Comp Nerves

[hollyvh]

Whenever I am at a competition, I get extremely nervous, to the point that I actually shake. It affects me most on beam, where I tend to wobble on every skill and dance, just because I am so nervous. At training I stick around 5 routines in a row, minimal wobbles, but it all falls apart at comp. I have states in a while so I am hoping someone will know a way to help. Thank you.

 

[OklahomaGymnast]

Like this definitely happens to me to and I think the best thing for me is when I am at practice like full on imagining I am at a meet because for me even thinking about meets makes me nervous at practice and you can work through that at the gym before you go to a meet. Another thing is not to be afraid to think about it EVERYTHING what your going to wear your warm ups everything so when you get to a competition it does not feel like anything new or intimidating.

 

[GymnastP]

During the meet pretend it’s practice and pretend the judges aren’t there

 

[AliyaFan76]

Just wondering, is there anything specific you are nervous about? (Low scores, falling, etc)
Try visualizing your routines before you go, that's what always helps me.

 

[hollyvh]

Just wondering, is there anything specific you are nervous about? (Low scores, falling, etc)
Try visualizing your routines before you go, that's what always helps me.

A mix of both. I'm always scared I will fall, which will mean a low score. I am a perfectionist and quite competitive and when I perform worse than I know I am able to I get disappointed.

 

[Sari]

I was like this at meets all throughout my gym career so I feel for you!

Visualization can really do wonders, if done consistently. You can go through your routine in your head wherever, and imagine yourself doing it perfectly. I would suggest doing it at practice too, even if you have no trouble there, so it takes the foreignness out of the competition setting a bit (you'll be doing the same thing [visualizing your routine before you do it] you do at practice which will tell your brain it's somewhat familiar with the situation).
If your coaches are willing, I also like to do pressure sets of routines with my gymnasts (as in we'll pretend we're at a meet, we'll get a coach with judge qualifications to sit next to the event looking really serious, have the rest of the group make unexpected noises (like stomping, clapping, laughing, shouting), play floor music in the background, set a timer etc.).