WAG Unqualified Coaches?

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SXS524

Coach
Gymnast
So I'm not sure how it works in the US or other countries but in the UK coaches must take coaching courses in order to become a qualified coach. You start at level 1 (assistant coach) and work your way up to the top level which is level 5 (high performance coach) . At each level you are only qualified to coach certain skills. Coaching above your level is technically not allowed, and doing so puts yourself at risk if an injury occurs whilst you are coaching a skill above your coaching qualification.

So I was wondering how often people had seen coaches going against this rule? The worst I've seen was a coach teaching things like tucks backs on floor and front somersaults off beam when they were only level 1 qualified (i.e. max forward roll on beam and round off on floor!!). This person was also chosen as (the only) coach for a new women's artistic squad. This annoyed me as this coach hadn't been taught how to support the skills she was teaching, and in some cases I thought their coaching was dangerous whilst the head coach seemed to turn a blind eye..

Anyway excuse the rambling but I was just wondering what people's experiences/opinions were?
 
Definitely. When dd was in a development group at our old gym one of the coaches was level 1 and was coaching bwo on beam, jump to high bar and straddle undershoots on bar and flics on floor. There was a higher level coach present, but she would be in one small part of the gym working with one small group at a time. They also had several completely unqualified ex gymnasts/trainee coaches or older teenage gymnasts helping out and they would often take a small group themselves which included cartwheel on beam, bwo on floor beam etc. One day, the coaches daughter (completely unqualified) came in to help as they were short staffed. She stood by the bars and looked very disinterested while the girls were doing squat on jump to high bar behind her. We left shortly after.

At our current gym I don't think it's a problem. There are usually a couple of hpc's and a couple of level 4 coaches present at each of dd's sessions and, whilst they all have their own small group, they do watch each others gymnasts, comment, and occasionally assist. Although to be honest I'm not actually sure what level some of the other coaches are, so may be having the wool pulled over my eyes :oops: They all seem very proficient though, massively different quality of coaching!
 
Definitely. When dd was in a development group at our old gym one of the coaches was level 1 and was coaching bwo on beam, jump to high bar and straddle undershoots on bar and flics on floor. There was a higher level coach present, but she would be in one small part of the gym working with one small group at a time. They also had several completely unqualified ex gymnasts/trainee coaches or older teenage gymnasts helping out and they would often take a small group themselves which included cartwheel on beam, bwo on floor beam etc. One day, the coaches daughter (completely unqualified) came in to help as they were short staffed. She stood by the bars and looked very disinterested while the girls were doing squat on jump to high bar behind her. We left shortly after.

At our current gym I don't think it's a problem. There are usually a couple of hpc's and a couple of level 4 coaches present at each of dd's sessions and, whilst they all have their own small group, they do watch each others gymnasts, comment, and occasionally assist. Although to be honest I'm not actually sure what level some of the other coaches are, so may be having the wool pulled over my eyes :oops: They all seem very proficient though, massively different quality of coaching!


I think most of those moves do come under level 1 so would be ok. They should have supervision though.
 
Is there a list anywhere that can be accessed detailing the level needed for the skills being taught ? I know I heard some coaches discussing what was being taught at "the other club" and that the coach didn't have a high enough coaching certificate for it
 
In Australia coaches are required to be qualified and they can't walk out onto the floor in the gym or at a competition if they are not.

We have a new complicated system.

You start with a beginner coaches course - this allows you to coach to about level 2 or 3 in any gymsport if you are being supervised by a qualified supervising coach.

From there each gym sport has their own coaching levels, and if you want to teach any gymsport you need to get that qualification.
The different qualifications are for
MAG
WAG
rhythmic
Sports acrobatics
Sports aerobics
Trampoline
Tumbling
Kindergym
Cheerleading
gymnastics for all

The coaching levels for each gymsport are (the level you can coach up to depends on the gymsport)
Intermediate - allow you to coach to about level 2-3 unsupervised
Intermediate bronze - allows you to coach to about level 5-6
Advanced - allows you to coach up to about level 7-8
Advanced silver - allows you to coach to level 9-10
High performance - allows you to coach to elite
High performance Gold - coach top elite athletes representing the country
Master coach - an honorary title given to a coach who has reached the peak
 
This is a HUGE problem in the US. We are just in the beginning phases of a certification program like other countries have. Coaches in the US can coach well above their level without breaking any rules...it's very scary.

Smart coaches constantly train themselves by keeping in contact (and working side by side) with more experienced coaches that can help them out.

First time a gymnast attempts a skill + first time a coach has taught the skill = DISASTER (I've learned...I ask for help now)
 
Very true. It's sad to think that there's parents out there that don't realise that just because a coach wears a "coaches t-shirt" doesn't mean they are appropriately qualified or even qualified at all..
And agreed, BG can't check all clubs are abiding by the rules.
None of the skills Flossyduck listed above are level 1 skills.. they are all level 2 coach skills.
You can find the skills coaches are qualified to teach at each level on the BG website.. http://www.british-gymnastics.org/coaching/coaches/courses I think there are a few differences between what a general gym coach can teach and what an artistic gym coach can teach.
 
Yes Margo, you can look up the skills matrix for each level on the BG website. They changed about a year ago. Progressions for straddle/pike undershoot, squat on and jump to high bar on bars, flics and handsprings on floor, cartwheel on beam are all level 2. What you can do for the new level 1 is quite basic and doesn't even allow for anything beyond a squat through vault. I think there are a lot of coaches pushing the boundaries because, thinking about it, dd's first coach at our current club was an ex gymnast/level 1 and they were definitely doing way harder skills than I can see on the matrix!
 
I admit as a younger naive coach I did sometimes coach slightly above my level i.e things like straddle undershoot on bars, but ONLY once I'd been taught how to with the head coach. Now I wouldn't feel comfortable coaching above my level. As a level 2 coach I'm now able to coach the skills I need to :)
 
We have a very strict system in Canada. Coaches have to be qualified to teach certain levels of skills. No exclusions ever. I have never heard of a club go against these rules. Their insurance would be gone if they did and had an injury.
 
When I was in college, I took gymnastics for my PE class and the teacher was a head coach at a local gym. She asked me to come to her gym and teach and I was thrilled! I taught classes only, levels 1-4 (preteam). No training whatsoever, just the fact that I was a gymnast was good enough for her. No one ever got hurt on my watch, thankfully, but I spotted and taught everything from forward rolls to back tucks, kips to handspring vaults. This was a good 20 yrs ago, I had no idea that I should have had training, the fact that head coach trusted me was good enough for me. Now I cringe, thinking of what could have happened. You don't think about these things when you're still a teenager. I'm guessing this still goes on in certain gyms today, but certainly not at my DD's gym!
 
We have a very strict system in Canada. Coaches have to be qualified to teach certain levels of skills. No exclusions ever. I have never heard of a club go against these rules. Their insurance would be gone if they did and had an injury.

I wish this was the case in the UK! I believe there are consequences if injuries occur when coaches aren't qualified but many clubs still take the risk..
 
In Australia coaches are required to be qualified and they can't walk out onto the floor in the gym or at a competition if they are not.

We have a new complicated system.

You start with a beginner coaches course - this allows you to coach to about level 2 or 3 in any gymsport if you are being supervised by a qualified supervising coach.

From there each gym sport has their own coaching levels, and if you want to teach any gymsport you need to get that qualification.
The different qualifications are for
MAG
WAG
rhythmic
Sports acrobatics
Sports aerobics
Trampoline
Tumbling
Kindergym
Cheerleading
gymnastics for all

The coaching levels for each gymsport are (the level you can coach up to depends on the gymsport)
Intermediate - allow you to coach to about level 2-3 unsupervised
Intermediate bronze - allows you to coach to about level 5-6
Advanced - allows you to coach up to about level 7-8
Advanced silver - allows you to coach to level 9-10
High performance - allows you to coach to elite
High performance Gold - coach top elite athletes representing the country
Master coach - an honorary title given to a coach who has reached the peak

This sounds quite similar to the UK, the coaching courses are splits into the same disciplines you listed. And coaches can become master coaches too. And I believe coaches must be level 2 qualified to be on a competition floor.
 
This is a HUGE problem in the US. We are just in the beginning phases of a certification program like other countries have. Coaches in the US can coach well above their level without breaking any rules...it's very scary.

Smart coaches constantly train themselves by keeping in contact (and working side by side) with more experienced coaches that can help them out.

First time a gymnast attempts a skill + first time a coach has taught the skill = DISASTER (I've learned...I ask for help now)

That's so scary! Glad to hear that there will be a certification program. I only recently passed my level 2 coaching exam and, to be honest, still feel uncomfortable coaching some skills that I AM qualified to teach, e.g. giants as none of the gymnasts I coach can giant at the moment so I've only practised once or twice at my actual coaching course with other gymnasts. When I'm uncomfortable coaching a skills I just ask a higher level coach to go though it again with me/and or help me support.
 
hmmm, so if I'm reading it right you have to be level 4 to be teaching Tsuks and Yerchenkos ?

Level 3 is a bit weird in that coaches have to do 4 technical modules rather than just one exam (not sure why). I think Tsuks and Yurchenkos come under level 3 technical module 1.
Are you looking at the skills matrix or the syllabuses? the skill matrix are the what coaches are asked to do in their coaching exams and are generally more basic skills then what is in the course syllabus. But coaches are allowed to coach what is listed in the syllabus.
 
I think here in the UK they are making all sports coaching very similar. Hubbie is Level3/4 rugby coach and the new rugby level 3 is split into (I think) 5 technical modules as well, plus the child protection module in all level 1 sports I think is now a common module.
 
I just took the U400 here in the states and it sounded like this would become the standard sometime in the future.
 
A long time ago, I was asked to coach above my knowledge level. I would have felt comfortable if I had the training to coach those levels. A higher level coach quit and I was expected to take their place. I ended up quitting the job. There were some other issues, but the main reason was lack of training. I just couldn't put anyone in harms way. And was very disturbed by being told to do so.
 

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