purpleleomom
Proud Parent
DD's first "real" competitive season is a wrap. I say real because last year she did rec team as a 2, and this year she competed Xcel bronze. It was a big jump last summer from about 2-2.5 hours per week to 9. There were many times I wondered if she would he able to handle it, and indeed there were several awkward after-practice talks with her coach when her attitude was poor. It was our second year in a new state, her first year in a new school, and a time for a lot of trial and error to get her ADHD under control. It was hard on all of us.
Her coach took zero crap from her. In fact, this coach deserves a gold medal for her work. There were several times I thought DD might get the boot from team, but her coach never quit on her. She was tough, especially considering she was very young, but she was fair, she was encouraging, and she wanted to see the girls do their best.
I never really thought my daughter would compete because she was just too hyper and distraction-prone. She doesn't have loads of natural talent or even a high level of competitive drive. She is just a daredevil who wants to do the "big skills" and learned that it would require years of work at things she didn't really want to do to get there. I just want to give hope to the other ADHD parents out there because she has finally started to blossom at age 10. She has improved her study skills, she is committed to showing up at the gym and working, and she easily makes friends - this after being the annoying kid who tried to coach her teammates 6 months ago. Yikes.
We just finished her final meet, Xcel Regionals. She did ok. She watched girl after girl go up for medals, but she didn't leave in tears after not being on the podium. When I shared with her her teammates' placements (they were so split up by ages that most competed alone), she was genuinely happy for them. Afterwards we took her out for playtime, and she did a crazy ropes course with ziplines, and a 3 story jump (in a harness) at the end. It really summed up how much she has grown and conquered this year thanks to gymnastics, and I could not be more proud.
Oh, and my bun-making skills went from hands in the air yelling "I quit" to being pretty good, if I say so myself.
Her coach took zero crap from her. In fact, this coach deserves a gold medal for her work. There were several times I thought DD might get the boot from team, but her coach never quit on her. She was tough, especially considering she was very young, but she was fair, she was encouraging, and she wanted to see the girls do their best.
I never really thought my daughter would compete because she was just too hyper and distraction-prone. She doesn't have loads of natural talent or even a high level of competitive drive. She is just a daredevil who wants to do the "big skills" and learned that it would require years of work at things she didn't really want to do to get there. I just want to give hope to the other ADHD parents out there because she has finally started to blossom at age 10. She has improved her study skills, she is committed to showing up at the gym and working, and she easily makes friends - this after being the annoying kid who tried to coach her teammates 6 months ago. Yikes.
We just finished her final meet, Xcel Regionals. She did ok. She watched girl after girl go up for medals, but she didn't leave in tears after not being on the podium. When I shared with her her teammates' placements (they were so split up by ages that most competed alone), she was genuinely happy for them. Afterwards we took her out for playtime, and she did a crazy ropes course with ziplines, and a 3 story jump (in a harness) at the end. It really summed up how much she has grown and conquered this year thanks to gymnastics, and I could not be more proud.
Oh, and my bun-making skills went from hands in the air yelling "I quit" to being pretty good, if I say so myself.
