Gym Kids Work Out With The Gym Dogs

Boo went to the Gym Dogs pizza party and work out for the Gym Kids today. It was really nice and she had a great time. All the Gym Dogs and the coaches worked with the girls on all four events. As usual, bars was Boo’s favorite. She worked on kips with Courtney Kupets, did beam with Grace Taylor and vaulted with Marcia Newby. It was a really special, memorable event.

Critique / Mock Meet

I just have to say WOW! Boo has really impressed us. She was absolutely AMAZING today! You’d never tell that she has only been training level 5 for six weeks. She was outstanding.

She started on floor and was the first up. There was a little trouble getting the music going so she had to step back off the floor and wait until they could get it going. She started off pretty well except she hit the floor hard with her feet out of the dive roll, which broke her momentum and she had to put her hand down to stand up. Then on the full turn, she tried to go too fast and lost her balance a little. The end of the routine was not as smooth and rhythmic as it could have been but all in all, she did well.

Next up was bars. Of the nine girls on her team, only three competed their full bars routines, including Boo. She totally NAILED it! She was spot on with every skill, including straight legs on her front hip circle (just a little leg separation) and almost straight arms on both of her kips. AWESOME!

Then it was on to beam. I was a little concerned during the warm up because it seemed like she was falling off on everything! But when it came time to compete, she rocked it. She only had a couple of little bobbles and she put her foot down too quickly on her half turn. She also didn’t get quite vertical in her handstand but everything else was fantastic!

Vault was great, especially considering last Tuesday was the first time she’d ever done it without a spot. She stuck the first one with just a tiny hop on the landing. The second one wasn’t as good as she sat down on the landing.

All in all, she did an incredible job today and we’re very, very proud of her. Of the nine girls on her team, only three competed all-around. Not only that, but Boo competed all-around as the newest team member and after only six weeks of level 5 training. Go Boo!!!

Oh, and for anyone interested, the video is up on YouTube (link at the top of the blog).

Counting down the days...

Another great night at practice. Boo completely has her front handspring vault now. Very exciting! She’s able to vault with straight legs and lands on her feet. Yea, Boo!

We’ve also found out that the meet this weekend is mostly just a critique meet, where the judge will score their routines but also provide the coach with specific information on the deductions taken. It doesn’t sound like the scores will be given to the parents at all. Boo was a little disappointed that this isn’t going to be a regular meet but I’m sure she’ll have fun just the same. And of course I’ll post all about it here so, stay tuned!

Giants!!!

Boo has been learning giants at the gym this week. Her coach has been spotting her on the strap bar and letting her go “round and round and round!” Needless to say, she is very excited. It took three practices before I was finally there to see it. She looked good! She was holding her form pretty well and seemed to be having a lot of fun. Her bars coach is really good with her and is getting her to work some big skills. She is also working very hard for her first level 5 meet coming up next Saturday. Everybody wish her luck!

A few more Gym Dog pics

Here's a couple more pictures from the Sneak Peek:

Boo with Cassidy McComb, Courtney Kupets and Courtney McCool

Gym Dogs Sneak Peek

We took Boo to see the Gym Dogs Sneak Peek at UGA this afternoon. That was a lot of fun. The Gym Dogs performed some basic vaults and several floor routines. They taught the crowd some audience participation moves for some of the routines, which was a lot of fun. Then the girls divided into two “teams” and competed on bars and beam. In between, Suzanne Yoculan explained the routines, the scoring and what mistakes and deductions were counted. It was very informative and neat to learn what to watch for and some about how it all works.

After the performances, we went to the meet and greet. All the girls were there signing autographs and posing for pictures. Boo got everyone’s signatures and pictures with all of them, too. I asked Marcia Newby how tall she is as she is the tallest on the team. She said she’s 5’7” and told Boo “never let anybody tell you you’re too tall to be a gymnast.” I thought that was really nice.

Boo even got to speak with Suzanne Yoculan a bit. Ms. Yoculan was surprised that Boo is already a level 5 at just 7 years old. She told Boo that “most 7-year-olds are only about level 2.” She was also impressed that Boo taught herself all three kips and told her “you’ll have to show me at the pizza party and workout.” How cool is that?! Boo says she wants to show Ms. Yoculan her baby giant, too.

It was a great day. The girls and Ms. Yoculan were all very nice and gracious and it was very exciting to meet them all. We're really looking forward to going to the meets this season. Go Gym Dogs!!!

Front Handspring Vault

Big night for Boo tonight. She did the front handspring vault all by herself! And… drum roll please…. she landed on her feet! She did confess to bent knees, but I told her she’ll fix that. The front handspring vault is huge!!! She’s only tried it a handful of times before tonight. Big accomplishment! She is very excited.

Meet Season is coming!!!

There was a parents' meeting at the gym last night regarding the upcoming meet season. Turns out, Boo will compete in all four meets, starting with the in-house meet on December 20th! That's less than three weeks away and only a month and a half after beginning level 5 training. But Boo isn't worried at all. She's excited about competing again and hoping for more medals.