The Meet was fun, now what...

... a famous coach saw her talent, offered to pay for her lessons and we are on a new journey. Just kidding. I shouldn't mess with you like that.

The meet was fun; we're glad we did it. For now we will keep up with the recreational class, and hope for another opportunity to compete next spring. I'm thinking of this meet as a ballet recital.

The meet was fun, long and draining.  Each event is awarded a blue, red, or yellow ribbon. Hadley got a red ribbon on all her events. She made no major mistakes and didn't seemed to be bothered by nerves. I was impressed that performing didn't cause her lose her balance or forget her moves. The now familiar gym was rearranged, bleaches were jammed into every corner for the parents, and there were well over 100 girls there. Hadley was anxious and uncertain until she found her coach and her team. Her best friend was competing too. The other girls on the team have been practicing each element of their routines for months, and Hadley just learned them in the last three weeks.  She did great. I surprised myself with a new appreciation for learning the routines. I like the discipline and attention-to-detail required in a routine. Routines take the individual skills and string them together in a way that requires the gymnast to think about timing, execution, and in-between elements (like leaps and pointed toes) that bring fluidity to the routine.

The entry fees for our family and for Hadley equalled a whole month of lessons. With that in mind, I had trouble justifying participation in  the next meet on April 25. I did however tell Hadley she could do the next meet if she paid for half the entry fee. She has the money saved up (though she is saving it for a Star Wars costume!).  She wants the costume more and refused my offer. For now, I think she is content with what God provided and excited to keep learning.

Here are videos of some  of the events. I missed videotaping the vault completely because she was first and it happens so fast. And I turned the camera funny in one thinking I could reorient it later like I do with pictures. And I missed the opening handstand on the floor routine. But, these videos should give you a sense of the meet and a chance to marvel and how tall my Hadley is getting.

Note: These videos are on YouTube and I am just learning how to edit the HTML code to embad the videos directly into my blog. I tinkered enough with the code to make most of the screen visible in my blog, but don't feel like making it perfect. If you click on the little arrows in the corner of the video box, the video will fill your whole computer screen; to escape full screen mode, press ESC.








Coming soon: Kassy's birthday , which is today, and her Star Wars birthday party, which is Saturday...