Tampa Bay Classic

Today was Faith's first meet. We had to be up at 5:30 to be on the road by 6:30. The meet was held at St. Leo University. It was about an hour drive. You could feel the girls excitement when she walked through the door... lots of smiles and hugs. The first event was bars. Faith hit her toes on the fly away during warm-up, a few tears were shed. When she actually competed, the first half was awesome, as she held that handstand- I held my breath. The last part, she smacked her toes again. Lots more tears. If you watch the bar as she dismounts it vibrates. Ouch!!! Faith is tough, she doesn't cry easily, so you know it had to hurt. She still scored an 8.425 despite the fall. Next time, she will see that high score. Her goal was 9.2.

Next up was beam. I think every parent that has a child competing in gymnastics holds their breath during this event. For those who don't realize, these girls are throwing tricks on a 4 inch wide beam. Her beam was amazing- a few wobbles. She scored a 9.225. Her goal was 9.0.

Then came my favorite- floor. She has always been a strong tumbler. The first time walking out they had trouble with her music. She sat in her pose for 24 seconds before her coach pulled her off the floor. It took a few minutes before all the kinks were worked out. I was hoping she wasn't going to have to perform with no music. She had a great routine scoring a 9.35. Her goal on floor 9.3.

Last event was vault. I can never capture video because it is always tucked away in a back corner. Faith weighs a whoopin' 68 lbs- so she needs to hit that spring board hard. She looked good. She took a few extra steps. She scored- 8.425. Her goal was 9.0- next time she'll have it.

Her final score was 35.45 which qualified her for State. She placed well for her group. She competed against 14 other girls in her session. Vault- she didn't place, Bars- 5th place, Beam-2nd place, and Floor-2nd place. She placed 3rd place AA- (all-around). It was a good meet to start the season. The next meet will be in Orlando ESPN at Disney.

I am so impressed with LeFleur's. She came in with some trouble on her bars. Her giant has been a struggle, but within a week, Steve had her confidence up. The first time I saw it in a practice, I was almost in tears. No more froggy moves. The other coaches- Alicia, Amanda, Lisa, Billy, and Jeff have also been such a strong support since we came to them. They made her transition easy. Thanks LeFleur's!