WAG Fear of Jumping to the High Bar

[Becauseisaid]

DD(9 yo) has had a mental block regarding jumping to the high bar for several months now. I assume this is a mental block because she can squat on and jump off the single rail with no issues. She can squat on and balance herself on the low bar and single rail all day. She doesn't seem to have any issues at all climbing up to the high bar and performing skills and drills. It is literally ONLY when you tell her to jump TO the high bar that she freezes.

Try outs for Level 4 were this past weekend and DD has all the skills she needs. However, she is still plagued by the mental block. My advice to her was to go to her HC (who is the gymnast whisperer) and flat tell him that she is scared of jumping to the high bar and ask for help. I figure if anyone can help, it's the HC who could tell the kids the sun was the moon and have them believe it.

However, could this be a fear of heights issue? She's not afraid of heights, per se, and she has no problems at all with being on the high bar. It's only the flying-through-the-air-and-catching-a-piece-of-pipe that seems to offer the issue. I'm wondering if building up the mats under the high bar would help get her over this fear?

 

[Deleted member 14190]

Fear is based on pain, Mental pain, physical pain, economical pain... Will she jump from a spotting block to the H bar?

 

[MaryA]

You're right to have her talk to the coach about it. I'm sure this won't be the first time he's encountered this. My DD switched gyms immediately before her level 6 (new 5) season from a gym without a pit to a gym with a pit. It was a brand new gym and the only bars they had gotten set up were the ones over the pit. Even though she had already competed a season where she jumped to high bar, and even though she was 10 and old enough to know, logically, that the pit was a soft landing place, she was terrified to jump to the high bar over the pit. She got over it and it was fine, but made for a few bad weeks since we were maybe only a month or two out from her first level 6 meet. Anyway, I'm sure it's not an unusual fear and I'm sure the HC has tools to deal with it. Count yourself lucky that she has her squat-on. That was the bane of my DD's existence for level 5 and 6.

 

[Becauseisaid]

Fear is based on pain, Mental pain, physical pain, economical pain... Will she jump from a spotting block to the H bar?

She will. Provided the block is close to the high bar.

 

[GYM0M]

DD struggles with fear of the high bar. Wouldn't jump to it for forever. Coach stacked mats and she eventually got over it. She's very small and the bars have to be as close as they can before she can make it, but it's progress. Now, she is struggling with her giants on the high bar. Can do them all day long on the low bar, but high bar skies her out.......baby steps......

 

[pamred4]

Stack mats under neith the bar and have her jump to it! We have level 5/6 who won't jump to the high bar still and they have been doing skills that are on the high bar for 2-3 years... Hope the coach can sort this out for you

 

[CanAmGymMum]

What are the bars set at?

 

[Natasha]

Been there. I didn't think my dd would ever jump to the high bar at age 8-9. stacking the mats under the high bar helped her (happened completely by accident actually!) Now she is 13 and doing double backs off the bar, bails to the low bar, front giants and chinese sit ups. She still doesn't like the high bar over the pit though and never did get comfortable jumping up to that bar.

 

[raenndrops]

We have a gymnast that actually had to be CARRIED to the high bar once... (even though the bars were close enough for her to stand up, lean forward, and grab the bar while still on the low bar). She got better over time and shocked everyone when our gym moved and she was practicing in the new set up and asked that the bars be moved FARTHER APART!
She actually has to JUMP now to get the high bar

 

[SurpriseGymMom]

I feel for you. Dd has one girl on her team that had to scratch bars for most of the season because of not jumping to the high bar. Our gym keeps the bars set at the "Olympic" setting and all gymnasts learn and work on that, no exceptions, regardless of size. I think it will serve them well in the future but it's sometimes difficult to see the real small ones struggling.

 

[Becauseisaid]

The bars are set as close as they can be and, realistically, are barely more than her body length away. She'll jump if she's on a block that is set practically underneath the bar, but not if she has to jump over open air. If you know what I mean. She even has issues when being told to merely tap the high bar rather than catch it.

 

[gracyomalley]

It'll get there - but I sympathize. DS younger is still terrified of HB (boys only have one) and hardly swings at all because if he goes near to horizontal he thinks he'll fall - does a flyaway no problem, but medium high swing - no way...for him it translates to fear of heights too...will definitely mean another year of L5...DD had a little trouble with jumping to HB when L5 (old)....but she was only about 42 inches tall at the time....a year later visiting coaches had her jumping to bars set full out! (not for routines, just to get over the fear and know she could do it)....

 

[Gymnast@<3]

start the bars closer to wear she can stand and touch it then slowly spread them to normal so she can actually jump.

 

[GymMomXcel]

I have no advice other than the great advice already given! My DD, on the other hand, will jump to the high bar but is terrified of the squat on.