“It can happen to anyone, even [if] They’re the tallest in the world, ”said Mihai Brestyan, a former US gymnastics coach who runs a gym in Burlington, of Biles’ recognition that psychological stress played a role in her decision.
Julia Cotter warmed up when her trainer Mihai Brestyan (back left) ran the club at Brestyan’s American Gymnastics Club in Burlington.Craig F. Walker / Globe Staff
Brestyan, who coached Olympians like Needham’s Aly Raisman and Winchester’s Alicia Sacramone, said he worked with athletes from the first step in his gym to identify their weaknesses and help them through these “moments of crisis”. His club has won 21 world championships and Olympic medals, according to its website.
Brestyan said there was “amazing” pressure to win, especially with his high-level athletes.
“They want to please everyone, but we’re normal people too,” he said. “Sometimes you have this fear – what happens?[s] if I don’t? “
Sophia Voss worked on her jumping exercises at the American Gymnastics Club in Brestyan.Craig F. Walker / Globe Staff
Even coaches, who often work with beginners, say they see a lot of students putting too much emotional pressure on themselves, which can make it difficult to succeed.
Roni Mansur, Cambridge Youth Soccer coaching director, said his coaches are trying to reduce athletes’ stress by showing that even highly skilled athletes can fail on the field.
“I remember from my time missing an open goal that would have won a very important game and I still play it through in my head,” he said.
Mansur says that he tells the students that “this happens to everyone”. he added – even the professionals.
“It’s all about learning from it and getting up and moving on and that your team supports you.”
Biles decided to move away from the women’s gymnastics team final on Tuesday due to mental stress. She announced on Wednesday that she would not compete in the all-around individual finals on Thursday either. She’s being rated daily to see if she’ll compete in the singles finals next week, according to a statement from USA Gymnastics.
Simone Biles sat in the stands at the women’s all-around final in artistic gymnastics at the 2020 Summer Olympics.Natacha Pisarenko / Associated Press
Her decision was made almost two months after tennis champion Naomi Osaka withdrew from the French Open for psychological reasons. In an Instagram post, Osaka said she has suffered from depression and anxiety, especially when speaking to the media.
Biles’ moves have also received support from athletes, including Michael Phelps, who is the most honored Olympian of all time and who publicly reported on his challenges with depression and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in 2018.
Imani Deal, program director at All Dorchester Sports & Leadership, which offers programs such as baseball, basketball, soccer and softball, said Biles had shown athletes in her organization that they should care about their mental health.
“It’s a great example for our young athletes because a lot of them want to go pro and see someone who looks like them and says I need to take time for myself,” she said.
Self-care and mental health are also important at high levels of competition, where athletes can injure themselves if they lose focus or try too hard.
Biles said after her initial withdrawal that she “didn’t mean to do anything stupid or get hurt”.
Brestyan said he noticed that in the early days of the Olympics, Biles wasn’t as keen as usual. And competing if you’re not 100 percent can be dangerous, he said.
“Through my personal way of working, I try to lower the parents’ expectations of the athletes in the beginning until they are at a high level and smart enough to talk to them and mentally cope with the effort of training the competition”, he said.
Alexandra Chaidez can be reached at alexandra.chaidez@globe.com.
