Updated routines

Maddie had a private today and updated her Prep Op/Excel Silver routines for floor and beam. I love the new routines. I can't wait until next season when she gets all new music, but I can't wait to watch her compete these routines. The season starts 1/15 in Hilton Head.

Bye Bye level 4

Yesterday was Maddie's level 4 state meet. She did awesome. There were 23 girls in her group and she got 9th place all around. Her all around score was 36.025. She got 4th on floor with a 9.5 and 5th on vault with a 9.425. She didn't place on bars (8.7) or beam (8.4). We are just so proud of her. She is happy to be done with level 4. That means no more mill circles... woohoo. Now on to Excel Silver and then level 5. Hopefully she will have her kip by the summer. She is very close. Her next meet is January 15 in Hilton Head. We can't wait for that one. That's where she gets to do her own routines.

Meet hair complete

Meet hair completed prior to the state meet.

State Meet

Saturday is Maddie's level 4 state meet. She is so excited and ready. She's excited to be done with level 4. I'm glad that we did decide to compete a season of it. She will be competing Excel Silver in the winter and then move on to level 5. All she is missing is her darn kip and she is so, so close.

Wish her luck for Saturday.

Candy Cane Invitational

It's been a while in between meets :). Let me tell you that when Maddie needed to rock a meet, she rocked it. For this meet her old gym was in her session and on her rotation. It was pretty nerve racking. I just can't stand that place and her old coaches so much (oh and one parent on the level 4's). Maddie performed like a champ! She went out there with nerves of steel and didn't let them bother her. She got a 9.275 on floor (3rd place), 9.25 on vault (tied for 2nd with her ex teammate), 9.1 (3rd place) on bars and a 9.1 (1st place) on beam. That was her best score on beam this season and let me tell ya, she looked awesome. She got a 36.725 for All Around and was 1st place. It was her first ever All Around first place. She was so excited and rightfully so. She definitely showed her old team that she still had what it took! We are so proud of her.

Freedom Fest

Maddie had a much better meet this weekend and we had a blast. She ended up 3rd all around after being put into an older group. She was so happy and I was as well. We are so proud of her. She has one more meet in November and then the state meet in December. After that will be her prep op (or excel) silver season.

Out of state meet

We are headed to TN for our first out of state meet this season. So excited about the meet, but more excited about the family time!

Classic City Challenge

Maddie had her second level 4 meet this past Saturday. She did well. Her favorite part of the meet was during awards when 3 Gymdogs were there to give out medals. She was starstruck. The beam still got her, which is crazy because she was hitting that dismount all week and even during warmups. I think she just got stuck in the handstand and couldn't make the turn. She finished 10th all around. There were 20 girls in her group. I'm really glad we decided to compete level 4 instead of skipping it. There are a lot more girls beginning at level 4. When she was a level 3, I think the max at one meet was 12 in her group and that was at state. We are just very proud of her and she is looking a lot better. I know she will get that pesky dismount.....

Meet on Saturday

Maddie's next meet is on Saturday. She's been practicing so hard. I know she will do well.

1st meet of the season

We are proud of her! She did her best and that's all you can ask for. She had 14 girls in her age group. That was the biggest that she had ever had. She got 7th all around, 2 5th places and an 8th place. She didn't do the correct dismount on the beam. I think she lost her balance before she did the turn. Now we just really need to work on the bar routine. She has a private tomorrow and that's what I'm going to get her to concentrate on. Next meet is the weekend of the 24th. Pictures will be coming soon.

Practice

This was Maddie at practice the other day. I thought it was kind of funny with her lying on the ground in a split position drinking from her bottle. I didn't have my camera, I only had the flip so this is a snapshot from the video.

Gearing up for meet season

Well no pictures or videos, but we are so close to her first meet and she is so excited. Last night at practice she finally hit her front hip circle consistently. One of them she had her arms mostly straight and the others she had bent arms. Doesn't matter though because she hit them and didn't fall off. That's a big step. Her elbow injury really set her back on some things. Bars was her best event, but she says she loves beam more now. I think that's because she couldn't do everything on bars that she had been doing. 2 more weeks until her first meet.

Season

Maddie didn't have a meet last Saturday. It was canceled.... bummer. She's been back to regular practice which means 4 days a week. Tonight she did a lot better on her level 4 floor routine then she has done. She still needs to clean up a few things, but her first meet isn't until 9/10 so she has plenty of time now. Her elbow is 100% and she's ready to compete.

Back

Tonight is Maddie's first night back at gym in 2 weeks. She is excited to go back. She has 4 practices until her 1st meet on Saturday. I'm a little nervous for her because of her front hip circle and her beam routine. She has her floor down and her vault is looking better and better. Her beam I'm just nervous that she won't remember everything. She has only run through the whole thing maybe 5 times. Hopefully they will work on it more this week. I'm sure they will.

Elbow

Taking this week off has helped tremendously. Maddie is about 90%. She can bend and straighten her arm with no pain. It's still a little tender to touch, but it's a big step to bend it. She should be 100% by 8/8 which is when they go back to practice.

Elbow again

Well Maddie's elbow is back to bothering her. We are going to take next week off and then the gym is closed the first week of August. That will give her 2 really good weeks to heal. Hopefully I can keep her off of her arm. That's going to be the hardest part.

Back to normal

Maddie's elbow has healed and she is back to normal. She has been practicing her turns and leaps all over the house. She is so excited about her first meet coming up. I'm pretty excited about it as well. I love watching her compete. 2 more weeks of summer training and then back to normal. She also started dance last Monday and loves, loves, loves it. I don't know if she loves it because her friends are in class or if she loves it because she loves to dance. Probably because her friends are there.

Bound to happen

Maddie got her first gymnastics related injury. She was jumping off of the bar (and she knows better) and landed on her arm. She complained that it was hurting her, but she was still moving it around. After a restless night of kicking me in bed and not really moving her arm, I was afraid this morning that it was broken or fractured so I took her to the doctor. They took an X-ray (which she was seriously excited about) and examined it. It's not broken, just a soft tissue bruise. Hopefully she learned her lesson and will listen to me next time, but I know the odds of that happening are not that high!

Dreaming

Do you think Maddie is having a dream about gymnastics? This is how we found her asleep tonight.

Week off

Maddie took this week off from gym. She'll be back in the gym on Monday and adding ballet to her day. I think she needed this little break (actually I think we all needed it).

Leap

I took this snapshot from Maddie's floor video today. I love her leaps. When she really concentrates they look so pretty.

Video

I was there to get a video of her vault today.

Vault

I made it to the last 20 minutes of practice today and they were on vault. I got to see Maddie hit 6-7 of the prettiest level 5 vaults she has ever done. I wish I had brought my video camera. I think I'm going to get it and keep it in my purse. She got compliments from her coach and the co-owner. I think it really helps her that I'm not there and paying attention constantly. It's either that or she's just really start to connect everything together. She still has about a month and a half before her first meet and we are taking next week off completely.

Kip

Maddie has been taking privates with a lady out of her house. Ms. Kathy just got her bar up this week. She still has some work to do on it, but the girls got to work their kips today. Maddie is oh so close. Her front hip circle wasn't so pretty, but her kip is starting to look good. She does have her front hip circle. I saw it with my own eyes yesterday and after I shot this video she did several in a row.

Practice

I watched Maddie practice today. I saw her hit her front hip circle and her cartwheel on beam consistently. She has everything she needs for level 4 and is only missing the kip for level 5. She goes to the lady who she has been doing privates with and will get to do bars tomorrow. She is going to concentrate on the kip. I would love for Maddie to get it soon. She wants to do it so bad.

Summer is boring

The summer training schedule is boring to me. I don't get to see any of her progress. I actually like watching. She says she has most of her floor and beam routine. I can't wait to see it all put together. She's still loving it and I'm on the hunt for cheap leos.

It's official

Well after thinking long and hard about it, we decided to keep Maddie at level 4. That's going to give her a chance to get so much better and the stress will be so much less. She only has to learn one beam routine and one floor routine so it will be so much easier on her. She won't be competing against the girls from her old gym that we had issues with. It's going to be a good season. I'm excited and can't wait for it to start.

Summer is going well

Not much to update on the gymnastics front. Summer team practice is going well. We are still deciding between level 4 or 5. At the beginning of summer I was all for level 4, but now I'm not so sure. She didn't compete level 4 this season. She went straight from level 3 to prep op silver. I think it would be good for her and build her confidence if we held her back to level 4. She does so much better at compulsories anyway. She's been practicing with the level 4 team at gym and it's been going great. She has all of the skills except for her front hip circle is not consistent. She also has all of the level 5 skills except for the kip. I think if we held her back, it would give her a whole year to get that down really, really well. I think she's also decided that it wouldn't be so bad to stay at level 4. We shall see.

When she grows up

Maddie's school had career day. She came home with her sheet about what she wanted to do when she grows up. I love it.

Level 4 floor

Maddie and 2 team mates have to score out of level 4 in one meet in order to compete level 5 this season. They will compete their one level 4 more on 8/13. They have to learn 2 of everything. Here is Maddie working on the first part of the level 4 floor routine.

Maddie's blog

I decided to make a blog to follow Maddie's gymnastics blog. It will be easier to keep up with her progress this way.