Your Gymnastics Really has Nothing to do with Anyone Else

One of the basic tenets of a healthy self-esteem is “what I think of myself has nothing to do with anyone else.” This is true in the gym as well. If we teach our gymnasts correctly, they will understand, through our words and our actions, that one gymnast’s performance has nothing to do with another’s.

This is important if we are truly dedicated to building the self-esteem of our gymnasts.

How do we do this?

To begin, we should not make comparisons between gymnasts. “Why aren’t your feet pointed like so-and-so’s?” “Why can’t you do that like that one?” “She was able to work through pain. Why can’t you?”

These comparisons do nothing but injure the gymnast to whom you are speaking. She equates her worth to a standard set by someone else, which is continuously moving. She comes to understand that her coach values someone else over her. She then seeks to make the coach happy, but by doing that, she doesn’t truly know how to do that because the target is constantly changing. In turn, her self-esteem suffers.

That being said, if you find yourself making comparisons such as these, you will be constantly moving the bar for your gymnasts. Help them by being clear. What is it that you want from each gymnast? You must be clear in terms of tangibles, not focus on what it is So-and-so is looking like today.

Now you know what not to do, but what should you do?

Focus on the individual gymnast. Highlight her strengths, and strengthen her weaknesses. Help her to create goals for herself that will help her to get to where she wants to be. Spend time with each gymnast to get to know what makes her tick. Help her to become her best, rather than to strive to be somebody else’s best.

Join the Facebook group dedicated to creating a NEW gymnastics culture, one gymnast at a time.

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