As many gymnasts prepare to begin their aggressive seasons, there’s one factor I hear loads of from dad and mom and coaches alike. “She’s doing nice. But when solely she had extra confidence…”
Whereas it is true that confidence is one thing all of us may use somewhat extra of, confidence is not nearly feeling good about your self.
For gymnasts, it is actually the glue that holds them collectively. It provides them the power to shine on the meet flooring and to point out as much as competitors as the perfect model of themselves.
So how can coaches assist gymnasts construct confidence main into gymnastics meet season?
Listed here are 3 suggestions.
1. Be certain that your gymnasts are placing within the numbers.
This goes with out saying however when gymnasts are getting ready for meet season, they should put in as many numbers as potential so that they have one thing strong to show their readiness. One of many largest sources of confidence comes from repeated demonstration of means.
The extra prepared a gymnast feels, the upper her confidence. In distinction, if a gymnast is anxious that she is not prepared for meet season or hasn’t had sufficient time to place collectively her full routines, she’s going to doubtless be missing confidence when the massive day comes.
Phrases like “belief your coaching” must be plausible to ensure that your gymnasts to muster braveness from them. If they have been coaching laborious and placing in numerous routines, then they’ll actually belief their coaching when the time comes.
Now clearly there is a positive line between doing numerous numbers and never desirous to burn out a gymnast earlier than competitions season even begins. So numbers can even embody doing dance run throughs whereas imagining their talent passes. The aim is on your gymnasts to know their routines in and out and to have the endurance and psychological stamina to get via them persistently.
If in case you have gymnasts who’re recovering from harm or struggling via psychological blocks, imagery is an effective way to get them feeling extra ready. Assign them psychological routines as a part of their apply or homework.
One other nice method to get gymnasts to really feel extra ready with out placing in precise numbers is to have them create a highlights reel.
A highlights reel is a set of varied movies via the years of assured routines. Encourage your gymnasts to splice collectively their greatest routines and to observe this highlights reel day by day.
Top-of-the-line builders of confidence is previous success. In case your gymnasts have had profitable meet seasons up to now and/or accomplished actually nice routines, this may give them a lift of confidence. The extra they’ll watch themselves doing these routines, the higher they’re going to really feel main into a brand new meet season. The aim, then, is to get them to “see” as many profitable routines as potential.
2. Create competitors like eventualities as usually as potential.
One of many largest issues that gymnasts have to do to organize for competitors season is get themselves into a contest mindset mode.
Gymnastics is a sport the place a lot of coaching is completed in apply mode. Summer time, pre-season, post-season…these all span months and months. Competitors season itself is just a handful of meets over a comparatively brief span of time. To compound this, precise competitions compose a really small share of precise time in a gymnast’s profession.
Due to this fact it’s normal for gymnasts to enter competitors season nonetheless in apply mode.
A apply mindset is one in every of perfecting expertise, making an attempt issues again and again, and selecting expertise aside or breaking them down till they get them proper which is not potential throughout competitors.
A contest mindset, however, is one in every of trusting your coaching, going with the movement, and hitting on command.
Gymnasts who do not make the swap from a apply mindset to a contest mindset might discover themselves unprepared for competitors season. After they must do single routines at meets, they usually cannot put up their greatest effort as a result of they have not educated their physique and thoughts to hit for these single routines.
Coaches can create competitors environments within the health club as usually as potential main as much as competitors season. Nonetheless, please observe, this doesn’t imply growing the stress they’re already feeling as meet season approaches. It merely means getting them into new habits of performing routines with much less prep as they are going to do in competitors.
This would possibly imply:
- Having gymnasts apply their competitors warmups after which do one single routine in entrance of their teammates to simulate a contest setting.
- Narrowing down to 1 single correction as a substitute of giving gymnasts a laundry record of corrections to make. In any case, in competitors it is about having the ability to do your greatest with what you’ve in that second. When you’re getting very choosy as a coach, then your gymnasts will proceed to remain in a apply mindset mode.
- Encouraging gymnasts to maintain going via their routines after they make errors. For instance, if a gymnast is working her bar routine and falls, as a substitute of letting her repeat the start once more, have her choose up from the place she fell and end her routine.
With that mentioned, there’s one main exception to the concepts above. If a gymnast is struggling via a psychological block, do NOT take away spots or mats to prep her for competitors. Whereas many coaches suppose they should get their gymnasts used to what the aggressive surroundings shall be like, when gymnasts have psychological blocks their brains are in fight-flight-or-freeze mode.
These gymnasts completely NEED to proceed to construct belief with their mind and their physique. This may occasionally require mats and spots main as much as precise competitors (and presumably spots throughout competitors as effectively). It is at all times higher to have these gymnasts take the deduction for being noticed than to push them too quickly to strive expertise solo that their brains are saying no to.
These gymnasts would possibly even take the deduction for not doing a talent if they don’t seem to be able to compete it. If worse involves worst, then scratching an occasion is an choice. However permit these gymnasts to proceed to get what they want throughout apply to maintain constructing confidence via their psychological block.
3. Encourage your gymnasts to make use of psychological choreography persistently.
If you have not already, assist your gymnasts create psychological choreography for every of their routines. Psychological choreography is a manner of protecting your gymnasts’ minds centered throughout their routines so it prevents the self doubt and adverse ideas from creeping in.
Psychological choreography is when your gymnasts suppose/say one phrase for each component or talent of their routine. This may be one thing so simple as naming the talent they’re doing (again walkover) or saying a phrase to remind them of what they should do (block, push).
In obligatory ranges, coaches can create psychological choreography for every of the routines and train it to all of the gymnasts to study. You may even apply it as a gaggle out loud so that they get it down.
In elective ranges, your gymnasts can create their very own psychological choreography that goes with their routines.
The aim is on your gymnasts to memorize these phrases and to say them each single time they apply their routines. This could apply even throughout dance run-throughs or imagery.
The extra they’ll do that persistently, the extra ready they are going to really feel come competitors. After they stand up to compete, they’ll merely remind themselves to say their phrases after which their brains take over mechanically throughout their routines.
Backside line, confidence is constructed via previous successes (highlights reel), feeling ready (placing within the numbers), and protecting the adverse/doubt ideas out (psychological choreography).
Making that swap from apply mindset mode to competitors mindset mode can be essential to your gymnasts’ success this season. Ensure, as a coach, you’re creating conditions that really feel extra like competitors within the health club by having gymnasts undergo their competitors warmups and routines and having them observe via with expertise even after they make errors.
Nonetheless, one large caveat, is that you do not want so as to add to the stress gymnasts are already feeling as meet season approaches. Countdowns to competitors might be eradicated. They trigger extra nerves than essential in lots of gymnasts. Always holding the truth that meet season is coming over your gymnasts’ heads can be not essential. By following the information above you may assist your gymnasts make the shift to competitors mode with as little stress as potential.
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When you or your gymnast wants help, along with the assets under I additionally supply one-on-one teaching periods by way of Zoom.
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