Split Decision

Tommy's gymnastics training switched after the summer break to six days a week. That's right! It's not enough that Angie and I inflict sufficient pain on ourselves on Saturday mornings; we now have the joy of watching Tommy inflict a different type of pain on his body. It's also worth pointing out that, after this switch, Tommy now spends more hours in training than Angie does working. Just saying. 

Most of the gymnastics clubs in the area are "hobby" clubs. The "hobby" clubs are the ones for normal kids. You know, training is twice a week for an hour, they have tournaments every other weekend and win lots of trophies and medals. They play to have fun, not to win, and everyone can stay on the team for as long as they want. Needless to say, Tommy is not a normal kid.

Tommy is in a special program. They only have two tournaments a year and instead of a medal, they determine whether or not you get invited to continue in the program for another year. If you don't show steady improvement, you might want to start looking for a nearby "hobby" club. Tommy's group started three years ago with ten kids and they are now down to four.

Within the program, there is a special group called the Cadre. These are the cream-of-the-crop. If you're lucky enough to make it into this elite few, you get your own locker and, well, that's pretty much it from what I can tell. Oh, and bragging rights.

To get into the Cadre, you have to excel on both of the two tournaments and score high on all of the stations. Leading up to today's tournament, Tommy's group has had several practice tournaments. Tommy did not make the mark in any of them except the one last week. The training tournaments mean nothing, though, it's how you perform on the big day, so Tommy was a bit nervous. Okay, bullshit. He was more petrified than fossilized wood. My words of wisdom probably did little to quash his anxiety.

'Just do what you did last week.'

Tommy has never been one to listen to anything I tell him, so of course he ignored me and did even better than last week.

Well done, Tommy! Welcome to the Cadre. Don't forget to brag about the locker.
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Ladder Talk: 
[Tommy was too busy doing victory flips to do Ladder Talk ]

1) What was the best part of your day?
Peter:
David:
Tom:

2) What was the worst part of your day?
Peter:
David:
Tom:

3) What would you like to do tomorrow?
Peter:
David:
Tom: