Going for Gymnastics Gold

Episode Summary When a gymnast faces a mental block, we assume it's a physical fear of getting hurt. But more often than not, the root cause is completely external: a deep-seated fear of disappointing her coach, her teammates, or you. In this episode, Coach Stacie Roman and Coach Ali Havel pull back the curtain on the fear of external judgment. They dive into the evolutionary biology behind wh...

This is the final episode of our year long Conversations with Coaches Weekly Mindset Workout series. All month we’ve been talking about how to help your gymnast change their belief to something that will help serve them. The thought ladder is the best tool we’ve got, and we know that with practice it will be the best tool in your gymnasts tool belt as well!  In this episode, Ali and Stacie discuss...

We’ve spent the last couple of weeks talking about your gymnast’s current belief and also the belief she wants to have. You know, the one that’s going to actually help her to achieve her goals!? We know your gymnasts can’t just flip a switch and believe something different. Their brains need evidence that their belief can be true before they will start trusting it. In this episode, our mindset coa...

Let’s get back to neutral. When your gymnast is spiraling with negative thoughts or beliefs about themselves, it’s so important to get them back to neutral first. They can’t see the positive side of things until they’ve been able to recognize the facts of the matter. In this episode, Ali and Stacie teach you how to help your gymnast identify what things are facts and what are her thoughts.  Though...

This week, we’re gearing up for competition by helping you instill some strong identity-level beliefs in your gymnasts that will set them up for success this season.  We all have certain beliefs about ourselves and who we are. It’s really easy for athletes to believe their worth is contingent on their performance. They want to believe “they’ve got it”… but what will really help them is the belief...

Practicing the choreography is what makes your gymnasts routine run smoothly. The more they break it down, drill it and run through it, the more comfortable they become with it. Mental choreography is just as important. Practicing the thought patterns, cue words, deep breaths and other great focus points into a routine of its own will help your gymnast become more successful in competition.  This...

Do you want your gymnasts to be focused at a meet? Well, focused on their gymnastics and their technique? Then they need to use cue words that work. Gymnasts tell us all the time that they need to just not think when they compete. But the reality is that their brain will be thinking. And left unchecked, it will usually be thinking about everything that could go wrong. Instead we want to help prepa...

When we don’t actually believe “I’ve got this,” saying “I’ve got this” won’t actually help. If your brain doesn’t believe that you’ve, in fact, GOT THIS, it’s going to put up a fight and start throwing lots of icks your way, trying to convince you that there’s no way “you’ve got this.” Affirmations are only helpful when the “I AM” statement is something the gymnast can actually get behind. So how...

Visualization is a powerful but complex tool. We tend to lean into visualization when an athlete is struggling with a skill or routine, or when they are injured and can’t physically do the skill. However, if a gymnast doesn’t actually believe they are capable of completing the routine or skill successfully, visualization can be extremely challenging. In this episode, our mindset coaches discuss ho...

Light energy and good vibes tend to get left behind during the grind of the competition season. We challenged our gymnasts to set big goals for themselves that are just a bit out of reach. Now, we’re working toward those goals, and sometimes, the goals are centered more around the end of season. So how do we keep these athletes motivated when they won’t know if they achieve their goal for 7 months...

In this episode, Ali and Stacie break down the scientific method. Yes… the scientific method. Its something these athletes are learning early on in school, but rarely utilize when problem solving in the real world.  What’s the problem, what are ways to fix the problem, and where we start when experimenting with fixing the problem. The idea here is to try one thing at a time, and learn from it. “If...

Our gymnasts tend to believe that failure is not an option, when in fact, failure is the only way to learn new things. We know that a baby learning to walk is going to fall over a million times before they are stable enough to walk consistently and confidently. Along the way, we celebrate each attempt as if our child is solving world peace. The look of pride a toddler has when they topple over aft...

As you’re starting to get your gymnasts ready for routines, it’s inevitable that at least one of them is struggling to put the finishing touches on one or two skills they need for the season. This happens all the time. Sometimes they’re still afraid of the upgrade. They don’t want to get hurt. But most of the time, at this point in the season, what your gymnast is actually struggling with is a fea...

It’s that time again. The point in the year when we have to start putting the rubber to the road and start getting those routines put together. Some gymnasts are ready for this step, and it’s such an exciting time. Others however, are struggling to finalize upgrades and put pieces together.  In this episode, Ali and Stacie coach you through helping your gymnasts set realistic season goals that are...

Special episode comin at ya! Last week we did a free coaches clinic to help you get your gymnasts routine ready. If you'd like to get the full video replay, go here ! Get the Proven 4-Step Mindset Method to Help Your Gymnasts Get the Skills they Need to be Competition Ready. Help your gymnasts overcome fear, frustration and past failures that are holding them back. Meet season is around the co...

In this episode, Ali and Stacie dissect the importance of properly fueling your gymnasts’ bodies and getting adequate rest.  It’s no secret that these incredible athletes of ours are going non stop. We actually have to schedule in time for them to eat and sleep. Because if we don’t plan ahead of time, it’s common for food and rest to be the first things they forget about.  Meal planning, prepping...

It’s hard enough to get kids to do their homework, let alone, get a busy kid to do their homework. Gymnasts have a TOUGH schedule, and homework can definitely put a damper on their precious down time.  Recently, we talked about block scheduling, essentially setting aside a block of time to do a certain activity. For homework, this can often be pretty late into the evening. Having a planned period...

Time management isn't just about schedules; it's about crafting the life you aspire to lead. 🌟 We understand that high-level gymnasts are incredibly dedicated, but sometimes, juggling 'want to' practices and 'have to' school can be overwhelming. That's when the real challenge begins. In our latest episode, Stacie and Ali delve into the art of integrating rejuvenating b...

Jumping into a new schedule is tough for anyone, but for gymnasts who are going back to school, it can be incredibly difficult. They’ve spent their summer waking up and heading into the gym on fresh legs and fully rested. Now, some of them are spending 8 hours a day at school first, which is basically a full time job, and THEN going to practice. No wonder they’re exhausted! In this episode, Ali an...

Looking for tools to use so that you can help your gymnast climb the thought ladder? Look no further! In this episode, Stacie and Ali give helpful hints to help YOU help your gymnast take those next steps. One of the most important pieces of advice is communicating that YOU see a future where your gymnast is already past this set back. Reminding them that you already have the new belief they are s...

“I might be wrong.” These four words can help jump start your gymnast’s mindset shift. When we start at the bottom of the thought ladder with our current thought, it’s usually not a productive one. The second step in the thought ladder is recognizing that the thought we’re currently thinking might not be correct.  The simple act of entertaining the idea that they might be wrong, is going to invite...

When your gymnast develops a habit that is not your favorite - (ie. a bent back leg on literally anything), it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and frustrated because they just can’t fix it. It’s not that they aren’t trying to, it’s that their body and their brain have determined that the way they are currently doing the skill is the path of least resistance. It’s not easy to make a change that is deepl...

In this episode Stacie and Ali talk about why your gymnast can’t actually just swap her negative thought for a positive one. It’s easy enough to say, “just think positive thoughts” - but it’s not practical. The more we think a thought, the more that thought is ingrained into our brains. So if a gymnast has had a negative thought for a long time, it’s going to take some time and effort to transitio...

All throughout August we will be discussing how to help your gymnasts Actually think Positively. And just like July, we have everything you need, broken down into steps. Progressions for mindset skills are just like progressions for our gymnastics skills. When your gymnast is struggling with a negative mindset, he or she often casts themselves as a victim. The beam is the problem, or the flight se...

Powerful fuel is created by emotions that inspire positive energy toward achieving your goals. Now that we know that, we can help our athletes focus on those energy fueling thoughts. The tough part is that our gymnasts are constantly plagued by negative emotions that pop up unexpectedly because, well… gymnastics is HARD. We all want our gymnasts to feel motivated, focused and determined all of the...