Parents Lingering mental block

[DaiseyMasey]

My 10yo xcel silver has struggled with mental blocks on backward tumbling on and off. They typically come and go pretty quickly but this most recent one is hanging on. It’s been a little over a two months. She has had her robhs and back tuck for a year or more and suddenly they’ve disappeared.
She can throw one once in a while but if she tries to go for a second one she can’t do it. She is so frustrated and sad and is likely going to be held back on silver instead of moving to gold this year and that is crushing her as she knows how capable she is.
Any advice? Anyone relate or have success stories?
She is getting a private lesson this weekend and I’m looking into therapy options to address the deeper issue. I guess I’m just looking for encouragement. There is hope, yes?

 

[NutterButter]

Yes!! Lots of hope! Sometimes blocks can stick around for a while. And in my experience some kids are also more prone to blocks. If she’s grown recently that could be a contributor too. My DD had tons of blocks starting in Xcel Silver with a cartwheel on beam. Every year brought a new block. She always got through it though.

I think that working with a sports psychologist will be helpful and it’s great that you are willing/able to provide that for her. What won’t be helpful is adding more stress to the block. Things like worrying over her level placement doesn't help just as attempting a gym assignment of say 5 tumbling passes won't help either if she can’t even get through one. She needs to be built up for success and it’s ok if the success for the day is just doing RO or doing the skill on tumble track or whatever. In other words, her coaches should meet her where she is then bring her up again. To that end, I would discourage private lessons specifically for blocks as it brings more awareness to the deficiency. There's no guarantee for success in the private lesson and I'm sure your DD is aware of how 'special' a private lesson is in terms of cost and one-on-one time with a coach. It's a lot of pressure if you know what I mean.

This is just my 2 cents after supporting my gymnast for 10+ years with blocks.

 

[NutterButter]

One more thought - I didn't want to edit my post for a 2nd time.

Communication with the coaches is important. Sometimes my DD would tell me things that either didn't occur to her during practice or she was uncomfortable saying to the coach. Self-advocacy is of course the long term goal but your DD is still young and it's OK to advocate for her. For example my DD was very sensitive to her coach's opinion of her. She would pick up on non-verbal gestures/cues. What I learned about my DD is that sometimes she mis-interpreted words and body language but other times she didn't. My job was to help my DD navigate this - provide assurances when needed and step in on her behalf when needed.

 

[DaiseyMasey]

Yes!! Lots of hope! Sometimes blocks can stick around for a while. And in my experience some kids are also more prone to blocks. If she’s grown recently that could be a contributor too. My DD had tons of blocks starting in Xcel Silver with a cartwheel on beam. Every year brought a new block. She always got through it though.

I think that working with a sports psychologist will be helpful and it’s great that you are willing/able to provide that for her. What won’t be helpful is adding more stress to the block. Things like worrying over her level placement doesn't help just as attempting a gym assignment of say 5 tumbling passes won't help either if she can’t even get through one. She needs to be built up for success and it’s ok if the success for the day is just doing RO or doing the skill on tumble track or whatever. In other words, her coaches should meet her where she is then bring her up again. To that end, I would discourage private lessons specifically for blocks as it brings more awareness to the deficiency. There's no guarantee for success in the private lesson and I'm sure your DD is aware of how 'special' a private lesson is in terms of cost and one-on-one time with a coach. It's a lot of pressure if you know what I mean.

This is just my 2 cents after supporting my gymnast for 10+ years with blocks.

First of all, thank you so much for your reply. Wise words!
Second, I am totally guilty of putting emphasis on moving up , but I swear it came from a place of love lol
I just know how much it means to her, how capable she is and how hard she’s truly worked. So while my intentions were good, I’ve realized how they likely made the problem worse. I have since stopped bringing it up at all. (And I obviously will be proud of her no matter what level she competes at)
Third, I agree with your take on private lessons. But her coach truly is supportive of hearts and minds and not just physical ability. I think her intention is to help her break everything back down to basics and support her by helping her understand what is happening . It’s difficult to do that in team practices with 15 other girls doing a hundred different skills. I think my daughter gets embarrassed to go back to basics in front of her teammates so this is a way to give her a safe space to do it. I don’t think her coach would ever try to force her back into the skill. So we’ll try it once and go from there!

 

[NutterButter]

Sounds good on the private lesson! And it's great that your coach seems to know how to approach blocks. I understand the embarrassment factor too of going back to basics. My DD was alone with her yearly blocks until L8 (which is the first level that skills get truly scary for many kids and often corresponds to body changes brought on by puberty). In L8 suddenly several kids had a block on something. I hope the lesson goes well for her!

As far as moving up goes - mental block aside, if your DD has met the mobility score and has met all other criteria the gym has for move ups, there is no reason to hold her back because of a temporary block. That conversation will obviously change if she still hasn't regained the skill in the leadup to competition season and then alternatives need to be considered such as alternate skills, scratching the event or worst case remaining at the prior level but I'd say you are far from that. Xcel has so much flexibility in routines that she shouldn't have to repeat Silver.

 

[Rhiannon MGA]

My 10yo xcel silver has struggled with mental blocks on backward tumbling on and off. They typically come and go pretty quickly but this most recent one is hanging on. It’s been a little over a two months. She has had her robhs and back tuck for a year or more and suddenly they’ve disappeared.
She can throw one once in a while but if she tries to go for a second one she can’t do it. She is so frustrated and sad and is likely going to be held back on silver instead of moving to gold this year and that is crushing her as she knows how capable she is.
Any advice? Anyone relate or have success stories?
She is getting a private lesson this weekend and I’m looking into therapy options to address the deeper issue. I guess I’m just looking for encouragement. There is hope, yes?

Hello,
I want to start by saying - yes there is always hope. Many Olympic and National gymnasts have experienced mental blocks which have stopped them from competing or levelling up, and they have still gone on to achieve incredible things. It might be helpful to find one or two gymnasts who have experienced this and share their story with your daughter. Especially if they are athletes she looks up to!

Mental blocks are often more to do with confidence then fear. A lot of gymnasts who have mental blocks also struggle with negative thoughts and self talk. A great way to combat negative thoughts is with evidence. So if she has a negative thought she can:
1. Say 'No- I don't believe that'
2. Think of three pieces of evidence that prove that thought isn't true

For example: If the thought is 'I'm never going to get this. I suck at gymnastics'
Her pieces of evidence could be: Skills she has achieved in the past. Competitions she has won. Times that she has done really scary things. The amount of effort she puts in. Positive feedback she has gotten from a coach.

Evidence is a powerful way to fight off negative thoughts. A mental coach will definitely be able to help your daughter get to the root of what is causing the block, and help her overcome it.

If you are still looking for a mental coach, I offer a free 1:1 Mental Strategy Session - my website is: www.mentalgymansticsacademy.com

If you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask. I wish your daughter every success, and I have full faith that with the right tools in her toolkit, she will overcome this.

Take care,
MGA