What to do?

[canadiangymnast_eh]

I've been stuck for a while and am hoping for some advice.

Here is the story:
Last year we got a new coach. He seemed pretty good at first but then turned out to be very lazy. He sat on his blackberry all practice reading emails and texting. Because of his coaching, everyone has lost many skills including me. One of the biggest skills i have lost has been all my back tumbling. I started to twist earlier and didn't know so i can no longer do a straight back tuck or layout without twisting. I finished this year pretty good despite of all the lost skills and even ended up winning bars at provincials and making alberta winter games. However, throughout the year, my problem with twisting has gone over to my other events and makes me feel like I am about to twist. As you can imagine, this is very scary on events such as beam. I have tried everything such as visualizing, and doing lots of sets. But nothing has worked. At the end of the year, we got the registration for this upcoming year and decided, for many reasons, that it would be best to move gyms. I started at my new gym about 6 weeks ago and it is a lot better. I have a new coach, the gym is less than half the price, less stress, and it has a VERY good reputation.

I have seen some progress but not much. I am still scared of many skills, even the ones i have been doing for years, and feel like I am just causing everyone trouble (including my parents). I also feel very embaressed because i can't do any of the basic skills everyone else can do. And to top it off, I am going into grade 10 and doing many harder classes with lots of homework.

What should I do? Part of me wants to quit gymnastics and find something else to do, but I also still love it. If I quit, then I could focus more on my schoolwork, and my parents could spend more time and money on my other 3 siblings. Right now I feel like I am throwing money away becauuse I am taking steps backwards. But if I continue, could I get over this problem? I have talked to my parents some about quiting but I feel like I am letting them down.

Advice?

 

[hakunamatata]

I actually had a similar situation when I was a level 8, so I know what you're going through. When you have a coach who is less than helpful, you gradually form bad habits without even knowing it because you are never corrected. But I do think that at this new gym with a better coach, you will be able to get back the skills you used to have (with the correct form, too). It might take a little while and it will probably be kind of frustrating, but it'll come back to you. You'll have to re-train your muscle memory. I think that if you love this sport you should talk to your parents and ask them if it's okay that you continue with it. You're not throwing away money if you're doing something you enjoy. As soon as you work through this rough patch and begin to progress further in the sport, you'll probably be glad you stuck with it. But if you feel like your passion for it is gone, there would be nothing wrong with freeing up more time for schoolwork and friends. It sounds lame, but listen to your heart and just go with your gut on this one. But don't quit just because you feel like you can't move forward. I know you can, because I did, even after I formed bad habits with a bad coach. I have faith that you can get back on track with your gymnastics, if you so choose Good luck with whatever you decide to do! And congrats on your successful season.