Mock Meet; Makeup Practice; Parents on the Floor; Shawn Johnson

Level 2/3/Xcel Mock Meet — With the Level 2s competing for the first time, we are going to hold a mock meet for them on Saturday, Feb. 1, starting at 12:45 p.m. They will not practice on that Saturday morning like they normally would. Their practice will be the mock meet. Additionally, Level 3 will not practice on that Saturday morning, but are invited to participate in the Mock Meet with the new Level 3 routines to replace that practice. Xcel Silver will extend their practice to be part of the mock meet that day, even though they have already competed at their first meet. This will give us four rotations and will give the Level 2s an idea of what competition will be like.

Since this is like a competition, gymnasts should arrive with their competition leotard on and hair pulled back neatly. Gymnasts will receive event ribbons and all-around medals just like a regular meet. Coaches will be available for questions after the meet from the Level 2 and Xcel parents. The competition information is below:

GIRLS’ LEVEL 2 – Emily C. Olivia, Caelyr, Lili Jahr, Lilly J.-F., Claire, Ruth, Sadie, Hanah
GIRLS’ LEVEL 3 – Essence, Angela, Chasity, Asia, Morgan, Ayanna, Mariyah, Alivia, Siena, Vanesa, Emma L., Emma M., Anya, Kaylie, Korynne, Maggie, Rhianna, Brooklyn, Jordan S., Annika, Jenna, Camille B.
GIRLS’ LEVEL Xcel Silver – Amari, McKayla, Anna, Marcella, Katherine
Arrive — 
12:45 p.m.
Stretch — 1 p.m.
Meet Begins — 1:40 p.m.
Awards — 3 p.m.

Level 3/4 & Level 4 to Practice on Saturday, Feb. 1 —The Level 3/4s and Level 4s will practice on Saturday, Feb. 1 from 9 a.m.-noon to replace their practice that was cancelled on January 15. Level 3/4 will participate in the mock meet following practice. Plan on getting them something to eat in between practice and the mock meet.

No Parents Allowed on the Floor — This is a reminder that no parents are allowed on the floor or on the equipment with their child. This is a regulation from our insurance company. When your child’s practice is over, please do not go on to the floor and definitely do not instruct your child on an apparatus. Be mindful that at the end of practice for the most of you, we have other teams continuing to practice and other classes going on. We are doing our best to make it a safe environment for everyone. This is also in effect prior to practice. Please do not go out on to the gym floor at any time unless it is to speak with an instructor (and those times would be best before or after practice). This also sets the precedent for the recreational parents who we can’t allow on the floor (unless in a Parent-Child class).

Shawn Johnson is Coming to Marquette — 2008 Olympic Gold Medalist Shawn Johnson is speaking at Marquette University at the Varsity Theater on Thursday, Jan. 30 at 7 p.m. She will be speaking on over-coming adversity in gymnastics as well as how she made the Olympic Team. As this is not a meet weekend, we will not have team practice that day (boys’, girls’ and fast track included).  This special presentation fits great with Wildcard’s ongoing theme of success, so don’t miss it!

The event is free (however, you will likely have to pay to park at Marquette). We have requested 80 tickets, but we don’t know exactly how many they will be able to accommodate, so please RSVP to gymnastics@wildcard-gymnastics.com with how many tickets you will need. With the limited number of seating, we request that parents understand that we may not be able to accommodate all family members. We may have to limit it to gymnasts only in a drop-off and pick-up like situation. If we have enough spots available, we will accommodate the rest of your family after all gymnasts have been taken care of.  Be sure to watch some of Shawn Johnson’s routines on youtube or google her bio. so that your gymnast is familiar with her success!

Cancun Trip & Success Wall Additions — On behalf of the families that went to Cancun for the 2014 Cancun Classic, we missed all of you in the warm sun. We had a great time and came back with a very successful meet.

We had two additions to the success wall in Mariyah L. and Ayanna L. each winning first-place in the all-around in their age divisions in Level 3. They did fantastic after just a couple of weeks of learning routines.

The other gymnasts did very well as well. Bradyn F. competed in Level 6 for the first time after just a couple of weeks removed from Level 4 and she earned a medal on floor and qualified for state. All of the Level 8s and 9s (Ava G., Bella G., Dosia M., Glenna P., Hallie F.) saw vast improvement in scores and as a result, all of our optional-level gymnasts who have competed have qualified for state. Now there are just a handful of Level 6s, who have yet to compete, to earn state-qualification scores.

The trip itself was a grand success. Everyone came back tanned and had a great time. At this point, we are tentatively looking at Hawaii in 2016, but we might accelerate that timetable with a warm-weather traveling meet next year, given the fact that we have two seniors, this will be their last time to travel and we won’t have seniors for at least 3 more years after that. If you have any ideas of where you’d like to see a meet, let us know. We will do our best to find a meet that is not during school or is part of a school break. And, as always, we will do our best to keep the cost down.  We definitely would love to have more gymnasts go on the traveling trips.  It was a great team bonding experience and everyone made memories that will last a lifetime!

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Swiss Cup Meet Information — Final

Swiss Cup
January 24-26, 2014
Swiss Turners

2214 S. 116th St., West Allis | MAP | 7.7 mi., 12 min.

FRIDAY, JAN. 24

BOYS’ LEVEL 6 – Myles, Bryce
Arrive
4:45 p.m.
Stretch5 p.m.
Meet Begins5:30 p.m.
Awards9 p.m.

SATURDAY, JAN. 25

BOYS’ LEVEL 7 – Reed
Arrive12:45 p.m.
Stretch1 p.m.
Meet Begins1:30 p.m.
Awards4:10 p.m.

SUNDAY, JAN. 26

BOYS’ LEVEL 4 – Andy, Eli
Arrive7:45 a.m.
Stretch8 a.m.
Meet Begins8:30 a.m.
Awards11:15 a.m.

BOYS’ LEVEL 5 – Max Br., Diego, Ian
Arrive12:35 p.m.
Stretch12:50 p.m.
Meet Begins1:20 p.m.
Awards4:20 p.m.

COMPETING TEAMS – Air Force, CRAG (Iowa), Crystal Lake (Ill.), Elite (Minn.), Gymkhana (Ill.), Infinite, Kettle Moraine, LaFleur’s, Lakeshore (Ill.), M&M, Oshkosh, Salto, Scamps, Sheboygan, Swiss, Trinity (Ill.)

For all of Wildcard Gymnastics team information, sign up for e-mail reports at Wildcard’s team blog, wildcard-team.com. For more information, including team information, like Wildcard Gymnastics on Facebook or follow Wildcard Gymnastics on Twitter @wildcardnews. For all the meet results, including previous meet results, season highs, awards, 9.0s and all meet statistics, go to the Wildcard Gymnastics web site, wildcard-gymnastics.com, and click on the team tab.

 

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Wednesday Girls’ Team Practice

WEDNESDAY PRACTICE — Level 3/4 and 4 Girls’ Team Practice on Wednesday, Jan. 15, is being cancelled due to the fact that we are significantly short of team coaches that night due to other conflicts. We will make this practice up, likely on a Saturday, when we have more staff available.

At this point, Saturday, Feb. 1, is the most likely the date for the makeup, but we will let you know closer to the time. They will likely come later, noon-3 p.m. or something similar to that time frame in order to accommodate all of our other teams. We apologize for any problems this may cause.

SUCCESS WALL ADDITIONS — The Level 8 and Level 9 girls’ and all the boys’ team competed at the M&M Challenge in West Allis over the weekend. It was a low scoring meet for all of the girls. We had a few get close to getting on the success wall, but we don’t have any girls’ additions. On the boys’ side, we have two additions (boys need a 9.5 or higher and Level 7 vault needs an 11.5) and a lot of near misses. Here are the success wall additions from the M&M Challenge:

Max Br.: Level 5 Floor, 10.500
Bryce W.: Level 6 Floor, 10.400

XCEL MEET FEES 2ND INSTALLMENT — The second installment for Xcel meet fees is due on Jan. 15. If those haven’t been paid on Jan. 15, they will be charged to your account and paid for by the card you have on file. The Xcel girls have their first meet on Saturday, Jan. 25, Wish them luck when you see them in the gym.

Xcel gymnasts competing at the Altius meet, you will get a leotard to compete in at that meet, so arrive a few minutes early in order to change. Plan on wearing your competition leotard to the meet and then change to the pink-ribbon leotard that is your meet gift.

CANCUN TRIP — Those gymnasts and families departing for Cancun on Wednesday, Jan. 15, will need to be at the gym by 4 a.m. The bus will depart for Chicago O’Hare no later than 4:15 a.m. Please have all your passports and any other documentation you may need on hand. We can not wait for you if you are late or are missing documentation.

If you plan on leaving a car, please leave it in the loading dock on the north side of the gym to conserve parking. We can park five cars there. Remember, there is one free checked bag for each passenger. Gymnasts should be wearing a Wildcard Gymnastics t-shirt or sweatshirt and their warm-ups on the plane to Cancun. Please put leotards and grips in your carry on bag.

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Midwest Twisters Invitational Meet Information

Midwest Twisters Invitational
February 8-9, 2014
Wisconsin Center (formerly Midwest Express Center, Midwest Airlines Center, Frontier Airlines Center, Delta Center)

400 W. Wisconsin Ave. | MAP | 11.1 mi., 18 min.

SATURDAY, FEB. 8

BOYS’ LEVEL 6 – Myles, Bryce
Arrive –
1:10 p.m.
Stretch –
1:30 p.m.
Meet Begins —
1:50 p.m.
Awards —
5 p.m.

BOYS’ LEVEL 7 – Reed
Arrive –
5:10 p.m.
Stretch –
5:30 p.m.
Meet Begins —
5:50 p.m.
Awards —
9 p.m.

SUNDAY, FEB. 9

BOYS’ LEVEL 4 – Eli, Andy
BOYS’ LEVEL 5 —
Max Br., Diego, Ian
Arrive –
11:10 a.m.
Stretch –
11:30 a.m.
Meet Begins —
11:50 a.m.
Awards —
2:30 p.m.

GIRLS’ LEVEL 2 – Emily C. Olivia, Caelyr, Lilian Ja., Lilly J.-F., Claire, Ruth, Sadie, Hanah
Arrive – 
2:40 p.m.
Stretch –
3 p.m.
Meet Begins —
3:20 p.m.
Awards —
6 p.m.

BOYS’ COMPETING TEAMS – Air Force, Altius, EYAS (Iowa), Flying High (Ill.), Gleason’s (Minn.), Gymsport, Hawkeye (Iowa), IGM (Minn.), Infinite, Kettle Moraine, Midwest Twisters, Mississippi Valley (Iowa), Oshkosh, Scamps, Sheboygan YMCA, Starz, Summit (Ill.), Synergy (Iowa), Tenacity (Mich.), Twin City (Minn.), Triad (Iowa)

GIRLS’ COMPETING TEAMS – AMKM, Fire House (Ill.), Flip City, Flip Star (Ill.), Wapun GymStars.

PLEASE NOTE – You will likely have to pay to park and there will be an admission fee of at least $10.

For all of Wildcard Gymnastics team information, sign up for e-mail reports at Wildcard’s team blog, wildcard-team.com. For more information, including team information, like Wildcard Gymnastics on Facebook or follow Wildcard Gymnastics on Twitter @wildcardnews. For all the meet results, including previous meet results, season highs, awards, 9.0s and all meet statistics, go to the Wildcard Gymnastics web site, wildcard-gymnastics.com, and click on the team tab.

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Swiss Cup Meet Information

Swiss Cup
January 24-26, 2014
Swiss Turners

2214 S. 116th St., West Allis | MAP | 7.7 mi., 12 min.

Please note: Swiss Turners has not provided meet times yet and have indicated meet times would be available approximately one week prior to the meet. This is all the information we have at this time.

FRIDAY, JAN. 24

BOYS’ LEVEL 6 – Myles, Bryce
Meet Begins —
Evening

SATURDAY, JAN. 25

BOYS’ LEVEL 7 – Reed
Meet Begins —
Afternoon

SUNDAY, JAN. 26

BOYS’ LEVEL 5 – Max Br., Diego, Ian
Meet Begins —
Morning

BOYS’ LEVEL 4 – Andy, Eli
Meet Begins —
Afternoon

COMPETING TEAMS – Air Force, CRAG (Iowa), Crystal Lake (Ill.), Elite (Minn.), Gymkhana (Ill.), Infinite, Kettle Moraine, LaFleur’s, Lakeshore (Ill.), M&M, Oshkosh, Salto, Scamps, Sheboygan, Swiss, Trinity (Ill.)

For all of Wildcard Gymnastics team information, sign up for e-mail reports at Wildcard’s team blog, wildcard-team.com. For more information, including team information, like Wildcard Gymnastics on Facebook or follow Wildcard Gymnastics on Twitter @wildcardnews. For all the meet results, including previous meet results, season highs, awards, 9.0s and all meet statistics, go to the Wildcard Gymnastics web site, wildcard-gymnastics.com, and click on the team tab.

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Tuesday, Jan. 7, Practice Clarification

Tuesdays’ practice is not an all-team 4:30-8:30 p.m. practice.

Tuesday’s practice is at the normal times, which range from 4:30-8:30 p.m.

Level 2 is from 4:30 p.m.-6:30 p.m.
Level 3 is from 4:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m.
Level 6 is from 5:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m.
Level 8 is from 5:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m. (but may come at 4:30 p.m.)
HOPES is from 4:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m.

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Mental Toughness Homework – Positive Thinking

Positive Thinking Games

Focusing on the positive or “reframing” things that don’t go as planned, help to make a more confident, adaptable athlete.  This builds mental toughness and makes gymnasts capable of accepting anything that comes their way.  Here are some fun activities that will help develop positive thinking and improve confidence. 

1.  Recognizing Positive Behavior

First brainstorm a list of positive behaviors. (Example someone who gives credit to others, smiles, says thank you, listens without being judgmental and absorbs negative behavior with tolerance, etc.) Think of people who exhibit these characteristics.  Do people like this person?  Why do you think that is?

 

2.  The “Glad” Game

The character Pollyanna from the Disney movie of the same name plays a positive thinking game she calls “the glad game.” This game helps increase positive thinking habits. One person brings up a negative event, such as losing a job or a bowling league tournament, and starts off saying something like, “My coach won’t let me leave balance beam.” Other players provoke the first player to think positively by starting off a phrase, such as, “But because you get to stay on beam, you’ll have more time to–blank.” The first player fills in the blank with a positive word or phrase, like “practice your skills,” or “get your cartwheel better than anyone else’s.” Searching for the silver lining in even a relatively disastrous event is the optimistic basis for the “glad game.”

 3.  Hunt for Happiness

A positive-thinking scavenger hunt game is suitable for children and adults. Children or adults make a list of things that they feel make life worth living. For children, Fishful Thinking says to have them work up a list of animals, people or places that make them happy or bring smiles to their faces. Parents or teachers then help the children spend about an hour on a scavenger hunt, searching for as many items on the list as possible. Once the child discovers an item, she can place a sticker on or draw a smiley face next to the item.

 4.  Egg-Balancing Game

A potentially messy game that requires plenty of positive thinking is the egg-balancing game, in which an individual has to balance the wider part of a raw egg on a flat, somewhat textured tabletop. This exercise is possible, but requires patience and a positive attitude. Hard-boiled eggs won’t work, since they tend to wobble and fall over because of the weight of the cooked yolk at the bottom. If players are unable to stand the egg upright, all is not lost. Sprinkle a small mound of salt on the table and balance the egg in it. Having the person resort to using salt illustrates that many things are possible but may require some outside-the-box thinking to achieve.

5.  Commercial Campaign

After playing these games, make a 30 sec. video using Instagram, Vine, your iPhone, etc. that advertises yourself as a gymnast.  Sell yourself as Wildcard’s best gymnast.  You can use video, pictures, graphics, etc.  Be creative!  Send your video to gymnastics@wildcard-gymnastics.com or upload it to the Wildcard Facebook page, tweet it, etc.  We want to see those videos!  

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Team Practice only on Jan. 7

Wildcard Gymnastics will be closed to recreational classes (including any Gold Bugs non-competing gymnasts) on Tuesday, January 7, due to continued extreme cold.

We will, however, have a team practice as regularly scheduled from 4:30-8:30 p.m. If you feel it is not safe for your child to come, that is understandable. The building was maintaining a temperature between 65-68 degrees today. Gymnasts may wear leggings during practice to help stay warm.

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Wildcard Closed Jan. 6

Due to the miserable weather conditions forecast for Monday, Jan. 6, Wildcard Gymnastics will not be open. We anticipate that we will be open for classes and practice on Tuesday, but that will be a decision that will be made likely on Monday, following what school districts decide.

We will attempt to open the building during the “warmest” part of the day for practice for gymnasts competing at the M&M Challenge (Girls’ Level 8-9 and Boys’ Level 4-7) and for gymnasts competing at the Cancun Classic (select girls from Levels 3, 6, 8 & 9) so they don’t miss one of their practices prior to a meet. We haven’t firmly decided up on a time, but at this point it is tentatively scheduled for noon-3:30 p.m. We will make a decision on time later and contact those gymnasts and families directly either by text or e-mail. However, if we can’t get the building to a comfortable temperature during the day we will not have practice.

Stay warm everyone!

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Cancun Classic Meet Information

Cancun Classic
January 17-18, 2014
Iberostar Cancun Hotel & Resort

Boulevard Kukulcan Km. 17, Cancun, QR, Mexico | MAP | 2,957 mi., 49 hours

FRIDAY, JAN. 17

PRACTICE – All competitors
Practice Begins – 9 a.m.
Practice Ends – noon

GIRLS’ LEVEL 6 – Bradyn
Arrive – 4:45 p.m.
Stretch – 5 p.m.
Meet Begins — 5:30 p.m.
Awards — 8 p.m.

SATURDAY, JAN. 18

GIRLS’ LEVEL 3 – Ayanna, Mariyah
Arrive – 7:45 a.m.
Stretch – 8 a.m.
Meet Begins — 8:30 a.m.
Awards — 11:30 a.m.

GIRLS’ LEVEL 8 – Ava G., Bella, Glenna, Dosia
GIRLS’ LEVEL 9 – Hallie
Arrive – 12:45 p.m.
Stretch – 1 p.m.
Meet Begins — 1:30 p.m.
Awards — 5 p.m.

NOTE: Please note $35 adult/$15 children spectator admission fee.

COMPETING TEAMS: Allianz (Mex.), Andromeda (Conn.), Baja Dynamo (Mex.), Bluewater (Can.), Chelsea Piers (N.Y.), Dorthom (Mex.), Frederick (Md.), GK (Can)., London (Can.), Ontario (Can.), Revolution (W.Va.).

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