Success Can Be Scary
Have you every had a gymnast who had all the potential in the world to do a particular skill, but when it comes time to do it in the gym, she just doesn’t get it?
Sometimes the reason is the fear of success.
What does this mean in a gymnast? In my experience, it means that a gymnast is not just looking at the skill that she is looking to accomplish, but she is looking at what that skill will lead to.
For instance, a gymnast wants her cast handstand. She tries and she tries, and she just can’t get it. After some questions and discussion, it comes out that she believes that if she can do a cast handstand, then she has to do her giant.
As a coach, it is my job to remind my gymnast that she must learn her skills in steps. Just because she can do a cast to handstand on the low bar today, it doesn’t mean that I will make her get on the high bar and do a giant on the high bar tomorrow.
This is where teaching goal-setting is important. If we teach goal-setting correctly, our gymnasts will understand that each goal takes time and many steps to achieve. This means that even if the next skill for the gymnast to learn will be a giant after her cast handstand, there will be many more steps along the way connecting the two skills, allowing for more experience and training before the next big skill is attempted.
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