Outperform Under Pressure

In one gymnastic meet in September 2023, right before the floor routine, my 9-year-old daughter was warming up and practicing the key skills, with the back handspring being the most difficult.

Her first try was not good, her arm bent a bit, and she seemed to have hurt her wrist. The second attempt was worse, and I could tell from the panic on her face. I was shaking, too, because a back handspring is such a challenging skill that could potentially harm the gymnast. It seemed like her body had “forgotten” how to do it all of the sudden.