I am a 3rd year H.S. JV gymnastics coach, I was a gymnast back in the 80's and recently returned to my h.s. to coach with MY former coach. Anyhoo, I find that it is really hard to teach girls at this age at this level, as many are brand new or haven't done it since they were 6. One challenge I face is when a gymnast needs a spot, and I don't feel comfortable doing it -I feel they lose faith in me. I am 5'3" and 105 lbs., and some of these girls outweigh me by 40 lbs...sometimes I'll have a girl who wants to "go for it" (r/o bhsp or r/o bhsp back tuck) and I can always use the belt, or call the head coach over but I don't know how to deal with this and have the girls still trust me. I have no problem spotting most of the time, it's just the few and far between when a gymnast will want to do something that requires someone who can actually save them mid-air that poses a problem and I'm hoping someone here will have some advice. I find that even if say I'm spotting a girl doing a back walkover on the beam, if she's a lot bigger than me just her weight will take me with her, ya know? I mean I'm perched on a panel mat or 2 and if she bails in the middle there's not much I can do unless I give her a good shove to avoid the beam! When I read this back it sounds kind of dangerous but it's really not. I NEVER let someone do something that might be unsafe without proper precautions, rest assured.
thanks for any advice given. I love this sport and I love my job. Most of the time I can't believe I get paid to do this, even with 20 teenage girls 3 hours a day!
thanks for any advice given. I love this sport and I love my job. Most of the time I can't believe I get paid to do this, even with 20 teenage girls 3 hours a day!