WAG Consistency issues -meet jitters

[SHELOVESGYM]

Has anyone found that any sort of online doc ali type service (I'm not sure what this is called) is helpful for meet jitters/consistency issues? DD is very much prone to doing horribly on one event per meet. She has been known to drop nearly 2 full points on any given event at a meet while improving on all others. In our area we have a minimum score needed to qualify for states. There is no reason why she cannot qualify other than this inconsistency issue -she has shown that she can do well on each event just can't seem to pull them all together at the same meet. Any suggestions? She is level 3.

 

[sce]

I think the thing that helps with this the most is just experience. Doing a lot of meets just builds their ability to focus and perform like they train. Also, coming up with key words they "say" to themselves as they go through routines one each event. Doing this consistently at practice will make it second nature in competition.

 

[profmom]

Take the pressure off. It will come in time. Meets don't really matter at this level. Remind her that the only consequences for a meet are good ones -- if you do well, you can get a medal. Nothing bad can happen as a consequence of having a meet go poorly. Some kids (all the way up to Aly Raisman) have a lot of success by telling themselves to do "normal, just like in practice" at a meet.

 

[Seeker]

The Doc Ali "Athlete Warrior" series does address that. Experience also helps, but it often takes more than that to overcome serious nerves. But as a L3, I'm not sure the online classes Doc Ali offers would be appropriate. The advice from the others is good...try to give her some tools to help her focus and relax.

 

[LindyHopper]

With Short Stack, we talk on the way to the meet. Scores do not come into the discussion when she tells me one or two small goals she has for each apparatus (ex. Have straight arms on my kip, hold the handstand the full time, run faster on vault). Perhaps this might help your daughter--focusing on one or two things that SHE wants to achieve. Having those goals on her mind might take her mind off her nerves.

 

[MomIdidit!]

If you watch some of the Olympians, they breathe.....my 8 yo noticed Aly breathing before a lot of her big skills. Over the weekend I noticed my dd taking deep breaths before her bhs on beam. She told me the inhale exhale breaths takes some of the pressure off of the skill.

Good luck to your dd!

 

[Mish]

Just watch that she takes nice, slow breaths instead of quickly inhaling and exhaling. You don't want her to wind up hyperventilating. I've found that the younger ones don't always know how to do this.

Good luck!

 

[cadybearsmommy]

Time and experience helps more than anything. My dd had awful meet jitters her first two seasons. If she had one bad event, she would get very upset and let it essentially ruin the rest of the meet for her (every apparatus after that would also be bad.) It took almost two seasons to get over it. The end of her 2nd season and her 3rd season were great. She just had to get used to competing and to be able to relax and enjoy the time with her teammates in between events. Laughing and talking with teammates instead of stressing in between events seemed to be the key for her. She needed that distraction so she didn't psych herself out. She also learned that if she did have a mistake or fall, to just roll with it and try to make it up on the next event.

 

[ayyyrial]

She is in Level 3, most of the point of Level 3 is just to get used to competing. Don't worry about the scores, worry about practice and get excited about the skills she's getting and perfecting. Meets are just a time to show everybody what you've been working on.