Does every thing appear to be going okay however then the week or so earlier than a meet your gymnast out of the blue cannot do the abilities she had been doing constantly earlier than?
That is rather more frequent than you might assume. And whereas some coaches deny it is a kind of psychological block, I disagree.
Ability “loss” proper earlier than a gymnastics meet is a type of a psychological block that happens when your gymnast is feeling strain to compete properly. If you happen to discover, I put the phrase “loss” in quotes as a result of your gymnast has by no means actually misplaced her talent. Her mind is simply freezing her up.
One of many largest causes of psychological blocks is when gymnasts’ brains understand some type of “hazard” after which cease their our bodies from doing expertise (i.e. freeze up).
The factor right here is that the “hazard” your gymnast is perceiving is not associated to the talent in any respect.
Slightly, it is associated to the best way she is feeling about her upcoming competitors.
It is no coincidence that as a psychological efficiency coach for gymnasts, I get tremendous busy this time of yr when States, Provincials, Regionals, and Nationals are nearing.
So let’s speak extra about this “hazard.”
The “hazard” your gymnast is feeling could be associated to the expectations she has for herself as to how she must compete.
I hear these types of pressures usually from the gymnast I work with:
-Your gymnast has certified for considered one of these essential meets for the primary time and needs to show she will be able to do properly. There could be an element within her that doubts her skill to compete properly and it is scaring her.
-Your gymnast did not have such an important State meet (or different massive meet) the season earlier than and needs to redeem herself this season.
-Your gymnast had a extremely good State meet (or different essential meet) the season earlier than and needs to show she will be able to do it once more.
-Your gymnast’s group is aiming to get first at an essential meet and your gymnast does not wish to let any of her teammates down.
-Your gymnast’s coach has set excessive expectations for her (“Your vault is so good I do know you may get high 3 at Regionals”) and he or she does not wish to disappoint her coach.
-Your gymnast is SO centered on consequence resembling getting a sure rating or putting at her meet that that is all she thinks about (which places strain on her mind as a result of her mind hates when it does not know the result of one thing).
Do any of those situations above sound like they may suit your gymnast?
In that case, there are some issues you are able to do to assist your gymnast hold issues in perspective. Nonetheless, phrase of warning…some gymnasts do not like to listen to this stuff from their dad and mom. Setting her up with a session with myself or a psychological efficiency coach may also help her put issues into perspective.
1. Shift her focus from the result to the method.
This seems to be like your gymnast figuring out objectives she has for every occasion that do not contain last scores/locations or how she finally ends up doing. As an alternative of being centered on a sure rating, your gymnast may resolve that on flooring she goes to concentrate on entertaining the gang along with her artistry or pointing her toes throughout her leaps. These are issues your gymnast has management over they usually can shift her mindset from needing a sure consequence to having fun with the method.
2. Remind your gymnast that one meet doesn’t decide her price.
Whereas it is simple to get wrapped up within the sport of needing to do properly with the intention to really feel good, your gymnast wants to know that one meet is not going to be the deciding issue as as to if she’s a “good” gymnast or not. A contest is an opportunity to evaluate the place your gymnast is THAT day!
3. Ask your gymnast if she might nonetheless be pleased even when she does not have nearly as good of a meet as he hopes to have at this essential meet.
Many gymnasts will consider their previous successes that season and understand the expansion they’ve made out of the start of the season. Others will get caught on how essential this meet is and really feel their success or lack thereof will contribute to how they really feel about themselves. Gymnasts like this have a muddled sense of self-worth. They’ve recognized with being a gymnast for therefore lengthy that if they do not really feel good at being a gymnast, they do not be ok with themselves in any respect.
4. Encourage your gymnast to take it at some point at a time.
Within the weeks main as much as an essential meet, your gymnast can begin to really feel the heaviness of getting to do properly. This will trigger sure expertise to really feel funky or for issues to occur to her in apply that have not occurred earlier than (like balking on vault or not with the ability to get by way of a full bar routine with out falling). When this occurs, there’s a domino impact of her beginning to fear about not with the ability to do properly at her meet after which her ideas spiral right into a destructive place making it more durable for her to hit her expertise in apply. In case your gymnast can concentrate on what she wants to try this day in apply to get by way of it, even when it means taking a break from doing a sure talent, then she will be able to freak out much less about what that “dangerous” apply means for her upcoming meet.
5. Plan one thing to do after her massive meet and get your gymnast concerned with the planning.
Are you going to go for ice cream, return to the resort and watch a film, or have dinner along with her teammates? When your gymnast is aware of there may be extra to this massive meet than simply the meet itself, it could possibly assist to take the strain off. She’ll have the opportunity to consider what she goes to do after her meet which is able to give her one thing to concentrate on aside from her meet.
Having a gymnast who begins freezing up earlier than massive meets is extremely frequent. However it’s additionally irritating as a result of it seems that every thing goes tremendous till rapidly it is not…and by then it is nearly too late to determine “repair” the misplaced talent.
If it is a sample that occurs earlier than each essential meet, you need to use that information to assist information the best way you speak to and encourage your gymnast earlier than her subsequent massive meet.
If it occurred solely as soon as, proper earlier than her largest meet of the season, then it is extra complicated to navigate by way of as a result of you haven’t any earlier context.
In any occasion, the hot button is to not put any extra strain in your gymnast.
The tendency is for everybody concerned to start out flipping out about “dropping” a talent proper earlier than a giant meet and for the strain to be overwhelming to your gymnast. Whereas not ultimate, you possibly can remind your gymnast that the worst that occurs is she does not compete that occasion at her meet. Once more, this isn’t what your gymnast desires to listen to, however generally going by way of worse-case state of affairs may also help your gymnast understand she will be able to deal with any destructive occasion that comes her manner.
In case your gymnast is struggling earlier than her meets, attain out to me. I’ve helped many gymnasts with this misplaced talent syndrome earlier than meets.
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If you happen to or your gymnast wants help, along with the sources under I additionally provide one-on-one teaching classes by way of Zoom.
Useful Hyperlinks:
