Parents Habits, Rituals and Superstitions

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ladybird

Proud Parent
My dd is a first year level 9 and entering her 8th year of competition. I thought it would be fun to talk about some of the quirky things our gymmies do to get themselves by during practices and meets. One of my dd's rituals before a meet is that we have to eat at the same restaurant the night before the meet if it is local or the night before we travel to a meet. Back when she was a second year level 3 she won her first meet and she was sure it was due to where we ate the night before, lol! She also has a habit during practice that she tucks her hair behind her ears before going for her tumbling pass or her beam series.

How about everyone else? Is there a certain mantra said before a beam mount? A certain leo that brings "luck" during practice?
 
Before my daughter's hair was too long for a pony tail, she would always reach up and tighten her pony tail before vaulting. She was nervous the bun was going to mess up her routine! Now that I think about it, she did have a rough vaulting season last year. (Lots of other factors!) She just got her hair cut- will have to see if that pony tail tighten returns and scores go up!;)
 
My DD likes to do a few push ups before going for a tumbling pass in practice. She says it "loosens her up?" I don't know why that's a good thing but it makes her happy and doesn't seem to hurt her tumbling. When I was a gymnast making my arms more tired on purpose would have been the last thing I wanted to do but if it works for her then more power to her. :)
 
Great thread Ladybird! It’s fun to read about their quirky habits and rituals.
 
When preparing to run for vt, my dd slides (or taps) her foot from the distance tape to the mat several times. What is strange is that in all the years she has competed (and I have gone to every meet), I never noticed it before until my dh came to her first meet of last season and pointed it out. Sure enough, she does it on every vt.
 
For a couple of years I had my daughter convinced that eating a particular snack right before warm-ups was lucky. It really did help her performance, because without the snack she would run out of energy and crash and burn after the second rotation.
 
When preparing to run for vt, my dd slides (or taps) her foot from the distance tape to the mat several times. What is strange is that in all the years she has competed (and I have gone to every meet), I never noticed it before until my dh came to her first meet of last season and pointed it out. Sure enough, she does it on every vt.
I love this! Rituals are comforting and help with being consistent too.
 
My 2nd year L9 has been eating mac n cheese the night before a meet from the same bbq restaurant since she started competing. For meets with travel, but no flight, we bring it in a cooler. I have 2 rituals myself. I haven't watched beam, except on video, since L3. I cover my eyes with whatever is available. When my daughter was in L3 I thought she had a lot of time before competing beam, so I went to the restroom. The gym where the competition was only had 2 bathrooms and although the line didn't look long, but it took forever because what appeared to be a whole team came out after changing into their leos inside 1 room. Needless to say as I walked back into the gym my daughter was doing her beam handstand right off the end of the beam. In my head I somehow determined that going to the bathroom once the meet had started was bad luck and made her fall. 6 years later and I still won't go to the bathroom and I have to say that I'm often times very uncomfortable and also very dehydrated in fear.
 
For a couple of years I had my daughter convinced that eating a particular snack right before warm-ups was lucky. It really did help her performance, because without the snack she would run out of energy and crash and burn after the second rotation.
YG used to be a bottomless pit, lol. She had a home meet very early in her career. She was first session. She had eaten breakfast at the house before we left. When we got to the gym, she ate a donut and a banana and then one of the moms gave her a granola bar. Right before warm ups started (it was traditional format, so they warmed up all 4 events), my sister called to see if we wanted anything from McDonalds. Since YG had told me she was hungry 3 minutes earlier, I had my sister get her a hashbrown (and a sausage biscuit for AFTER she competed). When my sister arrived, they were warming up vault - the last event because McD took FOREVER. YG saw and asked the coach if she could get her hashbrown. Coach said if she did a good vault, she could have another coach bring it over to her. She did a great vault - better than her other warm ups. Then she ate her hashbrown. She competed vault 20 minutes later. Her first comp vault was THE BEST of her life. Her coach said, "Ok, Hashbrown. 1 more!" She got her first 9 on vault :) and coach has called her Hashbrown ever since ... and she USUALLY gets one the morning of a meet. She did miss getting a hashbrown at 2 meets in the years since ... at one meet, she sat her first vault on her bottom and at the other, it was on her 2nd vault, lol.

There is a caveat - apparently the hashbrown can wear off if she doesn't compete within 3 hours of eating it ... but she still gets a hashbrown.
 
YG used to be a bottomless pit, lol. She had a home meet very early in her career. She was first session. She had eaten breakfast at the house before we left. When we got to the gym, she ate a donut and a banana and then one of the moms gave her a granola bar. Right before warm ups started (it was traditional format, so they warmed up all 4 events), my sister called to see if we wanted anything from McDonalds. Since YG had told me she was hungry 3 minutes earlier, I had my sister get her a hashbrown (and a sausage biscuit for AFTER she competed). When my sister arrived, they were warming up vault - the last event because McD took FOREVER. YG saw and asked the coach if she could get her hashbrown. Coach said if she did a good vault, she could have another coach bring it over to her. She did a great vault - better than her other warm ups. Then she ate her hashbrown. She competed vault 20 minutes later. Her first comp vault was THE BEST of her life. Her coach said, "Ok, Hashbrown. 1 more!" She got her first 9 on vault :) and coach has called her Hashbrown ever since ... and she USUALLY gets one the morning of a meet. She did miss getting a hashbrown at 2 meets in the years since ... at one meet, she sat her first vault on her bottom and at the other, it was on her 2nd vault, lol.

There is a caveat - apparently the hashbrown can wear off if she doesn't compete within 3 hours of eating it ... but she still gets a hashbrown.
THIS IS GREAT! Especially that nickname :p
 
When DD was a tiny 6 year old level 3 her (absolutely wonderful) coach sprayed all the girls' hair with glitter right before beam in her first meet ever. She called it stay on the beam dust. The whole team stayed on the beam that day. She held on to those clips as if they were worth a million. The hair clips she used that day, still covered with glitter from that day, were put in my daughter's hair for every single meet from there on out. So funny when my 11 year old is getting ready for a meet and asks me to hand her the stay on the beam dust hair clips. Dd retired recently, but I wonder if she will still want them now that she is preparing for her first T&T meet? Will be fun to see.
 
Just before starting high school, my son left gymnastics after 7 years competing. That year he started doing triple jump and long jump for his school track team.
At the first meet I was able to attend, I watched from the stands as he prepared for his first jump. He waited for the official’s ready signal, and then he did a high V salute before starting down the runway!
He told me later “mom I cannot run a step without saluting!”
 

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