Kaelyn's Mental Block

If you follow our social media (you should!), you've probably met our brand ambassadors. They represent our brand in gyms around the world and act as role models for their social media followers. We thought it would be fun to let them tell their favorite gymnastics story on our blog.

This week's blog post was written by Kaelyn, one of our ambassadors. She wanted to share her story that happened last summer, about a mental block she developed and how she overcame it.

Kaelyn’s Gymnastics Mental Block Story:

This summer I experienced what is known in the gymnastics world as a mental block. I had recently grown a couple of inches so I was adjusting to my new height. One day in practice I balked while doing a back walkover and that was it! My back walkover was gone! I had this skill since last season, and now it is June, 5 months before my first level 5 competition, and my body can no longer bend backward. Not once did I hurt myself on the beam but in my mind, I was terrified. Every time I tried my hands would start to sweat and my body would not move.

I loved going to gymnastics but I hated going to beam so day after day, I would hide in the bathroom for a long time so that I could avoid attempting the back walkover. My mom tried everything from talking to my coach to having me do mental exercises, to my coach spotting me on them and nothing helped. She even tried talking to me about it, I couldn’t explain what I was going through mentally that was stopping me from doing it. I just couldn’t do it!

One day my mom took a chance and decided to fill out an application for me to be a Snowflake Designs Ambassador. She thought that this would be the mental boost that I needed to start believing in myself again. On Friday, September 14, 2018, we received an email from Ms. Kendra from Snowflake Designs stating that I had been selected as a brand ambassador. ME! In my mind, I knew that I had to overcome this fear so that I could be a great representation not just outside the gym, but inside the gym as well. Suddenly my confidence rose!

That same Friday I went to practice. We don’t usually have Friday practice but we were invited to practice on this particular day because we didn’t have practice Saturday. At practice, my teammates Carmen, Kerah, and my cousin Kai took me under their wings and reminded me of the greatness that was inside me. They gave me tips and tricks to help me to get through this! I got on the beam that night and my coach Ms. Jackie spotted me with just a fingertip. My teammates were cheering and I was super excited that I did it! Even with the spot I was so happy.

On Saturday, September 15, 2018, I went into my garage determined to do this back walkover by myself. My mom was in the kitchen cooking and I screamed “Mom you have to come see this, I did it all by myself!” This was the start of something GREAT! Not only had I become an ambassador for the best gymnastics leotard company, but I also conquered my fear of the back walkover and became in my mind BEAM QUEEN!

This same little girl who struggled with a mental block hasn’t had less than a 3rd place finish on beam all season winning 1st place on beam twice! My score from the Alamo Classic even made America’s Top 100 level 5 beam scores. Thank you, Mom, Snowflake Designs, Kai, Kerah, Carmen, and Ms. Jackie for believing in me when I didn’t believe in myself! My confidence is now through the roof! My advice to other gymnasts going through a mental block is to never give up and to always trust and believe in yourself.

--Kaelyn

Thank you to Kaelyn for sharing her gymnastics mental block story! If you have a story you want to share with us, post it on social media with a photo and tag it with #snowflakeisgymnastics! We may share some of them!