Parents How to help a Level 2 who is “afraid” of new skills

[jp3223]

My daughter is an 8.5 yr old level 2 gymnast. This past season was her first year on team after being recommended to join from one of her recreational instructors. She has taken to most of the level 2 skills well, but was always behind her current teams development. Her coach is holding her back while the rest of her team moves on to level 3, she is obviously heartbroken but I don’t disagree that she isn’t ready, and won’t be ready by the end of the summer deadline barring a miracle. Coach gave me a list of 7 things, that she needs to be able to do to move on…. Beam handstand and quarter turn dismount, round off back handspring, and bar squat on/dismount to name a few. All of these terrify her, when asked why “idk they just do”. She will however do a back handspring on the tramp, just no where else.

I’ve started working with her on a bravery journal, and visualization, etc. This girl absolutely LOVES gymnastics, and works so hard, but she just can’t get past the fear aspect of it and i’m concerned this will end her gymnastics “career” before it even begins.

Can any of you offer some advice to her and me??

 

[ORgymmom]

For my child who was very similar, it took different coaches to get her out of that stuck place. The season changed and they swapped coaches around who didn’t have preconceived notions of who she was and the fresh start took her from being the one who coaches said was scared to the one they used as an example for new skills.

Not saying that’s the case, but you might want to poke around and talk to your daughter a bit more to see if there’s something else to it. For mine, it was a chicken and egg situation so i couldn’t say how the fear and blocks started but I know that how the coaches talked about them and treated my daughter definitely prolonged the problem.

 

[jp3223]

For my child who was very similar, it took different coaches to get her out of that stuck place. The season changed and they swapped coaches around who didn’t have preconceived notions of who she was and the fresh start took her from being the one who coaches said was scared to the one they used as an example for new skills.

Not saying that’s the case, but you might want to poke around and talk to your daughter a bit more to see if there’s something else to it. For mine, it was a chicken and egg situation so i couldn’t say how the fear and blocks started but I know that how the coaches talked about them and treated my daughter definitely prolonged the problem.

I appreciate the reply. We have thought about taking her to a new gym, she has been with her current one since she began parent tot- 6 years ago so it’s tough to move. The coach she has this year will be the same coach next year if she stays…

 

[ORgymmom]

I appreciate the reply. We have thought about taking her to a new gym, she has been with her current one since she began parent tot- 6 years ago so it’s tough to move. The coach she has this year will be the same coach next year if she stays…

That sounds like a reason to explore other options. It could be a move or a switch, but it could also be less dramatic and just asking for a 1:1 with another coach at the gym. My daughter got over her very first block because a clinic had been scheduled but her coach was sick. Another coach for the optionals team stepped in and did all new drills and progressions. The different approach snapped my daughter out of whatever stuck place she was in and her block slowly faded away over the course of the next week.

 

[NutterButter]

This was my DD!!

How long had she been in rec before joining team? Maybe she just needs more time to feel more confident in a team setting where the demands are different from weekly rec classes. With that said, you could be seeing valuable insight into your DD that may be a continuous part of her journey in gymnastics. As far as advice...things that worked for my DD were a strong relationship with the coach (she did immensely better when she knew the coach believed in her vs showed frequent frustration with her fears), visualization, having some control/input on her training (this is tricky because training is usually thoughtful and based on progressions while maintaining best safety practices so you don't necessarily want the athlete driving this).