Coaches New to Coaching

[Tifgymnast]

I competed for several years and I recently started coaching at my gym. I was given a group of pre-team kids who need to master some tumbling before they can join the team. Mostly they are working on mastering front and back handsprings and beginning to work on back tucks and some a doing front tucks also. There's this one kid who is doing great and has lots of talent but she is terrified of tumbling backwards. She is scared to do a back handspring without a spot even though she really would be able to do it and she refuses to do back tucks unless it's into the pit. She tries front tucks on the trampoline and has her front handspring on her own. She wont do back tucks on the trampoline and when she does them into the pitshe focuses so much on getting enough height that she forgets the other stuff like tucking her knees, or she flips way too late...I'm just so used to most of the kids that age being dare devils...Also I'm new to coaching and I asked one of the more experienced coaches and he said I should try to figure it out on my own, so I've been brain storming but it's hard because I remember being fearless at that age and I can;t exactly explain the physics to a kid that age. I know she's young and will probably get it with time but she's really talented and would progress really quickly if she got over her fear...What can I do to speed it up?

 

[Mustanggal99]

The thing with fear is there is really no explaining it away. Have you asked her to sit down and tell you what scares her about it? I know sometimes younger ones can't put it into words, but sometimes they can. The only way I've found to help move through fear is to back up in the progressions. She's scared of back tucks... Move back to drills for back tucks (jump backs down the wedge, etc.),p. also, I find that when I tell them "okay this is on your own this time" they perform worse because they think too much. I just gradually pull back my spot until I don't spot and then say "wow that was by yourself! Way to go!"

 

[iwannacoach]

I'm assuming that she's between 5 and 8 years old and doesn't need to be ready right now or even keep up with the kids in her group as they become ready and move up. I'd say take your time and focus on what she can do rather than what she can't or is afraid to do. That approach will let her collect a bunch of positive experiences, learning other skills, that will build her confidence in everything......... you, her, her ability to move through skills, and your ability to make the right choices for her.

scared to do a back handspring without a spot...... refuses to do back tucks unless it's into the pit...... She wont do back tucks on the trampoline

If you work the skills she''s having problems with it'll probably do nothing but frustrate her more and leave her less able to do these skills...... because fear clouds a kids mind and they tend to lose their focus during the earlies phase of a skill, like the hurdle before a round-off bhs. That loss of focus results in a bailed attempt and that leads them deeper into their problem, so it's likely she'll lose the r-o bhs with spot next. So don't do them until she feels ready and asks to do them.

And stop having her work tucks into the pit. It sounds like an accident patiently waiting to happen.

 

[Tifgymnast]

Thanks for the advice!