WAG Worst Meet Ever

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Yes. We’ve had some awful ones last season in particular. Like a punch in the gut, with an injury and growth spurt right before meet season after being so productive in training for months. My DD is pretty stoic about it, and like yours, still loves the sport. Sometimes I think she loves the sport but it doesn’t love her back . But she does amazing things and is a strong girl. I couldn’t be more proud of her.

The worst is when she actually has meets where she wins or is on the podium due to performance- dance skills - and have parents of the winning-est gymnasts on our team comment within earshot that she should not have won. I have to bite my tongue for sure. It reminds me to think before I speak. You don’t know anyone’s story.
 
I sympathize too. Two back to back sessions last weekend. I think it’s almost more emotionally draining for me than it is the girls. I am guilty of crying after bad meets myself. Last year one of my daughters fell on every single event. Just when I thought it couldn’t get worse it somehow did. We both cried on the way home. I felt terrible for her and it was such a long day—both girls had competed back to back sessions that day also. I keep thinking it will get easier every year, and it never does.
 
I sympathize too. Two back to back sessions last weekend. I think it’s almost more emotionally draining for me than it is the girls. I am guilty of crying after bad meets myself. Last year one of my daughters fell on every single event. Just when I thought it couldn’t get worse it somehow did. We both cried on the way home. I felt terrible for her and it was such a long day—both girls had competed back to back sessions that day also. I keep thinking it will get easier every year, and it never does.
Gymnastics is so hard. You get rewarded by moving up a Level, but then its like you are starting over again from the bottom of the totem pole. The start of the season is always the hardest once you have moved up unless your daughter is a gymnast who has always scored high and has the ability to always be training higher level skills all year and still compete in what ever level your coaches put you in, i.e. a level lower than what you are capable and yes I know a lot of gyms do this and it certainly works as a competitive strategy. In my daughter's first ever State meet she was last in her old Level 4 now L3 division (22 gymnasts). Sometimes I look back and see where her past competitors are now. Most have dropped out, a couple moved to Xcel, and the others are either in the same Level or one higher. So I am super proud that she has stuck with it. I always hoped she would make it to the higher levels, but it has taken time. She is an older (16) Level 9 this year and she is already competing against kids that have had two years of Level 8 and are working on their 2nd year of Level 9. She repeated in compulsories so now has moved up every year since Level 6. She is trying to get to Level 10 by her junior year in HS so she can have two years of 10. Most competitive JO gymnasts are level 10 for 5-6 years so that shows you how hard gymnastics is. I just hold my breath and let her talk to me if she wants. We celebrate pretty much the same way every meet, win or lose, fall or not. She has her second Level 9 meet this weekend and I just hope she can see incremental improvements. I always just hope that by the time State meet comes she can quality for Regionals. She has qualified ever year since Level 7 (there were no regionals when she was a L6 but would have qualified if they had the meet.) So overall she has always gotten there eventually. I am sure this year will be no different, at least I am praying a lot that everything will come together in time. Hang in there everyone, gymnastics is the hardest sport ever but life can also be pretty hard so they are all learning no matter what.
 
Gymnastics is so hard. You get rewarded by moving up a Level, but then its like you are starting over again from the bottom of the totem pole. The start of the season is always the hardest once you have moved up unless your daughter is a gymnast who has always scored high and has the ability to always be training higher level skills all year and still compete in what ever level your coaches put you in, i.e. a level lower than what you are capable and yes I know a lot of gyms do this and it certainly works as a competitive strategy. In my daughter's first ever State meet she was last in her old Level 4 now L3 division (22 gymnasts). Sometimes I look back and see where her past competitors are now. Most have dropped out, a couple moved to Xcel, and the others are either in the same Level or one higher. So I am super proud that she has stuck with it. I always hoped she would make it to the higher levels, but it has taken time. She is an older (16) Level 9 this year and she is already competing against kids that have had two years of Level 8 and are working on their 2nd year of Level 9. She repeated in compulsories so now has moved up every year since Level 6. She is trying to get to Level 10 by her junior year in HS so she can have two years of 10. Most competitive JO gymnasts are level 10 for 5-6 years so that shows you how hard gymnastics is. I just hold my breath and let her talk to me if she wants. We celebrate pretty much the same way every meet, win or lose, fall or not. She has her second Level 9 meet this weekend and I just hope she can see incremental improvements. I always just hope that by the time State meet comes she can quality for Regionals. She has qualified ever year since Level 7 (there were no regionals when she was a L6 but would have qualified if they had the meet.) So overall she has always gotten there eventually. I am sure this year will be no different, at least I am praying a lot that everything will come together in time. Hang in there everyone, gymnastics is the hardest sport ever but life can also be pretty hard so they are all learning no matter what.
It is as much a mental sport as it is physical talent. (see your bolded words) To stick with a sport so labor intensive through high school seems so draining and exhausting to me, so my hat is off to these girls who are able to do that. The daughter that fell on every event last year just had her first level 9 event. She competed every event, and I teared up because I was so proud of her. Yet I still managed to feel disappointed in my other daughter who hasn't had all of the struggles my older daughter has had yet and really just did not do as well as I had hoped. I realize that is my own issue and not my daughter's. I just really want them to do well because they work so hard and give up a lot for this sport.
 
My daughter won most of her meets last year and her first meet this year. Last weekend, she actually did well except her beam dismount but the rest in her age group did amazing! 37 or higher AA all the way to 6th place. She got 8th and cried .... a lot! I was so sad for her but it was such a good lesson for both of us... it’s only going to get more up and down as she advances and it’s probably good to have these hiccups now. The whole thing made me proud of all those gymnasts who rarely medal yet keep going because they love the sport. And that’s what I was trying to get her to realize.
 
So this is the opposite of a brag alert. My dd had her worst meet ever today (age 9, level 4). I’ll admit, I privately shed some tears. Deep down I felt she wouldn’t have a great meet based on how she’s been practicing,, but I certainly didn’t expect such low scores.

We always see the brag threads; this is a commiserating thread. Can any one relate to this? Did you talk it over with your dd or just go on with life? Did you discuss ways she can improve her routines? Did you make it a learning moment? Or did you just pretend it didn’t happen?

We talked about the improvements she made, discussed the problems and ways to work on them, discussed attitude and sportsmanship, and I asked her if she liked gymnastics. I just wanted to see if she still enjoyed it, since she’s been doing it since she learned to walk. She assured me she did, with a “how could you even think I don’t like it” look on her face, lol!

Ugh! :(
Kendal scored 35's when she went level 5 (which is 4 now). She spent another year in 5 . Now she is at UCLA. Its a marathon :)
 
Ya'll, my DD has had TWO disastrous meets! I'm talking 5's and 6's on multiple events where she has consistently scored 9+. There are a couple of factors playing into this but my DD is devastated and for one of the few times as a parent, I feel I have little to offer in terms of support. :(

Hang in there everyone.
 
I am so sorry. I haven't read all the replies, but I can commiserate. My dd had her first meet of the season recently. She valuted a front handspring, a vault she's been doing for FOUR seasons now. She scored a 7.8. :eek: I just can't. A 7.8 after FOUR seasons of the same dang vault. Sigh. I don't think she's ever broken a 9 on that event.

so yeah, I get it.
 
My DD's state meet last year was the punch in the gut, I hate gymnastics (as a parent) meet. Everything was going well until the last event. Sad thing was it was bars which was normally the event she does well on....it was a total flop. She missed Regionals by .25 and was the only girl out of her teammates that didn't move on. It was a hard pill to swallow especially since she was typically one of the highest AA scorers on her team. Your heart just breaks for them and there is not a darn thing you can do about it. Nothing but time could heal that wound. After 10 months, she finally had a meet again. That was a long 10 months to get the opportunity to "prove" yourself....first event was bars, the event she ended on last season. It was beautiful - and got a 1st place. It wasn't an "important" meet but it was so nice to have something to smile about after ending on such a sour note. I realized as I was sitting there, waiting during warmups, that I was so darn nervous for her. More so than I think I ever have been in the 8 years we've been doing this. Bad meets just stink and there really isn't a darn thing you can do to make it better for them!
 
My daughter is not a podium kid. She did better last year at Level 5 where she had the opportunity to shine on floor (she loves to dance) and she medaled on floor several times throughout the season, but she has never made the podium as an all-around and she usually ends up in the bottom half of her age group. However, she never gives up trying and will have a couple of WOW moments at each meet. We were at Lady Luck this weekend and she landed her first pass on floor, a front pike front pike as a Level 6, (which she fell on last meet) and she was so excited she forgot to dance and started to giggle. It was by far my favorite moment of the meet. She ended up with a 9.050 on floor and ended up 12th of 16th in floor for the session, but it was great for her. She still is beaming about landing that pass.
 
My daughter is not a podium kid. She did better last year at Level 5 where she had the opportunity to shine on floor (she loves to dance) and she medaled on floor several times throughout the season, but she has never made the podium as an all-around and she usually ends up in the bottom half of her age group. However, she never gives up trying and will have a couple of WOW moments at each meet. We were at Lady Luck this weekend and she landed her first pass on floor, a front pike front pike as a Level 6, (which she fell on last meet) and she was so excited she forgot to dance and started to giggle. It was by far my favorite moment of the meet. She ended up with a 9.050 on floor and ended up 12th of 16th in floor for the session, but it was great for her. She still is beaming about landing that pass.
Oh, I love this story!
 
My daughter is not a podium kid. She did better last year at Level 5 where she had the opportunity to shine on floor (she loves to dance) and she medaled on floor several times throughout the season, but she has never made the podium as an all-around and she usually ends up in the bottom half of her age group. However, she never gives up trying and will have a couple of WOW moments at each meet. We were at Lady Luck this weekend and she landed her first pass on floor, a front pike front pike as a Level 6, (which she fell on last meet) and she was so excited she forgot to dance and started to giggle. It was by far my favorite moment of the meet. She ended up with a 9.050 on floor and ended up 12th of 16th in floor for the session, but it was great for her. She still is beaming about landing that pass.

Such a great story! And this is exactly why we as parents must help our gymnasts navigate the tension of participating in a sport that, yes, judges and identifies excellence, but also allows for "wins" to happen in so many individual areas that cannot be quantified.
 
Well, misery loves company!! Thank you for this post and the great replies.... I was actually considering a post like this myself, so the timing could not have been more perfect.

Mine is having a terrible season. Last year she was a 10yo L7, and had a solid season for the most part (including a few exciting "highs" such as a 9.9 on bars during the regular season, and first place on bars at Regionals in a very competitive region/age group). But the wheels are falling off this year, and I don't know why. To give you a general idea of how bad we're talking, she competed L8 for the first time a couple of weekends ago and finished second to last in her age group (40th out of 57 in the session). In the case of my DD, it's more than meet mistakes and jitters (although there is some of that going on too -- she fell twice (twice!!) on bars at the last meet). Progress has just kind of stalled in general. I honestly don't know how long I let this drag on?? The weird part is my DD is still happy in the gym. Go figure!

In any event, I hope you have a better next meet. I keep telling myself that, at this point, there is really only one direction my DD can go...
 
@CLgym I'm sorry for your dd's struggles. I, too, identify with questioning how long do we let this continue? I hope for your dd that whatever is causing her issues is shortlived and that she retains the joy she finds in gymnastics. ((hugs))
 
I honestly don't know how long I let this drag on?? The weird part is my DD is still happy in the gym. Go figure!

You answered your own question--she's happy. The time to consider pulling the plug is when she's not happy, or she's obviously not working hard, or gymnastics is interfering with school, or her body can no longer handle the strain. If she is happy and willing to work through the challenges, let it be. She just might learn more from losing at L8 than from winning at L7.
 
You answered your own question--she's happy. The time to consider pulling the plug is when she's not happy, or she's obviously not working hard, or gymnastics is interfering with school, or her body can no longer handle the strain. If she is happy and willing to work through the challenges, let it be. She just might learn more from losing at L8 than from winning at L7.
I was going to say the same thing. These last 2 years have been the hardest for my kid, yet she is happier today then 2 yrs ago.
 
You answered your own question--she's happy. The time to consider pulling the plug is when she's not happy, or she's obviously not working hard, or gymnastics is interfering with school, or her body can no longer handle the strain. If she is happy and willing to work through the challenges, let it be. She just might learn more from losing at L8 than from winning at L7.
One of the greatest benefits of gymnastics has nothing to do with gymnastics. My daughter is a perfectionist. She is hypercritical of herself and doesn't want to disappoint teachers, coaches, teammates, us (her parents), so when she doesn't do well she often gets into the head space of "I'm not good enough". We have been working REALLY hard on effort and attitude. Her coaches are amazing and they do not stress winning at all costs. They actually care more about practices and the progress made because one routine is not always indicative of ability. They really want to see the athletes challenging themselves and having fun. My daughter is learning that falling does not equal failure and she is learning how to find the positives in otherwise challenging situations. These are life skills and she barely 11 (like 2 weeks ago).
 
Well, misery loves company!! Thank you for this post and the great replies.... I was actually considering a post like this myself, so the timing could not have been more perfect.

Mine is having a terrible season. Last year she was a 10yo L7, and had a solid season for the most part (including a few exciting "highs" such as a 9.9 on bars during the regular season, and first place on bars at Regionals in a very competitive region/age group). But the wheels are falling off this year, and I don't know why. To give you a general idea of how bad we're talking, she competed L8 for the first time a couple of weekends ago and finished second to last in her age group (40th out of 57 in the session). In the case of my DD, it's more than meet mistakes and jitters (although there is some of that going on too -- she fell twice (twice!!) on bars at the last meet). Progress has just kind of stalled in general. I honestly don't know how long I let this drag on?? The weird part is my DD is still happy in the gym. Go figure!

In any event, I hope you have a better next meet. I keep telling myself that, at this point, there is really only one direction my DD can go...
She is happy in the gym. And she is the puberty age. I say let it play on and hopefully she will get through to the other side.
 

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