How to help a gymnast shake the nerves away?

[gymgal]

This is dd's 4th yr of competing (11yrs old) and her anxiety over meets seems to be getting worse. I am looking for some approaches to help her. I know there are some motivational and mind block audio tapes out there. Just don't know if its the way to go. She says she feels a lot of pressure and doesn't want to mess up. We have assured her often that it isn't about the awards or scores but about her doing her best. She just really psychs herself out, to the point of tears sometimes just before competing a rotation. She can usually pull it together but obviously, it affects her. Bars and beam seem to catch her the most. She doesn't really struggle with either, though she says they are her two hardest events. She seems to have more difficulty at the larger arena events. Unfortunately, that's where most of our meets have been the past two yrs. Any advice or experience is appreciated.

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[gymmomof1]

This is dd's 4th yr of competing (11yrs old) and her anxiety over meets seems to be getting worse. I am looking for some approaches to help her. I know there are some motivational and mind block audio tapes out there. Just don't know if its the way to go. She says she feels a lot of pressure and doesn't want to mess up. We have assured her often that it isn't about the awards or scores but about her doing her best. She just really psychs herself out, to the point of tears sometimes just before competing a rotation. She can usually pull it together but obviously, it affects her. Bars and beam seem to catch her the most. She doesn't really struggle with either, though she says they are her two hardest events. She seems to have more difficulty at the larger arena events. Unfortunately, that's where most of our meets have been the past two yrs. Any advice or experience is appreciated.

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I can tell you that my DD psychs her self out too and beam is where she seems to let those thoughts run wild!! In the summer our gym brought in Doc Ali Arnold who is fantastic!!! My dd used the techniques but as time went by she forgot what Doc Ali said so I went to her website and downloaded the Training your Mind CD and all I can say is that it is worth the $15 for my DD. She had her first L7 meet and did her best beam routine ! The techniques are not just for gymnastics but a way to cope with negative thoughts in life . Here is the website for you to look at to see if this would be helpful for your gymmie
Head Games

 

[bluesocks]

Has anyone done the workbooks through Doc Ali? I was specifically wondering about the one for ages 9 and up. Would it be adaptable/appropriate for a just turning 8 year old? How did you use the workbook--with your child or on their own?

 

[gymgal]

Thanks! I will check it out!

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[MaryA]

Not to hijack, but is the Headgames CD something you could drift off to sleep with? Or is it something you have to actively listen to? I have a "relaxation/visualization" type track on my MP3 player that I will play for my gymmie when she's having trouble sleeping... That is often the night before a meet. It's about 25 minutes long and she almost never makes it to the end. I have to take the ear buds out of her ears while she sleeps. I had thought that it would be nice to have some sort of gymnastics-specific thing for her to listen to. Would this do the trick or would she be so busy imagining herself flying through the air that she'd be more hopped up by the end than she was at the beginning?

 

[mayestra12]

We have the dr. Ali cd and it has helped a lot. My dd is only 7 but has anxiety. I actually e-mailed her about the workbook. My dd is still a little young for it. She falls asleep to the cd.

 

[gymgurl]

I get quite nervous in competitions but i find that little rituals help me keep my nerves down. Rituals generally include how I warm up and what I do while others are competing. On beam I find I can't watch the people in front of me go because it makes me nervous if they fall etc. I also warm up in the same order I would in training as I do in competitions to try to make it as close to training as possible. She just needs to find her thing to do. By the sound of it she doesn't like the idea of a large space so maybe if she tries to not look at the audience etc and focus on the gymnastics equipment

 

[MaryA]

She falls asleep to the cd.

oh, good. I think I'll get it then.

 

[All Chalked Up]

Not to hijack, but is the Headgames CD something you could drift off to sleep with? Or is it something you have to actively listen to? I have a "relaxation/visualization" type track on my MP3 player that I will play for my gymmie when she's having trouble sleeping... That is often the night before a meet. It's about 25 minutes long and she almost never makes it to the end. I have to take the ear buds out of her ears while she sleeps. I had thought that it would be nice to have some sort of gymnastics-specific thing for her to listen to. Would this do the trick or would she be so busy imagining herself flying through the air that she'd be more hopped up by the end than she was at the beginning?

Not to hijack either, but what is the name of this track? The "relaxation/visualization" track you have on your MP3. Thanks!

 

[thefellowsmom]

Check out rescue remedy as well. It is a Homeopathic type remedy. I have anxiety issues and use it all the time. It really helps, to the point that I have never had to take any prescription meds. There are lots of different types for different problems. My Dd and I both have a custom combination that we take daily. They are called Bach flower essences and you can find them at a quality supplement or natural food store.

Thanks for the info on the doc Ali cd everyone. I was wondering about it as well.

 

[MaryA]

oh, good. I think I'll get it then.

Not to hijack either, but what is the name of this track? The "relaxation/visualization" track you have on your MP3. Thanks!

Jennifer Polle ?Hypnosis & Meditation recordings

 

[SuperGirlmlm]

Does her coach talk to her a lot right before she competes? My coach eventually learned that some girls need him talking to her until the moment they get on the beam or whatever. For others like me, he is getting in my bubble and making me more nervous. I used to psych myself out, but I think I got used to competing.

 

[gymgal]

Does her coach talk to her a lot right before she competes? My coach eventually learned that some girls need him talking to her until the moment they get on the beam or whatever. For others like me, he is getting in my bubble and making me more nervous. I used to psych myself out, but I think I got used to competing.

This is exactly what is going on. After talking more with her, she thinks it would be best if no one talks to her before or after bars and beam. Let's her just get/stay in her zone. She explained it as - she's trying to hold it together and then a teammate or coach sees her frightened face and tries to ease her, which results in opening the flood gates. She doesn't handle empathy well - makes her cry more.

So, we agreed that we would talk with the coaches about leaving her alone until she approached them. I also bought the cd and the 12 week program from Dr Ali, hoping that will help with fears and confidence. I think hormones are playing a part too as her body use just beginning to develop. I know that can cause emotional upheaval.

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[hawaii_gymnast]

Our coaches get other classes to come and watch our routines sometimes as it is more like a competition experience then just doing your routine with everyone else doing their own thing. Also I found that it just comes with age and experience. I used to get super nervous competiting (mostly beam) but now I am in my 8th year competiting and it doesn't bother me anymore. You have to realize that it is just a meet (or just beam, or bars or what ever the problem is) and it is not a big deal if you make a mistake. Last year I got really shakey on beam everytime, this year I realized that it was just beam and that all I had to do was go and do it like I do in practice.
We also had a sports physicologist come in once and talk to us about how nerves are not a bad thing. That it is really a good thing too be nervous, you just have to learn to control your nerves. And she gave us different breathing techniques and things like visualization or listening to music.

 

[gymgal]

Our coaches get other classes to come and watch our routines sometimes as it is more like a competition experience then just doing your routine with everyone else doing their own thing. Also I found that it just comes with age and experience. I used to get super nervous competiting (mostly beam) but now I am in my 8th year competiting and it doesn't bother me anymore. You have to realize that it is just a meet (or just beam, or bars or what ever the problem is) and it is not a big deal if you make a mistake. Last year I got really shakey on beam everytime, this year I realized that it was just beam and that all I had to do was go and do it like I do in practice.
We also had a sports physicologist come in once and talk to us about how nerves are not a bad thing. That it is really a good thing too be nervous, you just have to learn to control your nerves. And she gave us different breathing techniques and things like visualization or listening to music.

DD's gym does this too. And does mock meets with all the parents there. This doesn't seem to bother her because she mentally knows it's different than a real meet.

I really home it is just a maturity issue. That she just needs more experience. But this is her 4th year competing. You'd think it would be out of her system. She really only began having major nerves last year when she started doing BWO on beam. She didn't need it in her routine but she chose to do them (despite our recommendations not to). This year, it has escalated to bars and beam. I am thinking it is because more is at stake with these. She can really "mess up" with these two events by falling off vs. fx and vt are pretty standard.

I do think the visualization and the relaxation techniques will help. She has begun listening to the cd already and we are waiting for the workbook.

thanks everyone for your suggestions and insight

 

[gymmomof1]

This is exactly what is going on. After talking more with her, she thinks it would be best if no one talks to her before or after bars and beam. Let's her just get/stay in her zone. She explained it as - she's trying to hold it together and then a teammate or coach sees her frightened face and tries to ease her, which results in opening the flood gates. She doesn't handle empathy well - makes her cry more.

So, we agreed that we would talk with the coaches about leaving her alone until she approached them. I also bought the cd and the 12 week program from Dr Ali, hoping that will help with fears and confidence. I think hormones are playing a part too as her body use just beginning to develop. I know that can cause emotional upheaval.

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Hope the Doc Ali "training your mind" helps like it does for my dd . DD uses it before every practice and competition. She now is able to go to the track she needs to get her mind ready lol.