But enough about school. I have 6 more days off. I am hoping to catch up on laundry and blogging.
Let's start with Alyssa's first Synchro Season! This really should have been several posts, but I never had the time to make that happen.
Let's start with preseason....
Alyssa's team had a rough preseason. They had a new director at our club and she refused to choreograph routines and then ended up quitting right before the season started. The remaining coach, who is also Alyssa's private coach had 2 weeks to choreograph a routine and get them ready to compete. There was really no excuse for this and we felt really bad for them as they headed into their first competition because we knew they were nowhere near ready.
However, in the months leading up to the season, the team had a chance to bond and they went in to the season united. We really lucked out and landed in with an incredible group of girls and parents.We had a couple of team parties before the season started. We played games, and made team hangers, and just had lots of fun getting to know the group.
Here are just a few preseason pics.
We made hangers for their costumes, and I made hangers for the girls who were not at the party where that activity took place. NY was their theme for the year, so that is what I used for my inspiration. Some of the girls copied me, but others went their own way.
Competition 1: The Autumn Classic, Pleasant Prairie, WI The season starts July 1st, but competition season does not begin until November. In November and December, the girls had either a competition or an exhibition every single weekend. It was madness! They kicked things off on home ice at the Autumn Classic.
I carried a camera all season, but it was really hard to take pictures as team mom. The schedule is madness. They have our day planned to the minute and it usually starts at 5AM and goes until forever. We have an hour for hair and make-up, 10 minutes to put on skates, 5 minutes to tape laces,an assigned on ice practice, an off ice practice, team bonding, etc, etc, etc. They seriously shuttle us around non-stop and it is exhausting! And we haul every thing under the sun that any skater might possibly ever need so we have our hands full and cameras tend to stay tucked away much of the time, but I have a billion great memories in my mind and just enough of them on film to make me smile.
Doing the pre-skate Wobble with their coaches.
BTW: Doesn't their hair look great? I was hair mom and I suck at doing hair so I am so proud of my slick backed, sewed down buns. I did have two other moms help with hair and we killed it. We even had one girl with short hair. Betcha can't tell who...? I slicked her hair back and sewed a fake bun to her real hair.
Beginner teams can only compete in groups of 6. As they move up, they compete in bigger groups but for our girls, just 6. For their first competition, however, they were only in a field of 4 teams. We knew they were not ready, but we were very hopeful that some other team might be just as not ready. Sadly, all 5 judges ranked them 4th. However, considering they had two weeks with a complete routine, they looked better than we could have hoped and we were so proud of them for getting out there. They had a big deduction for a break in their line, but their other big deduction was not their fault. Their music cut out before their routine ended. They kept going and it was not their fault, but it was still a deduction. Here they are getting their 4th place medals.
The girls are required to have their laces taped when they skate. After each competition, they add the tape to a tape ball and reward it to the MVP for that competition. And look who the coaches chose as the season's first tape ball recipient. Go Alyssa!
Competition 2: Kalamazoo Kick Off, Kalamazoo, MI Just two weeks after Autumn Classic, the girls went on the road to Michigan. Seth was out of town, so Grandpa Bob flew in and hung out with Alex and Chloe while Alyssa and I jumped on a bus to Michigan. This competition was massive! They skated on an amateur hockey team's rink. They were a bit intimidated. For a minute, I honestly thought Alyssa was not going to skate. Here she is taking the ice....
Looks like we forced her out at gunpoint, right? Once the music started she said she was able to tune everything else out and go into autopilot. They skated a million times better than they did two weeks prior. We were so hopeful as we awaited the scores. But, they came in 6th. Last again! However, they had so much fun together that weekend that Alyssa still says it was her favorite comp of the season. And, the judges were not unanimous this time. One judge had them in 2nd, one in 3rd, one in 5th, and two in 6th. So it was progress. At this competition they also skated after the competition just for the judges, and were given a critique. They found out where they got points and where they lost points. They learned that they needed to increase their level of difficulty and so they went home and immediately upped their game to get ready for the next competition. But for now, here are the Kzoo pics...These will not be in order. They will just be in the order they decide to pop up.
Their name on the jumbotron.
In the next three shots, just look at their coaches in the background. I cracked up when I saw these because they are synchronized coaching.
The girls have a strict 8:00 curfew the night before they skate so Alyssa and I had hours to hang out in our hotel room before we went to sleep. It was a blast. We played catch, and looked up funny stuff on Pinterest, and had a funny face contest. It was a lot of fun to just spend some time with a little lady who is growing up awfully fast.
Heading in to the stadium
Our team's bags. They had to get new bags this year so they would all match and rumor has it they are getting different (backpack style) ones next year. $$$
The girls have synchro sibs from other teams. They exchange gifts at every competition and decorate each other's hotel doors. Here is Alyssa's poster and gift for her sib, who was on B1. Jungle Safari was the theme for the B1 team.
Alyssa with her synchro sib.
Taking the ice.
Alright, I was going to dump this all on you in one post, but it is approaching midnight and I still need to plan my lesson for seminary tomorrow, so let's pause here for now and look at the rest of the season tomorrow.
If you want to watch their 6th place Kzoo skate, click here.
And here is their official team pic for the season. I was having scanner issues so I just took a pic of it with my phone.
This is Alyssa's solo shot. They were all taking their single pics in the same room after they did the group shot and I knew that would bother Alyssa. Everyone else was doing sassy poses and I knew that having everyone look at her when it was her turn would rattle her. I mentioned this to the other moms and they told me I was being silly...they were all as tight as family and she would be fine. But...I know my child, and when it was her turn she started to cry and wanted to skip taking a solo pic. Rational? No. But I get it, because it is vintage Julie behavior. Her coach told her she didn't have to be sassy and helped her find a pose she was comfortable with. She really is a beauty, isn't she? It's funny because I often think how blessed she is to have that long lean figure, but I am pretty sure I was built the same way and I was always self-conscious. If only I could have seen in myself what I see in her. Same bod but she is much, much prettier!
Tune in tomorrow and I'll let you in on the rest of the season.
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