For Parents Need the beam fairy!!

[gym law mom]

Was talking with gymmie last night and she said practices were going well---getting those L8 skills and the hc casually spoke with her and said he was impressed, but needed to see her get more aggressive and start nailing beam. I'm sure old fears have resurfaced(from old gym)because she said she couldn't even get herself to do a bhs series on a low beam. When she doubts herself on this she starts fooling around with hand placement and then it becomes a huge issue for her. She's working her BT on low beam and has a nice switch leap and some new jump(forget what it is). With all she's done this summer, I hate to see this one skill hang her up. She's flipping both tsuks and yurchenkos(tucks right now)----loves both vaults. Doing bailes on double rail(no spotting--just mats), front giants on strap and learning toe shoots. Did 1/2 pirouette solo on double yesterday. Has a solid 1.5 twist and does a double into the pit and is working on a double back on tramp.

Darn, this kid who was so ready to give it up has come soooo far and I don't want to see that stupid beam series hang her up. No, she will not consider a BWO-BHS(just hates doing BWOs). So, instead of working through the BHS yesterday, she did aerials on the low beam----much scarier to me and can't even be done as an 8 I think.

Please beam fairy, come and help this child!!!!

 

[hunde2]

Sending you the beam fairy.She still has time to work on that skill.Another flight series would be cartwheel roundoff.My DD got scarred of bhs bhs on beam,did walkover bhs in Level 8.Now finally does bhs bhs on highbeam.

 

[GymTwinsMom]

Wow! I'm impressed with all those skills she could do, I don't even know what some of those are LOL. I'm sending the beam fairy your way and hope it helps tons!!!!:wizard:ray::beam:Good luck!

 

[kristilyn73]

Gym Law Mom - I am right there with you!!! And sending the fairies your way!

Beetle is right at that same place. She just cant quite connect BHS BHS.

If your DD can do 1 BHS on high beam another connection is, BHS BWO. That is what Beetle did last year and might fall back to as a L8 this year. For Beetle the fear is that second - BHS going without a pause. The BWO is easier to control and therefore not scary.

Sounds like your DD has Bars down pat! Beetle is struggling with Piorettes, doing 1 - 2 a practice We just hope those come with more practice.

Good luck to your DD!!! She sounds like she wants it and it working hard!

 

[Ingymmom]

Wow, She is doing awesome! She will be skill ready for L9 soon on every other apparatus! Once that frustration sets in I know it can really be a downer for the gymmie, and an even bigger setback. I know it seems simplistic, but tell her to keep telling herself she CAN do it & just stay positive. No negative thoughts allowed to creep in...

Sending beam fairy and confidence fairy for a strong beam sequence... any chance she would consider doing forward skills? That aerial scares me too, ugh!

 

[melmonette]

sending you lots good luck fairy vibes for your dd's new skills

 

[midwestgymmom]

Sending beam fairy your way:wizard: And yep I agree an Arial on anything is

 

[gym law mom]

This week the girls have a gym camp all week at the gym, so I hoping a different atmosphere, working with some different coaches etc. may help her relax and at least get back to doing it on low beam. Apparently the last pracitce was awful for everyone(including the coach) and the kids came out totally depressed. Don't know what went wrong because this coach is usually very even tempered and relaxed in practices, but still gets the girls to work hard. UUUUUHHHHHHH----just didn't need that.

As far as other series, the coaches will not allow any front acro series, she could do the BWO-BHS but seems to be super stubborn that BWOs hurt her low back sometimes and she's not consistent with them although did ok with the BWO-BWO as a L7. I asked her about a cartwheel to something and she said no way would she even ask a coach about doing that-----she knows the answer would be a big NO.

Kristilyn---The L8 bar fairy is being sent next day air to your dd!! Now, mine is ok doing a pirouette(thought it was the greatest thing ever last fall), but really has her mind set on doing a baile. She just loves them and feels she can hit it every time----hasn't done any without mats yet(fine by me---keep those mats there!)

 

[hunde2]

It was actually at camp my DD went to that she started doing her BHS BHS again on medium beam.She actually had a different coach.Our coaches are very good and very patient with the girls but they also said that sometimes it does take a different coach.
When she started doing them again they would have her do it on the 6 inch floorbeam,first with mats then without them.The she slowly moved ud to the higher beams.

 

[LemonLime]

It sounds like your daughter is really doing well. It's very, very common for a gymnast to dislike the bhs/bhs. She will get through it. Just last Thursday, one of the 9yo L7 was struggling with hers and the 10s/elites told her it was their least favorite too! They said it had to do with using 2 hands and 2 feet twice and what a relief it is to move on to bhs followed by a salto.

Some suggestions I've heard over the years to help muscle memory take over for the brain so that the child may progress . . .

1. Verbal Cue #1. One of my children self-taught herself a verbal cue when she learned her bhs. She would say "bhs. bhs. bhs. GO!" and make herself go every time after she said the chant. Very Pavlov's dog, but it works.

2. Verbal Cue #2. Every gymnast at my dds' gym is taught to think about their correction on that specific skill immediately before the skill (e.g., keep my left shoulder up). Sometimes this sort of cue gives the gymnast the illusion of control over the skill and helps them use their mind in a productive way.

3. Repetition, repetition, repetition. I'm not a fan of letting kids sit on the beam where they are unhappy (floor, fake, medium or high beam) and balk-balk-balk. Move back down to a level where they are happy even if it's the floor or tumbl trak. Do 30 a day on the floor for a month. What will that hurt so long as it's being done properly? It's not who does the skill first, but who does the skill best when the time comes. The muscle memory WILL take over the balk reaction in many kids if they repeat it long and well enough.

4. If the gymnast has a backward anxiety, make them go backward in an environment where they feel more in control. Fall backward into a pool on a verbal cue ten times. Fall backward into your friend's arms. The repeated sensation of going backward will feel more normal if it is practiced. Think of it as a drill because that's what it is.

5. If the gymnast has general anxiety toward new things or things they don't like, teach them how to quell their anxiety by self-soothing training. Some anxiety or "fear" is metabolic like a "fight or flight" reaction. Certain skills can trigger it, but so can certain non-gym stimulus. For instance, some kids hate bees and those same kids feel the same fight or flight reaction when they have to go backward on the beam or see a bee 50 feet away. Put them in situations where they learn to control that internal eruption in their emotions. If they don't like to talk to strangers, have them ask a stranger for directions. If they don't like staying alone, leave them alone for an age-appropriate amount of time. It's de-sensitization training. No reason to traumatize any child, but if a gymnast can learn to self-soothe their anxiety in one circumstance, those coping mechanisms may also work in the gym with gym anxieties.

 

[kristilyn73]

Kristilyn---The L8 bar fairy is being sent next day air to your dd!! Now, mine is ok doing a pirouette(thought it was the greatest thing ever last fall), but really has her mind set on doing a baile. She just loves them and feels she can hit it every time----hasn't done any without mats yet(fine by me---keep those mats there!)

Silly question.... Is a baile the same thing as a shootover?

 

[LemonLime]

Silly question.... Is a baile the same thing as a shootover?

Yes. It's also called a shoot half.

 

[kristilyn73]

That is what DD and I thought, but we wanted to check.

That is a skill that I am NOT ready for DD to start working.. scary one for a parent

 

[Gymmonkeymomma]

Sending the beam fairy your way...

 

[gym law mom]

Seems the beam fairy came by about 10 days ago and at least put a little common sense and confidence dust in my gymmie's head. She was the one pushing to do the bhs series and driving herself nuts!!! This kid can be soooo stubborn and there is no reasoning with her. I think she wanted it to show a previous coach and teammates that I can do it too---I'm not a whimp or scared of everything(things that had been said to her at her previous gym).

This gym does skills pre-test to show the kids and parents where they are regarding moving up and they did it yesterday and today. My child knew this and also came face to face with reality---she was not going to be able to make herself do that series in time for testing. So, last week she comes flying out of the gym all excited because she changed her series to bwo-bhs and connected it and stuck it. The coach asked her if it was easier and she said "oh yeah" and they decided she would work that and could continue to practice the bhs-bhs when she had time. So, today when she had her beam pre-test she did it and stuck the 1st one and is also getting consistent with the back tuck as her solo skill. Right now, she's doing them on low beam, but that confidence is coming back to take them to the medium beam and on up.

So---she just needs to keep practicing it(hadn't done it in over 1 yr) and she should be fine. Thank you beam fairy---now a little tumbling fairy to help with some front tumbling would be nice!

 

[hunde2]

Great job.Glad she found a series she can do in Level 8.

 

[bogwoppit]

I love that, nice that her coach worked with her to find the right fit.

 

[kristilyn73]

So glad that the Beam Fairy made her way to you.. We are still waiting on the bar fairy.. DD's beam, floor & Vault are all looking good... We just need that Pioruette! BAR FAIRY Where are you???