As many gymnasts prepare to begin their aggressive seasons, there’s one factor I hear a variety of from dad and mom and coaches alike. “She’s doing nice. But when solely she had extra confidence…”
Whereas it is true that confidence is one thing all of us may use just a little extra of, confidence is not nearly feeling good about your self.
For gymnasts, it is actually the glue that holds them collectively. It provides them the flexibility to shine on the meet ground and to indicate as much as competitors as the most effective model of themselves.
So how can coaches assist gymnasts construct confidence main into gymnastics meet season?
Listed here are 3 suggestions.
1. Be certain your gymnasts are placing within the numbers.
This goes with out saying however when gymnasts are making ready for meet season, they should put in as many numbers as attainable in order that they have one thing strong to show their readiness. One of many largest sources of confidence comes from repeated demonstration of capacity.
The extra prepared a gymnast feels, the upper her confidence. In distinction, if a gymnast is anxious that she is not prepared for meet season or hasn’t had sufficient time to place collectively her full routines, she’s going to doubtless be missing confidence when the large day comes.
Phrases like “belief your coaching” need to be plausible to ensure that your gymnasts to muster braveness from them. If they have been coaching arduous and placing in a lot of routines, then they will really belief their coaching when the time comes.
Now clearly there is a nice line between doing a lot of numbers and never desirous to burn out a gymnast earlier than competitions season even begins. So numbers also can embrace doing dance run throughs whereas imagining their ability passes. The objective is on your gymnasts to know their routines in and out and to have the endurance and psychological stamina to get by way of them persistently.
In case you have gymnasts who’re recovering from harm or struggling by way of psychological blocks, imagery is an effective way to get them feeling extra ready. Assign them psychological routines as a part of their follow or homework.
One other nice method to get gymnasts to really feel extra ready with out placing in precise numbers is to have them create a highlights reel.
A highlights reel is a group of varied movies by way of the years of assured routines. Encourage your gymnasts to splice collectively their greatest routines and to observe this highlights reel on daily basis.
Among the best builders of confidence is previous success. In case your gymnasts have had profitable meet seasons previously and/or performed actually nice routines, this can provide them a lift of confidence. The extra they will watch themselves doing these routines, the higher they will really feel main into a brand new meet season. The objective, then, is to get them to “see” as many profitable routines as attainable.
2. Create competitors like situations as usually as attainable.
One of many largest issues that gymnasts have to do to arrange for competitors season is get themselves into a contest mindset mode.
Gymnastics is a sport the place a lot of coaching is finished in follow mode. Summer season, pre-season, post-season…these all span months and months. Competitors season itself is simply a handful of meets over a comparatively quick span of time. To compound this, precise competitions compose a really small share of precise time in a gymnast’s profession.
Subsequently it is common for gymnasts to enter competitors season nonetheless in follow mode.
A follow mindset is one among perfecting abilities, attempting issues again and again, and selecting abilities aside or breaking them down till they get them proper which is not attainable throughout competitors.
A contest mindset, then again, is one among trusting your coaching, going with the movement, and hitting on command.
Gymnasts who do not make the change from a follow mindset to a contest mindset could discover themselves unprepared for competitors season. Once they need to do single routines at meets, they usually cannot put up their greatest effort as a result of they have not skilled their physique and thoughts to hit for these single routines.
Coaches can create competitors environments within the health club as usually as attainable main as much as competitors season. Nevertheless, please word, this doesn’t imply growing the stress they’re already feeling as meet season approaches. It merely means getting them into new habits of performing routines with much less prep as they’ll do in competitors.
This may imply:
- Having gymnasts follow their competitors warmups after which do one single routine in entrance of their teammates to simulate a contest setting.
- Narrowing down to at least one single correction as a substitute of giving gymnasts a laundry record of corrections to make. In spite of everything, in competitors it is about with the ability to do your greatest with what you might have in that second. When you’re getting very choosy as a coach, then your gymnasts will proceed to remain in a follow mindset mode.
- Encouraging gymnasts to maintain going by way of their routines once they make errors. For instance, if a gymnast is working her bar routine and falls, as a substitute of letting her repeat the start once more, have her choose up from the place she fell and end her routine.
With that stated, there’s one main exception to the concepts above. If a gymnast is struggling by way of a psychological block, do NOT take away spots or mats to prep her for competitors. Whereas many coaches suppose they should get their gymnasts used to what the aggressive surroundings might be like, when gymnasts have psychological blocks their brains are in fight-flight-or-freeze mode.
These gymnasts completely NEED to proceed to construct belief with their mind and their physique. This may occasionally require mats and spots main as much as precise competitors (and presumably spots throughout competitors as nicely). It is at all times higher to have these gymnasts take the deduction for being noticed than to push them too quickly to strive abilities solo that their brains are saying no to.
These gymnasts may even take the deduction for not doing a ability if they are not able to compete it. If worse involves worst, then scratching an occasion is an possibility. However permit these gymnasts to proceed to get what they want throughout follow to maintain constructing confidence by way of their psychological block.
3. Encourage your gymnasts to make use of psychological choreography persistently.
If you have not already, assist your gymnasts create psychological choreography for every of their routines. Psychological choreography is a manner of holding your gymnasts’ minds centered throughout their routines so it prevents the self doubt and unfavourable ideas from creeping in.
Psychological choreography is when your gymnasts suppose/say one phrase for each aspect or ability of their routine. This may be one thing so simple as naming the ability they’re doing (again walkover) or saying a phrase to remind them of what they should do (block, push).
In obligatory ranges, coaches can create psychological choreography for every of the routines and train it to all of the gymnasts to be taught. You’ll be able to even follow it as a bunch out loud in order that they get it down.
In non-obligatory ranges, your gymnasts can create their very own psychological choreography that goes with their routines.
The objective is on your gymnasts to memorize these phrases and to say them each single time they follow their routines. This will apply even throughout dance run-throughs or imagery.
The extra they will do that persistently, the extra ready they’ll really feel come competitors. Once they rise up to compete, they will merely remind themselves to say their phrases after which their brains take over robotically throughout their routines.
Backside line, confidence is constructed by way of previous successes (highlights reel), feeling ready (placing within the numbers), and holding the unfavourable/doubt ideas out (psychological choreography).
Making that change from follow mindset mode to competitors mindset mode can also be crucial to your gymnasts’ success this season. Ensure, as a coach, you’re creating conditions that really feel extra like competitors within the health club by having gymnasts undergo their competitors warmups and routines and having them observe by way of with abilities even once they make errors.
Nevertheless, one massive caveat, is that you don’t want so as to add to the stress gymnasts are already feeling as meet season approaches. Countdowns to competitors may be eradicated. They trigger extra nerves than obligatory in lots of gymnasts. Always holding the truth that meet season is coming over your gymnasts’ heads can also be not obligatory. By following the ideas above you possibly can assist your gymnasts make the shift to competitors mode with as little stress as attainable.
—–
When you or your gymnast wants assist, along with the assets beneath I additionally provide one-on-one teaching periods through Zoom.
Useful Hyperlinks:
