Gasparilla Classic Invitational 2016

First, some pics of Jordan's recent gymnastics competition down in Tampa..



Tropicana Field.



Inside the arena..

and goofy airplane selfies..















The gymnastics salute.  The size of this arena and all the activities happening all at once was overwhelming.  It is such a testament to these kids who maintain such focus while they compete.



Jordan did fantastic.  This is him at the podium getting the second place medal for the pommel horse.  The first place winner shook hands, which was lovely.  This kid and his twin brother were the team to beat up there.

Jordan earned two fourth place finishes (vault and parallel bars), a fifth on high bar and a sixth place for his floor routine.  His scores overall were high enough to earn him an All Around - 4th place, which pretty much rocked his world.



Seeing our good friends who drove down to see us was so special.



The Bermuda Boys Competitive Team. posing by the BDA flag after two days of competition.



The view from the Marriott Hotel at the airport.  Watching Southwestern airlines taxi off and return just about made his weekend.

Tim Daggett Invitational - January 2016

Jordan just got back from his first gymnastics meet of the year.  Together with his team, he travelled to Springfield, MA for the Tim Daggett Invitational.  He competed again in level 5.  Jeff accompanied him abroad over the weekend of January 29th - 31st.Grandma H and Grandpa Michael joined them (and shot some of these great pictures too.)



Jordan was excited.  He's worked hard all summer through the fall and winter, after recovering from pneumonia in August.  He sprang back though, and has been working on perfecting all the events and bonus points.

Back home, Mina, Theo and I anxiously awaited results.  I refreshed the online meet scores at least twenty times, and was glued to my phone, texting Jeff for the details.

"How is he?  Is he nervous?  Does he seem nervous?  What did he eat for breakfast?  Remember not to give him a huge lunch before he competes!  Stick with a big protein breakfast in the morning, and keep him away from junky snacks!"

I was obviously more worried than Jordan.  He did amazingly well.  Out of six events, he medaled in four of them.  His scores were high enough to put him in the top ten gymnasts in his division.  Out of 47 boys, he ranked 9th.

It hasn't been forgotten that this meet came on the same week as the anniversary of Jordan's heart transplant (January 26 - 11 years ago.)

Our heart angel, Breanna, lives on and lives strong.  I hope she would be proud of what her guy is up to.

This is what a transplant patient can do.

3



5













Breakdown:
Floor - 9.5 (11th)
Pommel - 10.2 (8th)
Rings - 10.8 (6th)
Vault - 9.5 (12th)
Parallel Bars -9.9 (11th)
High Bar - 8.9 (12th)
All Around - 58.8 (9th)

Competition.

Jordan recently competed in a gymnastics meet held at the University of Maryland - the Mid Atlantic Invitational.  This is the second year he's been at this meet.  This is the first time he medaled in an event.

It's a tough meet - coming as it does near the end of the season.  Level 5 is usually well represented with boys who have been competing every weekend as part of sectional and regional meets.  Most of them are seasoned and used to how a meet works.  Most of the boys are used to having a good day or a bad one and being able to brush it off, knowing another meet will happen the next weekend.

It's a little different for our boys in Bermuda. 

They only had three meets this year - all overseas.  So when they compete, it involves travelling, overnight stays in hotels, missed school days,  a lot of attention (and some pressure) put on them to do well, represent not only their gym, but also Bermuda.  The boys were written up in the  paper, sometimes they are mentioned on the radio, and I also noticed that Jordan's school had his picture on its home page with a write up.  To Jordan's credit, he is very nonchalant about the attention.  It doesn't seem to affect him, which is good.  At the meets I have attended with him, he shows remarkable focus.



Thankfully, this was a good meet for Jordan.  At his last one - the Tim Daggett Invitational, despite excellent scores, he did not make the cutoff for medals.  It hurt him.  He puts so much work into training every day - both at the gym and at home.  He chose to challenge himself by competing at a higher level for the first time, when he could have played it safe and dropped to a lower one.  But, he didn't. 



On the rings - Jordan's best event.



Look at this face.  He is so proud of himself.  As he should be.

The thing is though, as I was editing this picture, something caught my eye.




This little guy down here. 
Maybe he's bored?  Maybe he's a little wistful?  Slightly jealous?  I don't know.  It just struck me that on any given day, that could be Jordan or any other boy out there competing.  They all want to win so badly.

This is a tough sport for these  guys.  The strength training and hours they put into it aren't always rewarded with bling around their necks.  Some days are good.  Some days aren't.  Wins are often measured in tenths of a point differentials. 

We've faced some long talks with Jordan, explaining good sportsmanship, and how every little misstep out there results in the difference between a win and a loss.  More important though is knowing you are improving on each event and doing your best.  Even without a medal, we try and reinforce setting personal goals for the season - getting a kip, perfecting the flairs, trying out the bonus moves.  We encourage him to cheer on his teammates and congratulate them for their wins too.

It's not easy. When a win is so easily measured by a medal, translating other success milestones is much harder.  I've been doing some reading lately on athletic mental coaching.  It's really fascinating to read about collegiate and professional athletes whose discipline is more than just physical training.  So much of it starts with what's in their head.  I suppose if we all had that inner strength, there would be no stopping us.



Mina faces her own athletic challenges as well. Her recent running wins at sports day aside, she has spent the majority of the shool year complaining about gym class and "all that running!!"  Day in and day out, she would step into the car and immediately launch into how hard the day was because of gym.  It's particularly frustrating for her because she does so well academically.  There has never been a parent teacher meeting I have ever attended for her that did not begin with the teacher praising her for her work.  I don't mean to brag, although it does sound like it.  She deserves all the credit.  The worst complaint I ever got about her was one teacher suggesting she put too much pressure on herself when she scored only 19 out of 20 spelling words right.  Apparently Mina burst into tears and considered it a "failure."

"Where would she get an idea like that Mrs. Trimarchi?"

ugh...

It was nice to see her so happy with her ribbons for second place in two athletic events, and a third place in relay.  She has many talents that aren't always splashed out in the papers.  So it's heartening to see her so happy when it's her time to shine.

Of course, then there's Theo.



All he needs to make him happy is some food.

 Life is good when you are just 6 months old.

Finding your sport.

Growing up, I played a lot of different sports:  tennis, softball, rugby, basketball.  Some of them I loved, and some I just did to occupy time.  But they were always a fun thing for me.  I like sports, and still do.

My kids are still in the process of figuring out what sports, if any.. are for them.  Maybe there will come a day when they decide they don't want to be a part of organized activities, and that's their choice.  For now, though, I like to keep them active.  We keep trying different things.



Jordan has been doing gymnastics for a while now - starting as a child with the sort of tumble tot, babies rolling on the gym mats and chewing their feet thing.  He's stuck with it over the years, and I encourage him a lot on days when he'd rather be goofing off at home playing Minecraft.

 Don't get me started on Minecraft.

For one, I think it's a good sport for his body type.  It plays to his strengths - he's short, compact and very strong.  Perfect gymnast material.



The other factor is the focus on individual performance.  Jordan was asked to join the boys invitational team here in Bermuda, which was a lovely chance to develop his skills.  While there is a team, which practices three or more times a week - each boy ultimately has to compete with himself to earn his scores.



I think that appeals to Jordan.  He's spent so many hours standing around in the ball fields watching the clouds go by, or waiting for the odd chance a soccer ball strolls by him.  He doesn't seem to get the frenzy that some boys display when it comes to sports like soccer or baseball.  I get the feeling he just doesn't care.  I distinctly remember him telling me his favorite part of the baseball games were snack time when it was over - particularly if I was the one bringing the cookies.  M&M cookies with chocolate AND butterscotch chips, please, mom!

But with gymnastics - it's all him.  He has to perform all the requirements of the level he's assigned, remember them, fine tune the precise elements to earn the maximum number of points without deductions.  Ultimately, he can't blame anyone else for the result. 



I'm glad he's still part of a gymnastics team though.  Whenever he feels like slouching off, I remind him that his teammates will be at practice, and they depend on him to hold his end up.  Part of being on a team means showing up, putting in your time, and getting better.

He's understanding that more as he gets older.  TO his credit, he's been doing a fantastic job this term with the long hours he puts in each week.  (Long driving too!!) 

Highlights this month include a fundraising exhibition at city hall - cool video!  And this past weekend, Jordan had a "fun meet" where an American coach and men's gymnastics trainer came down to teach the boys about scoring, and run some practice drills with them. 

 

 

 

Jordan's first real competitive meet will be in January, in Connecticut.  He's very excited about travelling abroad to compete and stay in a hotel with the team.  It sounds like such a fun adventure!!