All-Star Mental Stunting Block?

[SheCheers]

Does this happen? I've only heard of mental tumbling blocks. Not sure what to do/say if anything anymore to my cp and i certainly don't want to fuel a potential block.

She's still in tryouts, but "tryouts" are actually loosely formed teams practicing together for several weeks and at the end they make adjustments. not much usually happens to switch teams and it doesn't sound like the coaches are going to move her off of this team (J3) because they have confidence that she'll be fine.

HOWEVER, she doesn't have the confidence she'll be fine. she's totally got it in her head. i picked her up Wednesday from practice and she was SOBBING and she doesn't ever cry in public. after about 5 minutes i was able to understand her saying "i can't even do a LIB in an extension". coach talked to her, told her she was amazing, competitions aren't until November, she has nothing to worry about, she'll get it, blah blah. and she still cried the whole way home. Coach came and talked to me and said the same things. that they're just working and they been switching different bases out to figure out a good fit and she'll be fine. She's not one to NOT get something the first few times, she's not one to let pressure get to her, either. i'm in uncharted territory here! One of the things that's wigging her out is that one of her bases is significantly taller than the other, the base and back spot are similarly sized, but the main base is taller, so she's squatting down low and the other base is on her toes. Cp says she can't help but see that and it freaks her out and then it makes her lose focus and she falls. on top of it, her knee is hurting when she locks it (working on that one, got some exercises/stretches and taking her to the chiropractor). she's only hitting when a coach is front spotting.

Things i said in the 5 minutes after she calmed down:
You don't have to cheer, it'll save me a lot of money....which is usually my litmus test for how bad it is and she NEVER wants to quit, ever ever ever and this time she said "let's see how the next three practices go" :( almost made me cry.
Trust your bases to do their job. Only worry about your job.
Stop looking at the bases, find a spot on the wall and look only at that.
Talk to your coaches and ask them what exactly you are doing wrong and how to fix it. (she claims she has and she's doing those things and it's not working).
Ignore any sarcastic comments from other people (she's tiny, so she was jokingly told anyone can hold her up, so she must be the problem...ha ha ha, not helpful)
EVERYONE knows you can do this, but we can't know it for you, you have to believe in yourself.
If you want it, keep trying...don't compare yourself to the other flyers only worry about you.

there may have been other comments. basically she heard everything i said, agreed with it, but can't BELIEVE it. so i've let it go....is that what i *should* do? not sure...seasoned parents help!

 

[mommy2mygirls]

Get a soup can and have her start practicing her lib, etc standing on that.

We also bought one of those Reebok balance boards - it's round and has a 1/2 moon shaped thing on the bottom - that is really helpful.

Most of all she just has to TRUST them... that makes 110% difference!

Oh and..yes it does happen..just like tumbling they have to trust in themselves -- but in stunting they have to also trust in others so it can freeze them mentally even though physically she is ready for it.

 

[cupieqt]

Poor darlin'! Flying is a tough job!!!

I get so aggravated with the "your tiny so anyone can hold you" mentality. Stunting takes skill from everyone. Bases, backspot, flyer---they all need to know their job and be strong enough to perform it so grrrr to those that still believe in just chunking the little girls with no regard for their safety (I'm NOT saying that's the mentality at your gym--doesn't sound like it--it's the comment that bothered me).

Ok all that being said, with mental blocks (tumbling and stunting) I start all over with the basics. In stunts, I would take the group and drill the dip and push (not going up and sticking the stunt). Looks like a show n go basically. It gives the group a chance to work their timing and develop trust. I do this with even my advanced stunters. It WORKS.

Give your cp a hug from me!

Pm me if you want to talk more about it--I'm good at working kids through mental blocks : )

 

[cscheerio]

Poor girl we had a girl on my team that stopped being able to twist after she broke her nose poor thing. She would get ready to twist and basically panic and just cradle, we tried reassuring her etc but that didnt seem to make a difference and we ended up having to pull a few of her stunts.

 

[gofriars610]

i've cheered on girls who have twist blocks and refusal to do a front flip from a prep to cradle (college team.) she had it fine until one day it didn't go well...and she never did it again. she could still do a tuck basket though.
please give your cp a hug. she'll be okay :)

 

[ErinS]

Stunting blocks are real. I have/had one. Mine came from falling and being dropped...I got over it when I learned how to fall properly. Like your CP, I freak(ed) out whenever I could see my bases...I also had to learn to full and double with my eyes closed because if I saw the backspot I'd automatically stop twisting...I also would not fly in basket tosses...ever. Some flyers just arent basket flyers.

Have her practice on a low stool...or arm of the couch if you don't mind (my mom didn't when I was in HS)

 

[SheCheers]

Thank you thank you everyone!!!

we have one of those inflatable discs and a soup can. so i pulled them out and told her to get her cheer shoes on.

she started on the soup can just in a lib, then moved on to the disc in a lib, then i held her ankles lightly while she did a lib to lib, then again to from a lib to heel stretch. she only fell once and i caught her. YAY! she's already like night and day and i asked her if she's feeling like pushing on or if she still wants to see how the next few practices go.

She said "i'm pushing on! and i'm not gonna be lookin at my bases!" :)

 

[simplymom]

I have been in EXACTLY your position! Buy a stunt stepper! It's sooooo worth the money! Or if your gym has one, ask to borrow it. Have her practice on it in front of a mirror while watching her favorite show on tv. She will gain confidence and balance.

PS...We tried the soup can idea. Sounded brilliant, but just didn't work for her.

 

[ShoWStoppeR]

Poor darlin'! Flying is a tough job!!!

I get so aggravated with the "your tiny so anyone can hold you" mentality. Stunting takes skill from everyone. Bases, backspot, flyer---they all need to know their job and be strong enough to perform it so grrrr to those that still believe in just chunking the little girls with no regard for their safety (I'm NOT saying that's the mentality at your gym--doesn't sound like it--it's the comment that bothered me).

Ok all that being said, with mental blocks (tumbling and stunting) I start all over with the basics. In stunts, I would take the group and drill the dip and push (not going up and sticking the stunt). Looks like a show n go basically. It gives the group a chance to work their timing and develop trust. I do this with even my advanced stunters. It WORKS.

Give your cp a hug from me!

Pm me if you want to talk more about it--I'm good at working kids through mental blocks : )

believe it or not, the ones that are tiny, sometimes hate it.... i am the "baby" on the team, so my coach always puts me with the smaller guys/less experienced guys. well, it just so happens that she did this for nationals. our team stunt was a simple stretch full down, no biggie right? well apparently too much for my partner... he struggled to toss the stretch to the top most times, and then struggled even more on the catching of the full down, one time fulling me down right to the ground. im not one to get mental, EVER. but that one messed with my head a little. i couldnt trust him at all. what helped me? not being yelled at, not being told suck it up, not being told your little you'll bounce (that jokingly used to be my teams favorite thing to tell people about me when learning new things, until i actually did start ending up on the ground more often than i should). what helped me was the support of my team, and the support of my partner. they all knew i was scared, and instead of giving me a hard time, they talked me through it. my stretch partner would stay after and we'd do 5 everyday to improve, and my teamates would stay and help and cheer us on, and of course, spot, since being dropped was what i was afraid of. have her stunt group talk to her. have them reassure her that they are there, and they can hold her, and that the stunt can hit. having confidence from the person below you is just as important as confidence from the person on top.
i know im not a parent, but i kinda know how she's feeling. hope that helps! :)