Parents Little one wants to quit completion team due to a fall

[Bebeautiful1]

My 8-year-old daughter is on a competition gymnastics team and recently had a fall while doing a squat on. Since then, she’s been devastated—it’s like something in her shifted emotionally. She now wants to quit gymnastics entirely and seems to have developed a serious fear block.
I recently took her to a new gym, hoping a fresh environment might help her move forward. The coaches there immediately saw her talent and invited her to join their team. She agreed—mostly because she believed she’d only be practicing, not competing.
For about a week, I watched her thrive again. She was smiling, jumping, and acting like her old self during team practices. But the moment the coaches started discussing competition, she shut down and said she didn’t want to do it anymore.
Would you recommend I get her some mental health support to help her work through this fear? And do you think it’s worth encouraging her to try again—with the right support—just to see if she can overcome the fear and rediscover her love for the sport?

 

[RTT2]

I would let her move on from gymnastics and encourage her to try other sports and activities that might bring her joy without the fears.

 

[gymcoach34]

Coaches answer here-help her work through it! Lots of support, some private lessons, time, etc. will get her through this. This will help her learn to work through fears and obstacles as she moves through her life.

 

[Bebeautiful1]

Thanks that’s what I was thinking. Because she could also development and realize at an early age skills to help deal with fear that most people don’t learn until later in life. Which will make for a great career path even if she doesn’t continue with gymnastics.

 

[Carly]

Could you switch her to a rec class or pre-team so she doesn't have to compete this season and then reevaluate next year?

 

[Bebeautiful1]

I’m looking into that awaiting the coach to respond. Was thinking that would be a better course.

 

[Milomom]

Some kids just don't like competing and that's ok. I think the individual aspect of the competitions is so much pressure. There will be a lot more falls in the future so if she is going to stick with gymnastics, you have to find a way to deal with it. There are programs for the mental aspect of the sport (perform happy, stick it girl) which can help - but if she really doesn't like competitions, is it worth it to spend the $$ on it? My girls have fallen so many times. My oldest fell on beam 3 x in her first gold meet. She then ended the season placing on beam at regionals. My youngest fell on her squat on in level 4 in her first meet, then placed 1st or 2nd in bars at every other meet of the season until she fell again at states. She shed a lot of tears but was able to pull herself together to get her highest score yet on beam after it. My point is falls are part of the sport, and they have to develop a way to cope with it. I would probably try to tease out whether it's really a fear of falling/certain skills or if she really just does not like the competition aspect. If she likes the sport but not competing, that is ok to continue in rec or ask the coaches if she can opt out of competing (may be more feasible in an xcel program). Or look at cheer, where it's a team competing together, not individual. If it's a mental block, maybe consider one of the programs to help.

 

[RTT2]

Continuing on in a rec class or trying Xcel if she’s currently DP are great ideas. I would be hesitant to spend the money on a mental strength coach at 8 years old. It’s a long road though the levels and there will be many more falls along the way. It’s ok for her to have natural ability in gymnastics but not to want to compete in DP.

 

[supernicegymmom]

I don’t think switching to Xcel would be any better because there are still going to be competitions. I’d say it’s best for her to spend a few years in an advanced rec program and then ask her how she feels about going back to competitive.

 

[Dahlialover]

I suggest that you offer her the choice of moving to rec/preteam now or trying team for a month before deciding if she would like to switch to rec/preteam. Kids who are anxious benefit from feeling like they have control, so give her some control. Good luck!