Coaches Athletes who don’t seem to care

[WavyNavy8]

How do you handle athletes that don’t seem to care?

I have a few who very often think doing the skill (unwell) is just good enough and don’t really make corrections or put in effort on some events. Its like they only want constant praise.

I’ve broken down drills, I’ve explained it in other ways, I’ve had other coaches come in and help. It’s all the same results over and over. Just a very “I don’t care” attitude. But it’s not like this on all events, so I don’t get it. It’s like they take any correction (even a complement sandwich) as bad and pout, and instead of making the correction they just keep doing the same thing over and over with either a pouty face or blank expression.

I’ve tried to communicate with parents and all I get is “oh they love gymnastics” or “they are very frustrated with themselves” but I’m not seeing that in practice at all. I’ve had talks with them, as a group, and individually and am usually met with silence.

I’m at a loss. The girls want to be successful and have been unhappy with their scores but it doesn’t seem to light any fire for practice. I’ve tried reward charts too. Prize buckets… I’m at a loss.

Then I have athletes that do work hard but sometimes fall into the funk of the others and trying to keep that from happening too.

 

[sun]

Maybe they actually don't care- maybe it's temporary and they'll come around or maybe it's just how they feel about gym. It is important to be available for those who seek correction... with gymnasts who are putting in low effort- I try to briefly make myself fully available to them (fairness is important, they should have regular access to instruction) but then move on if they can't at least try to meet my energy.

There's bound to be some kids on your team who crave attention and correction and are passionate about improving their skills. I'd move on to them- do a great job, and then hopefully their improvement will inspire others.

I have gotten roped into trying to make kids love gymnastics who just don't love it before- and missed opportunities to give the passionate kids the instruction they need.

 

[Dahlialover]

I remember my frustrated coach giving me the same correction over and over as a kid. I didn’t know how to communicate to the coach that I understood what they were telling me to do, but I sincerely had no idea how to make my body do it! They might as well have been telling me to grow wings and fly!

I tried everything I could think of to improve. I blamed my size and I took drastic measures to lose weight. When even that did not work, I concluded that I was physically incapable improving on certain events. I believed that I was too tall, too slow-twitch, and too lacking in talent, and that there was nothing I could do to change the situation. To cope with my disappointment, I decided that my bad events were stupid and they didn’t really matter. I focused all my attention and effort on the events where I felt like I could improve.

I’ll bet the coaches thought I didn’t care and that I wasn’t trying. I cared deeply, but I I tried not to care in order to protect myself from my feelings of inadequacy.

So anyway, I recommend asking the athletes if they understand how to apply the corrections you are giving them. Let them know that you believe that they can improve and that it’s normal for it to take a while to perfect these skills. Encourage them to not give up when they don’t see instant results. Explain that improvement isn’t linear and that it’s normal to have periods of very slow growth followed by periods of more rapid growth. Talk to them about growth mindset and the power of believing in yourself.

That won’t help everyone, but it would have helped me.

Good luck.