LASG Academy Meet

3 hours of organized chaos is how I'd describe it. I guess it wasn't that bad, but it would have been nice to have been given more directive. As it was, I was only one step above the kids in not being totally confused and lost.

I only took a few clips. Leah Totsubo was my one beginning/intermediate Saturday kid who was nervous about the Academy meet, yet was willing to follow through with this. She only comes on Saturdays, and didn't really learn the routines until yesterday! So she was understandably in an emotional rollercoaster ride when I started to teach her the level 3 routine. She had been on-and-off crying, but started to feel better from the security of familiarizing herself with the routine. But then Ita convinced me that the special routine she had prepared for kids at Leah's level (Leah's actually a bit more advanced than the skill level within the routine) would be easier to acquire, as well as the fact that other kids were doing it. So I traumatized Leah all over again into tears as she had to relearn her floor with Ita, a teacher she hadn't worked with before.

Leah's older sister is in the advanced class after, and I held Leah over her class time to allow her a bit more practice while Heather directed the advanced girls.

Leah was still nervous, but I think seeing how so many girls were out there flubbing their routines yet walking away, still alive, put her a bit at ease.

Her parents let Leah know that the backdoor was open to her, to walk out; that she didn't have to do this. Her mom told me after the meet, that Leah said she had to do this for me. That makes me feel a little bad, that Leah might have felt she'd be letting me down, by not participating.



She did fine, and at the end of the day, she was all smiles with her medal- and much richer and stronger for the experience of participation.


I finally pulled my camera out when Alejandra stepped out to do her floor routine. All the other intermediate girls had done the special routine; and gone up, 4 at a time. Alejandra performed the level 3 floor and had the whole stage to herself.



Even though she made a couple of mistakes, I was duly impressed by what she cleaned up and polished on her own, from our last private together on Friday. It was very noticeable to me, that she did her homework.

When Hannah arrived, her mom told me that Hannah wanted to make sure that I was going to be the one out there helping her with her round-off backhandspring. It was very sweet. She really doesn't need help with it anymore.


I will ween her off, this week.


Emma Shapland's bar routine should appear below, when the upload is done:

She actually had better form here, than usual. So at least she is aware of it. I do not know why she asked for a spot on the single-leg shoot-through.