So proud of my team! We hit zero on our stunts at our very first comp!
He said
Last week was a bit of a surprise blessing. I had a backlog of vacation days at work that as it turns out could not be rolled over to my next year, so I was in the fortunate spot of using some days up before we get knee-deep in the busiest time of year: holiday. So this past week was the first batch of days I used up for a week off. Where that would normally take me a week up to the trailer, with it put away for the winter, this became a staycation of sorts where I got used to waking when my body decided to, and having a lot less structure to my days. By Tuesday or Wednesday, I was really starting to feel the value of this time to really just unwind. And with the weather still playing reasonably nice I was able to get bike rides in every single day—even throwing in a couple of half century rides (5okm) in the city!
The best part is with all that time off I was able to see the progression of Emelia’s Cheer team through their last two practices leading up to their first competition on Saturday in Mississauga at the Fall Classic. Where they were two weeks ago to this week was a huge, night & day difference and we were optimistic that this first competition would yield a far more cohesive performance than last year. Given my schedule working retail, it isn’t often that I get to see a lot of Emelia’s practices, so having this week to really take a front row seat to their preparations was a pleasant piece of my week off. And, also it is just a delight to be a fly on the wall seeing your daughter do something she loves with so much passion and conviction.
On the cycling front for me I continued to cross off milestone after milestone this week. I am up to 232 consecutive days that I have gotten in an outdoor cycling ride this year—going all the way back to March 26th this year. I have gotten in 11 months of rides this year, and am quite confident that in December I will be able to cross off the big goal this year which is to get in at least 1 ride in every single month of the year. That will for sure make me happy as I got shut out of that last year in February when we had a particularly ass-kicking wintery month. But the other stat that has slipped in and blown me away is my total distance on the year. Last year I managed 6,003 kms total on the year. As of this morning’s ride, I am at 7,640 kms! If I didn’t ride another ride this year, that is an increase of 1,637 kms in one year… Let’s see where I can take it to by the end of the year.
Lastly, the big piece of news this week was of course Emelia’s first Cheer Comp of the Sovereignty Cheer Season at the Fall Classic in Mississauga. As I shared they had come a long way from the worrisome spot they were in a couple of weeks ago so we were a little unsure what this comp might bring. We had a great afternoon performance time which allowed us to go down and back in the same day but to get a nice sleep in our own beds. Emelia didn’t really give off the vibe that she was overly nervous, so a lot of the signs seemed to be pointing in her favour. But, as we have learned, it really comes to the performance and what they do in their two and a half minutes on the floor. And, while Emelia didn’t land her round-off, double back handspring, back tuck like she wanted, the rest of the routine went off without a hitch and we were beyond proud of their performance. They managed a second place finish! We are so proud of the girls and how hard they worked to kick off their season in the best possible way! The next comp comes in three weeks, let’s hope they keep the momentum going!
She said
What a weekend! As John has already spoken about the big event this week was Emelia’s first cheer competition with her new team. For the last few weeks after the gym cracked the whip about attendance, added in with some extra and extended practice the girls have moved leaps and bounds towards getting ready for their first competition. For weeks there were nervous athletes and parents, worried that the girls were going to get destroyed and embarrassed at this competition. Well as the weeks moved along and we had full team attendance and incredible hard work things really started to click. So much that the last practice the girls had before competition they managed to hit zero on their entire routine. The coaches, parents and athletes all left practice feeling proud and ready for that first competition.
As we started getting ready on Saturday morning Emelia was getting a bit more nervous, the only thing that was weighing on her was one tumbling line that she was struggling with. Emelia by nature is an over thinker and a protectionist. She sets herself up for such high expectations and is so hard on herself especially in sports if she does not reach them. She feels if she does not perform she is letting her entire team down. For a few weeks she had been asking the coaches would they consider letting her modify the tumbling. Emelia is a strong tumbler and they kept trying to reassure her that she could do it and to do her best. As we got closer and closer to drop off she was getting more and more nervous. Thankfully her friend from her team was there to keep her grounded and calm.
So as parents we waited, it felt like a lifetime and then it was time for them to hit the floor. I can tell you when the girls hit the floor you feel like you can’t breath for those 2.5 minutes. All you want them to do is hit, but mostly you want them to have fun and be proud of what they put on the floor. Well the girls blew our minds and hit zero on their stunts. But we could see Emelia’s face as they finished the routine and ran to her cheer bestie Ashlyn in tears. Ashlyn consoled her and they got off the floor. Well that tumbling line she did a beautiful and strong double back handspring but she under rotated on the tuck and when she landed she went forward and landed on her knees. So in Emelia’s mind she cost them the hit zero on the whole routine. I will say her teammates were incredible and even more so her coaches. Maddie and Aurora sought her out and just gave her the best talk, told her how proud they were of her. We could not thank them enough for building her up!
After Emelia grounded herself and then later found out she wasn’t the only one who did not hit that tumbling line she was able to enjoy the moment. After what felt like a lifetime we were FINALLY ready for awards. The girls placed second. Although disappointed they were beyond proud of what they put on the floor. We went back to practice again today and the coaches have already started making changes based on judges feedback to not only improve the routine but to make it more creative. The changes look great and we know that in a few short weeks they will kill it at Cheer for the Cure. Emelia came out of practice today ready to take on the world and for that we are so proud! So now we start the next countdown, only 5 more practices and 20 days until they hit the competition floor again!