WAG Blocks... How Long?

[GymMomK]

Hello! I've posted here a few times about dd's block/blocks. I've gotten some great advice from many people here! Thank you all sooooo much!!

Background-dd was level 9 last year, developed block on bhs bhs beam series during the season. Still made it to regionals, but fell apart there. Came back and developed a "block" on giants. Finally worked up her nerve last year to do baby giants and says she's ready to do giants with a spot?

Through the summer they did vaults into the pit and not on the "real vault". When it comes time to do them on the real vault after several weeks, dd now has a "block" on that. I guess it's good that she will still do it in the pit and the coaches are happy with the vault itself.

And then there is her full. She'll only do it with a coach standing close to her. She did a double back as a 9 and a full, too, so not sure what is going on.

Luckily, she has gotten over the bhs bhs series block, but she is still battling the others.

Dunno and others have mentioned vestibular. Does it make sense to be vestibular if she will do some things and not others? She has grown quite a bit over the summer and is becoming more womanly, curves, boobs, etc. She's 11. If any of that matters...

Her coaches have pretty much given up on her and think that she is ready to quit. She is way too stubborn and so am I. There is no option not to compete, which is something that I suggested. She does not want to quit and wants to push through her fear. I want her to do the same and am willing to allow her to stay as long as they'll have her.

I know there is no definite answer here, but is it too early to give up on her? Or have they given her enough time? It's only been 2-3 months for the giant block and the "real vault" block is a couple weeks old.

 

[Aussie_coach]

It is very normal at her age because her thinking is now changing. Up to about age 10 kids think in concrete terms, they deal with facts. Their fears revolve around facts, have they been hurt doing the skill. Have they seen someone else get hurt doing the skill.

At age 10-12 the kids start to develop the ability to think in the abstract more. And they now start think in terms of "what if".

This is an important life skill, it allows us to decide if things are safe to do or not because we can consider the possible things that might go wrong. But like any new skill at first it is hard to control. Your DD will now start to imagine herself being hurt in over the top ways, and she has not yet developed the skill enough to be able to stand back and say "ok, the odds of that happening are actually negligible" and the result can be a paralysing fear.

When a child has a severe block on a skill I ask the, to write down every possible step for doing the skill. Right from crazy easy. So if the fear is BHS-BHS on high beam. You would start with so,etching like a spotted BHS on trampoline. And work up through different stages from using spots, lines on the floor, lower beams, mats over beams, boxes around beams and so on.

Then have the gymnasts identify at what point on the list they feel comfortable and safe. Then start there and do as many as it takes to move up a step. If they get to a point where the fear returns they go back to we're they feel safe until they feel confortable to move on again.

Expect som backwards movement in the process, but it is not really backwards movement. Even the most basic stages are helping the body to reinforce the skill and get better at it.

But there is no answer to your question as to how long it will take, no two gymnasts are the same. And I know you probably don't want to hear it but some never outgrow it. But so much depends on how it is handled.

 

[GymMomK]

It is very normal at her age because her thinking is now changing. Up to about age 10 kids think in concrete terms, they deal with facts. Their fears revolve around facts, have they been hurt doing the skill. Have they seen someone else get hurt doing the skill.

At age 10-12 the kids start to develop the ability to think in the abstract more. And they now start think in terms of "what if".

This is an important life skill, it allows us to decide if things are safe to do or not because we can consider the possible things that might go wrong. But like any new skill at first it is hard to control. Your DD will now start to imagine herself being hurt in over the top ways, and she has not yet developed the skill enough to be able to stand back and say "ok, the odds of that happening are actually negligible" and the result can be a paralysing fear.

When a child has a severe block on a skill I ask the, to write down every possible step for doing the skill. Right from crazy easy. So if the fear is BHS-BHS on high beam. You would start with so,etching like a spotted BHS on trampoline. And work up through different stages from using spots, lines on the floor, lower beams, mats over beams, boxes around beams and so on.

Then have the gymnasts identify at what point on the list they feel comfortable and safe. Then start there and do as many as it takes to move up a step. If they get to a point where the fear returns they go back to we're they feel safe until they feel confortable to move on again.

Expect som backwards movement in the process, but it is not really backwards movement. Even the most basic stages are helping the body to reinforce the skill and get better at it.

But there is no answer to your question as to how long it will take, no two gymnasts are the same. And I know you probably don't want to hear it but some never outgrow it. But so much depends on how it is handled.

I really wish you were dd's coach! Hers have no understanding of blocks or development and just expect her to do it. It's very disheartening!

I have started talking to her about-how many times have you done the skill safely? (thousands of times) how many times have you fallen on the skill? (not a lot) how many times have you gotten hurt on the skill? (zero) what are the odds of getting hurt? (very low)

 

[iwannacoach]

When I started reading your post it seemed the blocks had been around in one form or the other for such a long time that vestibular was unlikely. That impression evaporated when you described her recent growth spurt and her age. She's at the age where her body is changing so frequently and in different parts..... like legs one month and arms three months later, and foot size three weeks later..... that she'll have problems with different skills at different times. So sure, it can be vestibular even when it seems she's trading the bhsx2 success for failure on giants.

It's also possible, in my not so mainstream opinion, that she can only handle a certain amount of stress in her gymnastics life. Really an 11 year old level 9 is likely to experience stress from leaning at such a rapid pace, being the youngest in her practice goup, being among the few 11 year olds at L9 for competitions (relatively speaking), as well as coming to the point of wondering what's next in her gymnastics development. So I'll just put it out there that she may be having these problems because there's a nagging voice within her that's saying slow down..... and blocks are how she's slowing down while being unaware of what's happening.

If vestibular issues are in play she'll have to concentrate on doing the best at the skills she's able to work..... and that can be a good thing. In time her body will slow down it's growth rate and she'll resume "normal" training.

If the issue is centered around her capacity to accept skill growth and the stresses that come with them, the solution is very similar..... let her take the time it takes to catch her breath after learning a new skill instead of putting a check mark next to it and moving on.

The bottom line in either case is that these are problems she's neither invited or, as a practical matter, she can control. My advice is concentrate on the success she can have and accept that the problems will take care of themselves over time. Lastly, tell her to believe in her ability to learn new skills. Proof of that ability is her very existence for even one minute of L9 training.

 

[my4buffaloes]

"It's also possible, in my not so mainstream opinion, that she can only handle a certain amount of stress in her gymnastics life. Really an 11 year old level 9 is likely to experience stress from leaning at such a rapid pace, being the youngest in her practice goup, being among the few 11 year olds at L9 for competitions (relatively speaking), as well as coming to the point of wondering what's next in her gymnastics development. So I'll just put it out there that she may be having these problems because there's a nagging voice within her that's saying slow down..... and blocks are how she's slowing down while being unaware of what's happening."

Iwannacoach - this makes perfect sense to me! I have noticed that my dd gets overwhelmed easily when new things are thrown at her. Give her some time to mentally process what is expected of her and she will soon do the skill. But when she walks into practice and is thrown something completely unexpected she balks and shuts down. I mentioned to the coach that a heads up on things would really help her, but I know they like to throw new stuff at them periodically so I don't know if they will accommodate her at all or not. But it would sure make practice more productive and less drama filled if she had a heads up on stuff. Just takes her some time to wrap her brain around stuff.

GymmomK it sounds like your dd needs to slow down and wrap her brain around things too.

 

[marie83]

We have a gymnast - similar age to your dd but not such high level - who has been struggling with mental blocks for well over a year now.
As a British Level 5 gymnast (age 9) she competed her bhs on beam. She was also training all her British level 4 skills in the gym - tuckfront step out into robhsbt and giants on bars.
She came into the gym one day and 'couldn't' do anything backwards on any apparatus, including floor - not even bwo.
We did what a previous poster said. I wrote down a long list of skills from forward roll right up to the skills she should have been training and every session she completed this list up to the point where she was scared. I gave the the option to do things supported which helped, but I never ever rushed her, told her that if it was scary, even with support, she didn't have to do it.
One day she came in and was 'brave' enough to do her bwo on beam. Next week she came in and couldn't do it again!
To this day she is still having issues with beam, but all other app are back on track and she will be competing British level 4 this year, having missed it last year.
Bottom line is your dd's coaches and your dd need to be VERY patient and not worry about being ready for competition. It's not the end of the world if a meet, or even a whole season is missed - as long as something is being done about the block!
Another thing to consider might be to leave talk of the 'block' well alone unless DD brings it up. Often gymnasts don't even know why they are scared of something and talking about it just frustrates and upsets them more!
Hope your DDs coaches find a way to help her and show her lots of support and patience!

 

[Sparky]

I think it also helps them if they can understand and realize that not being "the youngest" L9, L10, does NOT mean they are never going to achieve their goals.........I think the pressure these particular athletes place on themselves is immense, and any way that we (parents and coaches alike) can lessen that pressure, the better off the gymnast will be.

 

[GymBeeMom]

I'd ask her how she would like to handle the blocks...slow down? tackle them from the progressions? Spend some time on the current level skills she is confident on? Maybe she knows how she would be most comfortable proceeding but doesn't know how to tell anyone what she needs. It's worth asking, maybe she can help herself come up with a plan. And tell her she has plenty of time to work through it, all those skills will be ready and waiting for her when she is ready to tackle them. This sport is supposed to make her happy, and to spend her childhood stressed over lost skills is a waste of her precious time See if she can help you help her. It could work. (or not)

 

[gymnasticswim4]

How often does she train? How many hours in the gym is she logging in here? If she is logging a bunch in, how is she able to grow?

 

[GymMomK]

Thank you all so much for your advice!

Dd and I had a serious talk. She wants the skills and she loves gym so I told her to do her best to move past the fear.

This week she has gone from not flipping on real vault at all to flipping with 2 coaches, flipping with 1 and now flipping with a coach just standing there. And landing it! Her fulls are better and she's not balking at all. Bars are getting there, too.

Honestly, I wasn't sure if/how she would ever move past her fear, but I knew she was stubborn (and talented) enough to do it. She's still not where she needs to be, but she will get there.

She also did Doc Ali's webcamp on Sunday and loved it! We have the athlete warrior book and we were working through it, but the webcamp is much more personal!

 

[Canadian_gym_mom]

How often does she train? How many hours in the gym is she logging in here? If she is logging a bunch in, how is she able to grow?

My dd trains over 25 hours a week and grew 2-3 inches last year.

 

[gymnasticswim4]

My dd trains over 25 hours a week and grew 2-3 inches last year.

Wow! How is that possible though? I see some the the girls that are like 17 at my gym and are sevens and they haven't grown very much.......

 

[Kidsgym]

Wow! How is that possible though? I see some the the girls that are like 17 at my gym and are sevens and they haven't grown very much.......

It's possible my DD did 16h now 25h and grew 3 inches for the past year too.