A Chapter Closes for Ella

For as long as Ella can remember, gymnastics has been part of her life.  She took rec lessons at the Y during both or her preschool years and moved to Ascend gymnastics her Kindergarten year to participate in a better rec program.  After the pandemic shut everything done, she returned back to rec classes at the beginning of 1st grade and never stopped.  For the past six years, it's been her #1 sport and focus.  She went from being in the advanced rec class in 1st grade to preteam in 2nd grade to competitive gymnastics from 3rd to 6th grade.  I loved watching her grow and develop over the years in her confidence, her skill level, and her work ethic.  Most especially, I loved the dear friendships that she has made during her years in the gym.  But, yesterday, this chapter closed for good as Ella has made the decision to make the transition to competitive cheerleading.  Since it has always been a dream of Ella's to be cheerleader in high school, we thought that it would be a good idea to have a year or two of competitive cheerleading experience before she tries out for her high school cheer team in the spring of 8th grade.  So after doing a bunch of research and checking out three cheer gyms in our area, Ella attended three nights of tryouts at one of these gyms last week.  With zero cheerleading experience, we found out last Saturday that Ella had been placed in their top level due to her tumbling skills, her athleticism, and her small build that will make her an excellent flyer.  This was super exciting news for Ella and me and confirmed that we had made the right decision to move to cheerleading at this time.  

So it was bitter sweet last night for Ella to attend her last gymnastics practice of her life and say goodbye to her beloved Xcel coach, Madison, and to all of the girls on her Xcel Platinum team.  Although she had only been with this new team for a year, she absolutely adored her new coach and all of the girls on her team.  The majority of this team consists of high school age girls, but they all treated Ella like a little sister.  And, luckily, Ella hit it off with the few girls that were close in age to her and had a great time spending hours with them practicing every week.  Overall, Xcel was a wonderful experience for her and I am so grateful that she was able to close her gymnastics chapter on such a positive note.

I was able to go watch 2.5 hours of Ella's final practice last night which is something I haven't done all year long due to how busy I have been.  Although I missed her practicing on the floor, I caught all three of the other events.  Here is Ella standing on the beam next to her coach on the right hand side while watching one of her teammates do her routine.

Ella waiting in line to do the vault.

Ella warming up on the bar.

Ella jumping to the top bar.

Ever since Ella moved to competitive gymnastics, her coaches have always finished practice by recognizing the gymnasts who have excelled the most in that practice by doing a "class clap."  They ask the girls who are being recognized to step forward from the line of gymnasts while the coaches talk about them.  When they are done, the girls jump/spin in a circle while the rest of the team clasps for them.  Last night, Ella's coach recognized the five girls leaving (Ella and the four seniors who are graduating) and had them do one last "class clap."  Here is Ella on the left side of the line listening to her coach say goodbye to these girls.  After practice, we gave Ella's coach a thank you gift and I made a batch of cupcakes (with gymnastics cupcake toppers) for Ella to share with with her teammates on their way out the door.

Ella posing with Coach Madison after her last practice was over.

Ella standing with Olivia who became one of Ella's closest gym friends this past year.

Ella posing for one last picture with two more of her closest gym friends, Savannah and Quinn.