the vestibular system is a part of the nervous system and brain and inner ear. it too needs time to mature...just as an organ, bone or muscle. and as those parts of the body are affected by daily life, so is the vestibular system. too many coaches take for granted just how complex the learning and retention of gymnastics is. and unfortunately in some humans, the VS has deficiencies that are inexplicable as well as idiopathic. and as i have stated before, the oberwhelming majority of the kids that experience this issue are some of the fastest twitched athletes that you will ever see. and it is this, the athletes ability to generate extreme metrics of linear force, with then twisting, rotating and twisting with rotations that cause the problems. as i have posted before, 1 kid thinks their round off flip flop is traveling 100 mph and the other 10mph. but both are actually traveling 10 mph. so when the kid says they think they are going to "fast" and they feel like they will miss their hands (illogical) and hit their head, do you really think it is professional and appropriate to call that kid "stupid", "lazy" and "headcase" and all the other derogatory things that i have heard 1st person and by others? and by the way, it is not a theory.
Vestibular system - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
i edited just a bit cause now you got me started...
Yes, not really a theory. Dunno knows very well, and I have met, a high level gymnastics coach with a Ph.D in biomedical engineering, and he is the main person educating coaches on this issue that I have seen. Unfortunately his influence hasn't spread wide enough yet. By the way, the Ph.D is just ONE of his numerous accomplishments and he also is a doctor of physical therapy. Whenever this is posted here, there are occasionally naysayers but I guess I will come to their side when one of them has a doctorate in a related field and posits a clear alternative.
While I also agree with the concept of mental blocks, as the brain is very complex and kids can have, um, "attitude issues", I just feel these usually start with vestibular issues that spread. Of course a kid can just refuse to try because they don't want to, but the difference is usually clear to even a casual observer. You will often see a kid in gymnastics who will do it one day and then another day, freeze. It will happen once or twice, but maybe they go that day on the next five. Then it gets worse. They often report that they are "twisting", "going too fast", "just can't let go/throw it/whatever." But the coach is frustrated because the child isn't twisting, or going faster, or doing anything different. But the child perceives it that way because the forces that orient their body are suddenly out of whack. And it does happen over time. A child's body is maturing and subtle changes can change the child's perception over time as they grow and mature. This is a reason it would be physically inappropriate for a 12 year old to drive, for instance, even if they were extremely mature at decision making