Parents Advice of how to focus

[rmankini]

my daughter is 8, training level 4. She struggles on focusing on form, the details, squeezing her bottom at the same time pointing her toes. I told her you just tighten everything but she feels so overwhelmed. Or with vault running fast, large hurdle arms to ears, etc, she is overwhelmed with how quickly she must go from thinking one thing to the next. She sees the other girls focusing easily and she is so discouraged. Any advice? I’ve thought about her practice some mediation each morning to see if that helps her be more mindful.

 

[Madden3]

I have some suggestions I am thinking of, but I want to be sure I am on the right track:

She sees the other girls focusing easily and she is so discouraged

What is she seeing the other girls doing that seems "easy"? Understanding, remembering and applying corrections is typically hard especially when a kid is so young. Yes it does come easier for some than others, but for most people it takes a lot of effort to do these things. I am wondering if your daughter is possibly comparing herself (or being compared) unfavorably to the other girls and this is causing her anxiety (or more anxiety)? Because feeling tense or anxious makes understanding and absorbing information very difficult.

 

[rmankini]

She has spoken to some of her teammates about how they focus. Her coach is also having to "talk" with her about her focusing. She also complains to me that there are too many things. The other girls don't seem to have the trouble she does. They have better form and are able to think about multiple things.

 

[Madden3]

Maybe it is a matter of how the coach is giving corrections? Are they giving one or two at a time, or a whole litany? Maybe your daughter and coach could pick one thing at a time that they are concentrating on when it comes to form.


If she is feeling anxious at practice, that can greatly interfere with the ability to focus.


I would suggest help her get some perspective so she can lighten up and take the pressure off herself. So she forgot to point her toes on that one. Did she tighten her butt? Good! Try to help her understand that all the girls have things they struggle with that she probably has no idea about. Gymnastics is a hard sport! It will probably help if she can learn to not compare herself to the others too much.


I think it just takes time to get to the point that the muscles do the remembering for you. She is probably really in her head at practice, which is to some extent normal while one is learning something new. It just takes time for it to all sink in.


So here is my specific idea: If it is a matter of needing more practice in remembering exactly what to do to have correct form on the skill, here is a memorization trick I learned when I was an actor for memorizing lines and blocking (stage directions.) My boys have found this technique helpful when needing to remember their gymnastics routines. Conceivably it can work for anything.


Right before going to sleep, relax and calmly think about what needs to be remembered. Like when she is lying in bed. If she is feeling too overwhelmed trying to carry it all in her head, she could try writing down each of the things she wants to help herself remember. Then she can read it (or just remember it.) She can say it out loud or in her head, or you could read it to her while she closes her eyes and visualizes. She could try actually squeezing and pointing in bed as long as she is able to do that without getting too wired to fall asleep. There is no right or wrong way to do this, she can experiment, but the main point is that when this is done shortly before falling asleep, the mind does some heavy lifting of memorizing during sleep.


One of the things I learned when helping my son with his anxiety over schoolwork is that new concepts need to be learned, forgotten, and relearned multiple times before they are truly well absorbed. So when we forget things, that is actually part of the learning process. Forgetting is good!

 

[John]

I beleive there was a recent thread that spoke about such an issue. I thought a coach on that thread suggested whiteboard and breaking the corrections down into steps. I think the problem is finding a coach willing to go the extra step for your daughter. You daughter could help the coach by asking questions after the corrections are given.

 

[Annikins]

My dd found that keeping a book of corrections she'd been given previously that she could read before going into the next session helped quite a lot. And before she goes in, she decides on one thing she's going to really focus on that session (even if some other things go a bit wrong as a result). Not sure if that might help? Maybe there are just too many things to remember at once?

 

[chen]

Sorry your dd is feeling overwhelmed. I agree with Madden3, that if the coach or she is trying to correct multiple things at once, it can be overwhelming. I like Annikins suggestion of a book of corrections and focusing on one correction. My DD writes in a journal before practice, quick notes on what she's thankful for, and what she's going to focus on at gym (she usually lists 1-2 corrections). As an onlooker when I see a gymnasts with non pointed toes, I remind myself that perhaps that is not what they are focusing on as there are so many aspects to each skill. Maybe focusing on one correction during a turn (running fast for the vault), then adding an additional correction when that feels good to her (large hurdle arms to ears), etc. If you are able to talk to the coach, that might help too. Every gymnast has their own path and their own way of learning, good coaches can adapt to the gymnast's needs - if they are aware.