Parents Fear of BHS

[LoriLou]

So, my 7yo DD has been doing BHS on the tramp and tumble track for months. She can do 5 or 6 in a row with NO problems. A few months ago she started doing BHS on floor as well. Now, all of a sudden, it's gone. She is too nervous to do it. To my knowledge nothing has caused this. No falls or anything like that. She practices in our backyard all the time. Today she pulled her 8 ft mat out in the yard and wanted to practice. I spotted her and she did just fine. The last 10 or so I just held my hand out and she literally did the BHS over my hand without me even touching her. But when she says she wants to try it with no spot she does this weird jump up with arched back move. She never even makes it to a backbend. Then the second I put my hand back she is doing it perfectly right over my hand with no assistance at all. How can I help her get past this? I wasn't tricking her or anything when my hand was back there. I just told her I wasn't going to touch her unless she needed the spot. She was totally cool with that and did it every time. Help? I assume this is just a phase, but she is getting frustrated. She says when my hand isn't back there her body just doesn't do it. I don't think she really understands that it's nerves. How can I boost her confidence and convince her that she is already doing it on her own?

 

[gymgal]

dd was like this for her bhs, bt on floor and her bhs on beam. It took her months of coaches standing right next to her, not touching but just having a hand ready. They slowly decreased the spotting by just standing close, then a few more inches away, then a foot, etc. Some girls just need more incremental progressions.

as for the gymnastics at home .... I just want to share my experiences on this topic... best left in the gym and with the coaches. even if she gets over the fear with you at home, it may still be an issue transferring it to the gym with the coach. Just some food for thought - I used to be one of the parents who allowed dd to practice some skills at home. And I helped her when she asked (even when she didn't sometimes) but after doing a lot of reading here, and talking with her coach, I realized how unnecessary it was, and potentially harmful as well. She has not done more than basic stretching and handstands against a wall (core strength) at home since she was equivalent of a L3 and there is no talent difference between her and her teammates who practice on their tramps, beams, bars, mats at home. Some of them may have gained skills slightly earlier than her but in the end they have all been competition ready at the start of the season. just enjoy the non gymnastics time with her and encourage her to find other activities when she is home. soon enough, she will be going 20 hrs a week and you will wish you had more non-gym time with her. just sharing my experiences on the subject.

 

[Aussie_coach]

This is totally normal, it's not easy to get over the fear of doing something that at first seems very foreign to her. It's probably not actually helping to be doing it at home, every time she does it wrong without the spot she will increase her fear. If she only does it with the coach for a while maybe he/she can jump on the technique problems every time.

visualisation helps, have her picture herself doing it perfectly before she goes. So,e kids struggle to visualise, it can help the, to watch another child do it first.

 

[LoriLou]

Just wanted to clarify that I am not asking her to do this. Gym is her play time at home. She does it whether I want her to or not. The tramp in our yard is her favorite activity and she is always doing BHS and back tucks on it. I don't think I could get her to stop if I wanted to. This is not like extra training at home.....this really is her play time.

 

[gymgal]

Just wanted to clarify that I am not asking her to do this. Gym is her play time at home. She does it whether I want her to or not. The tramp in our yard is her favorite activity and she is always doing BHS and back tucks on it. I don't think I could get her to stop if I wanted to. This is not like extra training at home.....this really is her play time.

I didn't get the impression that you were pushing her. I understood from your post that it was child-motivated. Most young girls are like this, especially when they first start in gymnastics (first 2 years). They get excited by the thrill of it. As parents, we have to steer them away from doing it at home and keeping it in the gym. I debated for a about a year whether to get a trampoline and eventually decided against it - I'm so glad we chose not to as having one would have made it a lot harder to tame dd's urge to practice at home. Little by little I became more persistant that gym skills needed to be done only in the gym (like I said, level 3 - just kick overs, jumps, cartwheels etc). She still tried a few things but when I caught her, I reminded her "gym only" and steered her to something else. It's definitely not easy in the beginning but if you are consistent, they will fall in line and busy themselves with other activities.

 

[Pineapple_Lump]

The tramp in our yard is her favorite activity and she is always doing BHS and back tucks on it.

I would get her to stop doing back tucks until she has the BHS mastered.

 

[Quadqueen]

agree with PineappleLump^^^. trying to do back tucks while still learning the correct body position for a BHS is very confusing for kids.

 

[LoriLou]

Nevermind....

FYI....got my answer....she'll get past it eventually. Thanks!

 

[Deleted member D3987]

I would get her to stop doing back tucks until she has the BHS mastered.

yep. the problem is vestibular.

 

[Aussie_coach]

While we know it can be near impossible to get a gymnast to stop doing gymnastics at home, perhaps she wants her back handspring bad enough that she would be willing to lay off the back tucks for a while, knowing the positive difference it would make for her.

 

[LoriLou]

While we know it can be near impossible to get a gymnast to stop doing gymnastics at home, perhaps she wants her back handspring bad enough that she would be willing to lay off the back tucks for a while, knowing the positive difference it would make for her.

Thank you so much. This makes sense.

 

[Kiwi]

My DD took a long time to get her BHS - she took a long time to get it even on trampoline and tumble track, let alone on the floor. It helped when her coach spotted her and then very gradually reduced the spot and gradually took her hand away. Don't worry, she will get it eventually!