Women Flyaway Fear

[AWGym]

ODD is having a rough time with bars lately. At the beginning of the summer, HC told me that they were planning on ODD scoring out of L5 and going straight to 7. They said that she was working harder than ever in the gym and she had the capability to go there. We were all ecstatic. ODD was working extra hard, listening to floor music during every moment at home, and life was good.

Half way through the summer, ODD developed a HUGE flyaway fear. HC basically told us not to worry, that it was common, and that it will pass. This fear never showed up on anywhere else, she was still doing all her L5 and L7 skills on all other events.

Fast foward to today, ODD still is struggling with this fear (6 months later). HC has backed off some and during L5 routines she does the L4 bar dismount. On Tuesdays they work solely on high bar parts and dismounts, and EVERY Tuesday, ODD cries and cries and begs not to come to practice. Even though HC has assured me that they are doing drills and will heavy spot for her still.

ODD is just in a bad place right now because she missed her qualifying meet earlier last month. HC said that he doesn't want her to have extra pressure so he took doing L7 off the table. I don't know how she acted at practice towards this, but at home she is a mess. Cries about not being with some of her friends and cries about not being able to be an optional this year. I keep reassuring her that it is okay and that she will work through it. We try not to even mention the word "flyaway" in our house but SHE is the one to bring it up. She talks about quitting and I don't know what to do.

Any advice would be nice. We are approaching meet season and I know it will only get worse. We have talked about taking a season off, just training. (Even though we already paid for a brand new leotard and paid for half of the meets already - but we would gladly do it if that is what it takes). That idea is not appealing to her and just makes her more upset with herself.

 

[Momx3]

Did she grow at all? That can throw them right off . Maybe just don't talk about anything to do with it at all and if she wants to talk, just be very casual and say something like you' re sure she'll get it back soon, it happens to many gymnasts.

 

[flipandfly]

If you search "flyaway" on ChalkBucket, or look at the threads on my account, you will notice that this is very common, but something that takes a little time. I've found that the more the skill is avoided, the greater the block becomes. So send her to gym on dismount days. Have her do the smallest progression she can. It might be a drill or timers to her back. Visualization helps also. If you can identify exactly what she is afraid of, that may help. I guarantee you that if she wants it, she will get it eventually. Best of luck!

 

[Deleted member 14190]

Well.... is she baulkimg ?

 

[Mommyo2az]

My DD is in the same place, in fact I posted about it about a week ago! She is scoring out of 5 in about a month. She had so much anxiety before every practice about whether it was going to be dismount day or not!
Coach had her working on letting go and just landing on her back on a mat. So far she is ok with this, and her anxiety has eased. It will be a slow process - but a positive coach and positive outlook seem to help! My DD was just scared of hitting her feet, which she had done multiple times before !

 

[Flippingout]

It really does sound like the coach is doing a great job of making sure the gymnast is comfortable. Flyaways,flyaways, flyaways. They are one of the most blocked skills in my opinion. You HAVE to take things slow with it or the fear will become even greater. She can do the drill where you let go of the bar and onto a mat and fall flat on your back. Other than that, you have to just keep doing drills and progressions. And encourage her to stay in gymnastics because I can tell she really loves it. If she suddenly falls out of love with the sport maybe it's for the best. But, you should not let her quit because of 1 skill. Encourage encourage encourage!

 

[AWGym]

Did she grow at all? That can throw them right off . Maybe just don't talk about anything to do with it at all and if she wants to talk, just be very casual and say something like you' re sure she'll get it back soon, it happens to many gymnasts.

She is 10, and has had a small growth spurt. I didn't even think of this affecting bars! I know it had slightly affected her flexibility. She used to have her middle split flat and her bad leg split about 2 inches from the ground.....now she only has her good leg split flat and is working to get back her other legs. Never thought about it affecting bars, but it is something to consider!

 

[AWGym]

If you search "flyaway" on ChalkBucket, or look at the threads on my account, you will notice that this is very common, but something that takes a little time. I've found that the more the skill is avoided, the greater the block becomes. So send her to gym on dismount days. Have her do the smallest progression she can. It might be a drill or timers to her back. Visualization helps also. If you can identify exactly what she is afraid of, that may help. I guarantee you that if she wants it, she will get it eventually. Best of luck!

I have asked what she is afraid of in the past, and she always claims that she "doesn't know". Which seems silly to me. How can you not know what you're afraid of? I think it's mostly hitting the bar with her toes, she has expressed this fear briefly to the coach. Although she has NEVER hit her toes on the bar. One of her teammates did, and she was totally fine. Just a small bruise on the tops of her toes. But it didn't affect her at all otherwise. Not sure why it affected ODD and not the one that it actually happened to. Bizarre.

 

[AWGym]

Well.... is she baulkimg ?

Yes and no. She will do them if she does a few heavily spotted timers to her back, and then does the same exact thing except the coach flips her through the layout (coach pretty much does the whole thing for her). If the coach even mentions changing his spotting technique so that she can do the flyaway a little more fluid she stays at the chalk bucket and let's her teammates take 1000 turns in front of her. Then when she finally goes up to do the flyaway with HC, she'll do a couple tap swings and then won't let go. Timers she's fine, but the thought of going full speed freaks her out.

She's been doing the timers to her back and the timer-layout flip (heavy spot) for 6 months now. No change.


^^ and no, I don't watch practice. HC and other parents have just been giving me feedback. I don't bring this up to her and I don't tell her that I know what's going on at practice (but I do). More just for her own mental health. Like I said, this has caused a lot of anxiety. More anxiety than any 10 year old should ever endure. I have contemplated pulling her out for a few weeks and just let her mind relax. We haven't brought this idea up to the coach yet because my husband thinks it will do more harm than good. He thinks that if she comes back after being off for a few weeks, she will be behind on other events and it will make her even more frustrated with herself. ODD is VERY hard on herself and definitely has a type A, perfectionist personality. YDD couldn't be more opposite.

 

[cadybearsmommy]

I could have written your post! My dd is also a 10 year old perfectionist with a huge flyaway fear. It's a legitimate fear as she has hit her toes on the bar more than once. Shortly after she also developed a fear of going backwards on the beam. We got her Doc Alli's fear program and it has worked wonders for the beam fear and I'm hoping it will also give her the tools to conquer the flyaway fear eventually (right now the coaches have backed off of the flyaways completely with her, except for just dead cows here and there.
Would doing L6 be a possibility for your dd this season? Dd was able to score out of 5 without the flyaway and will compete 6 this year with an underswing from the high bar instead of a flyaway. It still receives full credit in L6. If not L6 would a season of Xcel be a possibility? Whatever it takes for her to get past this fear and rebuild her confidence. Sending good vibes for her I know firsthand how hard it is to watch them struggle with fears.

 

[Deleted member 14190]

Yes and no. She will do them if she does a few heavily spotted timers to her back, and then does the same exact thing except the coach flips her through the layout (coach pretty much does the whole thing for her). If the coach even mentions changing his spotting technique so that she can do the flyaway a little more fluid she stays at the chalk bucket and let's her teammates take 1000 turns in front of her. Then when she finally goes up to do the flyaway with HC, she'll do a couple tap swings and then won't let go. Timers she's fine, but the thought of going full speed freaks her out.

She's been doing the timers to her back and the timer-layout flip (heavy spot) for 6 months now. No change.


^^ and no, I don't watch practice. HC and other parents have just been giving me feedback. I don't bring this up to her and I don't tell her that I know what's going on at practice (but I do). More just for her own mental health. Like I said, this has caused a lot of anxiety. More anxiety than any 10 year old should ever endure. I have contemplated pulling her out for a few weeks and just let her mind relax. We haven't brought this idea up to the coach yet because my husband thinks it will do more harm than good. He thinks that if she comes back after being off for a few weeks, she will be behind on other events and it will make her even more frustrated with herself. ODD is VERY hard on herself and definitely has a type A, perfectionist personality. YDD couldn't be more opposite.

Sounds like she is in good hands. Just keep dropping her off.

 

[eucoach]

I'm by no means an expert on this issue and I also think there is no one right way to deal with this situation. I have coached gymnasts through severe fear issues and I've also "lost" gymnasts to a less demanding program (same gym, easier program) because they could not get over them.

However, in this situation it might be a good idea to stop working the flyaway altogether for a while. This has worked well with some of my gymnasts. IMO your daughter is so stressed out about this skill that she won't be able to get more comfortable by constantly working on it. I would talk to the coach and ask him if he is willing to cooperate and wait until she asks to train the flyaway again. Also - I don't know how many L5 competitions she has left, but competing bars and doing the "wrong" dismount, might not be good for her self confidence as she is constantly reminded that she can't do something that she should be able to. I would try to find out if she is embarrassed by this. And if she is - have her either skip bars or even better - not compete.

Good luck! Hope it all works out!