CYO 8th Grade Championship

5-23-2013 ~ Blog # 538

(David)

Brigitta earned 7th place medals in the running long jump and standing long jump in the CYO Diocese of Cleveland Division 2 8th Grade Championship tonight.  After the stats from the preliminary meets were posted online, I noted that she was the only 5th grader entered from any school, in any meet in either division.  In fact, in most of the four qualifying meets there was only a single 6th grader entered.  We are proud of Bri for representing IHM in two of nine events that IHM girls qualified for.  The weather was miserable; it was cold and raining.  Joan and I were seriously shivering by the end.  Brigitta didn't even want to stick around for her second medal. 

Championship Preliminaries - Hudson

5-18-2013 ~ Blog # 535

(David)

Today was the CYO 8th Grade Diocese of Cleveland Division II Championship Preliminaries.  Even though this is an 8th grade meet, schools are allowed to let younger athletes compete if they wish.  Last year there were a handful of 7th graders at the meet.  This year IHM's 8th Grade Girls Team included just one non 8th grader, and that was our little 5th grade Brigitta.  She was devastated that she didn't make the opening height of four feet in the high jump; only one girl did.  She did manage to place fourth in both the running long jump and the standing long jump, however.  She also earned 10 valuable points for IHM.  So she will be moving onto the district/diocese championship on Thursday in two events. 

 We recently learned that this outstanding young man, who attends St. Joseph's (that combines with IHM for track), lives right down the street from us.

He won the high jump today.

Meet 6 - Hoban

Four Foot Even!

5-12-2013 ~ Blog # 534

(David)

Brigitta finally jumped four foot in a meet.  After clearing 4'0" she had them move the bar to 4' 1" instead of the standard 2" increment.  I had told her that the highest any fifth grade girl in the state has jumped, as recorded on athletic.net, was 4' 0" and she realized she was now tied.  That extra inch would have put her in the lead.  It was a smart move, but she got a bit psyched out and missed all three attempts.  Looking at photos of her jumping at 4' 0" and 4' 1" it looks like she has enough height to clear 4' 6", but has newbie form and timing.  For the record, it was another cold, windy meet with occasional bouts of micro sized hail.

While Brigitta was participating in the high jump, the other 3rd, 4th and 5th graders long jumpers completed their event.  When Brigitta started the long jump there was no wait or line.  Bri jumped 11' 3.25'" on her first jump; the officials and measurers visibly reacted.  She scratched on her second attempt and jumped 11' 0" on her third jump.  Note her perfect foot placement in the photo of her third jump.  Also pictured below is a sixth grade team mate.

Meet 5

11' 6" Long Jump

5-11-2013 ~ Blog # 533

(David)

IHM Track 3rd, 4th and 5th graders participated in the CVCA Invitational today.  They ran all regular events except the high jump, so Brigitta will also get to participate in tomorrow's meet with IHM's 6th, 7th and 8th graders.  We didn't have a girls four by 100 team, so Brigitta was free to try a different event.  Below are a few shots of Bri attempting the standing long jump followed by an IHM girl who won the 3rd/4th grade girls running long jump.  At Thursday's practice Brigitta jumped 11' 5" and she bettered that today with a jump of 11' 6".  This was a good 15" better than her previous CYO meet personal record and she won the event today by a full six inches.  Coach Berghoff's advice has been very effective.  Her other two jumps were 11" 0", including one where her feet probably landed near 12', but she fell back onto her hands to 11'. 

Meet 4

Tallmadge

4-28-2013 ~ Blog #525

(David)

Today's track meet was moved from Hoban High School to Tallmadge Middle School, which was great for us since we are only about six minutes away.  It was really rainy and cold; the long jump was cancelled.  Brigitta had a new found confidence in the high jump; this week in practice she cleared 4'2" and grazed a soft 4'4" bar.  Yesterday she practice in the backyard and also cleared 4'-2" and grazed a 4'-4" ribbon. The weather then was sunny and 65 degrees. In the meet today she got over the 3'10" bar but brushed it off.  Two of the three times it fell after she had already landed on the mat.  She was disappointed and mad at herself but I think the high jump is a very difficult event and she just does not have the experience to jump reliably and consistently.  I also think the rain and cold played a hand in the outcome.  We were cold just watching.

Meet 3

University of Akron

4-21-2013 ~ Blog #523

(David)

It was cold, windy and Brigitta did not wear tights like her mother suggested and she was cold.  She jumped off of her left foot today, but never really arched into the Fosbury Flop form.  She cleared three foot eight in a sitting-position jump, and that was that.  Holy Family takes the high jump very seriously, they have probably two thirds of all the high jumpers participating for both boys and girls.  They have added a few more girls into their line up including a very tall thin one who I assumed was an eighth grader.  This girl is actually a sixth grader who jumped four-four in her first competition; this is tied with the best 5th or 6th grade girls jump in the diocese/district so far this season or last season.  Brigitta has some new, very stiff competition.

Bri jumped 10' 1.5" in the long jump, which is within two inches of her best in the past two meets.  She ran the 100 and the third leg of the 4X100 which they won.

Meet 3 Results

This bean pole from Holy family can jump!

Handing off to Alayna who brought the stick home for a solid win.

Meet 2

Three Foot Ten on the Wrong Foot

4-8-2013 ~ Blog # 520

(David)

Brigitta managed to jump three foot ten again; but this time she jumped off of her right foot almost every time.  This week the weather has been wet, cold and uninviting and we've had very little chance to practice.  It obviously was not enough since her technique was so off.  She manages to do much, much better in competition than she does in practice.  I keep telling her that she has the potential to jump 4' 6", but she needs to practice before she gets there.

We didn't practice the long jump at all, but she jumped an inch longer than last week.  A fifth grade friend from the German Family Society jumped a very impressive 12' 10", which is further than any 5th grade girl jumped last year on record at athletic.net.

Meet 2 results can be found here.

Meet 1 - Brigitta Wins the High Jump!

4-7-2013 ~ Blog # 518

(David)

Brigitta had her first track meet today.  The weather has been terrible and so far at practices the team has had absolutely no training in field events.  We signed Brigitta up for the 100, high jump and long jump.  The jumps really require technique training, especially the high jump.  The Fosbury Flop is not intuitive or natural and requires a great deal of practice.  So, before we left for Salt Fork I pulled out the bounce house, flipped up upside down, staked it to the ground and we pretended like it was a high jump pit.  It worked pretty well I must say.  When I was in the fourth grade I learned how to high jump, but went with the long jump and the sprints.  I dug deep into my memory of 38 years ago to recall what Coach Carson and Coach Schultz had taught me about how to perform the Fosbury Flop.  Brigitta and I practiced a couple dozen times last week and then again a bit yesterday.

At the meet an IHM alumni gave the jumpers their first real training.  Brigitta was the only 5th/6th grade IHM girl high jumper.

Not exactly the Fosbury Flop, but an effective enough technique for a newbie.

Holy Family had bunch of jumpers; it seemed that they had at least half of the participants.  They ran the 5th and 6th grade boys and girls together. 

Brigitta was the last girl remaining, so we are pretty sure she won.  She was disappointed that two or three sixth grade boys jumped higher. 

I was just happy to see her place let alone win.

Brigitta was one of the last at the long jump pit; the high jump took almost an hour.  I have no idea how she did in the long jump. 

Results will be posted online.  They appear to be inputting one school at a time.  Results are here.

Brigitta spent most of her free time on these bars; pull ups, chin ups, climbing hanging...

Not quite as strong in the 100.  She runs sprints like a distance runner with long slower strides. 

We will work on that and see if she takes after her father.

This kid is one to watch; look at that lead!