Gymnasts to quit or not to quit?

[lilygym07]

I am coming back from and injury and was planning to compete level 8 this season. However, my parents decide to switch my gym because it works better logistically. (there is no other gym i could go to). I really do not like this new gym and I do not want to go to practice anymore. I feel judged if I can not do something as well as someone else or I can't do a drill the first time.The way my new coach words things feels like she is disrespecting my old coach (ex: you don't have the basics like you should/they aren't as good as so and so's). They also tend to yell more and get frustrated easier which makes me feel bad and like I am not good enough when I am trying really hard. (i already feel like i am not good enough because I am on the older side for my level and have a lot of fears which makes getting new skills hard). I was coming home crying after practice each night begging to not go to the next one. At my last practice I couldn't make it through warm-up without breaking down so I left early. My mom is now under the impression that I am quitting, however I feel like I can't. I have a list of skills I have always wanted to do and people are constantly telling me "you're too good to quit". My previous coach specifically said that she did not want us to quit because we weren't where we wanted to be. (the other girl is planning on staying at the new gym because it is her only option). I don't feel ready to be done because I think I still have more to give, but I don't think I can give it at this gym. So any advice on whether I should be done or not? I don't think being there is worth my happiness, but I don't feel ready to be done as I am just getting back into doing things again and have been on a roll.

 

[Geoffrey Taucer]

If you're having fun, you should continue. If not, you should take a break. Maybe that break will be temporary, maybe it will be permanent; you don't need to decide that now.

Being "good" doesn't obligate you to continue if you need a break. Just look at Simone: the greatest gymnast of all time, at the peak of her ability, at the most important meet in the world, came to a place where she needed to step back, so she did.

 

[Kara]

If you hate the gym so much you can't even make it through warmups and changing gyms is not an option, it's time to at least take a break. You could be the best gymnast ever, but if it's making you miserable it's not worth sacrificing your mental health.

 

[Dahlialover]

Is there a chance you could switch to an xcel team with different coaches?

 

[WV Gym Mom]

No way to go back to your old gym?

 

[lilygym07]

No way to go back to your old gym?

Nope. And this gym doesn't have different coaches.

 

[LarvaeRabbit]

I don't feel ready to be done because I think I still have more to give, but I don't think I can give it at this gym.

I think this is telling, that even though you're having a hard time at another gym (which honestly sounds very much like the one my daughter is currently at), you aren't ready to give up. So despite what anybody can offer you for advice, this is ultimately your life and your decision to make to the best of your ability.
My first suggestion, see if you can somehow get some mental/sports psychology coaching. What you're going through is much less about the physical aspect of the sport, than it is the mental aspect. I think a lot of people, and probably your new gym, blow off that part of gymnastics, even though it is also intensely mentally challenging. But some of these challenges you will see for the rest of your life in different scenarios, they aren't just gymnastics challenges.
My 2nd suggestion, maybe along with my first, is to try to understand what made you fall in love with the sport to begin with, and try to find that again. Its awesome that you have goals, keep those in mind and figure out the baby steps you need to take.
I think it would be helpful to reframe some of your feelings. "Quitting" sounds bad, but almost all people in any sport "quit" at some point. Hardly any of them retire at the top of their game at the highest level. Its just moving on to other things, everyone does this in their lives at some point and its perfectly fine. Also, it might be helpful to step back and look at just the challenges in front of you day-to-day. When we start looking at the big picture it gets very confusing and scary. Given the work you've already put in, and if you have talent, you owe it to yourself to leave the sport on your terms, not someone else's.
Good luck to you!