2013.... to 2014.....
March 2013
April 2013
May 2013
We have known since she was little that Elliot was talented. She uses body mechanics to her advantage, has great spatial awareness, and has always been freakishly strong and quick. Gymnastics was a natural fit for her. Once we switched to Brown's gymnastics which is a "Strength" Gym, she has thrived. Her first year competing, she was State Champ on Floor for Level 5 (New Level 4)!
After State meet is when they start working on new skills. She ironically broke her arm doing aerials... and was put in a cast for 6 weeks. She was exempt from P.E. but continued to work out about 6-9 hours/week at gym- because she had the rest of her body to keep conditioned. She heeled very quickly and was back at it. They added a day to her workout each week, so we were at about 17 hrs/week. She was awarded the Hardest Worker award at the team banquet and it was a very proud moment for us. As we watched the videos of the senior gymnasts who were going off on Scholarships to various Colleges, and their journey getting there- I started to imagine Elliot at that age. We already had some injury pictures, Check... We have video of her falling hard off the beam... Check! And I think I even started getting teary at the thought.....
We met with the head coach. He wanted to have her and three other 8 year olds start working out with the Optional Gymnasts. The "big girls" we call them because more are in middle school or high school. The idea was that these girls would not worry about competing but get ahead in the skills they would need for Level 7. She said the warm up was easier (it's not)... We had a few days where she didn't want to go because she was worried about doing back walkovers on the beam. Her back is not crazy flexible and I think that it takes her a little more faith then those who can see the beam the entire time... She has never liked pressure and it takes her awhile to warm up to new things.... But- we got through that... By the end of Summer she was up to 5 days/ week. That is 22 hours at gymnastics. Every week. But she committed to it..
School started. She was tired. I was tired. The gym is almost 1/2 hr away.- which is an hour round trip, twice a day.. 6 days a week (Rowan started gym when Ellie broke her arm) .. She still hated full turns and back walkovers on the beam. I could see her pull a face as she walked to the car. I felt awful, I felt like I was torturing her. I was full of doubt. My friend suggested I text the beam coach. It was almost the next practice when the Head Coach saw me waiting and double checked with the beam coach what my first name was, so that when he walked in to the waiting room he could cordially greet me by my name.. I thought, "Well played, Terry!" Taking a minute to make sure you have the correct first name is good P.R... Even though I saw him ask, I appreciated it....
He never said the words but basically- She is manipulating the coaches a bit to get out of things that make her uncomfortable. She says her stomach hurts and she is little and cute, and they don't make her do it. He never said she was being a brat, but didn't need to. Because it clicked.. she was doing the same thing to me. He said that she had NEVER had to work hard at gymnastics but now it was getting real, and it was getting difficult, and that it was a new experience for her. He suggested that I tell her straight up that we committed to the year and we would re-evaluate next summer. He also hinted that this would not be the only time that I would have to do this if she was to make it in gymnastics... Not wanting to be the parent that forced her kid to do something, I almost taught her that quitting when things are hard, is ok.... He had promised that gymnastics was one of the best sports to prepare these kids for the trials of real life. Because it is hard- and it is long, and there are no breaks, or time off.. for any of us involved in it. But driving home, having made that decision, I felt peace. I have had to recall that feeling of peace several times since then..
So the next day when I saw her pull the sad face (like a mask) as she walked to the car. I told her flat out that we all discussed it... and she was not quitting. To say she freaked is an understatement. A huge tantrum complete with kicking and pounding her fists on the couch is a more accurate description. Wow, I thought - she is MAD she in not getting her way. She IS a brat.... but the kicker was when I told her that we would re-assess next summer- she screamed, "But I WON'T want to QUIT next Summer!!!" and it hit me... She is 8. She has NO CONCEPT of what the ramifications of quitting will be. Man am I glad I didn't let her. She will tell me that she is worried about certain skills, and I can tell some days her heart is not in it, or that she is tired....but she has not pulled "that face" or the fake tears since that day. As talented as she is though, gymnastics is a mental sport and that was not the end of the growing up this year.....
Everyone that she had competed with last year started the competitive season... she didn't, which was the plan- but then the coaches decided that they wanted her little group to compete starting in January. The other three are a level above her and so she was the only one her level who had not competed yet that season... which was fine until we realized that she didn't even have skills she needed for bars or for floor. She WON floor the previous season, and now she couldn't even complete the routine because she has issues with back tucks!... She would throw a standing back tuck, but not after a back handspring. It was the same with her bars dismount... One time like 2 years ago, she hit her head on the beam or edge of tumble track and has not liked back tucks ever since... Keep in mind I have seen her throw back handspring -layouts at the park... and back handspring -whips.... so cue our frustration! Here we are killing ourselves getting her to gym, she has been going extra days for months and it seemed like she was behind! My frustration peaked when I was missing other things, to watch her scratch two events... It became increasingly difficult to smile and come up with positive things to say! After one meet, the best I could muster was, "Well, I'm glad you at least tried to throw your back handspring on the beam!" Colin was frustrated also... So I text coaches again with very simple message. "Should I be worried?" They texted back, "NOPE". Huh.
What we were not seeing was that yes, she fell on her back handspring on the beam, but she was the only one competing one. They have seen her land it hundreds of times. Her bars? She can kip to a handstand and has her giants... so the fact that she likes her coach standing by her for her back tuck dismount off of high bar, didn't worry them. And the tumbling? We all knew she could do it. So somewhere in there is the realization that I was grateful that they could see the talent, despite the mental block. That her coaches have seen this a lot, and were more patient with her then I would be. Somewhere in there, the frustration turned to gratitude that they are willing to work WITH her. They baby stepped her into her tumbling. I was very proud when she asked the coach if she could try again, and said- "it was so hard to make myself do it, but I did!!! Then I did lots of them!" She finally competed and entire meet, and qualified to compete in state- in the LAST meet she could have!
States were solid. She landed her back handspring on the beam, but wobbled on something else... Her practice bar routine was better then her competition one... she was not perfect, but solid. On everything. She was the only one who competed a back handspring on beam. I could hear one parent tell another one, "I don't know why they would do that, you can only lose points.." Because this year was never about winning.
She got THIRD in All Around at State. Second place on floor. Her second time competing it this year... Yes, we were happy about the results, but happier that we were not wrong to trust the coaches. They know a lot more then we do, and seem to really care about our daughter. It's been a long year though!!
Just 
Most of the kids- I think the only one you can't see is Liam hiding behind Rowan. There are 14 all together.
Ellie and Maddy in our wetsuits. The water was not that cold but the air was not that warm so it made the kids more willing to ski..
The 2002 cousins with Kellen as motor..
The storm rolling in over the mountains on the other side of the Lake..
