Can Fear Issues Rub Off On Other Gymnasts

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I have noticed a couple of my dd's classmates have some fear issues with certain skills to the point that they are balking. Two of these girls parents have asked my dd to do a private lesson with their dds but the coach has advised me against it. The other girls are 6 and the skills are really not upper level skills. One girl is afraid of almost everything now and one girl is afraid of bars ( leg cuts and shoot thrus ... )and of doing her standing backhandspring on the tumble track. Do girls pick up fears from other girls especially when they are young?My dd is 4 and hasn't hit the fear factor yet but I know it happens to every gymnast.
 
I don't know if the kids "pick the fear up" from other gymnasts necessarily, but is can be "contageous" at times. Not so much the "fear" itself, but the frustration and meltdowns and crying can be contageous. Since my dd has some fears on vault, coach usually has her go last during meets so that if she gets frustrated she will not "set off" her teammates. The very first meet this happened, and some of Dani's teammates started getting upset and there was a trickle down effect that happened.

I would be careful with young kids because kids at this age like to "copy" other kids behavior so if she sees other kids getting "attention" for not being able to get a skill, she may see this as a way to get special attention as well. They are young enough to where they don't know any better but at the same time you want to avoid that so that it doesn't turn into something more severe down the road.
 
Great question! I can't wait to hear what some coaches have to say about it. My personal view is kids are different. Some kids will have severe fear issues, some minor, some just about none. And this will change depending on age, growth spurts, maturity & level of skills & confidence levels. I don't think kids with fear issues need to be avoided like they have leprosy;).

They need encouragement & support! But in the circumstance of private lessons. The needs of a child with fear issues need to be focused on in a one on one situation, IMHO. So it would not be beneficial for your DD or the child with the fear issues to be in a private lesson together. I think that may have been what you coach was trying to say. The coach would have to heavily spot & be ultra supportive of the child with fear issues & it would be boring & not helpful to your DD. Just not a good skills mix to have together in a private.

But I would TOTALLY encourage the mom of the children with fears to do privates if they can afford it. One on one time, with the a supportive coach is what has always helped my DD. I don't think 2 kids with fears should do the privates together either. Each child is unique & their fear is unique. The coach needs one on time to figure out what works for that child.

So I'm all for privates...just doing them privately(if you can afford it). If you must do a semi-private, or group private it should be with girls that have very similar skill abilties & focus or some of you will be a just wasting your time & money. JMHO from what I've experienced.
 
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One of Flippers coaches that has been around for a LONG time told us that fear issues are contagious. I would tend to agree. Flipper balked at back tumbling (only on floor - would still go for it on beam) for nearly 6 months. She was the highest level gymnast at the gym, and the longer she went, the more other girls started having issues. It seemed as if the lack of confidence was catching. She gradually came around, with lots of great coaching and most of the other girls did too!
 
Fears can definetly spread. My dd went though a period in the fall where she was afraid of back tumbling and wouldn't do back handsprings on beam and I think it was contributed to by her seeing other girls with similar fears. She really overthinks things and she got herself into a state where she was afraid she would balk.
 
That's kind of a recent discovery of mine- I didn't realize that fear was rampant around my gym until I went to college and coached at another gym. At home we have one girl who is perfectly ready to be a level 7; very high level 6 scores and would have moved up last year, but she won't RO BHS BT any more. There's a couple little level 4s who are scared of jumping the high bar and BWO on beam are quite the hurdle for most of our girls. But then I came to this new gym, and a level 4 decided she wanted to throw layouts on the air track and she did. Just like that. No "will you spot me?" or setting a million times before throwing it. And any of the girls are willing to jump up on the high beam and try a skill a couple levels up if I'm spotting them. It was odd at first, but now I'm ready to head back home for summer and whip my girls into shape.
 
They can, but at this age, eh. Personally I wouldn't be so concerned about it. It's the 10-13 year old girls. Brutal. I've had girls I try to keep apart because of it...but not so much at the younger ages.

I wouldn't do the privates though, just because it sounds like they need the private for things your daughter has...so it just wouldn't make sense for her to go...if the other kid is "behind" then the natural tendency will be to work toward catching up that kid, and it just doesn't sound like your daughter needs the privates at all at this point. But attitude would be some concern for me, if the kids are refusing to try and afraid of a lot of things, not saying they're doing it on purpose, but I can see why the coach wouldn't want to mix kids in that one on one situation.
 
Yes I believe there is a trickle down effect with little ones. They do copy.

My dd used to be the opposite , 2 girls she trained with the same age baulked on everything. She didn't want to be like them crying all the time so she went for everything even when she was abit scared. It pushed her on. But eventually those 2 left (partly due to the fear issues) and now she is the only one her age. Now she has to push through every skill on her own and she finds that much harder. She has no one to compare to. Strange hey!
 
Yes, they can and often do. As gymdog said though its not so common in this age group, but very common with the pre teen girls.
 
Coaches I know you are all busy, this time of year especially. I was just hoping you would go into a little more detail with your answers to this thread. Remember there are a lot of "newbies" to this site. From what you've posted so far it looks like you think kids with fear issues need to be segregated frome the "normal" population. Or their "disease" may spread to the "normal" kids. Or better yet maybe they should just quit now. I really don't think that is the impression you meant to leave, did you? If so, one of you must surely be my DD's HC, lol:rolleyes:. Hmm, my DD just made state champ for the 4th time. I won't tell her she should have quit the team 3yrs ago due to her "contagious conditon":D. I personally think it has as much to do with coaching techniques as it does with the child. JMHO.
 
That's kind of a recent discovery of mine- I didn't realize that fear was rampant around my gym until I went to college and coached at another gym. At home we have one girl who is perfectly ready to be a level 7; very high level 6 scores and would have moved up last year, but she won't RO BHS BT any more. There's a couple little level 4s who are scared of jumping the high bar and BWO on beam are quite the hurdle for most of our girls. But then I came to this new gym, and a level 4 decided she wanted to throw layouts on the air track and she did. Just like that. No "will you spot me?" or setting a million times before throwing it. And any of the girls are willing to jump up on the high beam and try a skill a couple levels up if I'm spotting them. It was odd at first, but now I'm ready to head back home for summer and whip my girls into shape.
Excellent observations TumblerK!!! Now what is done differently at this gym??? That's what you need to identify & take back your girls. Is it the girls, or is it how they are coached???
 
It seems to me that the coaches treat the girls with fear differently and these are highly experienced coaches that I respect. The girl who is afraid of bars right now and of throwing her backhandspring on the tumlbetrack was treated with utmost patience and encouragement by the coach. She told her they would work through it together and it would come. This girl works very hard and is strong. The other girl is kind of flighty so this coach has less patience with her but the other coach steps in with this one and is very kind and loving with her. Maybe it is equally important to say that the kids with fear issues need the extra attention for confidence and maybe the kids that aren't suffering with fear issues at the time might add stress to the gymnast with the fear issues. So maybe separating can have benefits for the fearful gymnast in that it alows her to get back on track with less stress and pressure? From what I understand, all gymnasts go through fear issues at some point. The coaches have always been tougher on my dd because she thrives under that. It sounds crazy but it is true. Not mean, just tougher. She never gets coddled even though she is younger.
I know my dd will have these issues at some point so in no way would I want her to be treated like she has leprosy or is contagious so I get where some hard feelings on a parents part may come into play. However, I do have high hopes with our gym in dealing with this because I see how patient and kind the coaches are to these girls.
 
Yes fear can be contageous, but its sounds to me like these young kids are being asked to do skills that they just are not physically ready for! This is not the kids of contageous fear that happens at the upper levels, its fear bc the kids are smarter than the coaches!!

No one needs privates at ages 4-6 for ANY reason. Period. Sorry, its the truth. Gymnastics should still be play at these ages-not training.
 
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Coaches I know you are all busy, this time of year especially. I was just hoping you would go into a little more detail with your answers to this thread. Remember there are a lot of "newbies" to this site. From what you've posted so far it looks like you think kids with fear issues need to be segregated frome the "normal" population. Or their "disease" may spread to the "normal" kids. Or better yet maybe they should just quit now. I really don't think that is the impression you meant to leave, did you? If so, one of you must surely be my DD's HC, lol:rolleyes:. Hmm, my DD just made state champ for the 4th time. I won't tell her she should have quit the team 3yrs ago due to her "contagious conditon":D. I personally think it has as much to do with coaching techniques as it does with the child. JMHO.

GJM--Your post triggered a curiosity in me that led me to this article I found on the web:

Overcoming Performance Fears and Blocks - Gymnastics | Competitive Advantage: Sports Psychology and Mental Toughness

It is definitely a great read and explains a lot about the psychology of fear in gymnastics and how it can develop and even "spread" in the gym.

Bog--Do we have a topic thread started on Fear and Blocks?? If so, can you please add this article to that thread. I think it is very informative.
 
While the article gave a lot of insight and background info on fears, it didn't really say how to overcome them other than using the "EMDR" system that it speaks of. I understand that fear issues can be deeply rooted, but it seems like there is no real "cure" for overcoming them. I have to say fear issues is a very interesting and intriguing topic! If I ever go back to school to get my PhD, I seriously want to study Sports Psychology with an emphasis on overcoming fear.
 
Yes fear can be contagious, but its sounds to me like these young kids are being asked to do skills that they just are not physically ready for! This is not the kids of contageous fear that happens at the upper levels, its fear bc the kids are smarter than the coaches!!

No one needs privates at ages 4-6 for ANY reason. Period. Sorry, its the truth. Gymnastics should still be play at these ages-not training.


precisely stated.:)
 
While the article gave a lot of insight and background info on fears, it didn't really say how to overcome them other than using the "EMDR" system that it speaks of. I understand that fear issues can be deeply rooted, but it seems like there is no real "cure" for overcoming them. I have to say fear issues is a very interesting and intriguing topic! If I ever go back to school to get my PhD, I seriously want to study Sports Psychology with an emphasis on overcoming fear.

fear has been in gymnastics since the beginning of modern gymnastics. it also exists in diving. most problems are vestibular. and many will outgrow the condition if parents do not make it an issue and coaches handle it with patience, backing up, and more patience. short of medication or a head injury [which has been known to interupt the problem and known of by experienced coaches] the problem will always exist. don't mean to be 'debbie downer' but feel you should all know the truth.
 
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precisely stated.:)

Yes fear can be contageous, but its sounds to me like these young kids are being asked to do skills that they just are not physically ready for! This is not the kids of contageous fear that happens at the upper levels, its fear bc the kids are smarter than the coaches!!

No one needs privates at ages 4-6 for ANY reason. Period. Sorry, its the truth. Gymnastics should still be play at these ages-not training.

agreed, mostly.

i am not surprised whatsoever that a child age 4-6 would fear back handsprings on tumble track or be afraid of bars for whatever reason. I don't see the need for privates at this age to achieve these skills.

The fear can be conquered with trust and confidence.

Drills, drills, drills rather than skills, skills, skills. Drills can build confidence and can be made to be "fun" - and "fun" can take the "scary" out of a lot of things.


As far as the private lessons, my question is: Are the parents asking you to do privates with their kids in order to split the cost of the lesson to make it more affordable? Or, are they asking under the assumption that if your daughter does a lesson with their daughter, then their daughter will magically get the skill?

And, though I totally agree that at 4-6 gymnastics should be fun, I don't think it's completely ludicrous for little ones to do private sessions (and it would be completely dependent on the child, a case by case basis) - but I don't think they should be doing hardcore sessions. 15 minutes before or after class would seem appropriate. 30 minutes or an hour private for a 4 year old seems a bit counter productive - given the attention span of most 4 year olds. I just think that a 4 year old doing privates would benefit more from several very short sessions rather than a few long sessions.
 
Getting a bit sidetracked here because there is something that puzzles me a lot that seems to be more unique in the sport of gymnastics (based on the things that I'm familiar with)... Why do some parents and/or coaches feel the need/desire for their kids to excel at such a young age. Is it because of the short career (assuming a full career)? Or, is there something else?

IMHO, at 4 to 6yo, if the kid doesn't get the skills or doesn't want to keep up with the rest, it's clearly that he/she just isn't ready yet (either mentally or physically). Just let it go and give it some time to get there.
 

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