Meet Season

 Meet Season came on fast and furious with half the season already over. After a few weeks break for the holidays, the Level 7 girls competed in three competitions in January. 

Maggie has experienced some mental blocks on bars and beam, but she has continued to train and fight through them. We have talked a lot about how to handle yourself when you are not performing at your standards, and the importance of staying positive for your team. Gymnastics is so much more than back handsprings and pointed toes. Maggie has been hit with opportunities to grow as a person with her setbacks, and I am proud of the work she has put into her skills and her attitude.

Our travel meet sent us to Orlando to compete in the Sand Dollar Invitational. Maggie and Riley loved flying down together. Their airport antics had us laughing the entire time!

Our hotel was connected onto Disney Springs, so we made reservations for dinner at Rainforest Cafe for our first night before the meet. I was not ready for the freezing Florida temperatures!

Meet Day allowed us to actually sleep in and enjoy breakfast at the hotel before arriving at The Wide World of Sports.

Beam was the first event and did not go well , and it’s hard to recover from that. Bars were last. Not to be dramatic but Maggie was paralyzed during warmups. She was not able to complete a full routine and finally couldn’t even push herself to touch the bar. Frozen in place. Her turn was up first. She came out of NOWHERE and showed up with a beautiful routine. I am SO INCREDIBLY PROUD of what Maggie represented today. It’s not always about the medals.

We extended our trip an extra day to experience a little Disney magic at Magic Kingdom. I do not think our group was prepared for our boot camp style of tackling all the rides, but we kept them in line. :)

One of the most special parts of the day was eating in the West Wing at the Be Our Guest Castle. Our three course meal was delicious, and the atmosphere was incredible. I was a big fan of the French Onion Soup and the "grey stuff."

Our group successfully tackled TWELVE rides from rope drop to 6pm. Maggie and Riley loved Tron, but I always enjoy Pirates of the Caribbean and Space Mountain the most! Everyone was Disney tired and ready to fly home.

Maggie had zero time to recover before returning to the gym just hours after landing in Atlanta. Atlanta Centennial Classic was in less than a week, and Maggie was determined to overcome her blocks and make her scores to train Level 8. Roswell requires two 36+ all around scores from meets during the season. 

Riley was Maggie's good luck charm, and she achieved her goal of a 36.325. She medaled on bars, floor, beam, and all around. Maggie was very pleased with her performance and now gets to focus on tightening her skills for three weeks before the next meet at home.

Gymnastics is definitely a roller coaster of emotions from long hours at the gym, mental blocks, potential injuries, and balancing life, but Maggie would not have it any other way! :)