All-Star Cp Claims She Can No Longer Do Her Tuck, What To-do. Help

[cheermominar]

Cp (8yrs) he can no longer do her tuck, she has been able to-do them no problems since the summer. This also happened had a inconvenite time, the day before a comp. Her squad this year is having a hard time getting the routine together and their hasn't been a good vibe at the gym in awhile. The pratices had been hard, since they haven't been doing well. I do not know if it's the build up of things that made her freeze up (she really doesn't try) But the last two pratices have been very laid back (she had fun) and I was hoping this would make her get back in the swing of things. The odd thing is she does everything else, front punch, standing tuck just not her running tuck, I've even seen her do her tuck on the trampoine at home. She has done them if the coach spots her. She is the youngest (8yrs) on her squad (Jr) and more is asked of her then some of the teen girls on her squad. I've tried to offer her incentives, but they don't seem to work. I was hoping she would have been over her hump by know (it's been a few weeks) but she isn't and NCA isn't to far off. Actully she did improve, it was her back handspring and tuck but she is back to norm (after one day of being off) with her back handspring. It is also possibale the gym is going to close after this year, and this will be her last year of All-Star (she is going to-do a rec. cheer for football within her grade). And at this point even it didn't close I wouldn't sign her back up even if she wanted to (her two years have been her choice). Would it bad if I had her take tumbling classes at the local college (it's gymnasitcs really). I don't want her to lose her skills all together, since I feel it'll be harder for her when/if she does want to get back into All-Star or even school cheer (I would drive her to one of the other five gyms a hour away if and when she shows me the she has the determation again). She doesn't seem to even be interested in trying with her tuck. I do have a privite with the coach lined, which I haven't pushed on her and let her go at own pace when she was ready for her full.

 

[cheerinfo]

Well....she IS only 8. Kids have their ups and downs in this sport for whatever reason. It happens to the best of them. I would NOT talk about it, not pressure her, not offer her incentives, nothing. Just let her continue to cheer and see if she and her coaches can work it out. An 8 year old does not need pressure relating to cheer. I know, as a parent, it is hard to watch, but pushing too hard (or at all even) is most likely NOT going to solve anything. Maybe mention it to her coaches and let them work it out together over time. Fact is, she might not throw it this weekend, or at NCA even. Not the end of the world. Keep it in perspective. And keep in mind she is EIGHT. Good luck.

 

[notimeforthat]

Sometimes young kids gain skills to rapidly. They mentally don't think about the skill, they just do them. When they realize that they can get hurt or see someone else get hurt it sometimes triggers a block. Also a lot of blocks I have seen happen on the running tuck. The burnout is a whole other thing...My daughter was a very young child on a junior team... She was the most advanced tumbler they had and was the youngest by a few years.
She hated that team! She had no connection with the other girls. Her young coach had her favorites who were the older girls and showed blatant favoritism.
At the teams big national the team was called for first place. The girls were so overwhelmed they started jumping up and down and hugging each other. They actually stampeded my very tiny daughter and left her hysterically crying on the floor while posing for pictures with the champion banner. As a mother to watch this big award ceremony with the lights and fanfare go on and see my cp still in the same spot screaming in pain with no one helping her was the last straw! I fought my way to the stage and carried her off to the medics in the main hall.
I was absolutely furious! Thank god that was the last comp of the season and cp was put on a higher level the next year and the mean coach and all her girls lived happily (not) ever after without us.
My daughter did not loose any skills that year, but she was miserable and could care less about gaining any skills or the success of that team.
Sometimes a team is just not a good mix for whatever reason. Perhaps take your cp to open gyms at the ones that are an hour away just to see if there is a change in her outlook.
fast forward 5 years later for my cp and she is doing great! She's on a former world champion team and we are in it full force traveling 2.5 hours 3x a week to be at the best facility we can.
Had we thrown in the towel 5 years ago because of one bad season it sure would have been a shame!
good luck to you and your cp! If need be send me a PM and you can vent!!

 

[12stepCheermom]

Well....she IS only 8. Kids have their ups and downs in this sport for whatever reason. It happens to the best of them. I would NOT talk about it, not pressure her, not offer her incentives, nothing. Just let her continue to cheer and see if she and her coaches can work it out. An 8 year old does not need pressure relating to cheer. I know, as a parent, it is hard to watch, but pushing too hard (or at all even) is most likely NOT going to solve anything. Maybe mention it to her coaches and let them work it out together over time. Fact is, she might not throw it this weekend, or at NCA even. Not the end of the world. Keep it in perspective. And keep in mind she is EIGHT. Good luck.

Well said. Extra pressure from a parent won't help if she has a block.

 

[ChiCheerMom]

My CP just turned 10. I understand where you're coming from, we've had the same issue this year. CP was throwing her layouts all summer long. Somewhere along the course of the year, she lost her mojo and just can't seem to get it back. She ends up throwing a tuck instead of a layout and claims she can't help it, her body just "automatically" wants to tuck. At first it stressed me out because I know how hard she has worked to get it, so I had to step back and re-evaluate the situation. Same as notimeforthat, my CP is on a junior level team and is the youngest. She has "friends" (I use that term loosely) on the team, but lets face it, there is a big difference between a 4th grader and a 6th/7th/8th grader as far as maturity, interests, etc. She is just struggling to find her place in the group and frankly, their team is not doing so hot this season. I think between her feeling sort of out of place, as well as going from a constantly in first place team to a constantly on the bottom team is taking its toll on her confidence.

Our plan was to switch gyms next season (not because of the tumbling issue, many others) so we have been doing a lot of clinics and open gyms at the gym we plan on moving to. I can see a big difference in my CP's attitude when we go to the new gym. I think she feels more comfortable there, and for whatever reason, more confident.

 

[Twinklilstarsmom]

8 is a crucial year for "growth spurts" my daughter had her full at 8 then lost everything. It was frustrating but I had to back up and let her work it out. At the time I had no idea she was growing until I had to replace all of her clothing. She gained all of her tumbling back but she is a very cautious tumbler now. She is not comfortable tumbling in close proximity of her teammates. She does it but I see her anxiety. I suggest that you act like its no big deal to her while putting her in tumbling privates at another gym with an outside coach who has no expectations of her tumbling skills. It's a work in progress and it takes time. Repetition and drills are on your side. In her routine if alot of pressure is put on her to perform skills she is not comfortable with this can and will cause a mental block. This too shall pass just be patient. Good luck.

 

[Fiercecheermom]

Every kid is different, but I believe "growth spurts" are a huge deal in tumbling. My daughter went through it at 10 as she "matured early". She lost her tuck and began having issues with her bhs. What we have learned (she is 14 now) is that every time she feels like she has "lost" a skill, she immediately goes back to step one. She begins by just doing a round off and then moves on from there (standing bhs, robhs, bhs tuck, bhs layouts,, bhs full). It sometimes takes a few hours, sometimes a few days. Each one of these issues, are shorter than the one before. In her case, most of the time, we have found that she is "shortening" her round off there by throwing everything else off. I hope everything works out for your CP!

 

[cheerinatorXdad]

Bribery!!! I told my cp if she got her standing tuck she'll get a special prize.

Now I did that because I know she has the skills to eventually pull it. I was really questioning her practice efforts without telling her that. Ever since I made the bribe offer she's excited to go to the layout and standing tuck class, asking us to book privates, and she's working hard on it.

 

[SheCheers]

I have (knock on wood) never dealt personally with a tumbling block, but cp had a stunting block, where she thought she could not go into a one leg extension without falling. I personally just pretended cp's stunting thing wasn't happening and let the coaches deal with it. I only talked about it with cp when she brought it up. hugged her through the tears and said "you are amazing, you'll get it just like you always do!" it lasted about a month.
I've witnessed others tumbling blocks. I truly think the best way to get over it is to remove all pressure and just allow the child to work it out. Only positive encouragement, in the way of "we know you can do it and will do it when you're ready". A bribe may work, if you know you're child, but with mine, that would definitely be added pressure. She needs to do this for HER. not for anyone else. It would be really hard for me, I won't lie, to know my kid could do something and then not do it. It would be really hard for me to hide my emotions, so I would probably drop her off and leave during tumbling classes/privates. asking how it went after, with a "great you're getting closer!" as a response and Leave it at that.

 

[Hi! It's me!]

My youngest cp just went through this with her tuck. It was a perfect storm of situations, growth, illness and a mistake (brain fart) on a comp floor. I was angry, lots of money for privates, and then realized it wasn't my fat tush out there doing it so I backed off. I also read Debbie Loves blog, Godsend!, and gave her a journal to write HER goals in. And then hid from her at practice for a few weeks, she tried to catch my eye and I wasn't there. Once the power of succeeding or failing was firmly in her hands and I was completely removed from the situation she started making continual progress back to her tuck. The final piece was when she hit it at the next comp. she is over it but still sets goals and writes positive notes about her tumbling in her journal. For us bribery didn't work because it was me trying to get her to do something I wanted instead of her wanting it for herself. Hope a journal and small goals help her get back.

 

[cheertired]

I think alot of this has to do with her body... Tumbling is all about body awareness, which helps create security so that you know where you are in the air. When a person grows, their center of gravity switches, and your body basically has to readjust itself into tumbling. This feeling of not being comfortable when throwing a skill often times triggers that mental block. I see it all the time, and there is still hope! But from her persepective, it is like relearning the skill all over again...

The length of a back handspring will change when legs or arms grow. Your set will become new when you get longer legs. The amount that you have to pull a tuck to your chest also will feel "strange" because of new leg length. Even the stride that someone takes for their run hurdle's will become lengthier, and feel totally foreign.

Tell her to take it slow, no pressure, and have her do the skill where she is super comfortable. When it happened to me, ( A longg time ago!!) my coach took me and made me do it sooo many times on the tumbletrak where I felt like it was a breeze. I had to do it for so long there, I was practically begging to move on to the next step. Just keep repeating the process over and over....moving from easy to advanced slowly. Let her get readjusted to her new, growing body.

 

[cupieqt]

Bribery!!! I told my cp if she got her standing tuck she'll get a special prize.

I am not a big fan of bribes as a coach. I don't recommend it because the reward should be the skill itself and the good feeling of overcoming an obstacle (real or perceived).
I congratulated a kid yesterday for getting her bwo. She has been working for it since May. Her mom said she was getting a "special prize" and I replied "yea a bwo!". I don't think mom liked my reply.

What do they get for a r/o bhs whip double?

I recommend just sitting back and letting your kid and her coaches work on it. The more nonchalant and relaxed you are about it, the more the kids relax about it. Be the model for how they face their problems.

 

[AllstarErin]

I am not a big fan of bribes as a coach. I don't recommend it because the reward should be the skill itself and the good feeling of overcoming an obstacle (real or perceived).
I congratulated a kid yesterday for getting her bwo. She has been working for it since May. Her mom said she was getting a "special prize" and I replied "yea a bwo!". I don't think mom liked my reply.

What do they get for a r/o bhs whip double?

I recommend just sitting back and letting your kid and her coaches work on it. The more nonchalant and relaxed you are about it, the more the kids relax about it. Be the model for how they face their problems.

I couldn't agree with you more! Unfortunately its not a popular opinion with the 'momager' types but this kind of bribery falls in the same bin as giving your kids cash for A's. At what point do they become internally motivated and independent?

As far as mental blocks and tumbling go, the less pressure the better. Support your child by letting them know that this has happened to some of the best tumblers in the sport and they have come back better and stronger. Remember: It's not a case of her not wanting it, although it may seem that way. A lot of the time kids who can't will turn that into won't because they fear trying and failing. They would rather not try then try and fail.

Let us know how she goes! Good luck!

 

[notimeforthat]

I am not a big fan of bribes as a coach. I don't recommend it because the reward should be the skill itself and the good feeling of overcoming an obstacle (real or perceived).
I congratulated a kid yesterday for getting her bwo. She has been working for it since May. Her mom said she was getting a "special prize" and I replied "yea a bwo!". I don't think mom liked my reply.

What do they get for a r/o bhs whip double?

I recommend just sitting back and letting your kid and her coaches work on it. The more nonchalant and relaxed you are about it, the more the kids relax about it. Be the model for how they face their problems.

Well mine gets Coldstone Icecream for any new advanced skill and the car pool gets it too lol.... Even for whip Arabians to whip doubles!! Lol!
The carpool kids help with the support because they want ice cream too!
It's been icecream from the first BHS to current!

 

[cupieqt]

Well mine gets Coldstone Icecream for any new advanced skill and the car pool gets it too lol.... Even for whip Arabians to whip doubles!! Lol!
The carpool kids help with the support because they want ice cream too!
It's been icecream from the first BHS to current!

Is ice cream a bribe or a fun treat on the way home from practice? Do they not get ice cream if they didn't get a new skill that night?

New clothes, phones, trips and money are the bribes I get frustrated with.