Meet Eight: Regionals

The season has officially ended. This is always a bittersweet time for me. I love season, so I am always sad when it is over. But, now is when we get to start working on fun new skills!!!!

Regionals went well for everyone on my team! I was very proud of myself, especially considering I hadn’t competed for more than a month. For it being the first Regionals for everyone else, they did amazing! I was so proud of them and how we did as a team!

Me before the competition!
Photo Courtesy Of: Charity Christenson

Here is a quick run down of my scores: 

A 9.025 on vault, an 8.75 on bars, an 8.9 on beam, and an 8.85 on floor. But, with these scores come a few stupid mistakes. 

On beam, I almost fell on my full turn! A FULL TURN!!!!! A turn is the skill that I have been doing the longest, and it is the easiest of all my skills! They are the most pointless skills, too. Everyone underestimates how hard they are to do well because they are worried about their other skills. I was a victim to this at Regionals.

On floor, I stepped out of bounds on my double back. It was a really good pass, but I just underestimated the landing. This is a one to three tenth deduction, depending on how big my step out was.

Even so, I was really happy! I didn’t get any awards for anything, but I was okay with that. Also, I didn’t qualify for Westerns, but that just means more time to work on new skills! My teammate, Sam R, did get awards on beam and floor, third and ninth! This is great, especially since it was her first Regionals and since she wasn’t feeling well.

Phoenix was very hot and lots of fun! After Taelor’s meet on Friday, we went out to an early dinner at Mi Amigo’s, a Mexican Restaurant in the Arizona Center. 

Having fun at the Arizona Center!

Posing at the Arizona Center!

Then, while my parents went to dinner, Taelor, Alicia, and I went shopping at Urban Outfitters and Charming Charlie. Taelor, who is a big tomboy, put on a dress for the first time that I have ever seen!!!

Alicia, Taelor, and I trying on dresses at Charming Charlie!

Trying on tiaras at Charming Charlie. We were "Prom Queens!"

On Saturday, I watched Monkey and Alicia, and my parents and I went to the Arizona Science Center. There was so much interesting stuff there, and I had lots of fun! We saw a movie in the IMAX theater called To The Arctic. It was really eye opening, and I am glad I saw it. 

I am so glad that I was able to experience Regionals with all my wonderful teammates, and I am so glad I will always have all of these wonderful memories! 

Watch Out, Phoenix!

You never know what to expect in Park City, UT. This weekend, it was 60º and beautiful, and now there is six inches of snow on the ground. Earth cannot make up her mind about what season it is.

A winter wonderland in Park City on April 9th.

However, things are a bit more predictable where I am headed. On Thursday, I am off to Phoenix, Arizona, where it is always hot, Hot, HOT!

Yes, you guessed it. Regionals, which is this weekend, is in Phoenix! Along with leaving the crazy, unpredictable weather of Park City, I get to go compete in one of the biggest meets I can be in, along with all of my other wonderful teammates!

On Thursday, I will embark on a very busy mini vacation. Here is a sampling of my schedule:

But, before that, the basics. The meet is hosted by Arizona Sunrays Gymnastics. The meet itself will be held at the Phoenix Convention Center. 

Thursday night, there is a workout at the meet site. This is always nice to go to, because you get to try out the equipment that you will be competing on. Also, you get to watch some of the other girls who you are going to be competing against. However, since it is for Level 9 and 10 only, I will be all alone.

Friday is Taelor’s session. After this, my family is going to the Arizona Science Center. Also, Friday night we are likely having a team dinner somewhere in downtown Phoenix! Last year, when we had a meet in Phoenix, the team dinner was at Coach and Willies, and it may be there again this year! Wherever it is, I am looking forward to it!

My team eating at Coach and Willies in Phoenix last year.

Saturday, Monkey and Alicia compete. I am planning on going to watch both of them and hanging out with them between the sessions. Also, Saturday will be a day for me to rest and get my head in the game for my session.

My teammates and I hanging out between sessions at Regionals last year!

Bright and early on Sunday morning, I will be flipping around at the convention center! I will compete my hardest and try to qualify to one final meet. If you are in Level 9, you can qualify to Westerns from Regionals. To do this, you have to finish as one of the top people in your age group. I don’t know if I will be able to do this, but I will be okay with whatever happens.

Sadly, I am leaving before one of my teammates competes. Even though I won’t be there cheering for her, I will be sending her positive thoughts!

I am very excited for this one, last meet! One more chance to hang with my buds, one more chance to get out of Park City, and one more chance to show the world what kind of gymnastics I can do! Watch out, Phoenix, here I come!

Surprise!

It never ends well when a coach walks in and says, “Do you want the good news or the bad news?” Yesterday, my coach did just that. Naturally, we asked for the bad news first. Who wants to end with bad news?

Her response: “The bad news is that Heather is coming in at 2:30. The good news? I told you an hour before I was going to.” Heather is the judge who judges all of our intersquads. So, basically she was giving us an hour to prepare for an intersquad when we had barely even been working on routines!

It went well, especially considering the short notice. Everyone had a lot more confidence and was looking like they normally do. I think a lot of that has come from sport psych. We have worked a lot on not letting nerves get to us and staying calm, and I think this really helped us yesterday.

We “competed” on bars, beam, and floor, and there was only one fall overall! I hadn’t done many routines since recovering from my injuries, and I was really happy with how I did! This unpleasant surprise turned into a great confidence booster for everyone going into Regionals! 

I am one of two people on my team who has been to Regionals before, so I know how  different Regionals is compared to other meets. First of all, there are so many people! Everyone in level eight or higher who gets a 34.0 all around or higher at state competes. All of these gymnasts from California, Arizona, Nevada, and Utah add up to make A LOT of people! 

About a quarter of the people in my session at Regionals two years ago.
Photo Courtesy Of: Mary Antinori

Also, everyone is competing by themselves. This isn’t that big of a deal for me, since I am the only level nine, but competing by yourself is a big deal. You don’t have people cheering for you, you don’t have people to cheer for, and it is just you and your coach. 

Me, all alone, at Regionals last year. I am in the black leotard with the blue embellishment, to the left of the two girls in green with sunbursts.
Photo Courtesy Of: Mary Antinori

However, I have made friends from different teams at past Regionals! Most of my friends go to GTC in Salt Lake. Lauren and Bronte have both become good friends of mine because of Regionals! 

Even though you make friends, it is a surprise when you first get to the meet and you don’t know anyone. This is something that I know my teammates will work through as they experience this for the first time.

Two former teammates and I experiencing Regionals for the first time, three years ago.
Photo Courtesy Of: Mary Antinori

Regionals is a great experience that I can’t wait for everyone on my team to have! I’m looking forward to some great team bonding time, seeing some friends, and a great competition! And, for all my teammates and everyone else competing at Regionals, GOOD LUCK!

An Exciting and Disappointing Meet Seven: Utah State Championships

Making decisions is one of the hardest things for me to do. Last week, I had to make one of the hardest decisions that I have ever had to make, and of course it was a decision about gymnastics. Last weekend was Utah State Championships, and I had to choose whether or not I was going to compete.

My ankle was finally feeling better last week. I was pumped, because that meant I was able to train hard for state! But, on Monday, I was working my mount on bars and my back started hurting me a lot. A few of my teammates like Sam have had back problems, and I know how long they can take to heal. However, I have had muscle spasms in my back before and that’s what it felt like. I knew I just needed to rest.

Long story short, I tried working out the next day and my back was still hurting me. My coach said that I needed to decide wether or not to compete at state. We had a long discussion in which she told me that it was okay if I didn’t compete because I had gotten a high enough all around to be able to petition into Regionals.

This was a very hard decision for me to make because I really wanted to compete. After discussing this with my parents and other coaches, I decided that it was best if I didn’t compete. I was heartbroken, but I knew it was for the best.

Even though I didn’t compete, I still went to watch my teammates! They all did amazing. This was the best meet of the season for everyone, and everybody qualified for Regionals! They are in Phoenix, Arizona this year, hosted by Arizona Sunrays Gymnastics. 

This is the first year that there is Regionals for Level Sevens, and my teammate Elise was worried about qualifying. But, Elise qualified with flying colors! She even made the state team, which means that she is representing Utah at Regionals!

My whole team with the fifth place banner after everyone had competed!
Photo Courtesy Of: Amanda Johanson 

Yesterday, my coach got the message that they accepted my petition, so I will be joining my team in Phoenix! I can't wait to wrap up a good season with the rest of my team!

This is the Region 1 logo.
Photo Courtesy Of: Arizona Sunrays Gymnastics

Meet Six: GTC (The Meet That Wasn't)

We are now only a few weeks away from state meet, which means training gets a lot more intense. A LOT more! Now we get to the point of fixing the littlest details, and while I was doing this on floor, the unthinkable happened.

I was doing my leap pass on floor (a switch leap, switch side, straddle jump) when I landed wrong and rolled my ankle. At first, I didn’t think it was that bad. I stretched it out, walked away to go get ibuprofen, and walked all the way upstairs and back to get tape for my coach to tape me up. It didn’t hurt very much, but my coach noticed that it had swollen up. A lot.

She sent me home, which was devastating. I had a meet the next day and I was missing my last day of workout before it! I knew it was a good thing, though, because I didn’t want to risk hurting it any more, making it so I wouldn’t be able to compete at state.

It hurt more after I left gym. My dad, who is a doctor, and my cousin, who is a sports trainer, checked it out. They both agreed that I had a sprain, but they both said that if it wasn’t bothering me much in the morning and if I taped it up really well, I could try to compete at least one event at the meet the next day. However, my mom talked to my coach and she said that this was a bad idea. She thought it would be better for me to just take some time off to make sure that it healed properly. 

I still decided to go watch my teammates compete, though. It was a good thing, too, because they all did really well! As a team, it was definitely one of the best meets this season! Two people won the all around in their age groups, and everyone placed on at least three things! I was really proud of everyone, and it made me realize just how much fun competing is and just how much I missed it. This meet was hosted by Gymnastics Training Center, and I have some good friends on their team that I would have been competing with. Even though I didn't get to see them, I had accepted that not competing was the best thing for me.

My wonderful team after they competed!

After the meet, Taelor, Monkey, Elise, my friend Breanna, and I all went out to eat at Bucca di Beppo. We were all starving and it was a good thing because none of us realized how HUGE the portions are there!

Monkey posing in front of a statue at the restaurant!

Monkey and Elise with another statue outside!

Four days later, my ankle doesn’t hurt much at all. I can walk perfectly normally without it hurting, and today my parents let me go back to gym. I did bars, and nothing, including dismounting, hurt it! Tomorrow, I hope to at least add beam, if not everything, but I will definitely be doing everything by the end of the week.

Even with this little bump in the road, I feel like I am prepared for state. I am confident in what I can do, and I feel that having had this injury will give me more confidence because I know that I can get through anything! 

Meet Five: Boise

The last away meet of the season has come and gone. This meet was in Boise, Idaho, hosted by the Boise State University women’s gymnastics team. Even though we didn’t go somewhere really cool like New Orleans or New York, this meet was still lots of fun!

As a team, this wasn’t our best meet of the season, especially on bars. There were only a few people who did really well on bars, and sadly, one of those wasn’t me. I did okay, but nothing like last week at Winter Classic.

Beam was decent, but again, not as good as it has been. About half the team fell, and the rest of the people looked unconfident during their routines. However, considering how we did on bars, we did pretty well changing our attitudes to make a good rebound from our bad start.

Floor was by far our best event! Everybody scored at least a 9.05 or higher! There is also a funny story that goes along with this. My coach Charity’s birthday is coming up soon, and we celebrate from March 1st up until her birthday. This year, we decided to give her a gift every day. We asked her what we wanted in the wait time between beam and floor, and she said that she wanted everyone to get a nine on floor! We gave her her birthday present!!!!

Vault was good, too. I scored the same as I did at Winter Classic, a 9.25. Everyone made great progress from the vaults that they competed last week, and it was a great finish to the meet!

At this meet, we did almost everything as a team. I only did one thing without my teammates – I went to the Capitol building. It was a beautiful building, and it was really interesting to see how their government compares to ours in Utah.

A collage of some of the pictures I took at the capitol.

Friday night we had a team dinner at Bardenays, a bar and grill kind of place. The food there was amazing, the best place I’ve been in a while! Plus, this dinner was really fun because I got to spend time with my teammates. They had all driven to Boise, and they all had lots of energy! We were all really hyper and we had a great time hanging out and laughing!

Monkey, Amanda, and I at the team dinner!

After the meet on Saturday, we decided to have a pool party at the hotel pool. We ordered lots and lots of pizza and hung out in the pool. It is really fun to swim with my team because we love to try and do gymnastics in the water. It is amazing how much harder it is......

I am sad that we are done traveling for this season. However, if I qualify to Regionals, the adventure will continue there in April! Even with a poor start to this meet, we ended up doing well. I also bonded a lot with my teammates, and had lots and lots and lots of fun! Our next meet is in Salt Lake, and a few of my friends are going to watch. I can’t wait to show them what I can do!

Meet Four: Winter Classic

Every year, my gym hosts a meet called Winter Classic. It is always really fun, especially because I have lots of friends who come to watch me! That is one of the best parts of gymnastics - getting to show off your abilities to your friends.

This year, Winter Classic was the biggest it has ever been. According to my coach, there were more than 700 athletes coming from 23 different states! The team that came the farthest was Sun Country, from Gainesville, Florida. This was interesting for me because one of my former teammates, Ashlyn, is now on this team.

Olympus Gymnastics also came, which is very rare for them. They are one of our biggest rivals, and another one of my former teammates, Emily, is on that team. Both Ashlyn and Emily are in the same level as me. I was a little worried that it was going to be awkward competing against them instead of with them. I was worried for nothing, though. It was great to see them again, and it was really fun to see them compete!

This was my best meet of the season! I had my highest scores on every event except for floor. I got a 9.25 on vault, a 9.475 on bars, a 9.05 on beam, and an 8.65 on floor! I was especially excited because this is the first nine that I have ever gotten on beam in optionals! I won every event except for floor, which I got 4th on.

Everyone else on my team did well, too. This was the first meet for two of my teammates, Sam and Cassie. Everyone placed on at least one event, and scores were greatly improved from the meet in Logan, especially on beam! My coach was very happy with our performance on beam, and it was a great confidence booster for our meet next week in Boise!

My coach, the Level 8s, and I after the meet. We all did so well!

Another thing always comes with Winter Classic, and that is snow! We have had a very bad snow year this year, and I was delighted to see it dumping snow after I competed! Even though it made it hard for some of the athletes to get there, it made the meet a legitimate Winter Classic.

Now, we only have two meets before our state meet, which determines whether or not we go to Regionals. I have a lot of momentum going into this final stretch in our schedule, and I am excited to see what the rest of the season will bring!

Handstand buddies! We love to do handstands wherever we can, especially at meets!

Meet Three: Logan

This season is going by very fast. Last weekend, we had our first in-state meet in Logan, UT. We compete in Logan every year, and my team has a history of doing well there. This meet was no different!

The level eights and nines got to compete together! The meet was at eight in the morning on Friday, so this meant missing another day of school. It also meant that we drove up there Thursday night, since it takes about two hours to get there. 

Thursday was my dad’s birthday, so my mom and I decided to let him choose a dinner place. He chose the Firehouse Pizzeria. For dessert, we got a Fh’zookie with a candle! It was soooooooooooo good!

A Fh'zookie! It is a giant cookie with ice cream, chocolate sauce, caramel sauce, and whipped cream!
Photo Credit: Urban Spoon

By 7:45 AM Friday morning, my whole team was gathered at the Spectrum at Utah State University. We were amazed at how few gymnasts were there. When the meet started, we learned we were the second biggest team!

We started on floor, which is always good since floor is our best event as a team. Lets just say that we killed it! I got an 8.7 with stepping out of bounds and finishing after my music. Three of my teammates got nines, and the other two got high eights. 

We used our positive energy to do well on vault, too! Two of my teammates have been struggling to compete a suke. They used the positive floor energy to have great warm up vaults which means that my coach let them compete! They were so excited and I was so happy for them! The lowest vault score was an 8.3. I got an 8.8, which isn’t my best, but it was still pretty good.

Bars was better than it has been at the past two meets. Only one person fell, and she got a high seven. Everyone else hit all their handstands and stuck their dismounts, and the range of scores was from an 8.5 to a 9.2! I got an 8.775, which I am really happy with.

At meets, our team has struggled with beam, even though we do really well on beam during practices. Our beam coach has been really unhappy with how we have done on beam, and we were ready to prove to her that we could compete as well as we work out. Two people didn’t do well since they fell three times each. Everyone else did really well, though. I got an 8.75, which is really good for me!

One of my goals is to get a nine on beam, which I have never done in Optionals. This meet, I was pretty wobbly, which means if I do the same routine at the next meet without the wobbles I will get a nine! 

Even though I didn’t get my highest scores, I thought this was a really good meet. During awards, I had another pleasant surprise! I got first place on every event except for floor, which I didn’t place on. I also got first all around!

Everyone in level eight placed, too. Plus, they got second place as a team, only behind the host gym, Air -Bound. I was so proud of them! Afterwards, we had our traditional lunch at the Texas Roadhouse! Our next meet is the meet we host, Winter Classic, and I can’t wait to show people what I can do!

The Level 8s and I after awards! We all did great!

Meet Two: New York

Season is so much fun! This past weekend, we had a meet in Manhattan, New York. I had never been to New York before, and I had a great time! In the short time we were there, I totally felt like a tourist.

My dad and I arrived late Wednesday night. We didn’t want to pay for a cab, so we decided to take the subway. At midnight. It was a little bit creepy.... We got to our hotel, the Sheraton at Times Square, at about one AM Thursday morning. Our flight was right during our dinner, so after starving for hours, we went in search of a pizza place. One thing I noticed while walking the streets is just how awake New York City is at 1:30 in the morning. That’s why it’s called the city that never sleeps, after all!

The next day was for sight seeing. We had breakfast at Lindy’s, a diner by our hotel. We ate, mapped out our day, and set out for our first destination: Central Park. We walked through just a corner of it, but it was beautiful! The change between skyscrapers and nothing but grass and trees was incredible! 

Me in Central Park! It is a beautiful park.

Afterwards, we stopped at FAO Schwarz, the toy store. That place had the most toys in one place that I have ever seen! The only thing that really interested me were the Legos, and there were Lego creations there! Batman for the win!

Lego Batman and I at FAO Schwarz!

We also stopped by the American Girl store, walked through St. Patrick’s cathedral, and walked through Times Square. Then, we went to the tallest building in New York City: The Empire State Building! The whole building was incredible, from the marble lobby to the view from the 86th floor. It was extremely windy while we there, but I still enjoyed the beautiful view. 

Me at the top of the Empire State Building battling the wind. Even so, the view was incredible!

One other stop we had to make was at Macy’s. Yes, THE Macy’s where the Thanksgiving parade is! It is the biggest store I have ever been in. 

Me at the Macy's in Manhattan.

Later, we met up with my teammate, Monkey, to go to see Wicked on Broadway. The show was incredible, from the singing, dancing, and acting to the music and and the stage. 

Monkey and I in front of the Wicked sign by the theater.

After the show, we stopped at this place where you can “be on TV.” Really, its just a camera whose feed goes to a HUGE TV!

Monkey and I "on TV!"

Unfortunately, I got sick Thursday night. I felt terrible on Friday, and I didn’t do anything but sleep. I was very disappointed because I wanted to go to the Statue of Liberty. However, I knew it was best to rest so I could compete in the meet the next day.

The meet went pretty well, considering I was sick. I did amazing on bars; I got a 9.2 and I placed second. Beam was decent, but I was really shaky. I got an 8.475. Floor was rough. It took so much of my energy; I ended up falling but pulling off the routine. I scored a 7.75. Vault was good, not my best but not my worst. I got an 8.975. I don’t really care how the meet went because I actually competed. My biggest challenge was getting through the meet, which I did, and I did it well!

Two of my teammates and I after competing.

After some last minute shopping Sunday morning, we had to come home. We came home to last minute preparations for our meet in Logan this week. New York was so much fun, and I am so much closer to my team now than I was before!

Preparations

Before a meet, there are many things that you have to prepare for. Sometimes, we have an open week in between meets, which is used for preparations at the gym, including last minute tweaks to routines. However, along with this, there are a lot more preparations to be made.

One major thing that you have to prepare for is missing school. I miss at least one day of school for every meet that I have to travel to. To some people, this might sound fun. Instead of learning, you get to be walking around a new city, having fun with your friends and family! What is there not to like?

There is a lot not to like. The first thing not to like: Making up work sucks. A lot. It is one thing to not understand a concept that your teacher taught you, but it is an entirely different thing to not understand something because you are trying to teach it to yourself because you missed the lesson that day. Then, try doing your homework with half the information that your peers have!

On top of that, there is usually too much work and not enough time to make up work when you get back. This means you have to do some homework while on vacation. Instead of going to the Empire State Building, you have to do homework instead. 

Another thing you have to prepare for is traveling! This is a lot more fun than preparing to miss school. The best part is planning what you are going to do in your free days. For my trip to New York, I know exactly what I am going to do each day that I am there! It is always great fun to look through things you can do with your family and choose the activities you think you’ll like best!

Then, of course, is preparing for the actual meet. This means lots of routines and lots of pressure situations. We use pressure situations to help us prepare for when we feel pressure at meets. By doing these a lot, we get used to the pressure and then we don’t feel it much at meets. Here is a typical pressure situation assignment on beam:

Typical Beam Pressure Assignment
Photo Courtesy of:
http://www.studyblue.com/notes/note/n/unit-2-lesson-2-classroom-vocabulary/deck/2098891

After all the preparing everyone has done, we get to go and have fun in a cool place, like New York! I can’t wait for the meet this weekend! 

Meet One: New Orleans

The first meet of the season has come and gone, and so has a wonderful mini vacation to New Orleans. This meet went well for me and for all of my teammates, especially considering it was the first meet of the season. Everyone placed on at least one event, and everyone placed in all-around.

This was one of my best meets of both of my seasons in level nine. I scored a 9.125 on vault, an 8.8 on bars, an 8.6 on beam, and an 8.9 on floor! I was very pleased with how all of my routines went, and I had a lot of fun in the process!

Like all of my teammates, we killed it during awards! I placed third on vault, which is pretty good for me. I didn’t expect to place on anything else but floor, but I had a grandiose surprise! I won every other event, including all-around! I took home four gold medals and one bronze!

These are the medals I won!

A picture of me on the first place podium for all-around!

At this meet, the level sevens and the level nines were in the same session, which means that I got to be competing with my teammate who is a level seven. We are both the only one in our level, so we had a great time together! To pass the time in between events and keep our nerves under control, we had a massage train, we did yoga, and we watched videos on our coach’s iPad mini. I got to know her a lot better, and I know we will always be good friends.

We had a lot of time to explore New Orleans before and after the meet, and in my opinion, this was even more fun than winning my age group! My teammates and I had loads of fun away from the gym, too. We walked through the French Quarter, went to the St. Louis Cathedral, went to the Café du Monde, and had two, count TWO, team dinners!

These are the beignets that we ate at the Café Du Monde.

The level eights ended their competition late, and everyone was starving! We found a restaurant, the Sun Ray Grill, but on the way there there were lots of opportunities for pictures! We walked for about 30 feet, dropped our bags, and took a picture. We walked 30 feet, dropped our bags, and took another picture! We got so many cool pictures on the streets of New Orleans, I can’t post all of them.

My team with a jester statue in the convention center.
Just one of many pictures we took!

I stayed a day longer than my teammates. That day, my parents and I went back to the French Quarter, where I found an awesome store called Papier Plume. They sell a variety of fountain pens, glass pens, quills, inks, and other accessories for fine writing. I found it all very fascinating, and my parents decided to buy me a quill and glass pen. I have written a few things with them, and they are SO COOL!

My new quill and glass pen.

We also went to Mardi Gras World, where floats and props used in the Mardi Gras parades are stored. It was incredible how big some of them were, and I learned a lot about Mardi Gras.

I had lots of fun in New Orleans, and I can’t wait to make more great memories in New York next week!

One Week Away

This is the last week of workout before season! On Thursday, my team and I will be leaving to go to New Orleans, the site of our first meet of this season. However, we still have one week to make changes, fix details, and gain confidence!

The beginning of the season is always a stressful time. My head coach, Charity, is always anxious about how the first meet is going to go. She is also the state chair of USA Gymnastics Utah, so she really wants us to do well to uphold her reputation.

This puts a lot of pressure on us to do well. However, this year I am feeling like I can handle it better! First of all, I have learned a lot of handy tools in sport psych that will help me handle the pressure before and during the meet. Second, it is the beginning of the quarter instead of the end of one. In the past, our first meet has always been the week of the end of the quarter, which means I have lots of homework and tests to add to my stress level.

Finally, I am prepared. I have competed level nine one season already, and I am more prepared for this season than I was for the last one. However, there is one factor that is majorly different this season: I am the only person on the level nine team.

Last year, there were four people in level nine. This summer, two of those people moved to a rival gym, Olympus School of Gymnastics, and the other girl moved to Florida. Having support from teammates is really nice, and they add a lot to the overall experience of the meet.

Even so, I have a feeling this is going to be a great year! Throughout the workouts, stress, and nerves that this week will bring, I have New Orleans and a beignet from Café Du Monde to look forward to!

Picture of a beignet
Courtesy of Café Du Monde

Sport Psych

As you probably know already, gymnastics is not like most sports. Most sports are entirely physical, with almost no mental training involved. However, this is another place where gymnastics differs from other sports. There is as much mental training involved as there is physical training, and it is just as important!

My coach decided that we should start doing some sport psychology earlier this year, when almost everyone on my team was having problems with their attitudes. The head coach of Gymnastics Training Center of Utah (GTC) is going to college for sport psychology. Annie DiLuzio and her friend, Kristina Struthwolf, have been coming up every Wednesday for about four months to help us get in shape mentally. 

We started working on “big idea” things, such as breathing, relaxation, and concentration. We came up with cute words to help remind each other of things we have been working on while the coaches have no idea what we are talking about. 

More recently, we have been working a lot on imagery, and transferring it from our classes to the gym. This has also been working really well, and now we are starting to work on things that will help us at meets and good ways to prepare mentally for meets. 

We put all the handouts and worksheets that we get into a book. This is mine!

Sport psych has helped a lot with my gymnastics. However, it is really nice because everything we have learned easily transfers from the gym to school to everything else in life. A lot of the mental calming exercises that we do to help us keep our cool at meets work really well when you are worried for a big test. Even the simpler things work great - breathing, body language, and being in the present.

The thing that has helped me the most is wearing a rubber band on my wrist at all times. Whenever I think something negative, I take the rubber band off, restate the sentence to make it positive, and put the rubber band on the other wrist. I have used this at gym, but even more at school. It is amazing how many negative things you say and don’t realize until you really concentrate on it.

Sport psych has helped me a lot with my gymnastics and a lot with school. The classes are really fun, and the information that we learn is very useful. It is information that you can use to handle any situation, and I am excited to continue using sport psych to help better both my gymnastics and school careers!

Season is Knocking on the Door

Season has almost arrived! As our first meet of the season draws near, my coach planned a real practice meet for us to show off our skills and get back into the swing of things. Unlike our other intersquads, this “meet” was at a different gym, with multiple teams from around the state, and with different judges at each event, giving us scores. Also, we got to wear our brand new, sparkly leos!

Last week, our team had a rough time working out. Everybody was on edge, including the coaches. We were yelled at every day, but that just made us do things worse. As the meet drew near, everyone was freaking out, and everyone felt like they had five tons of pressure on them.

Charity, our head coach, is very involved with gymnastics away from our gym. She is the Utah State Chair, and involved in multiple other committees as well. She wants us to look good, as much for her sake as for ours. To everyone on the team, it felt like she was putting lots and lots of pressure on us that we do well – or else!

The meet was at 8 AM on Saturday morning at the Black Diamond South Jordan gym. I was glad it was early - I could get it over with early. The whole team competed together, and as people were arriving it was obvious that we were all really nervous. My other coach, Amanda, had great ideas on how to calm us down, though, including doing yoga! It made us laugh, and that broke the tension.

The meet went well. Everybody stuck their floor routine, and we all scored in the high eights to mid nines. Vault was good for everyone who competed, but less than half of our team did. I scored a 9.1, not my best, but definitely a good score for preseason. Bars was great! There were no falls, but some things made my team and the judges laugh! Beam was what everyone was most worried for, but after such a great meet, we all had a lot more confidence.

We had a long wait before beam that we filled with yoga and telling jokes. We were all very confident going into beam, and it showed! There were only two falls, which was much better than our last practice. We impressed our coaches, and we all felt great!

Some of my teammates and I after the meet. We had lots of fun that day!

This meet reminded me just how much fun season is, even though it can be stressful at times. After the meet, three of my teammates and I went out to lunch, then went shopping together. I had a great time with my team this weekend, and I can’t wait for season to start to have even more team bonding time!

Ready or Not

Oh, the holidays! My coach was nice enough to give my team the week of thanksgiving off, giving us a total of five days off! It was wonderful! I had five days to read, hang out with my friends, and have fun! It was great to have a few days off to relax, but I knew I would regret the time off when I went back to the gym on Monday.

In most sports, having time off is not a big deal. If you have a few days off, your first day back is a little bit hard, at worst. However, in gymnastics things are very different. The more time you have off, the harder it is to get back into things, and the longer it takes for things to feel normal again. Also, it is easier for some people to get back into things than it is for others. As for me, it takes me a while, especially to get timing back.

With competition season knocking on the door, we have intersquads every few weeks. My coach decided to schedule one the Wednesday after Thanksgiving. That only gave us two days to come back from the break and be in tip-top shape.

Monday was rough. Bars and tumbling were the worst; I was falling on the simplest things. Beam had highs and lows. I couldn’t make a routine for the first half of the workout, and normally beam is my best event. I was very frustrated, so I went to talk to my coach, Amanda Johanson. She struggled with beam in her career, and she always knows what to say. She got me back on track, and I had a strong finish to beam.

Tuesday was better, but still not where I wanted to be. I still struggled to make routines on beam, but the rest of the workout was better. My vault, which I have been doing for four years, was looking as good as ever. Bars was awesome - I finished my assignment quickly and I only fell once the whole workout. I was confident, until I got to floor. 

Since I landed on my head on my front pass in the last intersquad, my coach changed my pass to what I competed last year. We had been working hard on it to fix timing and altitude, and they were much better. However, I hadn’t been able to land one the day before. I tried to put that behind me, but it didn’t work. I went to my back, my butt, my back again. I was very frustrated, and I ended practice with not a lot of confidence for the intersquad.

I was surprised. The intersquad went very well for me! I didn’t fall on any event, and everyone looked confident and strong. We had our highs and lows as a team, but we had greatly improved from a month ago. It gave me a lot of confidence, especially since I did so well after time off. It made me ready to embrace our upcoming season, and it gave me confidence to attack it with all I have!

How I felt after the intersquad - confident and ready to go!
Photo courtesy of: Que Sera Sara

Intersquad Nerves

I am part of the Black Diamond Gymnastics team. Today, we had our first intersquad, or practice meet, of the season. It was our first time being judged since March, so everyone was really nervous, including me. I am competing the same vault, the same bar routine, and the same beam routine as last year except for one skill. Floor is what I was really worried about. I have two new tumbling passes - a back full and a front handspring front layout front tuck. I have had problems with my full in the past, but they have gotten a lot better recently. What I was really nervous for was my front pass, and my nerves got the better of me today. 

During warm up, I didn’t land any of my front passes, but they were better than they normally are. I was feeling pretty confident, at the end of warm up. I was last in line to compete, and everyone ahead of me had made their routine and looked really good. So, when it was my turn, I was pretty confident.

I saluted the judge, stuck my first pass - a round off back handspring double back - and then said my key words during my dance. I stepped into the corner, took a deep breath, and then went. I ran, did a good front handspring, but then I did a bad front layout. I didn’t set it up enough, and I didn’t finish the front handspring. I barely made it around all the way, but I was determined to go for it, even though it was a poor choice. I did the front tuck, and I knew from the start that it wasn’t going to be a good one. I pulled as hard as I could, but it wasn’t hard enough. I went straight to the top of my head, then bounced to my back.

I looked similar to this after my front pass.
Image Courtesy Of: Yahoo Sports

I tried to continue my routine, like we are supposed to, but I was really dizzy. I laid down again, and the dizziness went away. My head hurt, but after a couple of deep breaths, it started to feel normal. I didn’t finish the routine, but my coach told me I had to do another full routine. I was really scared, not nervous, but plain terrified. I did my first pass, and it was pretty good, but not as good as the first time. I took a lot of deep breaths, then went for it. It was much better, but I still didn’t land it. I did the rest of my routine well, and had a great full for my last pass.

Even though I was shaken up, I finished the intersquad pretty well, all things considered. I stuck my beam routine, but it wasn’t my best. I fell once on bars, but the routine was better than normal. We didn’t have time to do vault, but I am very confident with my vault.

I learned a lot from today. I was very proud of myself for finishing well, and it gave me a lot of confidence for the rest of the season. I think my team did really well, and I am excited to see us improve and grow as a team!