Future Star

Last week during one of Claire's gymnastic lessons I noticed another coach observing the class. I assumed she was there to evaluate Claire's coach. Claire was rather goofy that day and I felt like I should pull her aside and say, "Focus please. We want Coach Jenny to look good." After all, she's a great coach.

Later during the lesson this new coach asked the kids individually to show them their front and middle splits. When it was Claire's turn the coach said, "And you're Claire. Show me what you can do." I thought it impressive she should know Claire's name but chalked it up to her paying good attention when Coach Jenny addressed the kids.

Then that afternoon I get a phone call. "Is either Stuart or Rebecca there?" I answered, "This is Rebecca." "Hello, this is Melinda from SLGC." (I racked my brain why she would be calling, did we leave something, Claire's class in the summer being canceled.) "One of our coaches was at practice today and evaluated Claire. She would like to invite Claire to be on our Future Stars team. Do you know much about the program?" "Not really," I admitted. "Well get some paper and a pen because you'll want to write this down." After explaining Future Stars she asked me for an answer in a week. I told her we would give an answer in a week. Today.

For several days my mind has been occupied by this event. I have talked to several individuals and bounced ideas off of them. Of course Stuart and I talked. We talked to Claire. Still my mind would list the pros/cons over and over again. After we talked to Claire and she said she really wanted to try and do it, we told her we'd see what we could do.

Ok, let's admit some things first. Of course when they called and extended the invitation I was excited for Claire. Who doesn't want their child to be invited into these things? We may not want them to do it and don't let them do it, but let's face it, most people (well at least me) are happy when their child is the one selected instead of the one not chosen. In turn, we're sad when they're not chosen because we know the disappointment ourselves of not being chosen. We raise them to be proud of accomplishments and raise them to handle disappointments. It is part of growing up. So having said that, let me ramble on about my concerns of being on the Future Stars team, despite being very happy for Claire.

Future Stars is a feeder program into the competitive girls team. Making Future Stars doesn't guarantee a team slot later, but you can't even be considered for the team unless you make Future Stars. Here's where my concerns start. Because it's a feeder team, it is a bigger commitment. Claire would have 2 practices a week for 2 hours. That's a lot. Remember though, in gymnastics, you often wait your turn so it's not like some sports where you're moving the entire time. Still, it is a BIG thing for a LITTLE girl, I think. Claire will be going to full day school in the fall and may have to adjust to that. She is also currently signed up for soccer, which may have to be rethought if she does this team.

Personally, I think Claire can handle the practices, physically. Mentally she'll have to overcome the fact that she went from best in her class to probably worse, until a new round of kids come in. Sometimes that is hard.

Future Stars do not compete, which I'm grateful for. That would have made my decision easy. She is too young to compete. And, if you get invited to the team, you can say no and join the rec team. Which is a great option for us. Rec team still gets to compete they just pick the meets they want to be in, and it's not attention meets of scouts, recruiters, etc. Plus the time/$$ commitment is not nearly as steep.

If Claire does not do Future Stars now, she's stuck in the type of classes she's in now. Claire has been super blessed to have a team coach this year who has pushed and challenged Claire even though most of the kids are 2 charts below her. When Claire starts lessons in the fall, she'd be stuck most likely with the High School kid coaches who aren't bad, but aren't going to be able to give Claire the kind of instruction she needs. Claire won't progress nearly as fast as the coaches aren't as good as challenging the advanced students, in my opinion.

I think being in Future Stars presents a good learning opportunity for Claire. It gives us a chance to help Claire learn organization skills, following through with priorities, and maybe even learning about doing too much. I'm hoping that she'll learn that things come with a cost. Example, gym 2x a week may mean giving up a play date or something else. It will mean having to be responsible with school, etc. This could be a wonderful thing to learn at a young age.

Also, gymnastics seems to be a good sport for Claire. She is short and small. Not petite, but short and solid. Because her torso is long and her legs are short, coupled with the fact that she's shorter to begin with, running as fast as the other children has always been a struggle for her. This isn't an issue in gymnastics. She just has to be able to sprint for a short run.

My biggest fears are this, and interestingly, one in mostly about me. 1) I don't want Claire's sole identity to be a gymnast. I don't want her to be known as "Claire the gymnast." Claire is so much more. When she thinks of herself I want her to think of all the other things she is and maybe gymnastics is a part of that, I just don't want it to be the only thing she sees herself as. She is tender hearted, kind, strong willed, smart, funny, vibrant, etc. So I'd like her to maintain a well rounded identity. 2) I'm worried about the "sucked in" factor. The part where I, as a mother, get sucked into gymnastics as much as Claire does. I love watching her. I've always been a competitive person. I worry that if she gets invited to the team I'll be so sucked in with it that I'll forget those BEST choices we should make.

Now, having unloaded all that, I'll say that we've decided to let Claire do Future Stars. We feel that right now this could be a great opportunity for Claire. Not necessarily in regard to becoming a great gymnast, but becoming a great person as she learns, hopefully, many important lessons along the way. And, as Stuart reminds me, if it turns out horrible, we can always jump ship. So I am excited for Claire and anxious to see how this all plays out. I pray that I will always be attentive to the needs of Claire and help her make those BEST decisions.