get a more holistic view of the situation. At least, I will try. As a teacher, I don't like it when parents try to 'tell' me what to do. I would never want the coaches to get that view/idea from me. As DD's coaches, I do feel they need to hear what she is thinking and vise versa DD needs to learn that these are the types of things her coaches need to hear/know about her in order to coach her effectively. But DD is only 6 soon 7 in January, and hence these are lessons she is just beginning to learn.
I have a DD who I like to think as being a very keen observer. In every aspect of her life she "watches" everything and everyone. She watches until she figures things out and then she attempts to emmulate her 'teacher', whoever that might be whether acacdemically or gymnastically, etc.
Her 5/6 team trains for three hrs. with the optional girls. The last hr. they are by themselves. I think she is catching their vibe. She wants to do all 'that'.

My question is this...
"How do parents/coaches handle a younger gymnast when it is evident they are getting a bit bored? What do you do with them by way of gymnastics?"

I don't want DD learning new skills just for the sake of elaying her boredom. If she is going to remain in this sport for the long run, she has to learn the skills in a just order and correctly. Trust me, DD's gym knows exactly what they are doing. They could never have as many success stories as they do if they didn't. But as a Mom, I just want to do all I can for her. As Moms, we are somewhat guilt ridden when it concerns our kids. I wonder how my DH handles things?

 

[sheplaysinthechalk]

I think that your dd is a lot like mine. "very keen observer" - yep. Wise beyond her years academically and in gymnastics - yep - my dd is also reading chapter books and teaching herself to multiply. She makes sure she writes neatly, colors neatly...that her desk at school is neat. She is also very exact in other aspects of her life like...if I ask her to clean her room, she does her very best to clean it and make it look nice (and up to my specifications too, which, I can be hard to please sometimes - not my best quality ) Anyway,

As a parent, it's hard to know either way, I think, whether or not our children have the perfect amount of balance between their school and gym and friends and other extra curriculars...It think it's hard to ever know for sure if our children are getting the very best that we can give them. I think it's evident when too much is too much, and when not enough is not enough. I think there's a perfect area of challenging children without demanding too much, but...

As a coach, I would say that finding balance is sometimes difficult. I think it's kind of hard - especially with a child like your dd who was invited to train level 5 when she was 5 years old. Under the circumstances, training level 5 from 5 years old means that she trains level 5 for at least 2 years. That's the same skills for 2 years and then a season of competition, so like 2.5-3 years of the same thing over and over and over... Boring? Yeah, probably, after awhile.

Usually we have kids training and perfecting the requirements for which ever level they compete. If we are doing a 30 minute beam rotation, we give our kids a workout to complete. When they finish, they can show us their skills or series or whatever they had to work on. If they pass, they can up-train. If not, they continue working until the rotation is over. That's how we find balance in our gym. If a kid cant' pass several over several practices in a row, we will let them up-train just for the sake of mixing things up for them, but the very next practice, it's right back to business.

 

[MdGymMom01]

I think a lot of what gymnastics is and entails is PATIENCE. And with patience comes mental discipline. There is so much more to gymnastics than "the big skills". I mean if it was that simple then they wouldn't have levels that need to be done in a specified order. Having the patience and mental discipline to work through "the boring stuff" is probably the biggest hurdle for the young gymnast. And I would also think that kid that gets bored easy and wants to constantly learn the harder and cooler skills, unfortunately doesn't last long in this sport. There is a lot of boring stuff in gymnastics that is necessary for the gymnast to learn and master before they go on to the harder skills--that is just part of gymnastics.

There is also the safety issue of making sure the child is physically strong enough to learn these skills and bail out of them safely if something goes wrong. That itself is something that takes time to learn.

 

[Megley]

I wanted to post to voice my agreement with Mdgymmom. I think a lot of gymnastics is "boring." Certainly it is boring to work on form drills and basics, but these are necessary to be able to perform skills safely and with good form. In addition, they lay the foundation for working on higher level skills. Some upper level skills just can't be trained until the underlying basics are there, especially on bars. It is not really possible to work on a kip cast handstand, for example, without a good straight armed kip.

That said, it seems there should be some uptraining going on. She is getting ready to compete Level 5 so I can see that she would be spending a lot of time perfecting the Level 5 routines and probably wouldn't work much else in the week or two leading up to a meet. But hopefully in between meets they are doing some uptraining. Our Level 5s are all working on their Level 6 skills, at least during weeks when a meet is not scheduled.

I am sure it must be hard, given that she is so young, to explain to her the importance of the boring stuff. I know my dd got bored with Level 5 too because she did two years of it. But she is glad now that she stuck it out. Gym is very often difficult for her these days, but not usually boring. The good news is that if your dd works hard at the boring stuff, the hard skills will come much more easily. Not sure if that's something you can make her understand but maybe tell her that those upper level girls didn't get to do what they do without going through all the boring drills and repetitions first.

 

[lilgymmie7]

Sheplaysinthechalk, our DD's do sound very similar, excluding the clean room aspect. Today, I had to have her do just that- clean up the room-, but she complained that her brother made the mess. The room got cleaned, but she left the bed spread rustled. Talk about being hard to please. ( I am a bit anal with cleanliness- Yikes!)
If I have the story at her gym straight, all the girls have a "list" to do every day. Who makes up the list, I have no idea. DD just said the list is what she has to do. From talking from time to time with the other little gymmie we carpool with, the coaches have what sounds to be a similar practice as your gym. After the girls do the required "list" 'stuff, they show, and then move onto uptraining. DD is learning/perfecting level 6 stuff as well. She can do the 6 beam requirements, they started all that w/her towards the end of last season. She has had the back tuck rather nicely for over a year. This past weedend I saw her do one on the tumble trak with a leg 'shoot out'. They tumble on tumble trak w/ their vault rotation. I was able to catch the tail-end of vault rotation when I came to pick her up.
There is no question in my mind that DD's coaches are moving in a progressive training ideal with DD. As her Mom, I want her to learn all that goes along with being involved in a sport of any kind. MDgymmom1, I also agree with you 100% DD is just always moving, doing, etc. My inlaws always tease her by telling her that they want some of her endless energy. They say they are going to "steal" some from her. She always laughs.
In every work place, life scene etc. we always seem to see/have someone who seems tireless. As adults, we call them "go getters" or other similar names. I can probably be safe at saying that these adults were tireless as children. My husband alone works two jobs. He is a CFD paramedic and an ER nurse. These are two very highly stressful, tiring jobs, yet he enjoys what he does. I have just had a revelation! DD is just like her Dad!
In which case, I need further advice. DH tends to lash out when feeling stressed. He always comes back and makes ammends, but DD needs help from me as she moves along in life in order to bypass some similar stresses and learn to smoothen out the stress indicators before they become too much for her.
It is not that I want to have her do what she isn't ready or equipped to do. The PATIENCE needed is such a valuable lesson for any child, escpecially DD especially now after realizing her similarities with Dear-Old-Dad! I also agree that if she doesn't learn to be patient and see the value of learning progression, she will want to move on to other things. However, that valuable life lesson will be cast to the winds and not help build her character. This is what I am the most interested in doing for her.
I think what will help DD is having her first competition. Last year, her coaches put her in GIJO competitions so that she would associate practicing with going to meets. While she was excited to compete, her meets were rather 'tiny' in comparison with USAG meets. Her first meet this season is on her birthday! This meet is in a huge arena. This teams gymnasts are viewed as being dynamite, Geddert Twistars. Her competition will be stellar to say the least. I hope she leaves there realizing what she has to fix. Being such an observer, I have a feeling that she will note that. I have taken her in the last two years to her teammates' competition so that she learns how to be a good sportsman, but she didn't quite 'get' the largeness of the meet setting as a whole.

What I also have a hard time getting through to her is the age bracket thing. She thinks she will compete against all of her teammates. The youngest after her will be 9 before state so technically, she will compete as a nine year old in most meets. DD will compete as a 7-8 year old in most cases.

Thank you both for your responses. I am also noting that just telling her coaches what DD innocently said may be a pre-requisite for her learning about patience, etc. DD loves gymnastics, but she is so young and I realize that I have to steer her appropriately.

 

[gym law mom]

To some of us "older" parents we are seeing descriptions of our gymmies 6-7 years ago. Always on the go, have loads of energy, flip all over the house, watch the older girls in practice and want to do all that stuff---like now.

As MDGymMom pointed out this sport is a tough mental one. While they work on the physical aspec they have to train their brain. Yeah, its boring. Many activities are. A child who wants to be a concert pianist just doesn't sit down at age 6 and starting performing Beethovan. They practice for years doing scales(which are boring) and start with simpler peices, master the technique and then get started on something harder. Same with gymnastics. Same with figure skating. Same with dance.

This may be a good time to try and explain that to your dd. She isn't going to get to do skill x tomorrow just because she feels her skills are now easy. If the skills seem easy then find a way to make them look even prettier(most like that idea). She hasn't competed yet, correct? Ok, that is a whole different ballgame than just doing skills in the gym. Its doing them well under pressure.

Its good her coaches have a plan, but they don't want her to get too ahead of what her body can handle. Just because she wants to doesn't mean she is ready to.

 

[lilgymmie7]

Although DD may want to do more, the adults in her life would rather her go slow and steady. Like I mentioned earlier, DD is at a gym that in my opinion, as well as the opinion of the gymnastics world as a whole, knows what it is doing. Her gym is highly competitive and has had a lot of successes both in getting girls college scholarships and in the elite arena. They know what they are doing. I also know that it is hard to explain "slow and steady" to a 6 year old. Do not get me wrong, I don't in any way think DD is the most talented, dedicated, etc. etc.... BUT she does have talent. As her Mom, I was looking for advice on what exactly other parents have said to little ones like this. See, gymnastics as any other sport is a pathway to successes and failures in life. As young children, teens, these kids get to learn a lot about how the real world is. They get to try out their 'legs' so to speak. As a Mom, I want to ensure to the best of my knowledge that DD is unfolding appropriately as an individual aside from gymnastics.
I would be a complete liar if I typed on here that gymnastics and DD's success in gymnastics is not one of my imperatives. I have read so many parents state that gymnastics is not the end all in their household/life. For the child's sake, I hope it is true. I do 100% believe DD is good, that she has talent, her path in gymnastics looks bright. However,I am a realist. Anything is possible.

When I originally posted, I wanted to know what parents of other exhuberant, overachieving, constantly on the go kids have done at home. What have you said/advised to these kids? What do you involve them in that is not even considering gymnastics? Not every parent is interested in getting their kids to train more etc.

Do I think DD is that good? Possibly, but I also already know that too much too fast will only serve to burn her out. I have experience with that already with older DD. Her coaches pushed far too much until she didn't know how to do it herself and slowly burned out.

So please, when you see posts from me, I am not a parent who is interested in pushing my young DD. If she is destined for greatness, it will come whether I do anything or not. I do know the more I get involved, the less her potential will be outlived. I leave all of her gymnastics to her coaches. Let's not all pretend that we are not somewhat involved with our DD's or DS's gymnastics. We wouldn't be on here if we weren't. My intention is again, not to insult anyone in any way, I merely wish to set the record straight.

My story is that I would like to see DD become a successful gymnast, but I would never sacrifice her individual self for this or any other sport. I do see gymnastics as an open pathway to learn about life and how it works. Again, I am a realist.

 

[sheplaysinthechalk]

However,I am a realist. Anything is possible.

When I originally posted, I wanted to know what parents of other exhuberant, overachieving, constantly on the go kids have done at home. What have you said/advised to these kids? What do you involve them in that is not even considering gymnastics? Not every parent is interested in getting their kids to train more etc.

So please, when you see posts from me, I am not a parent who is interested in pushing my young DD. If she is destined for greatness, it will come whether I do anything or not. I do know the more I get involved, the less her potential will be outlived. I leave all of her gymnastics to her coaches. Let's not all pretend that we are not somewhat involved with our DD's or DS's gymnastics. We wouldn't be on here if we weren't. My intention is again, not to insult anyone in any way, I merely wish to set the record straight.

First of all, I apologize if my response seems out there, or whatever, because I'm feeling scatter-brained today.

OK...as far as involving my dd in things not even considering gymnastics, for us, those things are: playtime with friends, summer swim team, the arts ministry at church (which is like drama/dance/singing), school work, fun educational websites like "starfall" and "coolmathgames", reading and summer reading programs...and we've taught her to be in charge of her own things at home. We've taught her that by being in charge of her own things (like her bedroom, putting her laundry away, keeping things picked up, making her bed every morning, putting her clothes in the "dirty pile") that she can be proud of accomplishing something outside of the gym, and that she can take pride in taking care of her things and keeping things nice. Swim team is just another way for her to be able to enjoy another fun, competitive sport that is completely unrelated to gymnastics. She LOVES swim team, and I love that she loves it. She is certainly not the best or fastest swimmer, but that's what I like about it. So far, gymnastics has come fairly easily for her and she has to work really really hard at swim team to get faster.

We just teach her to try and always do her best at what she's doing and that "There are no shortcuts to anywhere worth going"... If it's cleaning her room, we've taught her to try and make it look as best as she can. If it's cleaning up a mess, we've taught her to try and make it look better than it did before the mess. If it's swimming, we encourage her to work hard. If it's reading, we just let her read - if she wants to read a chapeter book, we let her read it - if she finishes it, great. if she doesn't? Who cares. She's only 6. But, for us, by teaching her these things, she has discovered that giving her best makes her feel good. It makes her feel accomplished, and she likes that.

I have definitely noticed that she practices this way at the gym. Don't be fooled by videos, or by my posts here - dd has to work very hard in the gym to do what she does. Tumbling comes pretty naturally for her, but the events don't. She was blessed with having to work very hard at conditioning to be strong enough to even do bars, let alone straddle presses. Right now she's struggling to learn to kip. It's killing her that she can't get it, but she knows that it takes time. She knows all of the motions she has to go through to get it (which includes a boat-ton of conditioning, timing drills and shaping exercises) and she about cringes at the thought of it, but she wants to kip and knows that when she does, the sense of accomplishment that she has will be more than worth the time and effort.

So, now that I think about it, my dd wanting to kip and your dd wanting to try new things is kind of along the same lines. And for me, the best way to explain slow and steady to my dd is "There are no shortcuts to anywhere worth going." Actually, last week when dd and I were making cookies, I equated the cookie making process to her getting her kip. We have to follow a certain recipe for the cookies to turn out the right way, and she has to follow a certain "recipe" for her kip to turn out the right way...


again, sorry that this probably sounds all over the place. This is probably the post that only I will understand in my head

 

[lilgymmie7]

First of all, I apologize if my response seems out there, or whatever, because I'm feeling scatter-brained today.

OK...as far as involving my dd in things not even considering gymnastics, for us, those things are: playtime with friends, summer swim team, the arts ministry at church (which is like drama/dance/singing), school work, fun educational websites like "starfall" and "coolmathgames", reading and summer reading programs...and we've taught her to be in charge of her own things at home. We've taught her that by being in charge of her own things (like her bedroom, putting her laundry away, keeping things picked up, making her bed every morning, putting her clothes in the "dirty pile") that she can be proud of accomplishing something outside of the gym, and that she can take pride in taking care of her things and keeping things nice. Swim team is just another way for her to be able to enjoy another fun, competitive sport that is completely unrelated to gymnastics. She LOVES swim team, and I love that she loves it. She is certainly not the best or fastest swimmer, but that's what I like about it. So far, gymnastics has come fairly easily for her and she has to work really really hard at swim team to get faster.

We just teach her to try and always do her best at what she's doing and that "There are no shortcuts to anywhere worth going"... If it's cleaning her room, we've taught her to try and make it look as best as she can. If it's cleaning up a mess, we've taught her to try and make it look better than it did before the mess. If it's swimming, we encourage her to work hard. If it's reading, we just let her read - if she wants to read a chapeter book, we let her read it - if she finishes it, great. if she doesn't? Who cares. She's only 6. But, for us, by teaching her these things, she has discovered that giving her best makes her feel good. It makes her feel accomplished, and she likes that.

I have definitely noticed that she practices this way at the gym. Don't be fooled by videos, or by my posts here - dd has to work very hard in the gym to do what she does. Tumbling comes pretty naturally for her, but the events don't. She was blessed with having to work very hard at conditioning to be strong enough to even do bars, let alone straddle presses. Right now she's struggling to learn to kip. It's killing her that she can't get it, but she knows that it takes time. She knows all of the motions she has to go through to get it (which includes a boat-ton of conditioning, timing drills and shaping exercises) and she about cringes at the thought of it, but she wants to kip and knows that when she does, the sense of accomplishment that she has will be more than worth the time and effort.

So, now that I think about it, my dd wanting to kip and your dd wanting to try new things is kind of along the same lines. And for me, the best way to explain slow and steady to my dd is "There are no shortcuts to anywhere worth going." Actually, last week when dd and I were making cookies, I equated the cookie making process to her getting her kip. We have to follow a certain recipe for the cookies to turn out the right way, and she has to follow a certain "recipe" for her kip to turn out the right way...


again, sorry that this probably sounds all over the place. This is probably the post that only I will understand in my head

Thank you! We thought of enrolling DD in swimming last summer. Her Daddy bought her a new pool, and she was out there all summer! I think that would be a good idea for her. I love the cookie analogy. I am noting how associating normal, everyday things with "slow and steady; the right recipe" can help DD equate that mentality at the gym. There are times when I have done that, but I also have heard to not talk gym at home. But when trying to emphasize a life lesson, it might be crucial to mesh both, neatly. Thank you again for the great ideas. I was sure there were other parents trying to find balance as a whole for their DD and DS!

 

[lilgymmie7]

"again, sorry that this probably sounds all over the place. This is probably the post that only I will understand in my head"

I forgot to add, your response was very well written. I understood all points you made and find them very useful! Thanks again!

 

[sheplaysinthechalk]

"again, sorry that this probably sounds all over the place. This is probably the post that only I will understand in my head"

I forgot to add, your response was very well written. I understood all points you made and find them very useful! Thanks again!

Hahahaha!! When I went back and read my response and was like, "omg, i think i totally missed the point and i don't even know if I answered her question at all!" and then I was like "oh, well, maybe it's fine"...SUBMIT REPLY.

But you are welcome. I really can totally relate to your dd's questions and to yours as well. I think maybe our kids were cut from the same cloth or something!

 

[gym law mom]

Do let your little one try some other activities. Not saying cut back gym, but the idea of swim lessons or rec type soccer, girl scouts,music lessons in the spring/summer when school is not in the picture is something to help her explore her world, be with kids other than those in the gym and burn off some of that energy.

If she stays with it into the optional levels it will soon be school and gym and precious time for anything else. This is a time to let her be a kid who does gymnastics---don't let the sport define her at such a young age.

 

[lilgymmie7]

She just joined Girl Scouts- Daisys- and is excited about selling cookies. She will join swimming in the summer. The thought of swimming in the midwest in the middle of winter scares me. I know it is done, but I would worry about getting her out of the pool and into the bitter cold to get her home. She is up for anything. Gymnastics will certainly not define her. She may soon find a way to help define gymnastics because she is always trying to do something others haven't done. We have tried everything from grounding her to taking away her T.V. priveledges, but she still progresses to flipping in the house. She definitely needs to burn off some of her energy. Goodness, I hope this isn't a sign of ADHD! Thank goodness her teachers haven't mentioned that. They have said she is a charmer!

 

[mariposa]

She just joined Girl Scouts- Daisys- and is excited about selling cookies. She will join swimming in the summer. The thought of swimming in the midwest in the middle of winter scares me. I know it is done, but I would worry about getting her out of the pool and into the bitter cold to get her home. She is up for anything. Gymnastics will certainly not define her. She may soon find a way to help define gymnastics because she is always trying to do something others haven't done. We have tried everything from grounding her to taking away her T.V. priveledges, but she still progresses to flipping in the house. She definitely needs to burn off some of her energy. Goodness, I hope this isn't a sign of ADHD! Thank goodness her teachers haven't mentioned that. They have said she is a charmer!

She will love Girl Scouts!! My DD does for sure. She has been a Girl Scout since she was 5.

As to being bored, I agree with what everyone said. I tell my daughter that her coaches know what they are doing and when they think she is ready, she will start to learn X skill. Now that she is older, she gets that and really doesn't complain about being bored. She knows she has to work on perfecting skills and she loves working strength/conditioning type stuff. Since you trust her coaches, I would tell her just that.

As to flipping in the house, have you told her that she will lose gym? My kiddo knows that if I catch her flipping outside the gym (unless on the trampoline), she misses gym that day (or the very next practice she has). If she were to do it again, she would miss a week of gym. And I told her that she will be the one to explain to her coaches why she missed gym. That cured her of doing flips outside or at home. My kid is just as gym loving and energetic as most little gymnasts are, but there are rules and I have good reason for them. She either listens or misses gym, which she hates, so it has never been a problem ever since I made the rule! And having to tell her coach was just an extra measure, she would hate that.

 

[lilgymmie7]

Thank you Mariposa! She is really excited about selling those cookies! Last year, her teammates all had cookies to sell and she was feeling a bit left out. Luckily this year, the school moms started a troop right in her school. She wanted in right away. I want to see her going out and helping within the community too. I have seen a lot of that before from other troops. DS is also in Boys Scouts, but he can't make most meetings due to his wrestling schedule. He is 12 and very serious about his sport. Kid sleeps, eats, breathes wrestling. I know that may be coming for C.
I talked to her about swim today and she was for it until I said that she might have to wake up early on Saturdays, and she said "Maybe when I get older." She is already concerned about her sleep.
I have to try your advice about no flipping or no gym. This kid sees the couch as her own little trampoline.
On an aside, she has a play date tonight, and her teammates told me that she told them all she has a date. Her play date is with her best buddy who is a boy. These two tell people that they are getting married! Talk about trying to do too much! This kid is far too advanced. Should I be worried, or just lock her up?!

 

[NGL780309]

I think it takes so much work to make everything in gymnastics look good. It's hard for the young ones to get that. My DD is the same way and likes to learn new skills. Meanwhile there's plenty of work to be done with making everything in her routines super polished. At her old gym they were moving her to Level 5 as a 5 year old too. They didn't see any reason to hold her back when she had all her Level 4 skills and could do many of the level 5 skills aside from vault. At her new gym they really work for perfection on everything. She'll have to spend longer at Level 4, but I think it's a better decision. What has helped DD is watching other girls that really do everything to the max. She sees that they are really doing everything as perfect as possible and that has been her new challenge. I know your DD hasn't competed USAG yet correct? It's hard to score well in Level 5. The judges are super picky on those little things. Maybe help her set goals in that direction. Especially after her first USAG meet she'll be able to see where she's scoring and ways to improve those scores.

 

[lilgymmie7]

Thanks NGL... I think she is getting the ' slow and steady' concept. Yesterday she said she had to do 18 routines on bars. I know that sounds like a lot, but her coach is serious with bars. He has talked to her about getting her arms straight and I can't wait to see her routine at her first USAG meet. She turns 7 next Saturday and that is the same day as her first meet. All that newness and they just got their new comp. leo. It's purple, her favorite color! She is set.
Since the first post, DD has come home to tell me about the new things she is doing in the gym. She and a teammate worked on tsuks off the cheese mat and into the pit. She has been working on her BW on beam for a while. It looks pretty good. They do a lot of what she calls 'complex' tumbling from power hurdles and she is doing standing back tucks on top of learning bar skills. However, her coaches are working on also insuring she polishes her routines. I do believe that is paramount!
What I worry know is that DH may compare her to older DD when she starts to compete. Older DD was a 9 yo level 5 and started scoring in the high 8's and 9's at her first competition. Her coaches rarely uptrained other than on bars for conditioning. The kid was a prime level 5. Both DD's have different personalities. Older DD was tough on herself, little DD is so easy going but very competitive. Thank goodness her coaches get that about her. Who knows DH is also amazed that she is doing so much. I can't believe that as small as she is she can vault over that table! She is a powerhouse and runs like the wind! She barely weighs 45lbs. How she can hit that SB is beyond me!Earlier this week they were back tucking off of the vault table! When DD landed I noted the vault was about two head lengths taller than her! Yikes! Her coach kept watching her get up there though. He chuckled a few times!!

 

[NGL780309]

Mine is about to compete her first meet too. Good luck to yours and I'll be looking forward to hearing about it.

 

[lilgymmie7]

Good luck to your DD as well NGL780309! The week is sure to fly by. She has pictures in her new leo with the team to post in the Chicago Style booklet! That is always a fun day. She will get to stay at a hotel for her first meet, and wants to eat at The Cracker Barrel for her birthday dinner. Looks like we will have to hunt one down!

 

[tomtnt]

I agree with the advice to get her involved with many other activities - especially some in which she isn't so great. It's good for them to learn that it's okay to not be the best at everything...

My 6 year old daughter excels in Gymnastics, snowboarding, piano, and school. But she also does ice skating and swimming both of which she isn't very good at....