Parents Mental Blocks

[bestmommyever1234]

Hello everyone, my daughter is experiencing a mental block with her backhand spring (which is a skill she’s had for 4 months now) has suddenly disappeared. She can do it sometimes at practice on a mat and on the floor with her coach barely spotting her. But she won’t do it by herself. She says she is very annoyed by this because all of her teammates seam to never get mental blocks and can easily throw skills. I’m pretty sure it was caused by her being scared that she would repeat the level. What are some things we can do so she can get her back handspring back?

 

[GymDadWA]

Did she grow recently? Lot of times skills like this go away when there is a growth spurt, might want to check the door jam to see if she's taller.

 

[Rhiannon MGA]

Hello everyone, my daughter is experiencing a mental block with her backhand spring (which is a skill she’s had for 4 months now) has suddenly disappeared. She can do it sometimes at practice on a mat and on the floor with her coach barely spotting her. But she won’t do it by herself. She says she is very annoyed by this because all of her teammates seam to never get mental blocks and can easily throw skills. I’m pretty sure it was caused by her being scared that she would repeat the level. What are some things we can do so she can get her back handspring back?

Hello,

Mental gymnastics coach here - I am so sorry to hear your daughter is going through this - I know how frustrating this can be. One of the frequent underlying issues that stops gymnasts from doing skills they are physically able to is a loss of confidence or trust in themselves.

Based on what you’ve shared, a couple things pop out to me:

1. Comparison: Your daughter notices her teammates performing skills easily. Comparison is common in gymnastics, I certainly struggled with it as a young gymnast! The thing with comparison is that it can impact self-confidence and self-belief, which may be affecting her ability to do the skill.
2. Pressure and fear of repeating the level: This can put a lot of pressure on doing the skill. The problem is pressure can feel like a threat to the nervous system, and the brain can’t always distinguish between physical and emotional threat, so it may respond with fight, flight or freeze. This can physically prevent the gymnast from committing to the skill she is fully capable of.

Here are some steps to help her get her back handspring back:

This is based on limited information, but hopefully these tips are helpful as a starting point:

1. Explore self talk: Positive self-talk is key to building self confidence and self trust. Regardless of the underlying issue, positive self-talk will be crucial for her getting the skill back. The first step is helping her to notice and be aware of her self-talk.
2. Focus on progress not comparison: I know this is easier said than done, but try to help her focus on her own progress and celebrate the small wins. It can also be really helpful to acknowledge effort and mental wins, like resilience, bravery, and commitment. These are just as important as the skill itself.
3. Reframe levelling up: Normalise that sometimes gymnasts don’t level up when they’re expecting to, and that’s okay. Sharing stories of successful gymnasts who overcame mental blocks or who missed opportunities, and came back stronger, can help her feel motivated and reduce pressure.

She is already showing great resilience and bravery by trying to tackle this challenge. And you’re clearly very invested in helping her get through this. Blocked skills are common but with patience and consistency she can get her back handspring back!