Sideways

If the Level 4's aren't enough indication that the times are a-changing at the gym, the new USAIGC girls are. Which means, once again: older girls, watch out.

The IGC B-squad has never competed before. They consist mostly of Bronze with a touch of Copper.

IGC A-team, on the other hand, is the former Level 5's and 6's. They know what competitions are like. They've been plugging away for several years now. The B-team, not as long. But there's talent in the B's. Especially Erin.

Erin has the right attitude: she enjoys gymnastics and wants to improve, she's willing to try new skills without being reckless, and she's upbeat with a sense of humor.

Two of the older girls refuse to do back walkovers on the high beam. Or on the medium beam. They are fully capable of doing both. Greg has to coax them. It's a long, frustrating process.

Once their rotation ends, the B-team comes to beam. "I really want to get my back walkover today," Erin says.

She does a few with Greg on the high beam. He steps away. She cranks them out by herself.

The next day, I fully expect her to say, "Can you spot me for a few?" That's what the other girls do. They acquire a new skill, but they don't believe in it.

Erin warms up on the low beam, then moves to the high beam without incident. "Let's put it in your routine," I say.

"Okay," she says, relaxed, unpanicked.

The older girls watch.

"Aren't they scary?" Kelsey says.

Erin shrugs. "Well, it's scary when you're going back. But not."

:55

"You're barely at fifty seconds," I say as Amy lands her dismount. "Let's try again."

She nods and climbs back onto the beam.

At the USAIGC bronze level, routines must fall between :50 and 1:30. The undertime penalty is a five-tenth deduction.

When my girls wobble or struggle to remember their routines, they easily make this range. When they hit and move confidently? That's when they're on the brink.

I like insurance. "Let's add a few poses. And how about a handstand?"

I'm afraid that the "few poses" are beginning to look the same across the board for the girls. A flexed knee, a hand on the hip. I try to be exotic. Add some interesting arm and hand shapes.

Amy looks at me blankly.

Back to the hand on the hip.

Brittany, on the other beam, asks about poses we made up a month ago. "What do I do here?"

I've made up seven more routines since Brittany's for the new batch of USAIGC girls. "I have no idea," I say honestly. "When in doubt, make something up."

"I like that," she says. "That's going to be my motto."

It's true. Some of the girls become lost if they're off with their floor music -- either before or ahead. Others keep moving, making up poses, maintaining a serene face that pretends, I'm supposed to be doing this until they're back on beat.

Amy tries her routine again with the new poses and the handstand. It's all a bit awkward, but she stays on. "1:05," I say. "You pass."

Aplauso, aplauso

"Who goes first?" they ask on floor.

"Figure that out amongst yourselves," I say.

Insert melee. "I'm going first! Fine, then I go second! No, I already called second!" They run to the CD case for their music. "I go after her!" someone calls.

"I think they come to practice just to do their floor routines," Coach P. says.

It's quite possible. I haven't seen this much sustained excitement in awhile, at least not for an activity that's strictly gymnastics-related (running outside or frolicking in the pit--those, of course, are always winners).

Dare we call this motivation? Will it last? I don't know, but I hope to perpetuate it as long as possible.

Bird by Bird, Pose by Pose

It's still September. But soon it will be October, then November will whisk past, and then meet season descends.

The girls need beam routines. Some need floor routines. Some still look at me blankly when I ask if they've searched for music.

I've found a solution: the good old-fashioned assembly line.

Beam: I give them stations and take the first girl. We make up a mount. Send her to the next station and give the second girl a mount. We proceed in this manner until it's time to switch events. They all have at least a mount, a few poses, and one requirement (jumps, cartwheels).

Floor: is a bit harder. But I channel my old coach, who would listen to our music once and make up our routines. Always the routine fit the music. I was impressed then but really, unless you're hoedown dancing to "Requiem For a Dream," you can make the choreography match the music.

So I work it the same as beam. A starting pose, the first steps, a journey to one of the corners for tumbling. Sure, they don't all have music. Sure, one of the eight-year-olds wants to use an instrumental of "Teenage Dreams."

But it's either the assembly line or creating one master routine. While I know the latter would be faster, easier, it seems to me that the beauty of USAIGC is breaking away from doing the same routine as everyone else.

we've got a hot crustacean band

All right. We're doing this.

I sit the IGC girls down with a CD of music burned from YouTube. Someone, of course, asks what they need music for. The other girls fill her in.

"You don't have to use this music, but you can," I say. Translation: Please pick one of these songs and make my life easier.

They gather around the laptop. I skip the dramatic tracks and linger on the happy swing music. Granted, these girls are ten years old and on the cusp of "too cool for life." Soon they'll be on, "My life is too hard."

They listen. At the end, I ask if they liked any. "Number eight!" they all say. Arguments ensue. A game of "I'm thinking of a number between one and twenty" settles who gets number eight.

And what is that track? "Under the Sea." Not so uncool, after all.

As the World Spins

Let us reflect on Summer 2010.

Accomplishments:

• I've choreographed four floor routines so far. A slow pace, but I'm pleased with the quality.
• We all survived the team trip to the local water park.
• Amy broke a growth plate at gymnastics camp, Colleen her ankle when running to her cubby. They have since recovered.
• Our new squad of IGC girls is rocking: huge improvements in flexibility and basic skills. Back handsprings occurring on floor, tumble track, and trampoline. Solid attitudes and hard work.
• The Level 5's and 6's make Coach P. shake his head several times a practice.
• Though he did get involved in a deep discussion of sleep habits and debated the pronunciation of "vocabulary" with them today.
• Several of the girls are entering junior high school. Channeling Joseph Conrad: The horror, the horror!
• I've had a couple of gym-related items published! They're under my real name. Call me Hannah Montana.
• Angie Baby visited WOGA, home of Nastia Liukin. I hyperventilated vicariously through her.
• The jury's in: photo with Marta wins.

Present Time (PT)

Much of this blog is background and context. What's going on now?

On the summer schedule, the levels come in at different times. Coach P. has the honor of being there for every practice. I split time with the older Level 4's and the 5's, and with the new USAIGC team. On the one hand, we're putting all the older compulsory girls in IGC. On the other, we have a USAIGC-only team that's never competed before. In the fall, they'll all practice together.

The USAIGC girls are behind the 4's and 5's. For the most part. There's one whippersnapper cranking out back walkovers on the low beam. And another girl who miraculously dropped her split from about ten inches off the ground to two. As a group, they're energetic and hardworking. I like this. So does Coach P. I think we can make something happen.

..

Dear Fran,

Play your cards right and maybe you too will conquer the mill circle!

Realism and new life

And as a staff, we all face it: most of these girls are not taking gymnastics anywhere. Some could, but they don't want to. The Level 5's are much better this season but in no way are they ready for Level 6 bars. The Level 4's are kickin' it but they too are foiled when it comes to kips.

They're bored. I'm bored. We're all bored.

The solution? USAIGC.

Under the USAIGC system,

• There are no compulsory routines. While gymnasts must fulfill certain requirements, all of the choreography is optional;
• Gymnasts can specialize on events;
• The levels range from Copper, equivalent to about Level 3, and run through Platinum, similar to Level 10/beyond;
• Gymnasts can compete at two adjacent levels (i.e. bars and beam at the Bronze level, and floor and vault at silver);
• Every level leads to a national championship;
• Gymnasts can compete under the USAG J.O. (a.k.a. Levels 4, 5, etc.) and USAIGC systems simultaneously.

Thank God.