Dear who ever is reading this, I was wondering if you could give me some advice. I am pretty good at tumbling, I used to have a layout. The only thing is now I am scared to do a standing backhandspring! People say my backhandspring is really pretty and I should be doing it by myself but sometimes I freak myself out before I do them and I land on my back. This has been making me miserable for the past 5 months. I have tried viualizing myself doing it and telling myself I can do It a billion times but nothing seems to work. I cant stop thinking about it mostly because I could be kicked off the team if I dont throw it. Does anyone have any advice? Thanls
I read this post, and I have to say you are certainly not alone; I've seen many tumblers go through this and my heart always goes out to them because they try SO HARD. I don't know the answer because I'm not a coach, just a parent. But if any of the coaches can take the time to answer your question, I think it will help you and many others in your situation. Hang in there!
There are so many different reasons for blocks. Different things help different people. If you're fear stems from going over backwards, I would try to take a step back. Go back to back walk-overs or even falling to bridge. You're more controled here and you can begin to develop the confidence for your back handspring. Since you control your speed into back walk-overs you can slow yourself down to begin with and then build your speed as you build your confidence.
I agree with Nelson 100%. Tumbling blocks are caused by a number of things. Continuing with what Nelson said about back bends and back walkovers, make sure to work on skills you can do by yourself. Although it is great to get a spot every once in a while, do not get dependant on them while you regain confidence. Using spotters, when dealing with tumbling blocks, can often give you a false sense of confidence- meaning when the spotter backs away your fear or block returns.
Best wishes on regaining your tumbling. I am sure over time it will all come back- your body never forgets how to tumble.
My daughter also went through a tumbling block. Thanks to her dedication, the support of her team and very patient coaches she has gotten through it. Fear is common you just have to want to tumble more than you are afraid. Do not give up and good luck.
My daughter also developed a fear last season. The first question I asked her was how bad did she really want to get back to tumbling. Her answer was she definately wanted to tumble again....so, she had great coaches that worked her in increments. They broke apart the tumbling skills and repetitively worked her at her pace until til, yes....she is tumbling once again! Good luck!
My daughter Amber is an exceptional tumbler who took a bad spill last year and hasnt thrown a single skill since. Her tumbling block is extremely frustrating and has literally changed the type of cheerleader she is. We've tried everything....switching her coaches...taking her to gymnastic gyms..nothing has worked and I feel so bad for her. She has struggled with so much this past year...seeing her teammates whom shes cheered with for 5 years pass her by. I realized quite awhile ago that this fear is in complete contol of her....it doesnt mean she doesnt want to tumble...cuz believe me the girl would do anything to just move past it. So if your child has the unfortunate luck to find herself afraid...dont ask how bad do you want it? Believe me....that does no good. Ive found the best thing I can do is nothing. She needs to work this out with her coach...Ive found that us parents (who love our kids with all our hearts) become extremely pushy without even realizing it. Our URGING them to move on to the next skill or to do it again or "Just throw it" is putting so much unnecessary pressure on our kids. Ive learned the hard way..I hope that Amber tumbles again someday(she has an awesome coach this year who might just be the one to get her past it) but if she doesnt...its ok. I will support her and love her no matter what and maybe with NO pressure from me she will come home home after practice someday and say guess what!! I did it...lets pray :)
Something that is seemingly unrelated, but can DEFINITELY contribute to mental blocks is what's going on in the rest of your life. If you're feeling stressed about school, work, your family, whatever, it can put pressure on you and for some reason creates blocks when it comes to tumbling...I don't know the cause, but I've seen it happen over and over again. If you think that might be part of it take a little time and let yourself relax, make sure before you go into the gym to practice that you're calm and that you're not stressing over anything, it works wonders I promise.
I was the same way.. but i was afraid to do round off tucks.. my block lasted for quite awhile.. but after cleaning up the rest of my life, just like the former coach has said, i just took everything slow n steady n set my own pace. I know how it feels, you get so frustrated over the little things and not to worry becuase everyone is going to be behind you 100%. I reccently got my tumbling back, and im sure you'll be back in NO time! You can do it! :D Just remember you can do anything, and you can control anything and everything! ... good luck!
I think Bev has the right attitude; if the tumbling comes back, awesome! But if not, so be it! You make the best of what you CAN do. And somewhere along the way, once you realize that it's okay, it just might sneak up on you afterall! Remember there's more to cheerleading than tumbling, I'll bet you have other skills to bring to your team. And most importantly, have fun!
Oh honey, I don't know what gym you are with. Just the stress you feel that if you don't throw the skill you will be kicked off is enough to keep the block alive. I know from experience that even though the coaches want the skill, most are pretty understanding. Just talk to your coach. Like Bev said Amber blocks haven't kept her from a team. Pyramids has been very supportive of her fear. Coach Angie is my daughter and had a bigggggggggggg spill her Jr year in high school. It took her awhile to get up the nerve to throw her tuck again. Finally. one day she said enough and went out threw the skill. Just give yourself the opportunity to work through it, it will happen one day when you least expect it. I wish you the best of luck.
definitely been there... I've had a lot of mental issues with my tumbling and i've seen it in many of my teammates. I've searched and searched, but there is no easy answer that works for everyone. Some people have gotten over it simply with repetition, others visualization and confidence boosters (visualization of, not only the skill itself, but also how you feel before you do the skill), and there are also several people i know who needed the pressure to get them over it. its true for many people that laying off the pressure helps, but not for everyone. One friend of mine got over hers because her coach made her realize that it was completely unacceptable for her to be acting that way because she was stronger and way better than that. of course this wouldn't work for everyone, but in this case our coach knew that for HER it would work and get her over her mental block better than just visualization and repetition. And ever since then she has never had a problem with her mental blocks, and this was years ago. However, for most people its not something that just goes away, even if you get over it it will be likely to resurface when you move on and work on different skills. Think about it, its pretty natural reaction...its not natural for your body to be flipping upside down! For me, the trick is always to get frustrated and mad at myself enough so that i WANT to get over it but not frustrated enough so that i all i can focus on is my frustration. visualizing myself performing the skill helped a lot! Especially visualizing how i would feel right before doing it. Theres a feeling where you know if you're going to do it or not. If you can visualize yourself coming into practice having no doubts that you're gonna do it, and visualize yourself feeling calm and confident it will help A LOT. it doesn't happen overnight, it takes time...but when it clicks its the best feeling of accomplishment. And of course repetition is key, the more comfortable you are with it and the more it feels like "no big deal" with a spot than the easier it will be to do it without a spot and without being mental. (if having the spot is the problem)
So for anyone working through a mental block, its tough, but don't give up...just try different ways of get around it. work with different coaches and just have faith in the fact that you will get it back. If you give into your mental block you'll regret it but once you get through it, it will all be worth it.
I have to say I have to agree with Former Coach along with everyone else, of course. My daughter had a terrible tumbling block a few years ago. It really wore her down. She was feeling so much pressure to perform her new skills that she had learned that she was making herself physically ill before competition. It wasn't every pass but one specific pass - one that she could perform with ease. Even once the pass was taken out and an easier one was put in, she still popped it at competition because it was in her head and getting the best of her. What I found to work the very best was to back off of her, let her get her skills in her time instead of the coaches time and my time and let her enjoy cheer and tumbling again. Basically, I stopped being the Cheerzilla that I was and let her coaches be the coaches. Once I regained my role as just Mom, the pressure was lifted and tumbling and cheer no longer felt like a job. Now she's throwing flip flop tucks and working layouts and is as happy as can be. Hang in there and relax. Take the pressure off yourself and remember why you started in the first place. Because it was fun!!!
This is one of the best discussions this board has ever seen! Great suggestions. My favorite is the moms that realize it's best to just be "the mom". That after all is what your kids need from you most.
I also loved the visualization technique. It works for me in golf so I'm sure it would be great for tumbling.
In my experience tumbling blocks come from three specific things. 1) A bad spill (rare but happens) 2) Parent pressure and sideline coaching. All too commen especially with young ones. I've actually heard a mom say "do 5 more standing tucks before we leave" right after their coach said "no more tucks until we fix your back handspring". This kind of contradiction can really confuse the athlete. 3) Progressing through skills too quickly. Just because a kid can chuck a running round off back handspring it doesn't mean they're ready for a round off tuck. The body needs muscle memory of each skill before moving on.
Here are a few ways to avoid tumbling blocks. * Progress through the cheergyms.com level system. Do not jump ahead in private lessons. EXAMPLE: If you are a level 3 tumbler working on tucks in your class, DO NOT ask to work lay-outs in your private lessons. Anything above the level in which you are working should not be attempted. * Try not to talk tumbling in the car. Pick a different topic of discussion with your parents when you get in the car after practice. There's more to life than cheer and tumbling and sometimes it's best to put it out of your mind after a hard or frustrating work out. * Work on things you are not afraid to do OVER and OVER and OVER and OVER and OVER and OVER and OVER and OVER again. If you are afraid of Fulls do layouts, afraid of tucks do multiple back handsprings, afraid of back handspring do backwalkovers. Just keep working and getting stronger.
Lastly, any of the cheergyms.com staff would happy to sit down with you if you are having a mental block problem. They can help you find the cause and a solution!
My favorite way to get over a mental block is visualization! Its worked for me for many skills, both when I was in gymnastics and in cheer.
I think alot of people get a block out of fear of not being aware of what your body feels like when you go upside down, because your feet feel like one thing when your standing on them, and something COMPLETELY different when your doing a backhandspring. When a kid is getting spotted, they stop thinking about the SKILL and why its scary, and instead think about corrections and technique, because they have someone there. Once a spotter backs away, they stop thinking about the technique, and think about the worst case scenario... falling.
What I tell the kids that have privates to do, whether they're scared of doing the skill, or scared of changing it (ie.. straight legs when the habbit is bent ones,) is something that an old gymnastics coach taught me to do when I was 8 or 9 years old. When I had first hurt my knee, and couldn't do lots of repitition, I did the reps in my head. I would go sit (or lay down, which ever you want) in the corner, by themselves, close their eyes, and picture themselves doing the skilln PERFECTLY not just once or twice, but 50-100 times. And when they picture the skill, to picture and try to FEEL every detail, like what are your feet doing, your arms, your legs. And not just to see it, but to FEEL it. And it really works. I would also suggest doing this ONLY at the gym, not in bed or in the car, because then you're thinking about it too much.
I know I'm a big fat CHICKEN when it comes to new skills. Took me at least a year and a half to learn my full, with good old Nelson spotting me every single day for the whole year and a half. And if its been a while since I've tumbled, I STILL need a spot on my first full. I got stuck though, because I got used to seeing Nelson at the same time in my twist, and if he wasn't there I would freak out and get lost. It got to a point where it didn't even have to be Nelson, it could be a team mate that had NO IDEA how to spot a full, they just had to stand there so I could spot them. Another suggestion would be to step just a little out of your comfort zone, and get spotted on the other side. I know it doesnt sound like a difference, but when your used to someone spotting you on the same side over and over again, even just a little change like that can help you get used to CHANGE.
Most important though, is to be patient with yourself, and not to compare yourself with other athletes, who might be learning faster then you. Some people just don't get scared, some people just need to do it over and over, and some people just need a spot until the confidence is there to go on there own. But everyone is different, you just gotta figure out what works for YOU.
this happens to the best of us. Dont worry. Last year i was tumbling in a routine and i did a ro BHS tuck and rolled my ankle on my set and landed on my neck in front of our entire school. This happend at the very beggingin of the routine and i had to tumble and fly throught the rest of the routine. I wanted to cry really bad but held it in. i finished the routine and cried my eyes out after. After recovering from my ankle injury i was back at a comp practice adn i had to through my BHS tuck i was soo scared that i would fall agin. my coach told me id be fine and i could do it. After crying be i was soo scared and afraid i would biff and get hurt i finally did. it felt really good to do and get over my block. after that i told my self i would do at least one bhs tuck a day so i wouldnt be afraid. I know that they can be scary and its really hard to not be afraid but just belive in yourself that you can do it. as the ppl beofre me said vizualize it really does help! Tell yourself you can do it and i swear you will! After you fall once you may be afraid to do it agin but dont let your fears conqur you. hope all this helps :) :)
I went through a block too its so annoying, because i knew i could do it i just woudn't throw it . I got over it by not thinking about and just doing it, it makes it harder the longer you wait instead of just throwing it.
