Constructive Criticism

Used in conjunction with positive feedback, constructive criticism gives an athlete an idea of what needs improvement in a tactful and non-offensive way. If your child is particularly sensitive to criticism, it may be a good idea to just offer positive feedback, but most generally, combination of two works nicely together. There is a note you must be aware of before you give your child any amount of constructive criticism, and that is its timing. It’s advisable not to do so right after they have finished their training session. Wait until just before they start next one, so they have some perspective on what they need to improve upon, without feeling as though you’re ready to “shoot them down,” so to speak. They’ll definitely appreciate it.

Competition/Reward

Finally, for more experienced gymnast, there is concept of competition-and-reward in sport. This is sometimes used by coaches to encourage their athletes to compete against one another and to improve, all with promise of some kind of reward. It may be a pizza party, it may be a day off, it really depends upon what level of sport your child is in. You can use it to your advantage, too, in just about any way you can imagine!

Take note that punishment is not one of recommended motivational methods. Punishment is always negative and decreases motivation in long term. In fact, it may even lead to development of phobias or aversions in future.

With this in mind, I hope that your gymnast is motivated and successful!

If you want to read more about motivation, I recommend you take a look at another article I wrote giving specific advice on increasing motivation: Gymnastics Motivation Or check out my favorite book on subject: http://gymnasticssecretsrevealed.com/good/motivate.htm .

By Murray Hughes Gymnastics Secrets Revealed ”The book EVERY gymnastics parent should read”

http://www.gymnasticssecretsrevealed.com/gymnastics-articles/gymnastics_motivation.htm

Finally, when all is said and done, total points are calculated. Depending upon type of routine your gymnast has performed, he or she will be given a base number of points, from which raw score is computed. Each misstep - and each flourish - weighs on raw score.

Typically, additions and subtractions are made in form of fractions of a point - .1, .2, .3, .4, .5, and so on. Sometimes, judges are limited in amount of points they can deduct for a single mistake (in other words, sometimes subtractions are limited to .5 points at a time). In end, this gives us our all-too-familiar scoring system. Of course, you definitely want to push for a “10.”

In any case, lots of encouragement is deserved by your gymnast.

If something should go unfavorably during judging process, at very least you will have an idea of what happened. Keep in mind that gymnastics judging is not a science and mistakes can be made. Your little one should not bear burden of politics; he or she is a champion regardless of whether or not a perfect score is attained.

By Murray Hughes Gymnastics Secrets Revealed ”The book EVERY gymnastics parent should read”

http://www.gymnasticssecretsrevealed.com/gymnastics-articles/gymnastics-judging.htm