Parents Parents of gymnasts who also did gymnastics themselves

[beyondmyfootsteps]

This question has to do with how not to project your own fear of a particular skill from your past onto your child.

When I was in junior high school a girl on my team did a back walk over on beam in a meet. Her hands completely missed the beam and she fell to the side landing on her face and neck extended backward. Ambulance and paramedics wheeled her out in a neck brace. I remember it clear as day and from that point forward I could not do a back walk over on beam. Back handspring yes, not back walk over.

My daughter is very proud to have gotten her back walk over by herself on a beam about a foot off the ground. I have to say I'm truly terrified for the first time that she could get seriously injured. We love her new coach and I'm praying my young daughter is looking for the beam but I'm literally sick to my stomach as she talks with excitement about doing it by herself on the higher beam. I just keep telling her to follow her coaches instruction and her coach will let her know when she is ready for that, but high 5 on getting it! Trying to swallow my fear to support her.

Anyone else go through something like this. I'm so impressed that she got this so quickly but nervous that her hands are landing in place by coincidence if that makes sense.

 

[josie55]

Yes, I had a pretty serious injury as a gymnast that involved getting wheeled out in a stretcher. Every time my kid (or another) does a similar skill I cringe. What helps me is knowing that my injury was caused by me trying a skill before I was ready, before I had done drills on it, etc. Essentially my teammates and I were messing around and trying new things on our own. So I really appreciate the process that I see in my dd's gym, and imagine is the situation at most gyms these days, where every skill starts with LOTS of drills, and then progressive drills, and by the time they actually attempt the skill for the first time they actually already know how to do it. In addition, the equipment is much safer now than it was then. They rely on mats a lot more, and just generally seem to be a lot more cognizant of injury avoidance than was the case back in the day.

It sounds like your dd has a great coach that is likely making sure she is progressing with the skill the right way, and my guess is that the girl you saw way back when probably didn't really "have" her bwo when she was injured.

Anyway, that's what I tell myself to make myself feel better. Ugh. It's not easy sometimes!

 

[Deleted member D3987]

This question has to do with how not to project your own fear of a particular skill from your past onto your child.

When I was in junior high school a girl on my team did a back walk over on beam in a meet. Her hands completely missed the beam and she fell to the side landing on her face and neck extended backward. Ambulance and paramedics wheeled her out in a neck brace. I remember it clear as day and from that point forward I could not do a back walk over on beam. Back handspring yes, not back walk over.

My daughter is very proud to have gotten her back walk over by herself on a beam about a foot off the ground. I have to say I'm truly terrified for the first time that she could get seriously injured. We love her new coach and I'm praying my young daughter is looking for the beam but I'm literally sick to my stomach as she talks with excitement about doing it by herself on the higher beam. I just keep telling her to follow her coaches instruction and her coach will let her know when she is ready for that, but high 5 on getting it! Trying to swallow my fear to support her.

Anyone else go through something like this. I'm so impressed that she got this so quickly but nervous that her hands are landing in place by coincidence if that makes sense.

your name over on the left says your a coach, former gymnast and judge. now, how many times, other than that one time, have you seen a kid miss their hands on a back walkover? that's your answer.

 

[gymdog]

Yes, I'm sorry that happened but maybe it would help to rationalize it that way. Beam is pretty safe in that kids don't miss their hands on walkovers (feet...sure) and when they do on handsprings, their momentum carries them over anyway. You'll get bruises for sure, but that's about it.

Also, gymnastics training is fairly different nowadays and tends to be more structured.

 

[beyondmyfootsteps]

Thank you all. I guess I have to also remember even at 7, my DD has more formal training from professional coaches. I don't know how varsity and jv coaches are hired today but when I was on those teams the coaches didn't have to have any special gymnastics certification, just first aid and CPR. Our gym is a member gym of the USAG and USAIGC so the standards are so different. The girl I witnessed fall may have even been self taught. She leaned immediately to the side. My daughter said her coach "taught her how to fall" on beam if something went wrong. Thank you all though for the reassurance. It's my baby up there. I never expected her to do this sport. I was actually thinking today how in my club gym I was rarely ever injured, once I went to varsity the combination of horrible equipment (wrestling mats rather than spring FX) and coaches who never worked in clubs or had any gymnastics certifications... I was injured a lot. That's how it was by me, not suggesting across the board or how it is today.