Just a mom's opinion, but with both boys and a girl in the sport, the intensity of both is very different - at least up to L7/L8 which is all I have personal experience parenting. My boys joke with team mates about how they are going to "epically fail" on various events (which this year with injuries and team moves they might!) - my DD and her friends cry together....
I love this thread. I don't think ALL balking comes form vestibular issues, but I see a big difference in the kids who land funny on a fly away and are scared of THAT skill for a bit, versus the kids, usually at 10-12, who suddenly "feel off" on skills they have mastered previously, usually backwards skills, and then (unfortunately often) may have this issue become magnified by pressure from coaches and parents, personally high expectations, etc. Girls are just more likely to "read way too much into" this....my youngest boy has a fear of heights. It gets in the way off and on. But only with "high" things. My DD has never been afraid of getting hurt, but when vestibular stuff hit she cascaded through feeling like a failure, spending 12 months crying on beam for hours a practice to "not let that skill defeat her", etc. I know her old coach meant well - truely believed in mental toughness as the answer. DD is, we now know, mentally tough...she hasn't quit.
And she hit puberty early for a gymnast (normal for average kid) so I'm hoping her vestibular system will mature "early" too?! She's got a coach now who may not be Dunno, but who believes in gymnastics being a positive thing for all kids - and isn't in a rush to get them from "point A to point B". Has DD working a variety of skills 1-2 levels "above" her while waiting for her to be ready to back tumble on beam confidently again. I can't tell anymore which of her "hang ups" are purely vestibular and which are tied up in needing to come back from feeling like a failure...no idea why she's thrilled to work BT and FT on beam, release moves on bars, etc but still not ready to do some other "easier" skills...but I don't think its fear - I THINK it has to do with her vestibular system - this makes sense medically and fits her personality more.
Her old coach was ready for her to quit and volunteer with the pre-team kids. At 11. As a successful, winning L7 with lots of L8 skills along with several large holes in her skills. Giving her the time to grow, find out if she likes gym still, and also seeing that her new coach believes she will get past this and doesn't see it as the end of her gymnastics career - allowing her to correct the skills that needed correcting from the old gym while progressing in the areas she excels, and me keeping my big mouth shut until she brings things up....these things seem to be helping a bunch - she's much happier, and now her natural "mental toughness" is getting her to chip away at the things she struggled with.
I don't know about the OPs son - he's young and may not be "cut out" to do this long term. Not all kids are - but I don't think balking on skills is really what shows that - I think its more about coming to gym, sticking it out in successful years and down years, working hard when there, trying to problem solve and take corrections, and loving doing gymnastics. I'm certain it is a whole different degree of things in the elite track, but I would say still the same concepts would apply.
If at all possible, if the kid likes doing gym and always has, then parents at least need to let it go....Of course we care and hate to see our kids struggle - but in the end this is about learning to work through challenges/find solutions and have patience - skills they need in life as well as gym!
Lastly, good luck to the OPs son - my boys compete this weekend - we're focusing more about the success of being out there at all - and the after meet dinner with friends and family, than whether they have to leave out a skill, fall umpteen times, etc. I hope that if they do "epically fail" (which in my opinion they can't), I hope they laugh about it afterwards with their team!
