Parents Struggling with ROBHS

[laolao]

Hi everyone,

My almost 8 year old daughter is struggling to get her ROBHS. I can see her becoming very demoralised in her classes and she's starting to dread going to gym.

She cracks her knuckles or bites her nails constantly when she's anxious and every time they do floor now she's chewing or crunching away. I think her coach says she's jumping up rather than up and back after her round off but it just seems like she can't get whatever it is that's wrong.

She's started missing turns in classes now and going behind everyone else so she doesn't have to do it which I know is counterproductive, but I understand it is an avoidance tactic.

Most of the group are doing them fairly confidently now so she is pretty much the last to get it which I think is exacerbating her worry about it. Any words of advice?

Obviously I can't do anything to help her as I know nothing about gymnastics but I am wondering if there is anything I can do from a parent perspective.

 

[supernicegymmom]

Hi everyone,

My almost 8 year old daughter is struggling to get her ROBHS. I can see her becoming very demoralised in her classes and she's starting to dread going to gym.

She cracks her knuckles or bites her nails constantly when she's anxious and every time they do floor now she's chewing or crunching away. I think her coach says she's jumping up rather than up and back after her round off but it just seems like she can't get whatever it is that's wrong.

She's started missing turns in classes now and going behind everyone else so she doesn't have to do it which I know is counterproductive, but I understand it is an avoidance tactic.

Most of the group are doing them fairly confidently now so she is pretty much the last to get it which I think is exacerbating her worry about it. Any words of advice?

Obviously I can't do anything to help her as I know nothing about gymnastics but I am wondering if there is anything I can do from a parent perspective.

My daughter used to struggle so much with round-off back-handsprings until we found what the root of the problem was and now she has it easy peasy. What level is your daughter in? Many things can cause stress over a skill including puberty, stress from school or other sports, general anxiety, fear of not moving up to the next level, or fear of being behind in your skills.

 

[Dahlialover]

Can you arrange a private lesson with her favorite coach to work on this skill?

 

[Gymgirlsmomma]

We are in a similar situation. My daughter has struggled with this skill for a while now and is finally starting to get more confident with it, but is still not comp ready. For her, doing privates has helped a lot and also focusing on progress on other skills. For example, she recently got her kip and we are really focusing on perfecting that skill and celebrating improvement since it is a difficult skill, but not scary. I think confidence from other skills helps. Even though most gymnasts can do ROBH, I think it is actually a pretty difficult skill to do well and just takes more time for some than for others. She got her kip in about 6 months, ROBH is going on over a year now. We are trying to trust the process.

 

[NutterButter]

Is this a one day a week class or is she on a team? How long has she been struggling with this skill? Do you see anxiety in other aspects of her life? My answer to you kinda depends on answers to these questions but in general sometimes a kid just needs more time to get a skill but anxiety can also impact her ability to move forward too. My advice in part will depend on answers to these questions.

Before my kid was on a team and still in rec classes she went through a phase with her BHS where she felt she was lagging behind (come to think of it she was 8 too!). She felt a significant amount of anxiety over this and it impacted her entire demeanor in class. She started trying to make herself as small as possible and the way she walked and carried herself totally reflected this.

For your DD’s situation it’s possible that a private lesson or two will help, especially if something is not resonating with the coaches corrections but if she has anxiety you will find that this pattern will repeat itself. My kid went on to have a long career in gymnastics but I wish I had done more earlier to support the anxiety. I think it would have made a huge difference in gymnastics and her life in general.

 

[laolao]

Thanks all for the advice so far. She is on a team training level 3, 9 hours a week. They've not long been training them. It was a few weeks before the summer as she ws moving from level 2 but then they had a break for 2 months (normal here as everyone travels for the summer) and now restarted at the end of August. It's a very long break. She also lost her front hip circle though that seems to have come back now.

The anxiety I do see in other aspects of her life though she is by no means a shy, quiet child and can be quite the opposite. Gymnastics is not a natural easy sport for her and she has to work hard at it but this is the first major hurdle she's had. She's very stoic in her classes but I can see her crumbling inside when she gets it wrong yet again.

I think I'll ask her coach about whether he recommends a few privates to help her.