Does the whole lot appear to be going okay however then the week or so earlier than a meet your gymnast abruptly cannot do the abilities she had been doing persistently earlier than?
That is rather more widespread than you might suppose. And whereas some coaches deny it is a kind of psychological block, I disagree.
Talent “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. When you 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 greatest causes of psychological blocks is when gymnasts’ brains understand some kind of “hazard” after which cease their our bodies from doing abilities (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.
Quite, it is associated to the way in which 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 typically 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 do properly. There could be a component within her that doubts her skill to compete properly and it is scaring her.
-Your gymnast did not have such a terrific State meet (or different large meet) the season earlier than and needs to redeem herself this season.
-Your gymnast had a very good State meet (or different essential meet) the season earlier than and needs to show she will do it once more.
-Your gymnast’s workforce is aiming to get first at an essential meet and your gymnast would not need 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 she or he would not need to disappoint her coach.
-Your gymnast is SO targeted 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 would not know the result of one thing).
Do any of those eventualities 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. Nevertheless, phrase of warning…some gymnasts do not like to listen to these items 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 appears to be like like your gymnast figuring out objectives she has for every occasion that do not contain remaining scores/locations or how she finally ends up doing. As a substitute of being targeted on a sure rating, your gymnast may resolve that on ground she goes to concentrate on entertaining the group 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 value.
Whereas it is easy to get wrapped up within the recreation of needing to do properly so as to really feel good, your gymnast wants to grasp that one meet is not going to be the deciding issue as as to whether 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 would not have pretty much 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 constructed from 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 thus 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 could trigger sure abilities to really feel funky or for issues to occur to her in follow that have not occurred earlier than (like balking on vault or not having the ability to get by a full bar routine with out falling). When this occurs, there’s a domino impact of her beginning to fear about not having the ability to do properly at her meet after which her ideas spiral right into a detrimental place making it more durable for her to hit her abilities in follow. In case your gymnast can concentrate on what she wants to try this day in follow to get by it, even when it means taking a break from doing a sure talent, then she will freak out much less about what that “unhealthy” follow means for her upcoming meet.
5. Plan one thing to do after her large 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’s extra to this large meet than simply the meet itself, it might assist to take the strain off. She’ll find a way to consider what she goes to do after her meet which can give her one thing to concentrate on apart from her meet.
Having a gymnast who begins freezing up earlier than large meets is extremely widespread. However it’s additionally irritating as a result of it seems that the whole lot goes high-quality till unexpectedly it is not…and by then it is nearly too late to determine how you can “repair” the misplaced talent.
If it is a sample that occurs earlier than each essential meet, you should utilize that data to assist information the way in which you speak to and encourage your gymnast earlier than her subsequent large meet.
If it occurred solely as soon as, proper earlier than her greatest meet of the season, then it is extra complicated to navigate by as a result of you have no 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 begin flipping out about “shedding” a talent proper earlier than an enormous meet and for the stress to be overwhelming on your gymnast. Whereas not splendid, you may remind your gymnast that the worst that occurs is she would not compete that occasion at her meet. Once more, this isn’t what your gymnast desires to listen to, however generally going by worse-case situation may also help your gymnast understand she will deal with any detrimental occasion that comes her means.
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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When you or your gymnast wants help, along with the sources under I additionally supply one-on-one teaching periods through Zoom.
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