Back tumbling fear issues...help please.

[shadow]

i finally got my girl to do a roundoff back handspring back tuck by herself on the floor!!!! it took a lot of strength on my part by picking her up out of her rebound from her back handspring, flipper her over my shoulder and putting her down carefully so she could get the feel of the connection and going backwards. so now she can do it with no one standing there^^ she just has some issues with doing standing back handsprings on beam and sometimes beckwalkovers, those are good for the most part.

so what i have experienced is that physically making the gymnast go backwards makes them feel a little better about what they're doing. just make sure that the gymnast knows what is going to happen so they can be tight and actually perform the skill that they are going to do the right way and have some mats so it is not a hard landing^^

 

[Deleted member D3987]

please do not be led in to a false sense of security...

 

[shadow]

i know that there is a possibility that at the next practice that she will not tumble. we are just glad that for now she went. that means that she knows she can do it and then if she doesn't then we will just go back to the basics until she does

 

[gymnast88]

Go to a trampoline or tumble trac and have coaches spotting you.

 

[gymnast88]

There are mats which my gym calls rollie pollie mats where you can just lean back and they will roll and you cant fall.

 

[shadow]

well, its been almost a month and she hasn't balked yet but i have to stand their on the first tuck. so right now we are working on just going by herself without anyone on the floor with her

gymnast88: ive never heard of those mats before but they sound really nice and would come in handy^^

 

[gymnast88]

Thats good. I hope she gets it by herself soon.

 

[gymcat1214]

in movement time, it is always vestibular.

so is would it need treatment? It's not like cancer or anything serious like that, right?? Everytime I attempt to do a bhs, I know I can do it, but when I swing my arms for takeoff, my body just freezes. Like I have the motivation but my body won't let me. Is this vestibular?

 

[Deleted member D3987]

yes, and the treatment is time. in time, your vestibular system will mature along with your body and the problem will slowly go away. don't lose hope and keep at it.

 

[dancengym]

My dd for the first time expressed "fear" in doing a backhandspring on the beam and I am sure she does not want to even think of the backtuck on beam. Before the "problem" got out of hand, I searched Chalk Bucket for information on this "fear" and found this thread. Very helpful!!! Dunno's post and gymdogs were particularly wonderful in understanding this "backward fear". Which brings me to my post . . . what percentage of the coaches actually have information or knowledge as the one exhibited by Dunno? I would hope that people that coach L9 to Elite would have at a minimum knowledge and experience on how to deal with their gymnasts appropriately but how about those that coach L5 to L8?

Dunno, is it only through years of coaching gymnasts that makes a coach knowledgeable and able to address many gymnastics issues/problems, or must a coach on his or her own specifically seek these information outside the gym, through research, etc. I've come across many posts by coaches in Chalk Bucket trying to educate themselves on how to deal with issues they are faced with. But, it seems there are only a few of them. What happens to the others? My post may be pointless. Just expressing a concern . . . thinking aloud.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

unfortunately, mention the word vestibular and the majority of coaches will not know what it is much less where in the body the vestibular system is located.

for myself and a colleague of mine, we have graduate school education and have been researching this issue for the past 20 years. the issue has been around since i was a gymnast. when i was young, and looking back, i remember gymnasts with this problem. the coaches today don't deal much differently with the athlete than they did 40 years ago.

it is thru years of coaching experience that one learns that there is nothing that a coach can do to remedy this problem. it is an issue that finds its own remedy in the time and maturity of the human body and its vestibular system.

i

 

[gymdog]

My dd for the first time expressed "fear" in doing a backhandspring on the beam and I am sure she does not want to even think of the backtuck on beam. Before the "problem" got out of hand, I searched Chalk Bucket for information on this "fear" and found this thread. Very helpful!!! Dunno's post and gymdogs were particularly wonderful in understanding this "backward fear". Which brings me to my post . . . what percentage of the coaches actually have information or knowledge as the one exhibited by Dunno? I would hope that people that coach L9 to Elite would have at a minimum knowledge and experience on how to deal with their gymnasts appropriately but how about those that coach L5 to L8?

Dunno, is it only through years of coaching gymnasts that makes a coach knowledgeable and able to address many gymnastics issues/problems, or must a coach on his or her own specifically seek these information outside the gym, through research, etc. I've come across many posts by coaches in Chalk Bucket trying to educate themselves on how to deal with issues they are faced with. But, it seems there are only a few of them. What happens to the others? My post may be pointless. Just expressing a concern . . . thinking aloud.

I think I mentioned this in my post, but I was made aware of this issue by someone who has far greater medical and science background than myself, but despite not knowing all the specifics it's given me a handle on some things. Unfortunately it isn't always easy to spread such knowledge. I coach L4-8, rec, preschool, and cheer. I don't have any interest coaching L9-elite, though I'd probably do it if it came to that (I'm fairly small in size so spotting potential for big skills and older girls would be an issue, presumably I wouldn't be able to do it solo). In fact if I find a job at a bigger program and the hours are there, I'd love to just coach preteam-level 5 and some younger developmental classes.

There's not a direct substitute for experience, but trying to learn all you can sure helps. I also had a very good, very technically effective coach from L7-10 so a lot of what I do with my higher level team kids I have adapted from that experience as a gymnast.

 

[Emju]

There are a couple people at my gym that do this, what are coaches have them do which actually works is taking less steps into the tumbling pass. However, it also helps to have a spot. On bars though with fly aways you could always do a drill to let go at the right time, if you have a bar over the pit then have her tapswing or giant (whatever she does into a flyaway) and then when she's at the point when she should release for her flyaway just have her let go into the pit and land on her back. Usually the fear of fly aways is that you're afraid of hitting the bar, I know, hopefully this helps. On beam you can do front walkover round-off, cart wheel round-off, front walkover 2x, or front walker front handspring, all should cound as a series at level 7. Glad to help!

_______________________________________________________________________
Feel the fear and do it anyway!

 

[AGM78910]

Flyaway fear

My DD had the same fear of flyaways after she had been doing them for a while. Finally one of the older gymnasts told her that if she was fully extended right before she let go, that she would be too far from the bar to hit it with her feet. Not sure if that is always the case but she had no more problems after that.

 

[classic4life]

tell her that she should not be afraid and scared and that she has to trust her self to do the skills.

 

[mariposa]

Not sure if this link has already been posted, but found this when researching for a friend's DD.

http://www2.usa-gymnastics.org/publications/technique/2006/7/pdf/backwards.pdf

 

[MdGymMom01]

tell her that she should not be afraid and scared and that she has to trust her self to do the skills.

LOL--If it was that simple, then we would have a LOT more elite gymnasts. Unfortunately, this is easier said than done.

 

[GymSurvivor]

I have this same problem. Except I don't mind as much going backwards. I can preform a back handspring or Round-Off BHS perfectly. But the backtuck....it just doesn't work. I can't explain why I'm scared of it but I think it has something to do with going in the air.
Just like Dunno mentioned, I'm scared I won't set high enough and get enough height and yes my coach says I go a mile high when I set for the backtuck.
It's also kinda weird that I can throw it fine without a spot into the pit (Not lose foam...just a resi in the ground pit) but I just can't get myself to do it on the floor (even though it's the same surface I'm rebounding off of.) I do my round-off and just freeze up.

So thanks for the post Dunno I finally somewhat understand my fear.
I'm still not sure what I can do to get through it but oh well.

 

[belen.wilson]

Wow, this isn't good. What you should tell her is that your the coach and she needs to trust you your going to catch her no matter what and that you would never let her get hurt. Until her confidence builds up your going to just have to have her do drills and use the trampoline. But just remember the longer she holds this off the longer shes going to be afraid of doing it.

 

[CamSeawind]

Substituting skills is what our gym has always done. The gymnasts do what has to be done to get through the levels until going backwards is no longer needed