I started looking for a coach when my daughter was having a mental block with her back-hand-spring and going backwards in gymnastics. I was looking for someone who could relate to her, understand where she was coming from, and have patience with her. I was wanting someone who could let her know that this was okay, that she was okay, and who would give her ways to overcome her fear and get her skills back.
We started working with Taryn and she was awesome! She gave my daughter, Lillie, steps that she could handle to get her back- hand-spring back. After each call, Lillie was less stressed about her mental block and had baby steps to try that week at practice. The steps where things she felt comfortable with doing.
Lillie felt like she could relate to Taryn. She felt like Taryn understood where she was coming form. My daughter is pretty quiet and listens a lot, but doesn't express her thoughts and fears very well. Taryn was great at going slow with her and trying to get Lillie to open up more and ask more questions.
Lillie is now more confident in gymnastics and in life. I see her consoling her friends when they are having a similar problem and trying to build them up. Not every practice goes great. Lillie still has her bad gym days, but she now has the skills to cope with that. She'll acknowledge the day or the meet didn't go as planned, but she'll also tell me what she learned form it and how it will help her in the future. Lillie knows when she has a bad day or bocks a skill what to do!!! Instead of letting it eat her up, she'll tell herself that it's okay and she'll back it down a level and go from there to increase her confidence. She even has skills on how to deal with difficult coaches who push her too hard too fast.
Instead of becoming discouraged and wanting to quit the sport she says she loves, now she can continue moving forward and staying positive and she knows that how she feels is okay and normal!!
I would definitely recommend Taryn as a coach for anyone experiencing a mental block. She slowed down and worked with Lillie. She gave her skills and baby steps that Lillie could handle to slowly overcome her block with a gymnastics back-hand-spring and going backwards. My daughter's mental block is still there, but she can now do her dismount on beam (cartwheel back) without help. She is working roundoff backs off the beam, she is throwing round off fulls into the pit, and is learning giant, giant fly away on bars and suk vaults!! All going backwards!! She still has the back-hand-spring mental block, but went from literally not being able to move at all (couldn't throw it on a trampoline or anything) to being able to stand alone and throw one onto a mat. She'll also throw one on beam with a spot. I know that doesn't sound like much, but if you saw where she was before to where she is after being coached by Taryn, you'd be amazed.
If anything negative arises in practice, Lillie will tell herself, "What would Taryn tell me to do in this situation? What would Rebecca tell me to do in this situation?" This has turned her practice around multiple times. She uses this on anything from her mental block to dealing with a coach who won't let her add that extra mat to consoling her teammates that are also having a bad day. Lillie hasn't just learned temporary coping skills, she's learned life lessons through this coaching.
Taryn was a great match working with Lillie. If we ever need help in the future, we'd definitely use her again! Thank You!!!
Kristie, Mother of Gymnast 
