WAG Do fears lessen once they stop growing?

[MaryA]

So, all this discussion about vestibular and fears and such, and how it is often tied to growth spurts... do these things actually lessen if a kid sticks with it until they're done growing? My daughter is 12, a level 8, growing (and not just up either), and has been plagued by fears for the past couple of years. She always manages to overcome them (once meet season starts and she "has" to), but new ones crop up. For example, last year she wouldn't do her BHS on high beam (though she could do them all day long on low beam) till her 2nd meet of the level 7 season. Now, going into her level 8 season, she's in exactly the same place with her BHS BHS. She is so slow to get these "scary" skills that it is hard to imagine her ever getting level 9, much less level 10 skills. But then I think, maybe she'll develop fewer fears once she stops growing? Or is that just wishful thinking?

 

[Flossyduck]

I've wondered about this too. Girls grow differently don't they - some seem to just grown overnight. This happened to a friend's dd who went away on holiday and seemed to come back several inches taller and struggled massively with backwards skills for a few weeks, lost her confidence and quit (having qualified UK elite). Others grow in fits and starts or more gradually, so that you never really notice a huge spurt.

I presume one is better than the other, or maybe not?

My dd has had a couple of mini-spurts, during which she's struggled with beam (bhs especially) and a few other skills, but it's lasted a couple of weeks or a month and then she's had a nice solid run again, so she gets through them just fine, once she's orientated herself to her new size. I wouldn't necessarily say she developed fear though, just frustration, so maybe it's different. And she is younger.

Apparently I never had a big growth spurt and my older kids didn't, so I've wondered if she might be ok or if it's something we have coming and like MaryA, whether she would come out the other side if it happened.

 

[gym monkeys mom]

Some fears lessen with age and growth but more importantly kids need to find ways to manage and deal with fears. At 12yrs and just entering the teen years I feel like you may have more adolescent teen fear years ahead. My DD was more like 15/16 before growth and age made a big difference and at 18 yrs it still crops up a bit but she has her Doc Ali skills to combat it.

My DD had huge giant fears on and off for like 3 years, also she had fears on beam with BHS and now beam if her thing!! Age helps but so did not pushing her to fast and letting her spend a few years at each level. This may not be everyones path but for my DD it worked. She is a SR in HS and a 2nd year Level 9. hang in there the path is not easy but tons of adventure and life skills are gained along the way.

Good luck with this journey and I encourage you to help her find the skills to cope with the fear it will carry over into other aspects of life also!!

 

[JBS]

Depends on the kid and the program.

 

[maryRS]

I think it depends. I think there are some girls who never get over their fears and never really find a way to work around them. We have a girl with fears who developed them around her level5 year she was 11, and I guess she was growing at that time, but she is now 16 and they never went away. She quit last year, but that was after 2 years in level 6 and 2 years in prep/excel and maybe an injury in between, so her last few years on the team were quite stressful for her.

There are other girls who tend to get fears like you describe your daughter but they always manage to get over them, but they do tend to have some fear going on. Honestly I view that as fairly normal and common, although I think some girls have lesser degress than others, so it varies.

Then there are those girls that have no fear. Nothing scare them.

At least this is my experience lol

 

[maryRS]

I always attributed the fears less with growth and more with age and awareness. I mean when you are 8 nothing seems scary, when you are 12, you pretty much realize just exactly what can happen if you miss your hands when doing that back handspring on the beam, or if you peel off the bars. there is so much going on with the girls at that pre-teen and early teen time.
I've seen growth spurts cause issues with skills, but I never did really attribute growth directly to fears. Hmn, some food for thought I guess.

 

[luvmygymdtr]

Others grow in fits and starts or more gradually, so that you never really notice a huge spurt.

I presume one is better than the other, or maybe not?

This has been a concern of mine as well. I am not a short person but my husband is. So having researched a bit on the growth issue I have learned a gymnast can handle gradual growth much easier than experiencing a growth spurt. Which certainly makes sense.

 

[MaryA]

I have asked my DD about doing some of the Doc Ali stuff, but she really has no interest. I think maybe it's because the suggestion is coming from me. If a coach were to suggest it, or if, once she's 14 she sees it mentioned by other gymnasts here on CB, she might think it sounds like a good idea. But what could Mom possibly know about it?

 

[GymGirl's Mom]

I have asked my DD about doing some of the Doc Ali stuff, but she really has no interest. I think maybe it's because the suggestion is coming from me. If a coach were to suggest it, or if, once she's 14 she sees it mentioned by other gymnasts here on CB, she might think it sounds like a good idea. But what could Mom possibly know about it?

Following this thread b/c my DD has had a recent growth spurt that threw all off her skills off and brought on some new fears.

I do agree with you Mary A. I have looked at the Doc Ali website and thought DD could benefit from some of the trainings and workbook- but she has no interest.

I think the desire to acknowledge and work through fears through what "looks like school work/homework" (haha) has to come from THEM. I can buy it for her- but unless she is on board she will not use it/benefit from it. I agree hearing from teammates and/or coaches that it helps and having the recommendation come from someone other than mom (the horror ) would help peak her interest.

 

[GymBee97]

In a nut shell - no. What they fear changes and sometimes as they get older rather than taller they understand more and tend to take longer to get over the fear. At least that has been my experience.

 

[LizzieLac]

My DD grew 7.5-8 inches in two years. Yes, that is correct...

What it did was give her an approximately two-year battle with Osgood Schlatters. It really didn't impact her gymnastics negatively. Now keep in mind she does not have any twisting skills on floor yet, but during this time she managed to get FHS-FT and BHS-LO. She continues to progress and I would actually say that with the growth came strength (also through training, of course) so she has become a pretty good bar worker and a nice all around gymnast.

Her fears have always been fairly minor and more of like a hiccup in things. BWO on beam for a while, but not big deal. And, she has a hesitancy with back tuck of the beam, but all of that was becuase she was old enough to understand the inherent risks in this sport, not becuase she couldn't control her body in the same manner as before.

 

[Quadqueen]

So if your kid always grows 3-4 inches a year, is that considered steady growth? it's not really a growth "spurt." Just curious....my DD hasn't really had fears yet, but I wonder about the growing because other people's growth spurts are my DD's regular growing.

 

[AlexsGymmyMom]

I have always equated the fear more with age rather than growth. I know my DD (14) has had skills become more frustrating do to growth but I had always heard from coaches that getting girls to certain levels before the fear sets in is the best route to take. It always made sense to me since my DD was a late starter and has battled fears the whole time. She did not start competing until she was at the ripe old age of 9. I really thought I would never see the day that she would do a BHS on beam but finally she is doing them. As far as Doc Ali, my DD did her webcamp one summer and learned a few strategies. Does she incorporate them anymore? Probably not but at least she was open to doing the camp!

 

[MaryA]

But whenever anyone complains of their kid having a fear, dunno chimes in and says that it's vestibular. So, if the vestibular system is finished maturing around 15-16 years of age (quick google search), then it seems as though some of these things would be "set" by then. So lets say (though I hope it is not the case) that my daughter has a fear of her BHS BHS on beam when her vestibular system is finished developing. Does that mean she will never overcome it?

 

[Deleted member D3987]

some people are born with NO caution alarm. some are born with a loud caution alarm. and some so loud that they are afraid of their own shadow. that's life.

alpha males applies to women also. both run in to burning buildings and both do double layouts. while others do tuck backs and call 911. that's life. most things in life are idiopathic and inexplicable...

and it is more likely than not that she'll get over the series by time she is 16. as i have said before, the end game is that whatever they do is done correctly and no matter how long it takes to learn. and then everyone be satisfied in the success of whatever it is that they do. not degrade them cause they won't do MORE than what they accomplished. capiche?

 

[MaryA]

So, am I summing this up correctly? Once a cautious gymnast, always a cautious gymnast. She will likely hit the limit of the skills she is willing/able to do at a lower level than the "running into a burning building" gymnast, but I should be amazed by the things that she CAN do rather than worry about the things that she CAN'T do?

 

[AlexsGymmyMom]

I would venture a guess that my DD is a VERY cautious gymnast!

I don't see her running into a burning building, let alone ride certain roller coasters either!!

 

[gymdog]

Not necessarily, but it's possible. It probably depends how widespread the fears are. MOST people are afraid of certain beam series to an extent. But if they are afraid of floor back tumbling, giants, flipping vaults, etc, then it's a harder road. I will say there are some things I could do in my late teens/early adults that I couldn't do as a kid (front twisting past a full) which I believe was related to vestibular development, but it wasn't an issue of fear so much as orientation. Overall, I am not the fearless sort, but I also don't have the kind of vestibular reaction that causes me to freeze. For example, I don't pull in or peel on flyaways. I pulled in maybe one time when learning, but once I could do it, I never let go at a significantly wrong time again. Not on doubles either. I can't say, however, that it was "nothing" to me or like doing a cartwheel. When I thought about it, I "felt" sort of afraid. But if I started doing giants, my body just went on autopilot and "did" it. It was just a feeling that came over my body and made it happen. But some people consistently will mess up on flyaways for years. Better training and drills can help (to orient the body more consistently), but there's still a certain percentage of people who struggle with backwards motions.

Same thing for series. When I stood there I "felt" afraid, but once my body went backwards it just did it. Adrenaline, or something.

 

[MaryA]

DD seems to need the pressure of meet season in order to "get" the skills that are hard/scary for her. I have said before that if competitions went year-round (UGH!) my DD would be a level 10 by now. Maybe, as she matures, she will find a way to find the motivation of meet season in the off season. If not, I suppose her coaches and I just need to get used to her getting all of her skills just in time for the 2nd meet of the season...

 

[Deleted member D3987]

So, am I summing this up correctly? Once a cautious gymnast, always a cautious gymnast. She will likely hit the limit of the skills she is willing/able to do at a lower level than the "running into a burning building" gymnast, but I should be amazed by the things that she CAN do rather than worry about the things that she CAN'T do?

yes.