Coaches what level do YOU think coaches should start weighing, or talking about weight...

[amberdezi]

...to their team girls?

if you are a coach, or you have a coach that DOES talk about weight, or weigh their gymnasts, what level did it start at for you? im just curious what the average is, because i personally think it would be very tough to ask a gymnast to maintain or even lose weight. i would hate to lower someones self esteem, but i do know that it is important to stay light, once you are in very high levels.

 

[CoachGoofy]

Never.

Nevernevernevernevernevernevernever.

 

[amberdezi]

Never.

Nevernevernevernevernevernevernever.

i would like to say never as well, but i think that in elite level it should be talked about, but not forced.

 

[gymnut29]

NEVER agreed!

I think when girls join a competitive team even lower levels that its important to discuss healthy eating and what types of food to eat before and during practices to maintain energy and what to types of food eat before a meet to help performance. This means limit junk food even on off gym days. That is as close to a converstation about weight I have with any of my gymnasts.

 

[CreateMagic]

I echo NEVER. There just isn't any good reason to discuss weight. You know, unless you want to fuel the eating disorder fire. Yikes.

NEVER agreed!

I think when girls join a competitive team even lower levels that its important to discuss healthy eating and what types of food to eat before and during practices to maintain energy and what to types of food eat before a meet to help performance. This means limit junk food even on off gym days. That is as close to a conversation about weight I have with any of my gymnasts.

You summed this up perfectly.

I think its always a good idea to talk to kids about nutrition and why good nutrition is important (you feel better, you perform better because your blood sugar doesn't fluxuate dramatically, you need certain nutrients to build muscle and therefore strength, drink lots of water). But when little girls start focusing in on their weight and/or begin comparing weight to either each other or the "norm"--which really isn't relevant for an athlete-- you have a recipe for very bad things. We want our girls (and boys) to love their body and treat it well. Any discussion should promote this, and not send any "well this and this is bad" messages.

 

[CoachGoofy]

I echo NEVER. There just isn't any good reason to discuss weight. You know, unless you want to fuel the eating disorder fire. Yikes.




You summed this up perfectly.

I think its always a good idea to talk to kids about nutrition and why good nutrition is important (you feel better, you perform better because your blood sugar doesn't fluxuate dramatically, you need certain nutrients to build muscle and therefore strength, drink lots of water). But when little girls start focusing in on their weight and/or begin comparing weight to either each other or the "norm"--which really isn't relevant for an athlete-- you have a recipe for very bad things. We want our girls (and boys) to love their body and treat it well. Any discussion should promote this, and not send any "well this and this is bad" messages.

This.

Nutrition/health and weight are not the same thing, & shouldn't be treated as such. Little kids (and they're all kids, even the teenagers) shouldn't ever feel bad about their bodies. They're going to grow and change, & they need to treat themselves well.

 

[CoachTodd]

You left out NEVER. weight has nothing to do with ability in my gym

 

[CreateMagic]

This.

Nutrition/health and weight are not the same thing, & shouldn't be treated as such. Little kids (and they're all kids, even the teenagers) shouldn't ever feel bad about their bodies. They're going to grow and change, & they need to treat themselves well.

100% whole-heartedly agree. I think it happens too often though. There are so many commercials out there for Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig, etc, that talk about "eating right to lose weight" that weight and nutrition often get meshed into one category. Our society doesn't talk enough about other reasons for good nutrition. Kids get very little of it in school and many times even less at home. Its all about what's quick and easy to eat, not about what our bodies need.

For example, I recently did a circuit-training program at the local gym (not gymnastics) that had a nutrition component (food logs which were reviewed and suggestions given to improve nutritional intake). It was a lot of fun and I learned quite a bit about myself. I was stunned, though, at how many people made comments questioning why I was doing the program and following it faithfully...afterall, I was in good shape. Seriously? I like to be healthy, it makes me feel good. But that was the attitude--exercise and good nutrition tips are only needed if you are overweight. Otherwise, why? Ah!

As coaches, we have a great opportunity to help kids create healthy relationships with food and exercise that will last a lifetime. I think its super important that we help develop good habits without being judgmental. As coachgoofy said, nutrition and weight should never be treated as the same thing!

Ah, another rambling post by me. Sorry.

 

[gymdog]

I guess it depends on what we're talking about. An elite athlete training at that level should probably see a nutritionist. As a coach, I wouldn't do it. I'm not a nutritionist. Certainly at the JO levels I think it's unnecessary - the the gymnast or parent approached me about it I'd suggest a nutritionist.

 

[Geoffrey Taucer]

I'm with those who think that weight should never be part of the equation.

I do think it is appropriate to discuss proper nutrition with the athletes, but talking specifically about weight is misleading at best and outright destructive at worst.

The truth is, weight is not in any way an accurate indicator of health. Putting on muscle means gaining weight. Growing means gaining weight. The idea that the weight gained by these mechanisms is somehow a bad thing (or even a relevent thing) should never even enter the gymnast's heads in an ideal world.

 

[gymdog]

I guess I'm kind of cynical at this point, but I don't necessarily think that I can create a healthy relationship with food. Since I can't even really do that for myself, I just try to contain my own issues. This is all really dependent on personality. As a coach I hope not to accelerate any problems or use external pressure to change natural eating habits but some people are driven to starve themselves even absent of someone making comments or weighing them. The reason I wouldn't do it is the same reason I don't weigh myself - it's pretty horrific to me (and when I have, I get really obsessed) so I just don't do it. I can't imagine knowing how I feel about myself and putting someone through that in front of me. That's just so painful.

I don't really know, because I certainly think external pressure CAN accelerate eating disorders, but it's only one part of the picture. And I think we need to be aware of how subtle pressure can be. I would gymnastics by nature is pretty pressurized on this front...you become very aware of image. So I'm not sure just ignoring the issue is enough, because we already have a potentially problematic thing going on here. Parents and coaches need to be proactive enough to address protential problems. Sometimes a nutritionist can be a neutral figure that helps get certain patterns under control before they spiral into something worse. Self destructive tendencies can be difficult to understand, even for the person involved.

 

[bogwoppit]

I removed the poll, not something I want to see on the CB thanks!

 

[10.0]

I think weight and gymnastics is a thing of the past (for the most part) thankfully. Many different body types can be successful, look at the difference between Shawn and Nastia. I agree with what others have said, nutrition should be a subject discussed with the kids and overall fitness but nothing else and a coach should NEVER weigh a child for any reason, leave that to the child's doctor. The only time I have seen the topic approached in any way was when an extremely overweight and unfit child joined and it became a safety issue due to coaches not being able to spot her properly and her not being able to support her on weight. She was never talked to but was steered in a different direction. I guess when it comes to safety of the gymnast is the only time it should be dealt with.

 

[Aussie_coach]

It depends if you want to get sued or not.

 

[MissBear]

I'm going to stand up and say not never ever ever.
If a high level gymnast you are close to loses a lot (for him/her) of weight (especially in a short time) I would feel it appropriate to talk to gymnast and parents about safety and health. I suppose it wouldn't be about weight, so perhaps others have not included this situation in the 'never'.
In the other direction - with rec kids it's none of my buisness. I have no idea what is going on in their lives. With team gymnasts, yes, healthy nutrition should be discussed as part of being an athlete - just like injury care, and why do we warm up etc.
In the real world, these are active children by nature, and with a moderately healthy diet there is no reason for them not to be at a healthy weight for them. In this situation, why interfere?

 

[Deleted member D3987]

never.........................!

 

[Linsul]

Weight is off limits as a coach. Lost skills and poor nutrition are fair game in my book though, it's only come up once in over a decade for me. I'll share the context.

7yr old that had competed L4 starts her first summer of team training. I noticed she was coming in munching chips and Dr. Pepper. Whatever, not my business. Then temperatures started going above 100. Cooler and less humid in the gym, but still hot. Girls go drink water as usual, except this girl has seven up in her water bottle. Not ok, I suggest she bring water to practice. It doesn't happen for 2 days. I talk to her parents and ask them to be sure there's water in the bottle for safety reasons due to the heat, they made it happen.

A few weeks go by and the gymnast is losing skills and obviously unhappy. So I went to the parents just to talk about that and they were very forthcoming. Their DD just wasn't into gym anymore, but they had been bribing her with junkfood. Saying it out loud to someone made them feel 'silly' for trying it (their words) and they ended up puling their daughter because her overall health was more important than another season.

I don't see weight as a viable concern since it's not a stand alone deal breaker. Injury, potential injury, loss of enthusiasm, unhappiness, skill loss, and burn out are much more appropriate and efficient channels of discussion.

 

[gymdog]

7yr old that had competed L4 starts her first summer of team training. I noticed she was coming in munching chips and Dr. Pepper. Whatever, not my business. Then temperatures started going above 100. Cooler and less humid in the gym, but still hot. Girls go drink water as usual, except this girl has seven up in her water bottle. Not ok, I suggest she bring water to practice. It doesn't happen for 2 days. I talk to her parents and ask them to be sure there's water in the bottle for safety reasons due to the heat, they made it happen.

A few weeks go by and the gymnast is losing skills and obviously unhappy. So I went to the parents just to talk about that and they were very forthcoming. Their DD just wasn't into gym anymore, but they had been bribing her with junkfood. Saying it out loud to someone made them feel 'silly' for trying it (their words) and they ended up puling their daughter because her overall health was more important than another season.

Huh. I've seen bribery quite a bit before but for some reason this is...really weird to me. I'm surprised it even worked in the short term though. Like if you really didn't want to go to gym you'd go for 7-Up? I guess it's a little kid but that simulataneously makes me laugh and cringe.

 

[Linsul]

Huh. I've seen bribery quite a bit before but for some reason this is...really weird to me. I'm surprised it even worked in the short term though. Like if you really didn't want to go to gym you'd go for 7-Up? I guess it's a little kid but that simulataneously makes me laugh and cringe.

It lasted about 5 weeks, and there was more weirdness I didn't even post! I was really dreading the conversation but there was no avoiding it. The cringe factor is pretty high, but at least when it was all said and done the gym and the parents were on the same page.

 

[gym4life123]

Never. A coach could talk to the team about having a healthy life style in order to improve competition results, and the speed at which you learn things. (My coach has.) This would include proper nutriton, limit junk food, and getting a good nights sleep. When we are traveling to a competition the rule is no junk food what so ever until we are done competing. This starts 2 days prior to the competition, unless we leave earlier for what ever reason. We must also me in bed by 9:30 (age depending) on week prior to the competion until after the competition. Weight has never come into question.
Once a couple of gymnasts were comoplaining about how they where "fat", so they started to eat a lot less, so our coach told them they could not come to practice if they did not eat breakfast, lunch, and a snack before training that day. My coach also talked to their parents and made them eat a healthy snack during practice. (Something small, like carotts and dip.)
When I took my coaching course we where told not to let any one who is over weight to do headstands, as there could be I high risk of injuring the neck. In this situation, that person could ask why the group is doing them, but they aren't allowed, in which case you should probably answer honestly. I would just not include headstands with that group. What would you do in a situation like this (rec. class)? Tell them, talk to the parents, or leave the skill out.