On this article, I will clarify the distinction between the 2 and allow you to know why it is necessary to your gymnast to have the ability to change to a contest mindset when she competes at her meets.
So what do I imply by apply mindset and competitors mindset?
A apply mindset is when your gymnast is studying abilities and making an attempt to get them to be excellent. She’s interested by her kind. She’s targeted on what she must do in an effort to make her abilities. There may be thought and intention behind what she’s doing. If one thing is not proper, she’ll take into consideration her corrections and take a look at once more. Your gymnast is aiming for perfection. She’s analyzing errors. She making an attempt to get issues proper.
A contest mindset is the precise reverse. It is when your gymnast trusts herself, her coaching, and her coaches. She ideally performs her abilities with out considering or overthinking. Expertise really feel easy and she or he simply lets go even when her abilities or routines should not excellent. She trusts her coaching. She trusts herself and her routines. Issues really feel computerized and she or he is relaxed. Finally she is dedicated to the choices she makes.
All gymnasts can discover a minimum of one meet of their gymnastics journey after they competed effortlessly and simply let issues occur.
Listed below are some questions to assist your gymnast bear in mind again to when she may need had a contest mindset:
- Consider a meet if you competed with belief.
- When was it?
- Was it an necessary meet or a not so necessary meet?
- How was your coaching proper earlier than that meet?
- What did you do the morning of your meet to prepare for it?
- Whenever you have been competing, what did it really feel like?
- Had been you interested by your routines or did you simply allow them to occur
- Had been you cheerful?
- Had been you having enjoyable?
- What have been you targeted on?
Typically what occurs is {that a} gymnast hangs out in a apply mindset when she goes to competitors. She would possibly overthink her routines. She may not belief her choices. She would possibly attempt too laborious to do effectively. And when this occurs, she will not carry out in addition to she may and may.
There may be often some form of breakdown in belief that occurs that causes your gymnast to return right into a apply mindset. Attainable causes for a breakdown in belief embrace:
- considering an excessive amount of
- making an attempt too laborious to carry out effectively
- making an attempt too laborious to be excellent
- making an attempt to know why you made the error
- missing confidence
- afraid of performing poorly
- specializing in scores
So how does a gymnast change from a apply mindset to a contest mindset?
She has utter belief in herself and her talents!
Whereas this is perhaps simpler stated than executed, one option to have belief is to your gymnast to look at frequent conditions when she may need a breakdown in belief, after which work to provide you with options for how you can get again into a contest mindset in every of these circumstances.
Your gymnast can ask herself, when does she lose belief at meets? What are some conditions that occur that trigger her to query her belief and go right into a apply mindset?
For instance, gymnasts typically lose belief when the tools at meets feels completely different than what they’re used to. Whether or not it is that the ground is further springy or laborious, the beam is squishy or slippery, the bars do not bend, or the spring board has no give, these are all issues that may trigger your gymnast to lose belief in her abilities.
Different issues that may occur to trigger your gymnast to lose belief in herself is when she has a foul warmup. Perhaps she is having hassle making her routines in warmup. Or perhaps she fell on her final attempt earlier than time was up. Or maybe she felt uneasy about throwing a talent and now she is aware of she has to compete it on her subsequent flip.
Even nonetheless, gymnasts would possibly put numerous stress on themselves to do effectively at a sure meet (like Sectionals, Regionals, and many others) and this will trigger them to overthink or attempt too laborious. Your gymnast is perhaps further targeted on hitting a sure rating.
In case your gymnast can establish doable sources of a breakdown in her belief in herself, she will provide you with a plan for how you can deal with these conditions.
If it is one thing like tools that’s throwing her off, she will really feel that the tools is completely different and alter her abilities throughout warmup. This would possibly imply taking much less of a punch in her tumbling passes if the ground is further spring. Or she would possibly chalk up further for beam if she is aware of the beam feels slippery.
If she has a foul warmup, she will bear in mind again to different occasions when she did not warmup effectively however ended up having good routines. Or she would possibly apply a talent that she fell on throughout warmup on the road on the ground or shut her eyes and picture herself finishing it efficiently.
If she’s at a giant meet and is feeling the stress, she would possibly take some deep breaths and bear in mind again to how she felt when she was competing at a much less necessary meet. She would possibly want some calming music and even to jog out her further vitality.
The necessary factor to your gymnast to recollect is that issues shall be completely different at meets than in apply! There may be by no means a very excellent meet as a result of there are too many variables and components that may change. This implies your gymnast has to have a plan for how you can deal with these issues in order that after they do go improper, she is aware of how you can belief herself once more.
On the finish of the day, the easiest way to your gymnast to compete her greatest is to have belief in herself and her coaching. When she competes, it is not the time to overthink her abilities and routines or to attempt too laborious. Fairly it is time to simply carry out with pleasure and confidence.
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In case you or your gymnast wants assist, along with the sources beneath I additionally supply one-on-one teaching periods by way of Zoom.
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