WAG I'm sick of season?

[Flipomaniak]

Countless routines and stressed coaches and gymnasts are only 2 of the reasons for it. It's driving me insane.
I just want it to be over! I had been hurt with different injuries for 2ish years so I only competed 3 meets last year and none the year before. Now there's so many meets and I'm so overwhelmed and so nervous and season is stretching out forever. Any advice? Has anyone ever felt like this?

 

[chalkartist]

How many meets do you have left? If you don't have that many, stick it out! You can do it! If you have a lot left, talk to your coach about competing less meets if it's really stressing you out. I know how it is. I'm a level 8 and states is next weekend and I want to qualify to regionals soooo badly. Also, if you really want to compete the meets, take them a step at a time and try not to put so much pressure on yourself! Just try to set little goals each meet to give you something to think about. Good luck with everything!

 

[Flipomaniak]

Thank you for your advice. I have 1 or 2 depending on how I do at that first one... But as you know, the qualifying meets are the most stressful! Good luck at state!

 

[iwannacoach]

I'm not sure if this'll work for you, but it worked for me as a gymnast and a coach. I want to talk first about the rewards we get from putting the right amount of effort into our work. No matter whether you're a gymnast or an adult, you want to have something to hold onto that acknowledges not just the amount of work you've done, but also the quality of your work. So in a sense...... more is not always better unless the extra work is done at a high standard.

The rewards adults receive for their work is a paycheck. More hours put in usually mean more more $$ on payday, and if their work is higher quality than the other's around them, they stand a chance of seeing a future raise in their pay. I figure right about now you're wishing I'd get to the point, so here's what I'm trying to get at.......

I'd like to claim that your job is gymnastics, but that's a pretty outrageous claim because you pay to go to the gym, and not the other way around..... but here's a thought........ When you go to the gym you work, pretty hard I'd assume, and for that work there are rewards that come in many forms, like progress, feeling you belong and have a place in the sport, and pretty much knowing you can out work most anybody else, and solve problems that others would shrink away from. I hope you get that, because it counts for something.

I mentioned people getting paid more from doing two separate things, working longer hours, and working at a higher quality level. Here's a few ways you can get a bigger "paycheck" by improving the quality of your hours at the gym. Please forgive me if some of these are too basic, but consider them long enough to make certain your energy is going where it needs to be.

The basics......

Do every skill with the most efficient motions possible by tightening your legs, pointing your toes, keeping your arms straight, and concentrating on powerful, correct body positions. if just one or two skills are improved through this process, you will have rewarded yourself.

A bit more advanced.......

Consider the skills you've been working hard at with few results. I get the impression you're a pretty capable gymnasts, so figure any skill you're "stuck" on is more the result of working it the wrong way, and there's a lot to say about what the wrong way is. Check this list out.....

You're hearing the same correction over and over, and you're concentrating really hard on those corrections as you repeat the skill, so why no results?.....

It could be your mental image and method for the skill is not the same as the coach's, and all those corrections are being applied to something that won't work no matter how many times you try it. So maybe talk to the coach to get on the same page.

Maybe concentrating on the correction is all you're doing, and all your effort is in your head rather than your body. So talk to your coach about what physical changes need to be made to make the skill work.

Maybe the correction worked and you did a better version of the skill, but didn't think it was right because it felt "weird"....and weird must be wrong...... well no, weird isn't always wrong. When you think about it, a skill can only get better if something changes, and that change just may feel weird, but maybe it's just what you needed to do. So have your coach take a look at every weird version you do, just repeat the change for the coach, and if it's not the right change at least celebrate that you can make changes happen.

Maybe part of your difficulty is you have forgotten to collect your weekly "paycheck" for quite some time. So here, I'm gonna deliver it for you to help you get caught up on your emotional finances. Do yourself a favor. Sit down for 30 minutes and watch any video you can find that your parents took 4 years ago. Of course the gymnastics ones would be best, but any video will suit the purpose. When the 30 minutes have gone by, have a bunch of quiet moments spent thinking about that littler, younger, less capable version of who you are today, and then stand in front of a mirror and take a good look at your own personal paycheck.

I hope that helps, because I kinda know your type, and I think you deserve a nice payday.

 

[Flipomaniak]

Thank you iwannacoach I completely understand a lot of what you said. I'm going to go look for some videos and give myself that "paycheck" I have a type?? Lol

 

[iwannacoach]

Let's just say I get an positive impression of what you're all about, and that reminds me of kids I've coached. So I guess you're "that type".