bayleesmom
Proud Parent
Hi there! First time post, so bear with me!
My daughter is P1 Argo (Canadian) at the very beginning of her competitive "career". She watched a teammate break her elbow badly a month ago after jumping from low to high and landing badly after she swung off the high bar. Since then, my DD has only managed to do the jump a few times, not nearly consistent enough for her coaches. She jumps and hits her hands on wrists on the bar but does not grab it! She was given an ultimatum to catch the bar or not compete in her first competition. I can understand her coaches frustration, she went from being fairly consistent to failing every single practice. She was a mess of anxiety and didn't catch the bar at all that practice, or any following thus far (except on one open gym day, when she was working with an older gymnast instead of her coach). Her coaches have tried everything they can think of. I've tried rewards for catching the bar, visualization, stepping WAY back and just being supportive mom and waiting for her to "get over it". DD is not sleeping well, not eating well, really withdrawn, having a hard time focusing at school, and is generally not herself. Last week our head coach drilled DD on the bars while her team was conditioning. I happened to be standing outside the gym and heard the yelling. DD was made to leave early that night, hysterically crying. Her coach decided she would train with the precompetitive girls this week, to see if seeing her team practice without her would motivate her. DD wound up sick in bed for two days and missed her practice yesterday, I wonder how much of her illness was fuelled by anxiety.
My daughter loves this sport. She defines herself by it. It's hard for me to see her struggle with her own mind at such a young age.
She starts to see a sports psychologist (he prefers to be called a mental coach) next week for some insight on this. I'd like to be able to let her do this in her own time but I'm afraid that they will drop her all together if she doesn't manage something soon.
I realize that this type of post has probably has been posted a million times, but does anyone have any suggestions about what else we can do? If anything it feels good to vent to a group who may understand my frustration. As a mom, I just hope that my children can succeed and meet their goals, but I've never had to deal with something quite like this before. Thanks in advance
My daughter is P1 Argo (Canadian) at the very beginning of her competitive "career". She watched a teammate break her elbow badly a month ago after jumping from low to high and landing badly after she swung off the high bar. Since then, my DD has only managed to do the jump a few times, not nearly consistent enough for her coaches. She jumps and hits her hands on wrists on the bar but does not grab it! She was given an ultimatum to catch the bar or not compete in her first competition. I can understand her coaches frustration, she went from being fairly consistent to failing every single practice. She was a mess of anxiety and didn't catch the bar at all that practice, or any following thus far (except on one open gym day, when she was working with an older gymnast instead of her coach). Her coaches have tried everything they can think of. I've tried rewards for catching the bar, visualization, stepping WAY back and just being supportive mom and waiting for her to "get over it". DD is not sleeping well, not eating well, really withdrawn, having a hard time focusing at school, and is generally not herself. Last week our head coach drilled DD on the bars while her team was conditioning. I happened to be standing outside the gym and heard the yelling. DD was made to leave early that night, hysterically crying. Her coach decided she would train with the precompetitive girls this week, to see if seeing her team practice without her would motivate her. DD wound up sick in bed for two days and missed her practice yesterday, I wonder how much of her illness was fuelled by anxiety.
My daughter loves this sport. She defines herself by it. It's hard for me to see her struggle with her own mind at such a young age.
She starts to see a sports psychologist (he prefers to be called a mental coach) next week for some insight on this. I'd like to be able to let her do this in her own time but I'm afraid that they will drop her all together if she doesn't manage something soon.
I realize that this type of post has probably has been posted a million times, but does anyone have any suggestions about what else we can do? If anything it feels good to vent to a group who may understand my frustration. As a mom, I just hope that my children can succeed and meet their goals, but I've never had to deal with something quite like this before. Thanks in advance