Bars and Vaults and Beams...

Stinkerbell has loved gymnastic since before she could walk.  And we were very lucky that while we lived in Prague we found an English speaking coach that gave her private small group lessons at the local gym (which trained the Czech Olympic athletes).  She was in heaven and got pretty good while we were there.  But when we moved to Germany, we just couldn't find a gym that she could train at, even casually.  Their school system is very different than ours in that they go to school from about 8 am until noon.  They go straight through for 4 hours without breaks and there are no subjects like band, art and PE during the school day.  They are expected to do those during their afternoons, outside of school.  This meant that any classes we could find for Stinkerbell to participate in (German or English language - no need to really speak the language at this type of class) all took place while she was still in school because our International schools had a different schedule.  Sadly, we spent our 2 1/2 years in Germany without gymnastics.  {Well, at least outside of the home.  Any given day would find Stinkerbell flipping and turning and cartwheeling on any surface she could find}.

One of the first things I did when we moved into our new neighborhood was to ask around about a good gym.  The answer was unanimous - Twisters.   We popped right over and signed up.  For about 3 months we let Stinkerbell just settle in.  We wanted to let her get her groove back before seeing if she wanted to really pursue training.  And when I finally asked her if she would like to try out for the pre-team her resounding yes was out of her mouth before I could even finish my question.

She aced the tryout and made the team but we were told that she had to start at the very beginning and work her way up.  Which meant starting her training with kids much younger than she was and perfecting skills that she missed along the way.  She has worked hard, never complained and has made great strides since last month.  We are still working on strength (she needs to be able to do those pull-ups!) but I am so proud of how far she has come.  With practice and perserverence, I just know she will be on the competition team in no time and up with her age group!

The pictures and videos below are from an in-house meet.  They were judged on Beam, Bars, Vault and Floor just as if they were at a traditional meet (the only difference was that they were competing among their teammates and not other clubs).  Stinkerbell did great - placing 5th overall and 1st in the vault.

Can't wait to see the progression as we go through the season.

Her beam practice...

 Practicing her floor routine with the girls...

 The winning vault...

So proud of her medal!