A Coach's Diary

“Always work hard and have fun in what you do because I think that's when you're more successful. You have to choose to do it.” - Simone Biles Simone Biles is the most decorated gymnast in history, but at the peak of her career at the 2020 Olympics, she had to withdraw from several of her events and took a two-year break to recover from the twisties. The twisties happen when a gymnast is in midair and loses their sense of where they are and how they’ll land, making the move risky. Biles described it as being "lost in the air." When she took her break, many people sympathized with her and applauded her for addressing mental health, but many others took this time to take shots at her and criticize her for a lack of mental toughness. This showed not only how a mental block can keep you from performing your best, but how many people will take any chance they get to knock you down. People will build you up when you are climbing the mountain, but when you get to the top,...

In the past few months, we have seen 3 of the world's best athletes have to miss some of the biggest events in their sports because of mental health issues. Sha'carri Richardson, Naomi Osaka, and Simone Biles have all missed major events in their sports because of mental health issues.  Sha'carri Richardson used marijuana to deal with the pain of losing her mother during the Olympic trials. Richardson said that she smoked marijuana as a coping mechanism after a reporter - who she described as a complete stranger - told her that her biological mother had died. Naomi Osaka said that she needed to miss French Open press conferences to take care of herself mentally and to exercise self-care and preservation of her mental health. She received a world of backlash, and support, for her decision. Simone Biles is considered to be the greatest gymnast of all time, and she made the stunning decision to withdraw from the Olympics, acknowledging the tremendous pressure she had been faci...