Congrats to Sissy

I received a letter from Sissy's gymnastics coach last week.  Andy picked her up from practice so I didn't get to talk to her coach, but after a phone call to the gym, I found out that Sissy has been asked to move up from "Pre Team" to "Level 1 Competitive Team."  She wasn't even on pre team for more than a few weeks before she was asked to move up.  She and her friend Carla from pre team are both going into first grade (and Carla lives nearby in Mayport - her dad is in the Navy) were the only ones asked to move up from pre team.  Sis is still the youngest and I still worry that she won't be able to handle the focus and demands, but her coach sees something in her so we're going to give it a try.

Thankfully she will stay with the same coach, but her practices have gone from 2 hrs. a week to 5 hrs a week.  She goes to the gym Tues/Thurs mornings for the summer and then will continue 2x/week after school once they switch from their summer schedule.  She comes home from her 2 1/2 hour practice completely exhausted but somehow finds energy to swim.  I make her nap after all that exercise and she doesn't complain.  She's pooped!

Her coach told me on Tuesday, after her first practice that it might not be until winter/spring till she competes.  She'd need to compete as a level 2 for meets.  Meets are typically in Florida, but can be as far as south Florida.  They only have about 5 meets/year (only during school year).  This is going to be a huge time as well as financial commitment but if she likes it and she's good enough, I guess this is what our life is going to be like.  They also travel as a team to camps over the summer.

Who would have thought when we signed up for recreational classes last fall that she'd be on the competitive team in less than a year.  I just want to make sure that Sissy does this because she really wants to, not to try to please mom or dad.  I have tried to explain that by making this commitment that there are going to be days when she doesn't want to go to practice, but that's not a choice.  Her response was, "Will being on team help me get better at gymnastics?"  She's already been able to do a few skills better just with the extra time in the gym this week.  Hoping her enthusiasm doesn't fade as the summer continues.