Grace’s mother, Jessica approached me because Grace was having trouble doing her back handsprings without her coach being right next to her and spotting her.

She also had just recently recovered from a compound break in her wrist. 

It is very normal for athletes to have lots of hesitation after suffering an injury.

Grace, in general was often nervous, had trouble sleeping and was often scared to try anything new.  Her mom was hoping I could help build her confidence, not only in her tumbling, but in how she approaches life in general.

Even though her mom was a licensed therapist and Grace was already seeing a psychologist for anxiety, she was not seeing results. So she was open to try a new approach to help Grace overcome her mental blocks and generalized anxiety.

Being a therapist, her mom knew it is often difficult to get teenagers on board to try something new.  She wanted to support Grace’s journey to become the best version of herself but wanted to just stay in the role of loving mom – not be her coach or therapist.

Grace is such a bright, hardworking, determined girl. She was amazing to work with, because she was open minded and eager to get past her fears. She wanted to nail her back handspring and not let her teammates down!

Immediately after our first session, she started to implement the strategies I gave her and she listened nightly to the guided visualization I created for her.

It gave her the courage to attempt her back handspring without being spotted by her coach.

Once Grace realized she could do it – she was unstoppable.

We also worked on her generalized fears around schoolwork, friends, and her drive to be perfect.

Perfectionism is a common trait I see in high achieving kids who push themselves in their sports and school studies. 

I help them see how their perfectionism actually holds them back from achieving.

We have had a few more sessions, working on reducing her fear and building her confidence to take risks and try new things.

Her mom said, “The results are amazing! I see Grace beginning to trust herself more and more!”

Her coaches also saw a big difference in her self-assuredness and power.