As a
sports psychology consultant, Dr. Alan Goldberg has worked with
gymnasts at all levels around the United States from elite all the way
down. He specializes in helping gymnasts overcome fears and blocks and
perform to their potential under pressure. As a sports psychology
clinician, Dr. G has been a repeat presenter at the USAIGC and US
Gymnastics Association annual congresses as well as at a number of
regional mini-congresses across the country training coaches to
integrate mental toughness strategies and sports psychology principles
into their on-going coaching. In addition Dr. G presents at gymnastics
clubs around the US training parents and gymnasts directly. His
articles on mental toughness and peak performance have appeared in
International Gymnast and Technique. Dr. G is the author of Sports
Slump Busting, Sticking It - A gymnast's guide to mental toughness
training, Gymnastics With The Competitive Advantage, a 4 CD mental
toughness program and his latest 7 CD mental toughness training
program, 14 Steps To Mental Toughness.
" What's
going on?" her coach wanted to know. "She's a level 10 gymnast and has
by far the best back handspring in the gym. It's technically flawless!
It's beautiful and she's been throwing it on beam for years! And now,
POOF! Like black magic it's suddenly gone!! She gets up on beam and
just stands there frozen like some deer in headlights. Six months now
and I just don't get it!! I've tried everything I know to get her
unstuck and nothing I say or do works! Maybe she really just wants to
quit? I just don't know how to handle these head cases!"
Welcome to
the mental side of gymnastics!…to that mysterious and
oftentimes unexplainable nether world between body and skill execution.
Oh, how easy it would be if gymnasts could just do what coaches told
them to whenever their bodies were ready. No such luck! That's not
gymnastics! Training your body is only one part of what's necessary to
learn and consistently execute a trick in the gym or at a meet. You
also have to learn
to contend with, and train your mind. Gymnastics success can only be
achieved when you begin to work on this mental side of your
performance. To reach your goals you must learn to use the principles
in sports psychology to help you develop mental toughness.
Recently I
watched a very talented gymnast who was blocked by her back handspring
on beam. She effortlessly threw the skill on floor, low beam and even
on high beam with padding. However, when the padding was removed from
the high beam she just froze. Her eyes got big as saucers, she stopped
blinking and, minor problem here, she held her breath! Due to my long
years of advanced education and vast experience as a sports psychology
consultant I quickly deduced that life on the balance beam might be a
wee bit difficult without an adequate and steady supply of oxygen.
Luckily before she turned blue and passed out she would start to cry
and jump down.
Fear is
just one of the many psychological challenges facing the gymnastics
coach, gymnast and parents. Becoming a mentally tough gymnast means
that you need to learn how to master this fear. Mental toughness also
demands that you learn many other mental skills. Staying calm and loose
under pressure is critical to peak performance. In addition, you must
develop championship concentration or the ability to focus on what's
important and block out everything else. Don't forget self-confidence.
You certainly can't perform to your potential under pressure unless you
believe in yourself and feel good about your skills. With the right
techniques and practice self-confidence is something that you can
"grow." Mental toughness also means that you know how to both think
positively and effectively handle the self-doubts and negative thoughts
that are a normal part of this sport and that affect almost every
athlete. Let's not forget the skill of "reboundability." The mentally
tough gymnast has the ability to quickly bounce back from setbacks,
failures and injuries. Finally, there's visualization or mental
rehearsal. Do you know how to use your imagination to effectively
prepare for upcoming performances and to learn scary skills?
Back to
fear a moment. Fear is not always as bad as everyone makes it out to
be. First of all a gymnast with absolutely no fear is an accident
waiting to happen. Fear keeps you safe in the gym and is frequently a
signal to your brain that your body may not yet be ready to safely
attempt a skill. (Perhaps you lack the flexibility, spatial awareness
or timing to accomplish it). Believe it or not, fear is also a positive
indication that you're moving up to the next level in this sport. Every
time you attempt a new skill or otherwise step outside of your comfort
zone, fear will be there to greet you. In this case it's not so
bad…but in the case of our "beam balker"? No, there was
nothing constructive about her fear.
So what do
you do about this or any kind of fear in the gym? To overcome fear you
must "get comfortable being uncomfortable" or consistently move towards
the thing that you fear most. The only thing that will feed your fear
is avoidance. By consistently pushing yourself to work on what you're
afraid of you'll weaken fear's grip over you. A safe bridge to help you
do this, besides working on "lead-ups" in the gym with your coach, is
to mentally practice the skill that you're struggling with at least
15-20 times a day. This kind of systematic visualization, which we used
with our "beam balker", where you try to "see", "hear" and "feel"
everything you would if you were actually attempting the skill will
gradually erode the fear and build your confidence. Mental rehearsal of
physical skills is a very powerful stepping-stone to actually mastering
them in the gym.
If you're
blocked and want to get unstuck…If you tend to fall apart
under pressure and would like to learn how to stick your routines when
it counts the most…If you get intimidated by certain
opponents or psyched out by the judges, then another mental toughness
master skill you must develop is concentration. Show me a blocked
gymnast and I'll show you an athlete who is focusing on the wrong
things before and/or during the skill attempt. In many cases your fears
are fed by a faulty focus of concentration. (Think about it! How well
will you do if your concentration is on the "what if's" or what you're
afraid will happen?)
Peak
performance in gymnastics demands that your focus be on the skill that
you're doing and the apparatus. When you perform your best this is
exactly what's happening. You're not thinking. You're just paying
attention to all the right things. What are the "right things" to focus
on? Usually effortless skill execution is a product of concentrating on
the proper feel of the skill. (Focusing on one specific kinesthetic or
feeling cue). The stuck gymnast is instead focusing on his/her thoughts
of what could go wrong. Getting unstuck means that you must learn to
refocus on what your doing and feeling.
So what
kind of head do you have on your shoulders? Where are you on the mental
toughness scale? Start today to work on developing the mental part of
your sport. Remember, your physical skills and talents are always
limited by what goes on between your ears. Don't leave this
all-important part of training to chance. Learn how sports psychology
and mental toughness can help you.
