Off Topic Annoying coach

[Xcel gymnast]

Ok so my trampoline and tumbling coach doest let me progress in my skills and he cares too much about My form and how well I place. I understand in ARTISTIC gymnastics having good form is important but I do TRAMPOLINE & TUMBLING (T&T). And in T&T nobody cares about form it all about the progressions, a lot of level 10s in our state get 5s or 6s as there’s scores. And unlike in ARTISTIC you can move up levels very quickly. In T&T you can move a level whenever you want, you literally move up a level in day! And you can be in a different level in each event. And that’s why I made that switch from ARTISTIC to T&T, I really liked the flexibility and and how fast they you progress. In ARTISTIC they always ask for perfection. So, I switched to T&T last June, however there was different coach then an I really liked him, but he retired. So, they hired a new coach who has no experience in coaching whatsoever. And just cares too much about form he doesn’t care at all about progressions. He makes me compete very low levels. And it just so, so annoying because I know I can do much better but he just doesn’t let me get better. He makes my compete level 3 in all of the events when I am supposed be level 7 or 8. And its very embarrassing I have compete along side 6 years olds and I am years 10 years older than them, always hear people my age my whispering things about me. I am often perceived as “Bad Gymnast“. To honest, I really want don’t place really well at competitions at a really low level, want to challenge myself and maybe get a lower score a high level. I don’t care if I come home with medal I just want to learn how to do really cool and advanced flips. And next year I’m going a junior in high school and want to be a level 10 by the time I graduate so it looks good for my college. And by the time go to college I have to quit anyways. And I am losing all of my skills other because he makes me do things that are too easy, I just feel like I am backtracking . I cannot really go the another gym since this the only gym in my area. And I don’t want quit and/or switch to ARTISTIC. What should I do?

 

[ProudGymnast]

You should just have an honest discussion with him about your goals and vision for T&T. Request 10-15 minutes before or after practice and then maybe bring parental/adult support. It is really hard to progress and enjoy a sport if you are not on the same page as your coach, so I'd highly recommend just have a respectful, truthful conversation. Try to leave out the you-nevers/any accusatory things and just present your goals and your vision for your future.

 

[Xcel gymnast]

You should just have an honest discussion with him about your goals and vision for T&T. Request 10-15 minutes before or after practice and then maybe bring parental/adult support. It is really hard to progress and enjoy a sport if you are not on the same page as your coach, so I'd highly recommend just have a respectful, truthful conversation. Try to leave out the you-nevers/any accusatory things and just present your goals and your vision for your future.

I’ll try! However my coach is very stubborn

 

[Geoffrey Taucer]

Sorry, but I side with your coach on this one.
Form isn't just decorative; it makes you safer, more consistent, more efficient, and better-able to continue building and progressing.

 

[kecks]

He is the coach for a reason... You are the athlete. Form is always important, in every sport. Do as he asks of you - I am sure you will move up in no time if you start working on your form. Stop resisting, start working.

 

[GymDadWA]

Are you throwing your head back on your tuck or something like that? Is that what you consider a form mistake?

Some corrections while it may seem to be a cosmetic fix are for your safety not just because it looks better, additionally doing some building block skills wrong will stop your progression, while you may be able to complete that skill you won't get the skills above that.

 

[Xcel gymnast]

Are you throwing your head back on your tuck or something like that? Is that what you consider a form mistake?

Some corrections while it may seem to be a cosmetic fix are for your safety not just because it looks better, additionally doing some building block skills wrong will stop your progression, while you may be able to complete that skill you won't get the skills above that.

Nope it’s just pointed toes and stuff like that

 

[Xcel gymnast]

Ok so my trampoline and tumbling coach doest let me progress in my skills and he cares too much about My form and how well I place. I understand in ARTISTIC gymnastics having good form is important but I do TRAMPOLINE & TUMBLING (T&T). And in T&T nobody cares about form it all about the progressions, a lot of level 10s in our state get 5s or 6s as there’s scores. And unlike in ARTISTIC you can move up levels very quickly. In T&T you can move a level whenever you want, you literally move up a level in day! And you can be in a different level in each event. And that’s why I made that switch from ARTISTIC to T&T, I really liked the flexibility and and how fast they you progress. In ARTISTIC they always ask for perfection. So, I switched to T&T last June, however there was different coach then an I really liked him, but he retired. So, they hired a new coach who has no experience in coaching whatsoever. And just cares too much about form he doesn’t care at all about progressions. He makes me compete very low levels. And it just so, so annoying because I know I can do much better but he just doesn’t let me get better. He makes my compete level 3 in all of the events when I am supposed be level 7 or 8. And its very embarrassing I have compete along side 6 years olds and I am years 10 years older than them, always hear people my age my whispering things about me. I am often perceived as “Bad Gymnast“. To honest, I really want don’t place really well at competitions at a really low level, want to challenge myself and maybe get a lower score a high level. I don’t care if I come home with medal I just want to learn how to do really cool and advanced flips. And next year I’m going a junior in high school and want to be a level 10 by the time I graduate so it looks good for my college. And by the time go to college I have to quit anyways. And I am losing all of my skills other because he makes me do things that are too easy, I just feel like I am backtracking . I cannot really go the another gym since this the only gym in my area. And I don’t want quit and/or switch to ARTISTIC. What should I do?

By form I mean pointed toes, extra steps after landing things like that

 

[Aussie_coach]

In many ways, sounds like an excellent coach. Many coaches don’t pay enough attention to form, but it’s so important.

Without good form learning harder skills is unsafe. Things like pointed toes keto the body tight and the trajectory correct. T&T can be very dangerous if not done safely and being in a lower level is better than being a paraplegic.

Good form also makes your skills progressive. Paying attention to details at the early levels with create and fantastic foundation, for advanced skills later on, and will allow you to progress faster later on, when you are ready.

If gymnastics/trampoline and tumbling skills are done poorly, or done before the gymnast is ready, the nit results in undue stress in the body. As a teenager this almost always leads to long term pain issues.

Just because you can do something, doesn’t mean you are ready. Skills can often be thrown before a gymnast is ready, but it has to be done with compensations (which aren’t obvious to most people) and this leads to stress injuries.

Don’t worry about what people say about you for competing a lower level. If, in life, we spend too much time worrying about what people say and think we will not get far. Your coach is working to do what is Right for you. I know of 30, 40 and 60 year olds who compete against young kids of 8, 9, 10. Because gymnastics isn’t about age, it’s about where you are at.

You do t have to stop T&T when you finish school and you certainly don’t have to lose your skills. You can do T&T in college. You don’t need to be on a College team, it’s available as a spot for anyone in many schools.

T&T is a very popular gymsport among adults. It’s easier to continue with as you get older than traditional gymnastics, you can enjoy this sport for the rest of your life if you don’t destroy your body now.

 

[Geoffrey Taucer]

Nope it’s just pointed toes and stuff like that

Toe point genuinely makes a huge difference in T&T. Making a habit of pointing your toes the instant they leave the floor will ensure that you have an efficient takeoff using the full range of your ankles and the full power of your calf muscles.

As I said, form isn't just decorative; it serves a purpose.

Your coach is in the right here. Doing big skills safely and consistently requires precision and attention to detail. If you're not willing to pay attention to the details, you're not ready to learn big skills.

 

[txgymfan]

“ being in a lower level is better than being a paraplegic”

Aussie Coach, this sentence should be hung in every coach’s office in every gym. This is what makes a great coach. Great coaches care more about your safety than your level. If you are unwilling to follow your coach’s directions to the best of your ability, please quit gymnastics.

 

[NutterButter]

Another one here who agrees with your coach. Form is important…it will keep you safer and helps minimize injury. The last thing you should be doing is chucking skills.

Also, don’t worry about not being a L10 when you apply for college. You will be able to indicate how long you have been doing your extracurriculars on your application and the important thing is that you are active not necessarily how well you do.

 

[ProudGymnast]

It seems to be me who has an unpopular viewpoint. But I know if I had perfected every toe point and painstaking detail I would have never moved up and made it to level 9, as I was never a compulsory champion with amazing lines who scored 38s. Perfect form does not equal sound technique. I know many gyms that hold people back so they can score well, it has nothing to do about safety. Or simply coach prejudice against certain athletes, or a lack of involvement from the coach in teaching higher level skills.

Of course, this might not be you. But chances are if you have been doing skills for over a year or two and have sound technique, you should be fine. If you can do better skills and he is still holding you back and not letting you progress, that is different than your coach looking after you and keeping you safe. I also know many people who are doing gym for fun, they want to learn new skills and grow, not be perfect.

Really this isn't something I could tell you without context. Is your technique poor and he is trying to help you? Or is he holding you back? You did say he's inexperienced so it could be the latter. Maybe its the former. But advice depends on the context; I still stand by having a conversation, to get on the same page, no matter which situation it is. He could say "letting you move up would endanger you", or he could've not realized your goals for this and next season, who knows. Either way, working hard at gym, and communicating with your coaches is key.

 

[txgymfan]

Yes, communication is key!

 

[Aussie_coach]

There is a lot more to form than pointed toes.

Though pointed toes are very important, it’s not just aesthetic. Pointed toes keeps the tightness in the legs and impacts the trajectory. Pushing off a trampoline you push your feet to a pointed position to push through the feet.

I don’t think many coaches would hold a gymnast back just for pointed toes alone, difficulty pointing toes usually indicates an inability to keep every part of the body tight and working together at the same time.

I’ve never seen a gymnast, who struggles to point toes, have good form in every other way.

 

[Geoffrey Taucer]

It seems to be me who has an unpopular viewpoint. But I know if I had perfected every toe point and painstaking detail I would have never moved up and made it to level 9, as I was never a compulsory champion with amazing lines who scored 38s. Perfect form does not equal sound technique. I know many gyms that hold people back so they can score well, it has nothing to do about safety. Or simply coach prejudice against certain athletes, or a lack of involvement from the coach in teaching higher level skills.

Toe point is more important in T&T than in artistic.

No, really, it is. Go jump on a trampoline with flexed feet and see how high you get. Then go do it while focusing on toe point, and see how high you get.

On bars (where your feet never touch the floor except when you finish the routine), beam (where power generally isn't a priority and the main focus is on control), and vault (where the power comes primarily from being able to get a fast sprint and compress the springboard using the quads and glutes), toe point is primarily aesthetic.

But in tumbling and trampoline, focusing on an immediate toe point on takeoff reinforces optimal technique, giving you as much height as possible.

Furthermore, I'm gonna be honest: if a kid doesn't have the patience or focus necessary to get their toes pointed, that indicates to me that I can't rely on them to learn the sort of precise technique required for bigger skills. As a coach it is (or was) my job to teach kids to progress in a manner which I feel is safe, and a kid who doesn't care or have the patience for details (to say nothing about a kid who'd call me "annoying" for wanting to take the time to fix these details) is not a kid I'd feel safe pushing to higher levels.

I understand the frustration of being a teenager feeling like you're ready for bigger things and your coaches are holding you back. I was definitely that kid for awhile; then I started coaching, and it immediately became apparent to me why it's important to take the time to focus on the details.

I'm sure that you can spend ten minutes on instagram or tiktok and find a thousand videos of kids with terrible form doing huge tricks in trampoline parks and back yard trampolines. But if a hundred kids make a hundred attempts each at some huge skill, and one of them is lucky enough to land one successfully, then that's the one that will show up on your tiktok feed, and the 9,999 dangerous crashes that happened in the process go unnoticed to you.

 

[superNova08]

I definitely agree with all of the coaches on this one. While I understand your point of view, proper form and technique are not always for aesthetic reasoning. It's actually often enforced for safety reasons. If you are using improper form, you may not necessarily have the power to complete a skill, especially in T&T. Pointed toes, as many others have said, ensure you are jumping all the way through your feet and ankles, giving you more power, in order to safely complete the skill.

 

[ProudGymnast]

Toe point is more important in T&T than in artistic

I totally see that! I wasn't trying to say that you don't need toe point or that you guys were wrong at all, I was just saying in case said gymnast is *really* performing things right and there are other reasons, or even if not, then it is essential to be on the same page as your coach and communicate so gymnast knows why and doesn't resent coach, and coach knows how gymnast feels.

 

[Dahlialover]

The best way to fix this problem is to dedicate yourself to learning to do the simple elements perfectly! Show your coach that you can focus and take correction. If he makes you compete a lower level, then walk out there and destroy the competition by an embarrassing margin. Prove your ability by winning! Good luck!