Coaches Barely believable disrespect

[triptwister]

When I was a kid we had to raise our hand to ask the teacher if we could go to the bathroom. Most of the time the answer was no. This caused accidents from time to time. If we needed to sharpen our pencil during a test then the answer was also no most of the time. This caused incomplete papers to be turned in after the test.

Leaving the gym floor is simply preposterous. Leaving in the middle of a workout had better either be pre-arranged or be a dire emergency.

I'll say it again, parents do not and should not run this sport. Shame on you, coaches. This is why I advocate standardized qualifications for teachers and coaches. I believe in consistency throughout the industry. A parent should be able to depend on a certain level of consistency and competency from gymnastics gyms and know what to expect from any gym at any level without ever watching.

Coaches should require a standardized education that stabilizes departmental protocols.

Just letting you know that where I come from if a team member at any level tried to leave the floor because they wanted to eat their missed lunch, then they wouldn't be allowed back on the floor and their membership would be jeopardized. The parents would hear from me that very evening if not at that very moment. We would not discuss the need to eat a missed lunch during a workout. Instead we would discuss longevity. Leaving the gym floor should be spelled out in the rules and policies along with all the other stipulations.

Medical conditions should be discussed before admittance to the team during the sign up procedure or test period. If the student has any issues then the staff should decide beforehand whether the medical conditions can be accommodated and how they will be handled.

Any notes or excuses that come after the fact should jeopardize membership such as a student that claims she is allowed to be disrespectful and out of control because she has ADHD. Again, the parents would be called that evening or immediately to discuss longevity on the team.

Any situation a team member has that might beleaguer that day's work out or possibly deviate from what is normal should be a rule and policy that the coaches are made privy before the work out begins. If the dilemma cannot be endured by the staff then decisions can be made before the work out begins and avoid the kind of disrespect mentioned in this thread.

 

[gymdog]

Dietary decisions can be affected by a large number of very valid things. Allergies, personal choice that fits a lifestyle, etc I agree. I'm just talking about common sense nutritional decisions. Understandably concessions can be made, I do it as a parent too. During a workout situation though there's very likely a substitute for cheetos, hot chocolate, soda, and all the other obvious crud food that could fit into anyones diet. Turning it into a public power play in the lobby is detestable.

Well, I agree, the hot chocolate in the lobby thing is pretty inexplicable to me, but I don't really understand how that happens or why it has continued. The taking the kids out to feed them a meal may or may not be more reasonable, obviously the previous behavior and/or lack of a warning colors that, but I'm really not sure I know enough about that instance to pass judgement on it. But I wasn't really clear about the whole lobby issue, if the gym is selling that food or what, we don't have that issue here (no concessions) so I don't really know about that.

 

[Linsul]

Well, I agree, the hot chocolate in the lobby thing is pretty inexplicable to me, but I don't really understand how that happens or why it has continued. The taking the kids out to feed them a meal may or may not be more reasonable, obviously the previous behavior and/or lack of a warning colors that, but I'm really not sure I know enough about that instance to pass judgement on it. But I wasn't really clear about the whole lobby issue, if the gym is selling that food or what, we don't have that issue here (no concessions) so I don't really know about that.

You bring up some excellent points. I wonder if the gym is selling it. Makes me glad my gym doesn't sell food! I took the OP's reaction to the situation to mean an obvious rule(s?) was being broken. I'm very much for discretionary rule bending in all things. I've let my kids eat during practice a few times under extraordinary circumstances. It was fast and in private though! The parents of the developmental kids I work with have my number and email though and are encouraged to abuse if in need, so I always get a heads up and input. So if they all walked out with total disregard for a lobby picnic...I'd be pretty ticked off too! If the parents don't have a line to the coach and make a decision they don't have a chance to discuss that would make a difference in my reaction. It appears they've had time to communicate though.

We need an update on this! What happened?

 

[CoachGoofy]

Our gym has a coffee bar in the lobby, so that's where the hot chocolate came from...we sell healthy snacks for the kids, and coffee for the parents/coaches/whoever wanders to another part of the complex.

We sent out a "do not send hungry children to practice & be mindful of nutrition directly before practice & please let the coaches do their jobs" email. Most of the families were like, "well duh". The offending family has been doing better as far as bringing their kids already fed, so now we're just working on the letting us do our jobs thing.