I’ll Tumble For Ya!

As you all know, Rachel’s major activity is gymnastics.  This past year has been a big transitional year for her in the gym.  She switched gyms last Fall, and she has had a lot of catching up to do.  She wasn’t in any competitions this past year, which was really tough.

Fast forward to June 2014.  Despite lots of frustration and a huge learning curve, she seems really happy now.  I am cautiously optimistic.  I have seen very talented girls clutching to a parent and begging to leave the gym – middle school age kids that had been on the team a long time!  Given the un-predictability of what a kid finds interesting or is willing to do, I am afraid to be overly confident about Rachel’s progress.  (Pride cometh before the fall…..) For now, though, I will share some recent video. It feels like ages since I have bragged on her gymnastics – no competitions and lots and lots of uncertainty have a way of hushing up an over-zealous gym mom.

Below is a video taken today of Rachel doing round-off backhand springs.  She is on a tumble track, but this is a huge improvement!  I am sure it still needs lots of work, but the coach thinks the skill is getting much more secure  and she can do them on the floor now.

Here is a video taken about a month ago.  One night after her regular practice (notice the messy hair), Rachel wanted to show me cartwheels on the beam.  It had been over a year since she had done that trick, so I was a little surprised.  She was eager to show off that skill.  I was so happy, thrilled in my heart actually, that she had the internal motivation and excitement in the sport.

But, like I said, this could be short-lived.  I just have to take a deep breath and support her 110% and not worry about how long this interest will continue.  I need to be the happy and cheerful mom that gives her a pat on the back no matter how good or bad practice went.  I should be the mom that is proud of her daughter whether she sticks a skill or falls or doesn’t pay attention or has to do 100 rope climbs for being goofy….

6 thoughts on “I’ll Tumble For Ya!

  1. Way to go Rachel! She makes those round off backhand springs look so fun! Her cartwheels on the beam are awesome. Those beams are narrow!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *