gymnastics Archives - Forever In Mom Genes

Gymnastics At Home

Jun 10 2015

It seems my daughter and Culture Club share a mutual fondness for tumbling. I spent countless hours of my childhood turning cartwheels and standing on my head. No iPads just “get outside and roll around on the lawn until dinner is ready!” Thirty-ish years later I’m more turnovers—of the apple variety—than walkovers, but my little girl is in the midst of full-on gymnastics adoration. Here’s a clip of her on the uneven bars. Okay fine, that’s Olga Korbut at the 1972 Olympics. But with practise Avery will get there. Minus that ‘Korbut Flip‘ on account of it being all holycrapcanyouevenbelievehowcraythatmoveis?! A few years ago we signed Avery up for her first session at Schlegel’s Gymnastics Centre. I shared a bit about that here: “Schlegel’s Gymnastics Centre Gave My Special Needs Daughter Exactly What She Needed.” This gymnastics centre serves all children, treating each equally, fairly and funly. Okay, funly isn’t a word but it should be. Just look at the smile on Avery’s face with coaches Andrea and Fiona. Pure. Happy. So with some gymnastics fundamentals under her belt and a love of the sport deeply embedded in her leo clad soul, Santa Clause decided to give Avery more of[…]

Apr 23 2014

My daughter’s genetic make-up is unusual in many ways and I suspect her DNA also includes a unique elastic gene. The girl lives to flip, jump, roll, climb—basically anything that results in her body leaving the ground for any length of time. Avery was first introduced to gymnastics by her cousin — it was love at first back bend and we knew we had to sign our little monkey up for a local program. By “happy-stance” I met Canadian Olympic Gymnast Jessica Tudos on Twitter and she recommended a gym for us. She said it would be a perfect fit. She was right. Though Avery has developmental and physical challenges, Schlegel’s Gymnastics Centre is fully inclusive. Avery is just another active kid in a leotard climbing a rope. Can I just say how thrilled this makes me?? Several years ago Avery attended a play gym and because of her special needs she was placed in a program with kids half her age. There was poor Avery out on the mat with toddlers. This didn’t do anything to develop her physical or social skills. We quickly pulled her out. Schlegel’s focuses on each child’s individual strengths and needs. It’s non-competitive[…]

Aug 20 2013

She did it and she couldn’t be more proud. And I couldn’t be more proud of her. And my niece too. I have been blessed with two strong little girls to love. Strong as in, determined and strong as in they could easily take me down in an arm wrestling competition without breaking a sweat. My niece is a competitive gymnast. An amazing one. My daughter looks up to her and mimics everything she does. From the way she wears her hair to the clothes she chooses, to the sport she dreams of doing one day. In fact, Avery keeps a photo of her cousin leaping across a balance beam on her dresser. “I do that too, right mummy?” she’ll say as she points to the picture. A few weeks ago when we were visiting my niece and family, Avery got her chance. She wore a leo that her cousin gave her under her clothes all day, waiting excitedly for 3:30 when we would be heading the the gym. Avery sat in the viewing room and watched as her cousin and her teammates finished their practice. Four hours a day, four days a week they train. I sat with[…]

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