Summer swim team starts tomorrow! My daughter is so excited – she has even memorized her meet schedule. As a Mom, my hope is that she loves summer swim, makes some new friends, and wins a few ribbons along the way.

She went through a bit of a growth spurt this spring and some of her practice suits were getting snug. Last week we ordered 3 new practice suits from Swim Locker since they have a great deal on their Finis suits right now. The suits arrived in just a few days and they even sent a pair of goggles for free.

Look for updates as the season goes on.

Img: Flickr

While every state is different, my state will wrap up its competitive season for gymnastics this weekend when the Level 4s have their state championships. As a coach, it is my favorite competition of the year. It is  exhausting, rewarding, fantastic and stressful all wrapped in one. We have a large team and the Level 4 meet is a huge one, so I will be coaching what essentially comes out to be 6 meets back to back. Instead of having all of our girls in one session, at the state meet they are broken into sessions by age. This is fun because we get to focus on 3-4 of our own gymnasts at a time.

All of my gymnasts have worked so hard this year. For many of them, it was their first experience competing and they have transformed from little girls who take gymnastics class into gymnasts. They’ve had their ups and downs but they never give up. For most of them, this will be their last competition at this level – a graduation of sorts – as they get ready to start the next chapter in their gymnastics journey at the next level.

Normally this weekend is also bittersweet for me. For the past few years I have coached the Level 4s, but this year I am going to move up with this particular group which is just so exciting. The girls are fantastic and it is partially thanks to the fact that they all have great parents, too.

So, I’ll see you all next week. Have a great weekend and wish us luck – it’s going to be fun.

Image details: XII FINA World Championships – Diving served by picapp.com
The Olympic Trials for Diving will take place June 18-22 in Indianapolis. Currently there are 24 women qualified to compete in either the 3-meter Springboard or 10-meter Platform with one diver, Michelle Cabassol, competing in both.

Women’s Three-meter Springboard

• Summer Allman (Dallas, Texas)
• Bianca Alvarez (Miami, Fla.)
• Allison Brennan (Huntington Beach, Calif.)
• Kelci Bryant (Chatham, Ill.)
• Michele Cabassol (Montgomery, Texas)
• Chelsea Davis (Columbus, Ohio)
• Nancilea Foster (Conroe, Texas)
• Victoria Ishimatsu (Seal Beach, Calif.)
• Cassidy Krug (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
• Christina Loukas (Riverwoods, Ill)
• Amanda Miller (Centreville, Va.)
• Ariel Rittenhouse (Santa Cruz, Calif.)
• Mary Yarrison (Springfield, Va.)

Women’s 10-meter Platform

• Heather Bounds (Round Rock, Texas)
• Michele Cabassol (Montgomery, Texas)
• Cassandra Cardinell (Loudonville, N.Y.)
• Vennie Dantin (Conroe, Texas)
• Mary Beth Dunnichay (Elwood, Ind.)
• Margaret Hostage (Potomac, Md.)
• Haley Ishimatsu (Seal Beach, Calif.)
• Amy Korthauer (Naperville, Ill.)
• Jessica Livingston (The Woodlands, Texas)
• Brittany Viola (Orlando, Fla.)
• Lindsey Weigle (Bloomington, Ind.)
• Laura Wilkinson (Spring, Texas)