5 Ways To Motivate Your Young Gymnasts

Why are my junior gymnasts feeling unmotivated?

• Are they exhausted or overworked?
• Are they lacking confidence or self-esteem in their ability?
• Are they under too much pressure?
• Are they fearful of criticism? 
• Are they experiencing a loss of skills (such as lost move syndrome)? 

Once you can establish the root of the problem, you can then work on how to motivate young athletes at your club.  Even top Olympic gymnasts have struggled with their motivation. Creating a safe and positive environment is key to allowing your junior gymnasts to feel they can express themselves effectively. So what’s the perfect recipe to motivate junior gymnasts? Like any culinary dish, there are several factors which can affect the outcome. There is no one formula to perfection, but our key tips can help you better support your students. 

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How can I help my young gymnasts feel motivated?

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Engaging classes

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Practising the same routines day in day out can lead to a lack of motivation in children’s gymnastics. Why? Because mastering these skills takes a lot of consistent practice, which younger gymnasts may find monotonous. Shake up your classes with different formats to help inspire their passion for gymnastics. Whether this be team-building activities or themed sessions, there is no need for practice to feel like a chore. Especially the case for those who compete professionally, young gymnasts in training spend a lot of time with coaches, so you’ll want to ensure this is an environment they can’t wait to come to. 

For young gymnasts, progressing to the technical stage is where motivation and enjoyment can be lost. Budding young gymnasts must work on stretching and conditioning, which as you know take a toll on the body. Since this level also involves developing more advanced skills, progression can test both patience and motivation. Think of yourself as both a gymnastics expert and a motivational coach, ready to support junior gymnasts when they become fatigued and struggle to see the bigger picture.

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Use games to warm up and keep gymnasts motivated. Gymnastics requires constant mental and physical accuracy, so any exercises which strengthen these skills are going to help when junior gymnasts are feeling unmotivated.

Try to use fun concepts to make these feel less like work and more enjoyable. Motivation training for young gymnasts is so important. They will most likely be spending a lot of hours per week training with you, so make children's gymnastics a fun environment, especially important on the days they are struggling most.

Celebrate Small Wins

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Using a positive feedback system can be a huge motivator for young athletes. Help them to build on skills, seeing this as an opportunity to be the best they can be rather than providing unconstructive criticism. Each of your athletes will learn differently and have their own mental blocks to overcome. Both you and your coaches should work closely with each child to determine how best to support junior gymnasts. 

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When designing a motivational reward system, consider adapting this to appropriately suit different age groups. For instance, mnemonic devices such as acronyms work well to encourage young gymnasts by breaking down the stages of progress or as a motivational acronym. Choose encouraging words and use each letter to detail a stage of the process. 

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EXAMPLE

Always learning 

Concentrating and

Having fun

In the gym while

Everyone supports each other in a

Very safe

Environment full of fun

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Learning a new move, mastering a skill or overcoming a challenge are all little victories to be celebrated and great ways to inspire junior gymnasts. Though gymnastics is very competitive, it is important for your young gymnasts to recognise the importance of progress and learning. Motivation training in children’s gymnastics by encouraging them to see each of these small steps as achievements. 

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‍All of your junior gymnasts will learn differently. From word cues to visualisation techniques, there is something out there to help gymnasts stay motivated during their routines. According to Forbes.com, young gymnasts who write down their goals and review them daily are proven to have a higher success rate than those who don’t. Encourage junior gymnasts to keep a note of their progress from class, such as what helps them during practice and anything that may be holding them back.