Parents Experience/ Feedback on Years Long Mental Block

[FFW13]

Hi there,

I was as hoping to get some feedback from parents, gymnasts, coaches who have experienced a gymnast with a severe mental block lasting 2 or more years.

My daughter has had a true mental block for years now. She has worked with several sports psychologists one on one, both in person and virtually, including all the most well known ones (Perform Happy, Gymnastics Mindset Academy, etc.). She switched gyms and has had the support of amazing coaches who actually communicate with her current mental coach on a regular basis. But, she has made no progress in over half a year since moving to the new gym. She has quite literally done everything. Going back to basics, positive self talk, been patient with herself, acknowledging an naming fear, key/ cue words, everyone has taken the pressure off of her either by focusing on alternative skills or made a joint decision to hold off on competing so she doesn’t feel the pressure of a timeline. Nothing has helped.

I am wondering if anyone has been in a similar situation and what if anything eventually helped and or what the final outcome was. She does not want to quit or specialize, or move to excel. She wants her skills back. She is not afraid of getting hurt and says she does not feel pressure from anyone, and that this is what she wants. I feel like we are very close to a fork in the road as we have explored every option and my heart is breaking for her, because I fear that despite all of her efforts to work through this block, she is going to lose the battle and ultimately her sport. I have stood by her and celebrated every small win unrelated to scores and medals, “sat on every bench” as Perform Happy calls it, and wiped every tear. What else is there?

Thank you in advance for your feedback.

 

[Melilot]

We are going through the same thing with our gymnast so I know the agony of watching them try so hard for so long on a block. We're trying to find a sports psychologist now but we don't have the luxury of time. She's already repeated a level and has seen her teammates progress without her. I spoke with her truly wonderful coaches who have been so caring and patient, and who have gone above and beyond to help her and she still can't catch the high bar which is an essential skill to move up. We're already at the crossroads at this point and she will lose her sport if she can't move past it this year. There have been short spurts of progress that regressed soon after. It's not ability, it's the freeze, and it's been going on for two years. What's wild is that when she's lifted to the high bar she's able to do flyaways and other advanced bar skills! It's so perplexing. The coaches feel that it would be bad for her mental health to repeat again and given the length of time she's been working on this it's not an option. I don't think before our conversation they realized she is still as in love with gymnastics as she is, and by the end of it we were brainstorming in partnership. They would also love to see her get this and are open to doing whatever is in their power to support her. So the question for us all is *what?* Today we're doing a webinar with Rebecca Smith of Complete Performance Coaching but I'm also exploring mental block programs like Stick It Girl, Doc Ali and Robert Andrews. Would love to hear any feedback on these programs and if there are any other recommendations. If anyone has come through the other side of such a long standing fear, what has helped?