WAG First competition - what would you regard as a good result?

[flippingtogether]

A few ideas of what constitutes success after my DD has had 2 full seasons of competing: (and hint, it has very little to do with her numbers as they compare to everyone else!)

Fun. First thing, the competition should be a fun experience. The first one is perhaps the hardest, but after the first one it gets easier and your DD never again has to have her 'first routine ever in her first meet' ever again. Success.

A feeling of accomplishment. When my DD can look and say, 'wow, I did that!' That is pretty cool. And never forget when you look at the larger population this truly is a special accomplishment what your DD does at a meet but putting herself out there doing amazing athletic moves. Success.

Improvement. My DD can almost always find multiple things she did better since practice or since her last meet. Many sports focus on a 'personal best' - and once she has more than one meet under her belt she can look for improvements in herself from meet to meet. (These can be large things or small). Success.

Being part of a team / showing team spirit. While largely an individual sport, gymnastics is also a team sport. Seeing my DD cheer for and encourage her teammates (even those she competes head-to-head against) is pretty darn cool, makes me proud to know she is not self-centered and allows her to grow in her maturity. Success.

Perseverance. Things never go exactly as hoped or planned at a meet ..... Again great learning. My DD has learned to focus on the task at hand in front of her and not worry about others around her when she needs to be in the zone. For example, she fell once on beam at a meet, rocked every other part of her beam routine, and rocked all 3 other events. HUGE success. One of my proudest moments for her. (And she didn't repeat that mistake again for the rest of the season. Awesome.). Success. Success.

Growth and maturity as a person. Seeing her grow up in amazing ways because of her sport..... Hearing her teacher say her self confidence is marked and remarkably growing due to her sport - wow. Another proud parent moment. Success.

I think we all make our own lists as time goes on - it can be therapeutic. And of course, getting awards is fun and part of the goal of our girls as well. But I've learned if I focus just on score numbers and number placements I'll / we'll simply go crazy. As a parent we can help guide this discussion. Some kids are visual so you can write things in a notebook and discover lots of cool successes.

Enjoy the ride and all the best wishes of success for your DD!

 

[ivyagogo]

Wow. When we have our first meet sometime next fall, it will be the first one for every single girl on the team except for one. I'm nervous as hell!

 

[raenndrops]

Wow. When we have our first meet sometime next fall, it will be the first one for every single girl on the team except for one. I'm nervous as hell!

And you and the girls will do fine You got this. You are a great coach!

 

[Uglybetty]

Thanks for all the replies....they've been very helpful. She is coming round to the idea that she actually did well for her first comp and I really like the idea of encouraging her to work on her own "personal best" (whatever she decides that is). I'm hoping she'll get positive feedback from the coaches when she's back in gym. I will keep a copy of the meet scores for her to look back on in the future.

 

[Iwannabemargo]

P&F's first novice F&V comp, Vault first (through vault), practice run, runs up and crashes into the vault ! Then absolutely refuses to vault, managed to get a floor out of her but floods of tears all the way home. Fast forward a few years and she medaled regionally on vault! I still remind her of that day when she whines about not winning ( she hates to loose), "well at least you managed to get over this time". It makes her smile.

 

[gracyomalley]

DD first meet (old L5) included scratching bars, a spot to get over the vault, and a fall on beam. She was happy because she was out there with her friends and the coach gave them each a small bag of candy for "competing your first meet". There was huge improvement over then next few meets...and at the time she didn't even know her scores.

Her first meet at L6 was nearly as bad (well - no spots and did all events, but crashed on beam so hard even the judges stood up - got back up and finished it out no trouble - really ugly bruise.) This, by the way, has been her only "injury"( if you can call it that) in a meet...again, huge improvement over the next 2 meets and middle of the road performance at state.

By L7 she came out with a few things that needed to be improved, but much more polished even in the first couple of meets - also much more self-critical, unfortunately. Now scores and places well consistently but much more likely to be disappointed - go figure - I have learned that dealing with disappointment is part of what gymnastics is all about and perhaps the most important part for their overall personal growth. And that other than making it abundantly clear (I try - don't always succeed) that I'M not disappointed as long as she goes out there with a good attitude and good team spirit, etc; I need to just support her and stay out of it. It's her gymnastics - and there are few if any gymnasts who always shine...

 

[Fliptwisttumble]

Now scores and places well consistently but much more likely to be disappointed - go figure - I have learned that dealing with disappointment is part of what gymnastics is all about and perhaps the most important part for their overall personal growth. And that other than making it abundantly clear (I try - don't always succeed) that I'M not disappointed as long as she goes out there with a good attitude and good team spirit, etc; I need to just support her and stay out of it. It's her gymnastics - and there are few if any gymnasts who always shine...

I could have written this myself. It is exactly where DD is in her journey.

 

[Ali'sMom]

Going into DD's very first meet (old L2), we just hoped and prayed for her to get through it without hyperventilating and quitting. True story!

In the end, she did well, better than we could have imagined, and the stage fright went away

 

[gymmomx2]

For my dd's first meet with routines...she hit every routine and had fun

For my ds's first "real" meet, he hit every routine and finished in the top quarter of his very large group. We were very happy but he wasn't, until we helped him reframe the results. He really wanted a gold medal!

 

[teksquad]

I think a good result of a first meet is having the courage to do all four routines, and not get hurt! Kudos to her!! <3 All that other glory stuff will come with time.

 

[teksquad]

I think the best way to deal with disappointment is to show your unconditional support, and model a healthy perspective for her.

 

[paige]

I like these answers..

Doing everything a little cleaner..my DD can flip like a champ but working on the gracefulness..

I just want a smile on her face at the end of the meet and even if one event doesn't go her way, she's happy to improve on something...

and happy to go to dinner...

 

[mumoftwogymnasts]

The first meet, DD had just turned six, in the car on the way she announces "I hope I don't have to do beam today, because I can't remember the routine" So when I sent her out onto the floor I was just hoping she would be able to remember at least one routine. She did manage to recall the beam routine, didn't fall off anything, left with some ribbons and she was happy.

Now in my seventh year of watching my gymmies compete and it's interesting to see how my perspective has changed.
A good meet is -
Doing the best you can do on the day and leaving with a smile.
Having the courage to get back up when you fall and to keep going.
Meeting their individual goals for the competition - it may be sticking a skill, improving on a past score on an apparatus, competing a skill for the first time, or as simple as having pointed toes in every skill.
Encouraging your teammates, being proud of everyone's achievements and having fun.
Oh and there are still moments when I think "God I hope she can remember the routine"

We have a tradition of, depending on time of day, going for a meal/snack/milkshake after a meet before we head home, the competing gymnast chooses the venue. Sometimes we talk about how the meet went, sometimes we don't - I let the gymnast take the lead in this, one of mine likes to chat about how things went, the other doesn't. Good or bad, win or lose, we celebrate the courage it took to get out there and compete.