To the test

February 14th. Valentine's Day for many, the world's longest day for us.

This date marks Coach P.'s debut on the competition floor. The parents are whispering. Their hopes are high or at least curious. Greg hasn't said much, but the few words confirm my thoughts: If the girls succeed today, have he and I failed as coaches?

Floor begins well, with Jamie and Kelsey performing crisp, 9.0-earning routines. Vault goes nicely. Bars...ah, well. Bars goes back to its old ways, meaning the stronger girls miss their high bar kips and the weaker ones take their 5.0's. Alejandra makes us proud with a tidy, sassy beam set that wins her first place.

Coach P. and I linger for an hour, waiting for the start of the next session. Maya's the only 6 competing today and she shows up a half hour into warm-ups. The good news is that by this point, Coach P. and I have bonded. He learns that I studied writing and asks if I can help him with his English. We talk about Russia. His accent is strong but he catches irony and sarcasm. I like this.

The bad news is that we've been in the same gym since 8 am, and it's now 6 pm and Maya sobs after bombing beam, her final event. Clearly worth the wait.

I'm not sure how to feel. Sure, I can't help but be glad that our girls did nothing out of the ordinary. Some victories, plenty of falls. But I've begun to think I can trust Coach P. I want to see his magic.