Texas Dreams, part 1
Hey you all
Greetings from Texas!
I have dreamed of training in the US. Already in 2016 before my injuries, I was supposed to go to Texas. Unfortunately I started to grow and the chain of all my injuries started... :( So I am super happy to say that I am finally here. Coming to the US is also the reason why I am writing in English - so that my new friends in the US could read these posts too.
I am going to try out three very different gymnastics clubs. First I am going to be here in Texas for a week training at a gymnastics club called Texas Dreams. It's a very good and successful club with world-class coaches and gymnasts. I will be staying with our friends, at family Davis. We know them from the time they used to live in Finland and their daughter Steffi was in the same gymnastics group with me. I am extremely excited to be here, finally. I have never been to Texas before, so many things are new :)
Monday 09/17/2018 was my first day at the gym. First of all, I was blown away by the magnitude of the gym. It is huge! There are 17 high beams, 6 uneven bars, 2 floors, and 4 vaults. Amazing... First, I got to meet my coaches. I was accepted to their Level 10 group which is coached by Marcus Harlin and Alicia Goodwin. I felt really awkward that everyone was so interested in me. All the girls in the group were so nice and asking all kinds of questions all the time. The girls tried to spell my name right but it was very hard for them... lol. They also wanted to learn Finnish words and some basic sentences. It was so much fun! I loved meeting new people and making international friendships :)
Monday till Saturday the practice was from 7am till 12pm, but everyone gets to the gym around 6.30am. Luckily I had jetlag so it was no problem for me to wake up early. Five hour long practice was still crazy for me. The morning practice is the main practice, which is understandable since your body is fresh and strong. The afternoon practice is from Monday till Thursday at 4-6pm (all together 35 hours/week)
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Monday 09/17/2018 was my first day at the gym. First of all, I was blown away by the magnitude of the gym. It is huge! There are 17 high beams, 6 uneven bars, 2 floors, and 4 vaults. Amazing... First, I got to meet my coaches. I was accepted to their Level 10 group which is coached by Marcus Harlin and Alicia Goodwin. I felt really awkward that everyone was so interested in me. All the girls in the group were so nice and asking all kinds of questions all the time. The girls tried to spell my name right but it was very hard for them... lol. They also wanted to learn Finnish words and some basic sentences. It was so much fun! I loved meeting new people and making international friendships :)
Monday till Saturday the practice was from 7am till 12pm, but everyone gets to the gym around 6.30am. Luckily I had jetlag so it was no problem for me to wake up early. Five hour long practice was still crazy for me. The morning practice is the main practice, which is understandable since your body is fresh and strong. The afternoon practice is from Monday till Thursday at 4-6pm (all together 35 hours/week)
There was a small classroom at the gym where everyone studies between practice and eats some lunch. Homeschooling is organized really well. By the way, I guess all the girls thought that in Finland we don't have any homework at school. It was funny because everyone asked about it many times a day.
On my second day, we had Kim Zmeskal's conditioning and it was worth of warning because it was soooo much harder than I was used to do at home. All those other conditioning days were really hard as well. The Level 10 team practiced often with the Elite team so it was very nice for me to follow how all those amazing gymnasts worked during that week. I can tell you that every one of us has good and bad days :D
As a state, Texas was really fun! The weather was hot outside and I wore only a top and shorts everywhere. And EVERYTHING is big in Texas! The roads, cars, food portions and houses were huge! The neighborhood where our friends live was really pretty and cozy. All people we met were so open and friendly. For a shy and reserved Finn, it was so weird. Everywhere you go people greet and ask: "Hi, how are you doing?". They don't expect you to start telling REALLY how you are doing, but they do pay attention to you and smile - which feels nice though I am not used to that in Finland. For example on the street, just some random person came to say some compliment about my clothes... So weird! :D
Some pics:
As a state, Texas was really fun! The weather was hot outside and I wore only a top and shorts everywhere. And EVERYTHING is big in Texas! The roads, cars, food portions and houses were huge! The neighborhood where our friends live was really pretty and cozy. All people we met were so open and friendly. For a shy and reserved Finn, it was so weird. Everywhere you go people greet and ask: "Hi, how are you doing?". They don't expect you to start telling REALLY how you are doing, but they do pay attention to you and smile - which feels nice though I am not used to that in Finland. For example on the street, just some random person came to say some compliment about my clothes... So weird! :D
Some pics:
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