This week was so busy, I competed at WOSSAA for wrestling and went to Ontario Championship for cheer!

He said

I am sure in a few weeks after the disappointment wears off of not placing where she had hoped for in both sports (Wrestling & Cheer) our week was was wrapped up in, Emelia will be proud of all that she accomplished. Hell, a week ago Emelia didn’t even think she was going to qualify for WOSSA. And the Cheer Comp this weekend she had already had in her mind that it was going to be another disappointing medal-less weekend. We’re happy to say she was wrong on both counts, but the competitive athlete in her wanted more—she always does.

So yes, the week was a crazy collision of WOSSA Wrestling Championships on Thursday after qualifying last week at TVRA for it. And then, the OCF Provincial Championships for Cheer this weekend. We knew this week was going to take a lot out of her with those two demanding but very different sports. And our hope was that there were no injuries in Wrestling that prevented her from being able to compete this weekend with CheerStrike. We’re happy to report, although she was bruised and sore after Thursday, she was still okay for the Cheer Comp this weekend.

Thursday, both Danielle and I weren’t able to make it so we had to rely on text message reports from her throughout the day. By 10:15am we had an elated message from Emelia that she had not only won her first match, but she beat a girl she and a teammate had never beaten before from Banting. We were so excited and proud of her. In the next match she said she made a mistake near the very end of the match and lost by a pin as a result. In her last match she knew if she won, she could go for third overall but would not qualify for OFSSA. She was a little disappointed with herself, because winning the first match of the day gave her that glimmer of hope and I love that for her. In the end she lost the last match on points after regulation time expired. She finished 6th out of 8 girls, and was bummed. But, she now has a goal of making OFSSA next year with this taste of getting so close.

Then, we fast forward to this weekend and Cheer. This Comp was not originally in the cards, but after another one changed weekends, CheerStrike decided they would give the OCF Provincial Championships a try. The Comps they normally go to are run by a different organization so this one was a bit of new, and different experience. The girls have been through a lot of challenge this season and have not been getting the results they want, so it was anyone’s guess what would happen here. Their Saturday run had no falls and looked the best we had seen all season. Aside from one bobble in a stunt, it didn’t look like there wouldn’t be much deductions. Their performance today, was actually even better!

The trouble is their routine’s difficulty had been dramatically reduced as they’ve adjusted through losing teammates to injury or who have left Cheer altogether. So, even with a flawless routine, teams with a more technical routine will be able to run up extra points if they’re able to execute. And, all season long the teams they have been up against have really brought their performance. In the end the girls finished with third and bronze. For them, it was a disappointment because they know they are capable of so much more. We’re hopeful now with the just over a month before their final Comp of the season, that they add in some complexity and go out of the season with a bang!

She said

This week was another crazy busy one for Emelia and how she has handled all of it has made us as her parents so proud. When Emelia decided to take on wrestling we were surprised, it was a sport unlike any other she had ever taken on. She knew no one her first part season and by nature Emelia is not an aggressive person, in fact for a long time she was very passive. So when she wanted to go back and try it for a full season this year we figured why not? One of her best friends was joining again and the girls have really bonded over the sport. For the first part of the season Emelia struggled, she was very new to the sport and was going against club kids who had a lot more experience than her. But with the encouragement from her amazing coach Mr Harvey she started to really learn. Emelia who is a perfectionist not placing well often resulted in tears at the end. And then something clicked and changed, she and I had a long talk at once of her meets and she started reacting differently.

So fast forward to later in the season and Emelia had started to come into her own, still learning and not always winning but she was learning technique and finally started being more assertive. With some wins under her belt she started to set a goal to qualify for WOSSAA. She worked hard and then a week ago she placed 3rd and qualified. This past Thursday was WOSSAA. Emelia was in a very hard division. Her first match was against a girl that neither Emelia nor her teammate Maya had ever beat. From all accounts she was relaxed and ready to take it on. A friend of ours took a video and man Emelia killed it! She was aggressive and took charge of the match right away and before the first half was done she had her pinned. She was so proud! And with this win she was getting a bit more hopeful that there was a chance she could actually make OFSSAA. It was a slim chance but she believed.

Her next match was a tough one, she held this girl until the very end and made a mistake resulting in her getting pinned. With that loss in less than 15 minutes she was back at her last match of the day. She was exhausted and even though she fought hard she just lost slimly by points. So in the end she finished 6th, she was very disappointed but after reflecting she realized how close she came and is determined that she is going to reach her goal of making OFSSAA next season.

Battered and bruised Emelia stared shifting her mindset to get ready for her cheer competition this weekend. The girls have been working hard cleaning up their skills and even had to make what could have been last minute changes because one of her teammates was questionable for comp this weekend. The girls were going in nervous but confident they were ready. When we arrived at the venue the entire team was thrilled to see that Ella was healthy enough to compete and they hit the floor. Their first run had one bobble that prevented them from getting that hit zero they wanted. The second day again a slight bobble but otherwise a strong and clean routine. The girls were going into medals feeling there was a chance that they might take second. Sadly they didn’t get that goal and got bronze. What we are finding is time and time again that the routine is not difficult enough, they are having execution marks that far out score their difficulty level so they are not getting enough points to be competitive enough.

We are hoping that come Tuesday and next practice that the coaches have a big plan to upgrade this routine, the girls have 7 weeks until the next competition so they have lots of time to up their routine to take on the last competition of the season in April – National Championship!