MissMissy

The competitive season for our optional team levels 7-10 has officially come to a close.  Our season finished on a very positive note and we are now looking forward to continuing our success into our summer training and into next season.  We are so proud of all our girls and can’t wait for what the future holds. 

Here are a few spotlights to the finish of our season.  We graduated 3 seniors from our level 9/10 team.  Katie Ch, Julie C, and Alayna E.  Katie and Julie finished out the season and have decided to pursue other interests.  Alayna will be continuing her gymnastics career with Northern Illinois.  We wish all three girls the best as they pursue their goals in college.  Their presence in the gym will be missed.  Also, first year level 9 Traci P qualified and competed in her first regional competition.  Congrats to Traci! 

Level 8s Katie Bliss and Courtney Nuckols both had great state meets qualifying them onto regionals!  Courtney, who has not competed in a couple years because of injuries, handled the pressure of level 8 beautifully.  I know there are great things in store for her.  Katie B had the season of a lifetime, winning all the regular meets we attended.  At state, she stumbled a bit, but walked away with the State bars title and qualified to compete on Ohio’s state team at regionals.  Not only did Katie accomplish her best all around score of the season at regionals, it was also good enough to crown her as Region 5’s all around champion!!  Congrats to Katie on her amazing season! 

Our level 7 team had an also amazing season, capped off with a 6th place team finish at state and 2 individual state champions.  Makenzie G is a state champion on the balance beam, and Amanda T won vault and the all around titles.  All the girls achieved personal bests, and had a fantastic year.  We are so excited to see how they develop further into optional gymnasts. 

The compulsory teams will finish up this weekend with the level 4 / 5 State meet.  Good luck to all the girls and check back for an update on our compulsory programs!

The girls optional teams competed at the Arnold Challenge this weekend and it was awesome!!  All of our girls had a great meet and are now poised to have an amazing run at the state meets.  Here are some highlights and pictures!  Level 10 Katie Chamberlain placed 5th on beam.  Level 9 Emily Bliss earned a spot in the event finals on floor by winning the event in her age group.  Also a level 9, Traci Powers scored a personal best 9.45 on vault  in the event finals winning 3 place overall!  Level 8 Katie Bliss won bars, beam and all around titles in her age group.  She also competed in event finals on beam and bars, placing 2nd overall on bars with a 9.275.  Our level 7’s had another great meet winning their session as a team and qualifying 4 individuals on to finals – Madison England on bars, Amanda Talbot on beam and floor, Makenzie Grilliot on beam and Katy Jobe on beam!  Makenzie placed 3rd on beam and Amanda WON the beam title!!  Awesome job girls!!  We are so proud of you. 

Along with our competitive success, we are also improving our facility to meet the growing demands of all our programs.  We have added a new vaulting table which has been noticed my many of our preschoolers because of the look and feel of the cover.  It has already earned the nickname of  the basketball or football table!!  Other item that may not be as noticeable are a new set of competitive bars, giving us the ability to adjust settings more easily depending on the needs of our teams and classes.  Finally behind the big wall in the back of the gym is our newly remodeled dance room!  Check out some of the new classes that are being offered for both kids (gymnastics dance)and adults (Zumba)!  Please stop by the front desk for more details.

I just wanted to remind everyone that GTCO will be hosting a boys and girls gymnastics meet December 12-13! We are very excited about this event. Not only is it our first meet of the season, but it is also for a great cause! Kids competing against Cancer! Please come out and support our gymnasts! Visit our website www.gtcohio.com for details. Have a great week!

I can’t believe that we are 8 weeks into our Gymkidz school year!  It has been so much fun getting to know the kids and watching them grow educationally and physically.  We learn about a new letter every week, and add in life skills as well.  September was all about kicking/soccer skills, and in October we added in toss and catch.  The kids have also learned about sharing and respecting each other.  I cannot believe how far they have come in just 8 weeks!  Last month, we also did apple tasting, and it was such a big hit that this month is pumpkin tasting – Miss Susan will have all kinds of treats for us!   Our field trip to the pumpkin patch was a ball, and I have added a class picture.  We will also be dressing in our halloween costumes this week, so there will be more pictures to come.  I can’t wait to see all my ghosts and gobblins on Monday.  Have a great week.

Did you notice the crazy outfits and hairdo’s last week?  It was tons of fun!  Some of the girls planned a week of crazy dressing, so don’t worry if you saw crooked pony tails, inside out leotards, swim suits over leos, and shorts under leos!!  It was all part of the fun!  Not only did the girls enjoy laughing at each other, there was also a lesson learned.  As they were coming in, some of the younger girls saw them and decided to join in.  The older girls realized how much the younger girls look up to them and that they are now responsible for setting a good example for them to follow.  Its amazing how even something as silly as crazy week can become a learning experience!

I continue to be impressed with how our girls are handling themselves this year.  As we move closer to meet season…. which is a very short 12 weeks away… the girls are rising to the challenges of beginning full sets, taking extra mats out from under beams and tumbling on the floor.  We are very fortunate to have such a close knit group where they encourage and push each other, and provide support when someone is struggling.  I am so proud of how our teams have grown up over the last couple of years.  And I am really looking forward to this competitive season.  Awesome job girls!!

Can you believe it?  There are only 3 weeks left of summer schedule.  I’m so amazed at how fast the summer has gone!  And with school looming in the distance, competitive season will be upon us in no time!  The girls are doing a great job, and are embrasing the changes in practices.  We are beginning to do endurance training on floor to get ready for routines.  We’ve been talking about no more panelmats, and getting dance thru’s together on beam.  The added strength through the summer is paying off and we can see that every day in the skill improvements.  I hope you all will enjoy that last fleeting days of summer because in a blink on an eye, we will be traveling and competing!!

Well, I think our first “Fun Friday” went well!  We met up at Franklin Park and did conditioning, and a little playing on the playground.   Ran 1/2 mile and did sprints on the track, and endurance swimming and play time in the pool!  We had a great turnout, and I think the girls really enjoyed doing something different that will also benefit their lifetime fitness!!  Have a great weekend!

We are off to a great start in July!  We have been talking to the optional girls about what the requirements are for each level and what its gonna take to get there.  They have responded well!  I think all of this information will help to motivate and get the girls focussed on their goals.  We still have  alot of work to do, but, I know we are going to have a great year…… only 6 weeks left of summer schedule!!!  Have a great 4th of July weekend, and we will see you all next week!

Hey gang!  We are considering some alternative ways of getting some exercise with the optional girls this summer.  Swimming, running outside, biking?  No only will this be fun, but it will also reinforce the importance of fitness for life, not just gymnastics.  Let me know what you think!