Wildcard Gymnastics Team News

Focus: The Difference Between Focus in Practice vs. in Competition This week is a big week at Wildcard! Hosting a home competition is fun, a lot of work and often results in some extra pressure on the gymnasts. This week we will be working on how to deal with this added pressure and turn it into success! During practice, gymnasts are constantly learning about positions and shapes. They are making corrections to perfect their routines. However, come competition day, gymnasts need to be in execution mode. They need to trust that their bodies know what to do and simply concentrate on hitting skills the way they do everyday in practice.

1. Your assignment this week: At practices, pay attention to how the routines/skills feel when you are doing them. Use your senses when perfecting each skill. After doing the skill, while waiting for your next turn, concentrate on recreating that same feeling on each turn. This will help your body remember how to execute (hit) the skill how you want.

2. Your Focus Homework: (Taken from “Becoming a True Champion” by Kirk Mango.) This exercise will help you understand how to relax and center your attention on what you are doing. This will help you to have amazing focus at competitions!

(click on the images to view larger)

3. Print, decorate and sign the Code of a Champion Contract (click the link to print). If that doesn’t work, try pasting the following url in your browser:  http://becomingatruechampion.com/AChampion.htm
4. Hang it in a place where you will see it everyday (on your mirror, locker, bedroom door, etc.)

It’s Meet Week — We’re so excited that it’s home meet week. This is, from what we’ve heard, one of the largest meets in the state this season, so we’re really excited to put on a good show. With your help, we can make this a great competition. Unfortunately, with meet week there are changes to the gym schedule which will be reflected in this blog post.

Spirit Week — With home meets come spirit week. Sorry for the late notice on this so we hope Monday won’t be much of an issue for all. Boys and Xcel, please make sure you participate. Here are the theme days for the week:

Monday — Color Wars. Each group wears a different color. Fast Track/Gold Bugs, wear black. 2s wear orange, 3s are in purple, 4s in blue, 6s in green and 8s in pink. Coaches wear tie-dye.  This can be a leotard or shirts, leggings, etc.

Tuesday — Cowgirl Country Day (dress in your best boots and Cowboy hat, give it that Wild Wild West flair.)

Wednesday — Masquerade Day (wear a costume or mask)

Thursday — Crazy Day (Crazy hair and socks, etc.)

Friday — Wildcard exhibition (Short-sleeve) leotard

Change in Practices — With the gym unavailable for practice on Saturday, everyone will practice on Friday. Friday will be a shortened practice for each level as there will only be 2 sets of equipment to use (we will leave both bars in the back and move the AAI set to the front after practice with the optionals help. The following is the practice schedule for the week:

Monday — No change
Tuesday — No change
Wednesday – Xcel begins at 5:30 and ends at regular time
Thursday — No change
Friday — Levels 2, 3, 3/4 and all Xcel from 4-6 p.m.; Level 4, 5, 6, 8 from 6-8:10 p.m. (all levels feel free to arrive 15 minutes early to stretch … practice will move fast).

Ice Chests/Coolers — With a big meet, we are in need of ice chests/coolers for concessions. Please let us know if you have any we can borrow.

Sign Ups — We still need some slots to fill for working the competition. The following are spots still needed to fill:

Saturday 7:30 a.m. — Ribbon Writers (4), Beam Timer (1), Music Player (1), Awards Presenters
Saturday 9:45 a.m. — Beam Timer (1)
Saturday 12:15 — EVERYTHING. Literally, we have just one volunteer for this session.
Saturday 3 p.m. — Admissions (2), Score Inputter (1), Ribbon Writers (4), Beam Timer (1)
Saturday 5:40 p.m. — Admissions (1), Concessions (1), Score Inputters (4), Awards Presenters

Sunday 7:30 a.m. — EVERYTHING. Literally, we have just one volunteer for this session as well.
Sunday 10:15 a.m. — ALL FILLED!
Sunday 1:10 p.m. — ALL FILLED!
Sunday 3:40 p.m. — Score Inputters (3), Award Presenters

Level 4-up gymnasts (and older Level 3s) please make sure you volunteer as well. We’re less concerned about award presenters as we are about score inputters and beam timers.

From what we can tell, the following families haven’t volunteered:
Level 2: Donovan, Mulvey, Podoll, Scheid
Level 3: Brown
Level 4: Davis, Xiong
Level 6: Laspisa, Literski
Level 8: Dundun, Gordon, Raebel
Xcel: Bridegroom, DiCarlo, Keys, Mulligan, Reed-Hammon, Roecklein

Boys are excused from volunteering because of the state clinic on Saturday and their competition on Sunday. HOWEVER, it would be certainly OK if boys parents were able to volunteer.

Captains — You will get your information by e-mail on Monday.

Parking — Parking will be EXTREMELY tight over the weekend, especially if construction is still on going (the corners were laid this weekend so we’re hopeful more street parking will be available.

There is a lot a block east on 126th an Auer that has about 100 spots in it. The building has no tenants and the owner isn’t around. We have been told by a former tenant that parking shouldn’t be an issue for the weekend. You may try parking there and if there are issues, you can move your car. Also, if you don’t mind the walk, there are plenty of spots in the back of the Culver’s lot.

Meet Fees — Xcel, girls’ optionals and boys, the second installment of meet fees is due Oct. 15.

We apologize for multiple posts in one day. We left something off the last post:

Warm-Ups: Girls’ on Level 2-10 (including Fast Track and Gold Bugs II that are competing in the winter) that don’t have the warm-up jacket may purchase them if they choose. The cost is $70 for the warm-up with a name embroidered. The company only has less than a handful of youth medium, plenty of youth large and adult large jackets left. Please let us know by Tuesday morning if you wish to purchase one of these. We hope we can get them turned around in time for the Wild Wild West Classic.

Pants are an additional $30 and are available in many sizes. However, we recommend just wearing any black yoga style pants.

Please note that we will be re-ordering warm-ups next summer.

Xcel Girls’ Warm-Ups: We are ordering a different warm-up jacket for Xcel girls team members. We expect the cost of those to be $20 (with no embroidered names). These are different than last year’s jacket and we hope to have those in time for the Wild Wild West meet. We will let you know the exact cost in the next couple of days.

Boys’ Warm-Ups: We will not be doing boys’ warm-ups. They will get a sweatshirt. The cost will likely be $20, but we haven’t finalized where we are ordering from yet. Again, we will let you know in the next couple of days.

Sheboygan YMCA Pre-Season Meet
Oct. 19, 2014
Sheboygan YMCA
812 Broughton Dr, Sheboygan | MAP | 62.3 mi., 1 hour, 15 min.

SUNDAY, OCT. 19

BOYS’ LEVEL 4s – Max, West, Dylan, Charlie, Jack
Arrive – 8:45 a.m.
Stretch – 9 a.m.
Meet Begins — 10:20 a.m.
Awards — noon

COMPETING TEAMS – CWC, Sheboygan YMCA

NOTE – This serves as the boys’ “mock meet”.

This week we have Level 2, Level 3, and Level 4 girls competing at Altius.  Last week, almost all of the gymnasts had their mental training homework done.  We would like the Level 2s to also complete that homework too.  The posters were really awesome to see and the kids really put a lot of effort in to create them.

We are continuing with the theme of hitting routines and being mentally prepared for our competitions.  We really want the gymnasts to understand that it takes a lot of mental practice to get to a meet and hit routines or have the perfect meet.   This week’s homework addresses that Perfect Routine or Perfect Meet and enables the gymnasts to focus on how that feels, what kind of self-talk they use, and what their mind and body does during that time. It combines imagery and visualization with a positive perspective which is just as important as practicing gymnastics routines thousands of times.

Please encourage your child to do this week’s mental training homework, as well as last week’s homework so that she/he can achieve success! Click the link below for the .pdf worksheet.

Sticking It- Altius Meet Homework

Wild Wild West Meet — The volunteer schedule for the 2014 Wild Wild West Classic is up and live. We will be doing it online. Please sign up. We know we always have a lot of help, but this is a big meet, so we need all the help we can get. At this point, we have all four meet captains spaces reserved. We appreciate your help. Here is the link to the meet volunteer list:

www.SignUpGenius.com/go/20F0C4DAEA82AA7FE3-2014

Wild Wild West Meet Date Clarification — The Wild Wild West Classic is Oct. 18-19, not Oct. 17-18 as originally posted. The blog has been updated.

It’s Meet a Meet Week! — Gymnasts should wear their shiny new exhibition leotards to practice tonight and tomorrow.

Schedule Changes for Next Week — With the Level 2s competing on Saturday, Oct. 5 at Altius, their practice will be moved from 4:30-7:30 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 4. Any gymnast competing Level 2 should practice on Friday. Any gymnast competing Level 3 will practice on Saturday as scheduled. TOPs will be determined later.