Successful management of gymnasts with fears

[justanothergymmom]

I was curious about how different gyms/coaches/gymnasts manage fears...

I would imagine that at some point in every gymnast's training there will come a point where they will be fearful of some skill or event. I am curious to know how these fears can be successfully managed so that the gymnast can overcome the fear (and not walk away from the sport.) My girls have been fortunate and neither has had major fear issues yet, but I have seen some talented optional gymnasts quit the sport due to fear, and am wondering if there is a way that coaches can guide these girls through their fears so that they don't feel that their only option is to quit...

 

[Deleted member D3987]

no way to comment on this one as each case/skill/event is different for each child. meh...

 

[justanothergymmom]

I hear ya, dunno, I was just wondering as I have seen a lot of talented girls quit this sport due to a "battle of wills" between coaches and gymansts-"I won't spot you...you need to go for it!" I am wondering how much "patience" comes into play in these circumstances--in the coaches and the gymnasts...again, this is not for my girls, but for someone close to us who is struggling with fears right now, and feeling pressure to go for something she may be capable of, but doesn't feel confident enough to do without a spot/coach standing in...

I guess I would love to hear that there is a way to help optional gymnasts manage their fears without making them feel that their only option is to quit...

 

[Ingwe]

I guess I would love to hear that there is a way to help optional gymnasts manage their fears without making them feel that their only option is to quit...


Like Dunno siad, every child/skill/fear is different but I will tell you what was/is being done with my DD. She has a huge fear of flipping the Yuerchenko vault. Last fall she was a complete mess over this skill. In November her coaches talked to her and decided to have have her do a 2nd season of L7 instead of having her so twisted up about this vault. They backed off completely. She hasn't worked on them since November. The hope is that with some time off, not stressing to get it by meet season and with some maturity she will be ready to start training it again this spring. Who knows if this is the right approach or not or if she will be able to conquer those fears this next time around. I do know that it made me feel good as a parent that her coaches did what they knew was the best thing for her. They saw what that darn vault was doing to her and instead of pushing her to do it (because it is quite clear that she is more then capable of flipping it) and making her feel bad for not doing it, they decided the opposite approach was the right way to go.

Not really sure if this answers your question but I just wanted to share my DD's "fear" story.

 

[Optionals United]

Ya it totally depends on the gymnast/skill/level/maturity. As for how much patience and battle of the wills happens that also depends on the gymnast/skill. Obviously at one point you are going to have to give in and go for the skill or stop doing it completly

 

[gymjoy]

The only way that I can see to help a gymnast not feel they need to quit because of a fear is to work around the fear while still working on overcoming the fear. I know one gymnast who fears back-tumbling, but her coaches have worked out a optional routine that uses as little back-tumbling as possible and shows off her strengths - leaps, turns, and front tumbling. She still works on her back-tumbling in the gym. When it is ready, she will add it to her routine.

Though, sometimes I believe that fears occurs because of a gymnast's desire to move on from gym. It gives her the out, so to say... Only the gymnast know for certain...

 

[Deleted member D3987]

and i hate to bring this up again because it is so interrelated...vestibular! sometimes the best approach is just to back off entirely. the coach may not know why this works, and it does because...plain and simple...sometimes the time is not right for some skills to take place because the athletes vestibular system is just not ready or mature enough to handle the 'neuro' feedback that takes place in a lot of these skills. i can't tell you enough about the forces involved in what we do. that the vestibular system is very sensitive to these forces of gravity that involve flipping, twisting, flipping and twisting, leaving the apparatus from the feet, from the hands, linear speed, internal force placed on the body and its organs, haptic and optic sensory abilities and just the sheer brute strength and power and speed required from the anatomy that drives what you see.

when all measurements point to the child being physically ready to execute a skill is where you find the athlete and coaches halted in their tracks because the vestibular system dictates the final word. this is why spotting is so insidious. there has to be a balance agreed upon by the athlete and coach that at some point in time they will have to move from a spotting situation to a non-spotting and independent trajectory which falls directly on the shoulders of the athlete. it is here where you find most of the problems and issues. the athlete can't move from a dependent relationship relying on the coach to an independent role where the athlete is completely responsible for what will take place. it's kind of like a seat belt. they tell you to buckle up. but if you don't...you find yourself flying thru the windshield at speeds that exceed the speed you were traveling BEFORE you rear ended the car ahead. when the coach spots he/she acts as that seat belt. the child really can't 'feel' the imposed forces being placed on the body. forces that are being read and measured by the vestibular system. take the belt/coach off? the athlete then has a completely different 'feel' in a haptic sense in what is truly taking place. hence...freaking out.

everyone thinks a computer is end all to things complex and complicated. nope! the human body as it relates to movement is STILL the most complex and complicated component of all.

 

[MdGymMom01]

The only way that I can see to help a gymnast not feel they need to quit because of a fear is to work around the fear while still working on overcoming the fear. I know one gymnast who fears back-tumbling, but her coaches have worked out a optional routine that uses as little back-tumbling as possible and shows off her strengths - leaps, turns, and front tumbling. She still works on her back-tumbling in the gym. When it is ready, she will add it to her routine.

This is how my dd's coach handles her fear issues (and any other gymnast's fear issues on the team). She will work around the fear as much as possible and substitute other skills and highlight her strengths, but continue to work slowly and steadily on the fear skills in the gym. The kids are happy and less stressed and are still able to enjoy gym and participate in the sport they love.

 

[AGM78910]

The dreaded BWO on beam was my DD's greatest fear. She trained it for a year and was spotted each time. Her coach has the patience of Job and never got upset with her. Finally, he took her to a meet and spotted her. When she saw her score with that big deduction, she decided that she wanted it more than she was afraid of it. It is still not her favorite skill but she does it. Her optional routines involve very little back tumbling and she does great.

 

[justanothergymmom]

Like Dunno siad, every child/skill/fear is different but I will tell you what was/is being done with my DD. She has a huge fear of flipping the Yuerchenko vault. Last fall she was a complete mess over this skill. In November her coaches talked to her and decided to have have her do a 2nd season of L7 instead of having her so twisted up about this vault. They backed off completely. She hasn't worked on them since November. The hope is that with some time off, not stressing to get it by meet season and with some maturity she will be ready to start training it again this spring. Who knows if this is the right approach or not or if she will be able to conquer those fears this next time around. I do know that it made me feel good as a parent that her coaches did what they knew was the best thing for her. They saw what that darn vault was doing to her and instead of pushing her to do it (because it is quite clear that she is more then capable of flipping it) and making her feel bad for not doing it, they decided the opposite approach was the right way to go.

Not really sure if this answers your question but I just wanted to share my DD's "fear" story.

Thank you for sharing this! Please keep me posted on how it works out for her as she begins to train this vault again! I wish her the best of luck!

 

[justanothergymmom]

and i hate to bring this up again because it is so interrelated...vestibular! sometimes the best approach is just to back off entirely. the coach may not know why this works, and it does because...plain and simple...sometimes the time is not right for some skills to take place because the athletes vestibular system is just not ready or mature enough to handle the 'neuro' feedback that takes place in a lot of these skills. i can't tell you enough about the forces involved in what we do. that the vestibular system is very sensitive to these forces of gravity that involve flipping, twisting, flipping and twisting, leaving the apparatus from the feet, from the hands, linear speed, internal force placed on the body and its organs, haptic and optic sensory abilities and just the sheer brute strength and power and speed required from the anatomy that drives what you see.

when all measurements point to the child being physically ready to execute a skill is where you find the athlete and coaches halted in their tracks because the vestibular system dictates the final word. this is why spotting is so insidious. there has to be a balance agreed upon by the athlete and coach that at some point in time they will have to move from a spotting situation to a non-spotting and independent trajectory which falls directly on the shoulders of the athlete. it is here where you find most of the problems and issues. the athlete can't move from a dependent relationship relying on the coach to an independent role where the athlete is completely responsible for what will take place. it's kind of like a seat belt. they tell you to buckle up. but if you don't...you find yourself flying thru the windshield at speeds that exceed the speed you were traveling BEFORE you rear ended the car ahead. when the coach spots he/she acts as that seat belt. the child really can't 'feel' the imposed forces being placed on the body. forces that are being read and measured by the vestibular system. take the belt/coach off? the athlete then has a completely different 'feel' in a haptic sense in what is truly taking place. hence...freaking out.

everyone thinks a computer is end all to things complex and complicated. nope! the human body as it relates to movement is STILL the most complex and complicated component of all.

Thank you for posting this!!! This is the 2nd time this week I have heard this--some skills just take time and cannot be rushed...I would imagine that this may be a difficult thing for a coach to discern at times and it could be interpreted as willfullness, especially with a very talented athlete who could seemingly do anything thrown their way. All of a sudden they get hung up on a skill and it is hard to understand why they can't or won't do it...

I will admit that I googled vestibular...and now I understand what you saying...I wonder how many coaches out there understand and know how this affects their athletes...

I also understand what a "slippery slope" spotting can be....Thanks so much for your insight!