Nothing is extra irritating than watching your gymnast hit routine after routine in follow after which as her meet approaches, she loses her abilities. Or maybe she will do her abilities in follow however then will get to her meet and completely freezes up and might’t do her abilities.
Currently that is one thing I have been listening to loads from dad and mom. They’ve seen that their gymnast can do her abilities completely in follow however then within the days main as much as her meet she begins to lose her abilities.
Coaches get pissed off! Mother and father get pissed off! Gymnasts are pissed off!
It is a actually powerful scenario as a result of issues is likely to be going rather well. After which out of nowhere (or what looks as if it), your gymnast suddenly buckles underneath the stress and might’t do what she’s able to.
Why does your gymnast lose abilities proper earlier than her meet or at her competitors?
It is baffling when your gymnast is constantly hitting abilities after which suddenly begins to lose them, with no time to spare earlier than her meet!
If it begins to occur within the week main as much as her meet, your gymnast may not have the time to attempt to get her ability again as a result of coaches are busy watching routines and never working abilities.
Or if it occurs in warmup at a meet, your gymnast might need to scratch her routine with none prior warning which could be a actually devastating scenario.
Here is why this is likely to be occurring to your gymnast…
Much like what occurs throughout a psychological block, your gymnast’s mind is perceiving stress. Any time your gymnast’s mind perceives stress, it interprets that as hazard. Hazard then units off her fight-flight-or-freeze response which leads to her mind shutting down her abilities.
What makes this irritating is that the majority gymnasts aren’t conscious of the ideas they’re having which can be inflicting their brains to sense hazard.
These is likely to be issues like:
- I’ve to hit an excellent routine at my meet this week
- I’ve to get a excessive rating as a result of I am good at this occasion and I am anticipated to maintain scoring excessive
- I want to position within the prime 3
- My coach expects me to place up an excellent routine
- My staff wants me to attain excessive
- I’ve to show that I can compete this degree
- I’ve to show to my previous gymnasium that the swap I made was the fitting choice
In fact there are different ideas that may additionally contribute to your gymnast feeling stress. Each gymnast is totally different and feels issues in another way however these are some examples that I’ve heard from the gymnasts I’ve labored with.
So what are you able to do in case your gymnast retains shedding her abilities proper earlier than her meets?
Within the second that it occurs, there’s not a lot to be carried out. Her mind is in peril mode and is doing what it thinks it must do with a purpose to keep secure. There’s not a lot that may immediately reverse this response for her. Deep respiration and letting her mind know it isn’t in any hazard is the perfect factor she will strive.
However more often than not you simply have to hold on for the bumpy experience and get by means of it for that meet.
Afterwards, although, it is vital that your gymnast study to determine the issues that is likely to be inflicting her to enter this hazard response.
If she will determine these ideas, she will then work to vary her ideas to make her mind really feel safer.
How does she do this?
Properly, when your gymnast begins to consider her meet and will get nervous, she’s doubtless targeted on issues she will’t management.
For instance, she is likely to be desirous about getting a sure rating, inserting within the prime 3, hitting a clear routine, or making her coach glad. In case you discover, these are all end result targets. They rely on the end result or results of what occurs at her meet.
End result targets are scary to your gymnast’s mind as a result of her mind is aware of it could possibly’t management an end result or what occurs. And when she’s so targeted on getting a selected end result, it causes her mind to really feel uneasy concerning the scenario.
Which means that her mind will sense “hazard” and do issues like shut down her abilities and even trigger her to bail out of abilities comparable to when she begins falling on abilities she will simply do.
One method to fight that is in your gymnast to give attention to the controllables.
Controllables check with the issues which can be underneath your gymnast’s management. These are issues like whether or not she says her key phrases, how onerous she tries, what she chooses to give attention to, her angle or temper on the meet, or whether or not she does her pre-meet routines or focuses on calming her nerves.
When she goes right into a meet pondering “I’ll give attention to my type” or “I’ll give attention to saying my key phrases throughout my routine” or “I’ll give attention to exploding off the board” or “I’ll give attention to recognizing the beam” these are all issues that she has management over. If she units targets which can be inside her management, her mind is glad. A cheerful mind does not shut down abilities; it permits her to compete nicely.
The opposite factor that tends to occur is that when a gymnast has a tricky meet and might’t go for her abilities or falls loads, she typically carries worries of repeating these errors at her subsequent meet. So it begins a cycle of fear that escalates earlier than her subsequent meet and makes it even tougher for her to do nicely.
Once more, your gymnast should learn to give attention to the issues she will management and set targets for herself that do not give attention to the end result, however the course of.
Going again to a few of the authentic ideas which may shut your gymnast’s abilities down, she should learn to modify these ideas to be issues that assist her give attention to her controllables.
Listed below are some examples of how she will take these authentic stress ideas and make them really feel higher to her mind:
- I’ve to hit an excellent routine at my meet this week–> I can not management the end result however I can give attention to my type which can assist me have an excellent routine.
- I’ve to get a excessive rating as a result of I am good at this occasion and I am anticipated to maintain scoring excessive–> I can not management what rating I get however I can management how onerous I strive. The great rating will come if I give attention to my corrections.
- I want to position within the prime 3–> I can not management how good my competitors is however I can management the place I put my consideration. I can faux I am in a bubble and give attention to doing what I have to with a purpose to hit my routines.
- My coach expects me to place up an excellent routine–> I can not management what my coach thinks. Plus, if I strive my hardest, I do know my coach will likely be pleased with no matter occurs ultimately.
- My staff wants me to attain excessive–> I can not management my rating however I’ll go on the market and provides all of it I’ve acquired. My staff will likely be happy with me it doesn’t matter what.
- I’ve to show that I can compete this degree–> I can not management what different individuals consider me. However I am happy with how far I’ve come and I do know I’ll maintain getting higher.
- I’ve to show to my previous gymnasium that the swap I made was the fitting choice–> My previous gymnasium could by no means assume my choice to change was proper. However that is not what issues. I do know I am in the fitting place and I can be ok with that.
In case you discover, in each case the brand new thought is concentrated on issues she has management over as an alternative of worrying concerning the end result or what different individuals assume.
When your gymnast can acknowledge that her nerves and emotions of stress are coming from ideas which can be outcome-based, she will then discover new ideas which can be course of primarily based and put her in management.
Hopefully this weblog gave you an thought of what is likely to be occurring to your gymnast if she retains shedding her abilities proper earlier than her meets. You’ll be able to perceive how stress prompts her mind’s hazard response and makes her mind need to take issues into its personal arms by shutting her abilities down.
By understanding her pressures after which working to make them really feel extra controllable, your gymnast can slowly get to the purpose the place meet stress does not get to her as a lot. It undoubtedly takes time and is a course of to get your gymnast to acknowledge her ideas and alter them round. But it surely’s well worth the effort!
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In case you or your gymnast wants help, along with the sources beneath I additionally provide one-on-one teaching periods by way of Zoom.
Useful Hyperlinks:
- Free Downloads: Get free gymnastics downloads to assist your gymnast work on her psychological abilities in gymnastics.
- Stick It Lady Academy: Enroll your gymnast in my membership neighborhood the place she will study totally different psychological coaching strategies and get on a weekly LIVE name with myself and different aggressive gymnasts.
- Free Fb Group for Mothers of Gymnasts: Be part of this group to speak with different gymnastics mothers and get ideas for the right way to assist your gymnast navigate by means of the psychological ups and downs of gymnastics
