WAG Need Help/Advice

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Hey, I am a gymnast working level six beam and I am really struggling. Lately I have made some progress on my bhs but a few days ago I completely lost it. I can’t even do one on a line without totally freaking out. I don’t know what happened, and I feel awful because kids in lower levels than me are getting their back handsprings and they don’t seem to have any problem with it at all. Why is it so scary for me? I need help.
 
It's very normal for skills to come and go, especially the BHS on beam. My daughter has had hers for a few years and it's still a struggle sometimes. Don't worry about what the younger kids can or cannot do, older brains understand the risk better. Focus on you.
 
Are you having problems with other skills as well? If you are, have you grown?

Have you learned visualization techniques? Before you mount the beam, close your eyes and picture yourself doing a perfect back handspring.

Has anyone taken videos of you performing the skill? Are you making the same mistake or different ones?

As another poster said, focus on yourself, not anyone else. Does your gym work with a sports psycho.ogist? Don’t worry about any stigma-Simone Biles used one.
 
I would take a step back and reevaluate what you are actually afraid of. Are you afraid of the BHS itself? Or are you afraid of the beam? If the skill itself is what is freaking you out, I would recommend re-learning it the way you did when you were probably a level 2 or 3! It seems silly but sometimes going back to the basics can help remind you of the fundamentals of the skill, how it should look and feel, making it a little less scary than just throwing your body backwards and hoping muscle memory does the trick. If it is the beam you are afraid of, I would recommend doing other exercises or spending more time on beam to make yourself comfortable. Once you feel comfortable enough to actually attempt the skill on the beam, I would recommend working down instead of up. By this I mean instead of starting on a low beam and moving up from there, start high! I like to have my optional gymnasts learn their skills on a high beam with 8 inchers stacked under the beam and panel mats on the sides so that the beam is level with the mats (if that makes sense). Then as they become more comfortable, they take down layers of the panel mats, then remove them, then remove the 8 inchers one by one until they are down to just one mat. This way, the whole time you are practicing the skill, your beam is just as high off the ground as it will be in a competition. I hope this helps, good luck!
 

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