I joined the Rye Y when I was in kindergarten when my mother signed me up for Gymnastics Camp. That was three years ago. Gymnastics was a little bit hard to do at first, but really fun. Gymnastics camp included swimming because it is really very good exercise even though it is hard work. Swimming is a big part of the Y.
I am now in 3rd grade and am still learning and practicing gymnastics at the Y. I have learned many skills like how to do cartwheels and forward and backward rolls that I learned in my first year. Right from the start, I made many friends, too. While I was in camp, I started having play dates with one of the girls I met here. I later found out that she went to my school.
From practicing the activities in the Gymnastics Camp, I decided I wanted to continue in a gymnastics group. I listened to my coaches and made very good progress. Next, I was invited into Talent Group. This group is for learning advanced skills without having to go into competition. I really like gymnastics and am lucky to have the Y here. All of the people are nice. The coaches are really nice and good. The coaches, like Tatum, who is funny, and Shelly, who takes gymnastics seriously, have prepared me to do very complicated skills. The warm-ups we do in Talent Group are challenging so I think Team, the next group up, must be very challenging. I am hoping to get into Team; this is where the competitions are. I’m not sure if I’m ready yet, but I hope I am.
Every year, I’ve gotten a small prize like a medal or trophy from my coaches. They give the prize to make people feel proud of the work they do. I have good skills from this work. I do feel proud of that. I hope one day to be able to be in competitions. I feel all these years of practice has paid off, and the hard work shows. I’ve had wonderful years at the Y. I give my coaches a thumbs up.
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