IWC, after one year of competing we are just now discovering the mental aspect as one of the most important qualities of a good gymnast!
Indeed you are! There's a saying that goes "You shouldn't love something that doesn't love you back." Gymnastics is more mentally and physically demanding than it is technically sensitive. The mechanics of what makes the sport work can easily be passed down from coach to gymnast, and believe me there are physically prepared kids that get it passed down hundreds of times over before they get a new skill. That's pretty odd when, say in the case of a bhs on beam, a child can work the floor line like it's a part of her body, but still can't move to the floor beam, or from the floor beam to the low beam and beyond.
The primary problem in the above example is the child, no matter how much "she wants," has a problem identifying who and what she is....... a problem solver and a gymnast. There are kids who seem to know they can "do this," and kids who know deep inside there's no way they can..... and kids of every stripe in between those extremes.
Being physically prepared is certainly important, but that's a matter of being willing to work on strength and flexibility. While two kids with identical effort will enjoy different degrees of physical readiness, both will get all the benefit they are genetically due. In that context, physical training is a non issue, as it's a matter of desire.
Talent, potential, star quality, or whatever you want to call it, is a non-issue as well. There are countless examples of kids who's gift seemed average or below that have gone on to very satisfying careers that finished after four years of college as a scholarshipped athlete, and likely an equal number of stars that couldn't get beyond level 8. The fortunes of these widely different children aren't solely determined by ability, because there's no amount of talent that's going to help a gymnast a salto vault if they can't view themselves capable of learning one.
Really, you can take every solid foundation for a successful gymnastics experience and render it nearly useless if the child feels they aren't "that."
There are a few prime examples of chalkbucket kids who've changed gyms and have quickly made gains on skills that had languished for months or years. These gains aren't likely the result of longer hours and better technical coaching as those two ingredients require some time to bake before providing results as dramatic as finally doing a bhs on beam on a daily basis, or twisting a layout they've had for years but just couldn't get to twist past 1/4 turn.
Certainly technique may have played a role, but I'll argue that technique can't change the stripes on a zebra, when the zebra wears a leotard and has a one year history of working a skill and getting nowhere. I contend there's much more to it. That the cause for the quick about face is these kids have made it to a gym that supports the child's notion of being ready and able. It's a team wide culture that a good coach nurtures and then maintains.
So call it what you want. In my mind it's a skill because it's something that can be improved upon until there's no need for more. The reality is at that point, as in any skill, it's incorporated into the child.... and they'll benefit from that for a very long time in many different pursuits.
There's very little hope to truly love gymnastics if you can't wrap your mind around it and let it love you back.
