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I have been cheering and tumbling since I was 4! I am 13 now. When I was about 10 my coach was spotting me on my back handspring. Well, she dropped me very hard on my head! Ever since then I couldn't back tumble! Not even with a spot! I have tried just about everything to get over my HUGE mental block! Nothing has worked! Please help me! What do I do!!
Thank you for posting your question to the Ask Me Help Desk.
First of all, let's change your thoughts to... I CAN DO IT!
I am pasting three articles I wrote about this area. It is long so I have to post it in two posts.
The first is about how we deal with mistakes and failure.
The second is about visualizing this is an important skill to master.
The third is about motivation. Why are you doing this? Perhaps you may find something here that will help push you forward.
These were written for gymnasts in particular so you may find some references to gymnasts that you can ignore but they are still applicable in your situation.
I wish you the best of luck... please holler back if you have more questions.
Comeback Performance
I do not mean coming back after being off for five years. I mean how do you respond to mistakes and failure? Ultimately, our success often depends on this very thing. We as athletes, coaches, and parents are faced with this everyday. Fall off the beam? Miss the spot? Forget to wash the competition leotard? Some things are more severe than others but everyday we make small mistakes throughout the day. The key to success is in how we deal with these mistakes.
Ever notice how young children learn at exceptionally fast rates? That is because they are not afraid to experience failure or make mistakes. An infant will try to walk and fail numerous times but it has parents who are there to positively encourage them and keep them excited about what they are doing. The infant laughs about it, gets up, and tries again. The child does not care if it falls. It is no big deal. The infant would never have learned to walk if it had never tried. Infants explore and try everything and they learn quickly.
Unfortunately, many parents, coaches, and people in places of influence place too much emphasis on winning and perfection. They punish for making mistakes. As we grow older, we refuse to try some things for fear of failure and what might happen. We won't even try some things because we might not make it. That is sad. That is why adults, then, don't learn things as quickly. They fear the failure.
Ever heard the saying that goes "You fail only when you fail to try."? I believe in that. We need to step out of the box and make a few mistakes. That is how we will learn. ***If you make a mistake, SO WHAT!! get up and try again. If you sit there and say I will never try that again, you will never learn to do it.
Coaches-- let your athletes know that it is OK to make a mistake and that you will not yell at them for making mistakes. (I do not overlook the fact that there is a difference between making a mistake and being wrong on purpose such as lying.) Encourage them for their efforts and help them to try again and not give up.
Parents-- don't let coaches scare your children away from learning by criticizing mistakes and ridiculing them for failure. Accept nothing less than 110% positivity from the coaches. Help your children to understand that it is OK to make mistakes and that you are proud of them no matter what.
Athletes-- I know you have heard this before... "If at first you don't succeed, try, try, again." Most of all, don't be afraid to try the first one. NEVER GIVE UP!
Remember, it is how you deal with mistakes and failure, that is important. Do you get up or give up? I hope you make the right decision.
-Coach
Visualization
Have you ever heard your coaches say "focus!, focus!". I know that as I was a training gymnast, I heard it all the time. Now that I am a coach, I am the one saying it. It is a skill that takes practice but you may be surprised at how beneficial it can be for you over time. Let's stop and take a closer look at visualization.
Many gymnasts have the ability to learn all kinds of skills but the ones that really go the distance also have the ability to visualize and focus on the skills. There is more to the game of mental imagery than you might think. There is a lot that you have to know about it in order to make it successful for you.
First of all, visualizing is something that, if you are going to do it, you need to do it all of the time. You cannot just visualize one time and expect to get amazing results. It just does not work that way. You need to train the brain. You must also learn to do some of your visualization exercises away from the gym. Work on strengthening your mind at home too.
To visualize properly, you must get yourself into the right state of mind. This means you are going to have to relax. That does not mean you have to sit in a corner with your eyes closed and legs crossed with your hands on your knees palms up. Early on it may take you longer than you think to get the mind relaxed and ready to visualize. Clear your mind of all of the negative things you may tell yourself. They will only cause to to become more nervous. Start replacing the negative with positive thoughts. "I can do this", "tap, shift, push" etc. Once you get good at it, you should be able to do it fairly quickly.
Remember these key points when you visualize.
** You have 5 senses. Use them! Visualization is more than just a picture in your head. See the blue mats, hear someone hitting the springboard, smell the air at the gym, taste your mouth, and feel the texture of the beam under your feet. These are just examples of how you can use all of your senses.
** Always picture positive. The sticks or the awesome, no wobble tricks. Never picture crashing or falling.
** You must continue to visualize on a consistent basis. Make it part of your workout. Just like anything, it takes practice.
** Make sure your mind is relaxed when you try to visualize. No negative thoughts!
** Try to feel yourself going through the motions. This is known as kinesthetic imagery. Feel what the muscles do, how they move, where they are in relation to the body.
** Talk to yourself. Say things like "I am good at this" or "No problem."
** Visualize at actual speed and not in slow motion.
I once heard someone say that properly visualizing something one time is worth actually performing it 3 times. Remember, it is important to train the brain so that it knows what to do.
I also recommend using two types of visualization. Internal and external. Internal visualization is when you picture it through your own eyes. External visualization is when you picture it as if you were the spectator watching someone else. Like you are in the stands watching yourself do that awesome floor routine. Practice both to find out which one works the best for you. You may like one or the other or a combination of both.
Remember, stop, close your eyes, and visualize. Feel the tricks and use your senses to try and create the same atmosphere in your mind that you had when you made that first one. Block out all possible distractions and focus on the task at hand.
If you get into a habit of visualizing all of the time both in and out of practice, you will begin to reap the benefits. I truly believe that one of the keys to successful practice and performance lies with the art of visualization.
-Coach
Please read the next post for the third article on motivation.
Here is the third article for you.
Motivation
Have you ever thought about what it is that motivates you to do well ? If you haven't, maybe you should. Motivation is a very important part of sports as well as day to day life. It is oftentimes the difference between success and failure. Let's take a small look at what motivation is.
First of all, lets take a look at the two different types of motivation. These types of motivation are extrinsic and intrinsic. Extrinsic motivators include things like trophies, money, praise from a loved one, that good grade in school, etc. They are all tangible things, material things. Intrinsic motivators on the other hand are not tangible because they come from within yourself. Doing something simply because it is fun, or because you feel great joy when you are actively participating in something, or feeling the pride just because you can say "I did it!"
Now lets see how it can affect us. All too often, we as athletes and coaches, allow ourselves and our athletes to get trapped into being driven by extrinsic motivators. Think about what happens to the athletes that are only in it for the trophy or medal. What do you think happens to their self-esteem each time they fail to take first place or to get that award? All athletes who are extrinsically motivated will react to that differently. Some will begin to lose faith in themselves, think of themselves as losers, or even get very, very frustrated or mad and display a bad attitude. Worse yet, they may end up quitting a sport that was once a true love for them. Some athletes may not show any emotion at all but deep down they have still been hurt. All athletes will drop in performance and love for the sport. Regardless of the outcome, none are worth the cumulative heartache of being led by extrinsic motivators. The monster of extrinsic motivation needs to be fed. If it cannot get the food it wants (trophies, prizes, etc.) it will feed on us. If it is fed too well, we will burst at the seams. We have all seen that athlete.
What happens though, when we allow intrinsic motivators to be the force behind our ambition? We feel that sense of accomplishment and pride deep down that cannot be emulated by any medal. The satisfaction that one gets from taking the challenge and being successful has no equal. I realize that there are times when intrinsically motivated people experience defeat and loss as well. I have noticed, however, that it does not seem to bother them as much though. I feel it is because they know deep down that they tried their best and had a great time while they were doing it. It made them happy just to be involved. That was all that mattered. Their self-esteem and confidence held strong. In fact they grow stronger. No less swayed for the next time around.
Coaches--I cannot stress enough the importance of putting the needs of your athletes first and winning second. Work on building teams that are driven by sheer desire and comeraderie. I think you will find that although your win-loss record may not be as good, you will feel better about yourself and what you have done to help your athletes. In my experiences so far, I have found that when my athletes are intrinsically motivated as a team, winning takes care of itself. I ask all my athletes every year to rate three things. I ask them this - "On a scale of one to ten, how important is it to you that we win, that you have fun, and that you learn something?" About 99% of the time, my athletes rate winning as the lowest. They are not, however, unhappy about the win-loss record of the team.
Athletes--Ask yourself, "What reasons am I doing this for?" (I realize that there are areas of our lives that we cannot control) "What do I want out of the final result?", "Am I doing this for me or for someone else?" Ever notice that when you are doing something because YOU want to do it, you are more happy as you do it, that you are more proud when you are done, and that you want to do it again? Don't let coaches bully you. You are not there for the coaches or for Mom and Dad. If you are not having fun then you should find out what it is that is motivating you. You should be there because you are having fun or because it is one of YOUR goals to become better.
Motivation is a very powerful tool and if we can learn to use it to better our sense of self then we have chosen well. Don't let the monster get to you.
-Coach
Just don't give up...
Never say "can't"... keep a positive outlook and tell yourself, "I Can Do This".
I don't know much about the sport; however, I know that you must be very talented.
In order to get past your mental block, you have to let go of the accident and the negative impact it made on you.
Once you've done that, it will be easier for you to regain your confidence so that you can start back tumbling again.
Every fun and exciting sport has it's risks and accidents happen.
Just keep reminding yourself that you are not going to give up and
Start from the beginning and work your way back up to the point you were at before the accident.
When I was a young girl, I loved horse back ridding (still do), but I had a very bad accident/experience that made me fearful to ever ride again.
I started slow and went through all the basics until I got back to the level I was at before.
I've had accidents since then, but getting past the first was the hardest.
Just don't give up.
Well my advice to you is to just start chucking it over and then if you land on your knees you at least know you can keep trying to perfect it just be cofident and don't over think your tumblingQuote:
Originally Posted by cheerpeanut
Good Luck!
Yep, I know exactly how you feel. When I was tumbling, I had fell and skid my face on the trapoline and I've been too scared to tumble since then. All you have to do is tell yourself that you can't let that little mistake stop you from doing what you love. You have to keep practicing and beat the mental block so you can get on with you cheering life lol. Well, I hope this helps. GO CHEER!!Quote:
Originally Posted by cheerpeanut
Well, I'm 12 I learned how to do a back handspring a few months ago!Quote:
Originally Posted by cheerpeanut
All you have to do is try to trust the person!My first time was so scary!
I didn't trust anybody neither , but I just bent a little then put my hands beside my ears and closed my eye's and hoped I make it!
I did!A TIP:If you do that make sure your hands are stiff and firm!
Hey brother...
Don't worry this is the quick answer from black dragon...
Believe on this quote..
"to fear death is to limit life"
So don't fear..
Check a spotting vedio on (Flash Mavi) for back handspring...
I think this will help you
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