Call Me Crazy But I Pay Someone Qualified To Coach!

[Bajanswife]

I don't coach mine, but last night I did walk into the gym to tell mine to quit messing around. She has 3 coaches and LOVES them all. (I do too.) Her vault coach last night was letting AB's adhd get the best of her. I just went in and said, if Coach L isn't going to get on to you, then I am--pay attention. I was more worried about her running in front of someone and hurting them or even hurting herself. She was just not paying attention. Generally, I let this slide, but last night, seemed a little worse than usual. I want her to have fun at gym and last night she was! She payed a bit more attention after I walked out--but was still having lots of fun.

I have to speak to my 7 yo DD at the gym sometimes too, when she's playing the fool overly much. The coach will eventually get on her case, but until he/she does, she's being disruptive to others and hindering herself from learning. I don't need gymnastics to be super serious for her - I just need her to take it a little more seriously than she sometimes does, not only for her sake but for the sake of her team-mates who she's distracting! I guess I have a lower tolerance for nonsense than most of her coaches, so I tend to step in sooner if I am there watching. I don't call out in the middle of the session though - I wait for a water break and call her over.

 

[Bella's Mom]

Just to offer my perspective....

Sometimes I will stand at the door to the gym and catch my daughter's attention when I feel like she's getting xxxxxxx and goofing off. I think her coaches let her get away with too much in this department. She needs to learn self control and self discipline. In my opinion,teaching these life skills are a part of coaching kids. If someone thinks that is overbearing, I'm mature enough to allow them to hold that opinion even while disagreeing with it.

I also think that parents who "interfere" sometimes do it with good intentions that have nothing to do with going elite. As mothers (and fathers), we know our kids better than anyone.I know that I myself have watched some coaches try to get an idea or concept across to my daughter without success. It can be frustrating sitting there knowing that I know the "right" words to use for my particular child to understand what they mean.

I don't jump in to help because of the physical layout of our gym. But if I did, it wouldn't be to usurp the coach's authority and definitely not because I think I know more about coaching/gymnastics than they do. It would just be because I know more about Bella than they do. However, I believe it's good for Bella to learn to have to communicate with different people so I have always taken a hands off approach to helping out.

But I will admit, and I don't know if this is wrong or right, but I HAVE pulled Bella out of the gym before for not paying attention and distracting her classmates....for flopping and screwing around rather than listening to her coach and listening.

Bella has basically "grown up" in this gym so she is very comfortable with all of the coaches and she is kind of the "sweetheart" of the gym. I am glad she has that relationship with the staff but I don't want them to go light on her behavior because of it. My daughter is strong willed and she needs to be taught discipline. And I think discipline is just as important in gymnastics as a beautiful back handspring.

 

[Coacharella]

I always have to laugh a little if parents say "I know my kid best". Of course you know your kid best, but that's different than knowing a sport best, or knowing how to coach something and the reason you're coaching something a certain way.

I know my daughter as my daughter. Her coaches at the same gym, know her as an athlete. They have free reign.

One of the best coaches I know always says to parents who interfere "Oh, wow, you seem to know so much, you should become a coach!"
It usually either stops their behaviour, and in one case, a parent actually become a coach!!

 

[NGL780309]

I always have to laugh a little if parents say "I know my kid best". Of course you know your kid best, but that's different than knowing a sport best, or knowing how to coach something and the reason you're coaching something a certain way.

I have to agree with Bella's mom to some degree on this. I don't think she meant she knows her better and therefore can coach her better. There have been several times where the coach was telling my child something and getting little response. It was easy for me as a parent to say to my child, "The coach is asking you to do this." and then she got it. We aren't talking high level gymnastics here. We are talking about the very beginning of gymnastics.

I have often been able to get my child to do things she wouldn't do for her coach. Not things that are unsafe for her to work on at home. When she was little she would work on her cartwheels, handstands, backwalkovers etc at home. I have always been able to get her to improve her leg form better than her coach at the gym. The coach would tell her to straighten her legs and she would straighten them, but still have a slight bend in her knee. What she needed was someone to touch her knees and show her that they weren't quite straight. Would I feel the need to go to the gym and do this during practice? Of course not. But if my child is at home flipping around and I see something she can work on I'm going to tell her.

Alot of people who coach these lower levels of gymnastics often have no gymnastics experience themselves. They are teenagers. Maybe they are a cheerleader and can tumble. This is the case at gyms in our area. The often times don't care, don't have patience with children and aren't good teachers. Being a good teacher is a skill all on it's own. The young children are the hardest to teach. You have to understand the way their minds work. So many times I see young coaches "telling" kids things. You really have to show them.

So I agree with Bella's mom. I do feel best qualified sometimes when a coach is telling my child something, to show her what the coach is trying to telling. I think this kind of parental help is limited though. There comes a point where parents don't have the gym knowledge to help.

 

[Coacharella]

Okay, Pre Comp is more what I was referring to.....sorry, not like a pre school rec class.... why is it necessary to step in for pre comp, hopefully the coach is knowledgeable enough that you do not feel the need to.

Especially at the gym during practice time. If you want to be a mother or father who "coaches at home", then go ahead because nobody can stop what happens behind closed doors. But really, I think the last thing a kid wants to hear while "playing" is corrections on their form. I have always been very strict in no gymnastics corrections at home. If she feels like doing it, go ahead, it would be no different than if she chose to to play dolls. And I wouldn't be sitting there teaching her how to play dolls so why should it be different for gymnastics.

HOPEFULLY any coach who is hired, is a coach who is qualified, understands how to talk to kids, and cares. All of our coaches have to coach with another coach until the head coach thinks they are ready to be on their own. Some of our gym's best coaches are with the pre school aged kids actually.

This is nothing towards Bella's Mom and NGL7080309, I don't know you either personally. I'd like to make the poiint that just ...I think WAY too many parents in gymnastics get too caught up in their daughter's gym career. And usually ( not always), the crazy parents, find something wrong with the coaching, and claim the line "I know what's best for my kid".....(ie - another example....at home gymnastics on youtube.. "5 year old gymnast doing back handspring", then you open the video and its a 5 yr old chucking BHS at home on a trampoline...) I feel like saying....Sit back, let it be your daughter's experience, and your daughter will probably have better results and happiness. If you get too involved and start making it your experience...uh-oh.


If ever we get parents who say something along the line that they feel "best qualififed to show their daughter when a coach is only telling her", then we politely advise them to bring her to open gym and teach her there themself, or give them directions to the gym down the street,... 99% of the times...They then apologize and stick with the class.

 

[10.0]

I have coached some very hmmm lets say "active" kids. I coached a lot of preschool as well and someone touched on it so I have to say it but I am sorry we are not there to teach your child how to be respectful, sorry that is your job. I have a group of 10 kids all getting out of control mostly because of 1 kid instigating and I have to stop doing my actual job of coaching gymnastic and walk over and play cop and then have a kid tell me I am not the boss of them and I take the child out just to have the parent tell the kid to say "you're sorry" and put them right back in. And I do know little ones can have bad days but when your kid is the one always getting called out, can't keep his/her hands to themselves, hits other kids, hits me while the rest of the group can handle the class it might be your kid not the coach.

And to touch on another point, yes a lot of high school kids end up getting hired as coaches because most coaches do not get paid any more that your local grocery store bagger and most qualified adults who "care" and have experience can find better things to do for more than min. wage and the ones who do indeed do it as a hobby because they like it and it is rare.

Also many coaches have to foot their own expenses of license, uniform, back ground check, and continuing education so while SOME continuing education is offered it is often not taken advantage of due to the out of pocket cost to the coaches. So until their is a uniform system for coaching education and wages that reflect the amount of hard work you do as a coach I don't see much changing and honestly I am sorry to those folks out there that deserve better, I know it is frustrating on your end as well.

 

[coachmolly]

I think their is a HUGE different between involved, caring parent who wants the best for their child and pushy parent. I love it when a parent knows how hard their child has been working on a skill and how excited the kid gets to show mom/dad when they come in to pick her up. It's not because the parents were pushing the issue, but because they knew how hard their child had been working and excited to see that hard work pay off. It's not just about gymnastics, but like others have mentioned, life lessons. Gymnastics was a huge financial sacrifice for my parents and because of that, they expected me to be working hard at it. There were times, mostly at the lower levels, where they did reprimand me for goofing off in class because I could goof off at home at no cost to them. But I feel these examples are so different than parents making their child do 100 routines at home, try to teach them upper level skills at their home gym, or waltz into the gym to step on the coaches toes (provided the coach is not asking the children to do something unsafe).
Where I am currently coaching, I feel like my biggest problem is with parents who just don't care. They drop their kids off in the parking lot and that's where they pick them up when their class is over. They have no idea who their child's coach is, what they are working in the gym, how much they have improved, etc. I don't expect them to sit and stay for the whole practice, especially if it's several hours in length, but I would like to know what they look like and be able to offer them some feedback on their kid from time to time! I can't imagine how it must feel to be the kid whose parents show absolutely no interest in what they are doing.

 

[NGL780309]

Very well said. I work with kids in a pursuit quite different than gymnastics, but similar in that it takes years and years of hard work to reach a level of success and it takes many, many hours. Most kids aren't willing to make the sacrifices and end up quitting, much like in the sport of gymnastics.

I am ecstatic to have a parent that is involved with their child and takes interest in what they are currently working on. I love the parents who have questions because they have taken it upon themselves to learn things about their child's passion. Sure, sometimes the questions can be kind of stupid, but I appreciate their interest. These are the kids that suceed. I don't like the parents who drop their kid off and have no clue what's going on. I may work with their child for 7 years and have barely met them.

I think their is a HUGE different between involved, caring parent who wants the best for their child and pushy parent. I love it when a parent knows how hard their child has been working on a skill and how excited the kid gets to show mom/dad when they come in to pick her up. It's not because the parents were pushing the issue, but because they knew how hard their child had been working and excited to see that hard work pay off. It's not just about gymnastics, but like others have mentioned, life lessons. Gymnastics was a huge financial sacrifice for my parents and because of that, they expected me to be working hard at it. There were times, mostly at the lower levels, where they did reprimand me for goofing off in class because I could goof off at home at no cost to them. But I feel these examples are so different than parents making their child do 100 routines at home, try to teach them upper level skills at their home gym, or waltz into the gym to step on the coaches toes (provided the coach is not asking the children to do something unsafe).
Where I am currently coaching, I feel like my biggest problem is with parents who just don't care. They drop their kids off in the parking lot and that's where they pick them up when their class is over. They have no idea who their child's coach is, what they are working in the gym, how much they have improved, etc. I don't expect them to sit and stay for the whole practice, especially if it's several hours in length, but I would like to know what they look like and be able to offer them some feedback on their kid from time to time! I can't imagine how it must feel to be the kid whose parents show absolutely no interest in what they are doing.

 

[NGL780309]

If ever we get parents who say something along the line that they feel "best qualififed to show their daughter when a coach is only telling her", then we politely advise them to bring her to open gym and teach her there themself, or give them directions to the gym down the street,... 99% of the times...They then apologize and stick with the class.[/QUOTE]

I'm not talking about a parent coming into your class and telling you what to do. Helping your child straighten their legs or point their toes is not brain surgery. This attitude that some coaches have that they are the only ones qualified to help is comical and egotistical. A parent doesn't have to have been an elite gymnast to help their child get better at something simple like straighten their legs. They must only have the eyesight to see and the willingness to help their child. When a coach has a big group of kids all working at the same time they don't have the time to fix every little thing on every kid. Especially when children are young and really need to feel things.

 

[NGL780309]

Okay, Pre Comp is more what I was referring to.....sorry, not like a pre school rec class.... why is it necessary to step in for pre comp, hopefully the coach is knowledgeable enough that you do not feel the need to.

My particular child is a Level 4. When she just started she practiced a lot at home and I helped her. Now, not so much. She will work on things from time to time like holding handstands and parts of her floor routine. She'll ask me if her legs were even on her split jump and her leap. Am I supposed to say no honey I won't look and I won't tell you? Becasue surely I as an uneducated parent coudn't possibly be able to tell if her legs were even.


Especially at the gym during practice time. If you want to be a mother or father who "coaches at home", then go ahead because nobody can stop what happens behind closed doors. But really, I think the last thing a kid wants to hear while "playing" is corrections on their form. I have always been very strict in no gymnastics corrections at home. If she feels like doing it, go ahead, it would be no different than if she chose to to play dolls. And I wouldn't be sitting there teaching her how to play dolls so why should it be different for gymnastics.

Helping your child correct their form is the same way you sit and help them with their homework or teach them to do anything. The same way DD will sit down and try to write a story and ask me for my help in spelling words she doesn't know. I'm not talking about forcing a child to do 100 beam passes like someone else said. I'm talking about my child running out of practice and telling me her coach said she could move to preteam once she had her backwalkover with straight legs and pointed toes. Then her working on it everyday until her next practice and being so happy and excited to show her coach. Luckily her coach was happy she practiced at home and was happy that someone helped her.

HOPEFULLY any coach who is hired, is a coach who is qualified, understands how to talk to kids, and cares. All of our coaches have to coach with another coach until the head coach thinks they are ready to be on their own. Some of our gym's best coaches are with the pre school aged kids actually.

Well your gym is way ahead of alot of gyms out there.

This is nothing towards Bella's Mom and NGL7080309, I don't know you either personally. I'd like to make the poiint that just ...I think WAY too many parents in gymnastics get too caught up in their daughter's gym career. And usually ( not always), the crazy parents, find something wrong with the coaching, and claim the line "I know what's best for my kid".....(ie - another example....at home gymnastics on youtube.. "5 year old gymnast doing back handspring", then you open the video and its a 5 yr old chucking BHS at home on a trampoline...) I feel like saying....Sit back, let it be your daughter's experience, and your daughter will probably have better results and happiness. If you get too involved and start making it your experience...uh-oh.

DD has never learned any crazy skill at home, has no home equipment and I've never "taught" her how to do any skill. Helping your child is far from making it your experience. There are a lot of crappy coaches out there and sometimes we do know what's best for our kids. Coaches are not always doing a good job as we've seen from many posts on this board.

 

[Coacharella]

I am not at all being egotistical. Not my intention and if it came across that way, it was not supposed to. Coaches know what I mean.. it's just funny when parents feel the need to even mention "I know her best"... lucky for me , I've never had a parent come into my class and tell me what to do. If parents coach from the sidelines, I nip it in the butt early by explaining why it is not necessary. A) I'm the coach , I'll be happy to coach, b) It's unsafe for a kid to try and listen to two people at once while trying to do gymnastics.

As for telling a kid to straighten their legs, not even a coach has to be an elite coach, to do that. Anyone in the world can do that. I believe my way of coaching works, kids work hard for me, parents respect me when I ask them not to coach, and call it egotistical or not, but when a parent tells me they know their kid best (in 15 years it has happened twice), I tell them, wonderful, thank you, I know gymnastics best, and I know your daughter as an athlete. I am, having been in the sport for many years, commenting on the fact that as the original poster mentioned, it is VERY annoying when parents coach from the sidelines in lower level pre team.

I am talking about the difference here between being supportive vs. being pyscho. If your daughter struggles at gym and has sloppy legs, you as a parent should be able to let it go, and assume the coach will fix it, even if ten kids are in the class, and parents should have the brain power to not mention form to their daughters...instead focus on what little Suzy did well at practice rather than what she did poorly (ie - practice finishes .."you did great on beam!!", rather than "Why didn't you point your toes on beam?) Because trust me, that kid who is sloppy knows they are sloppy since they hear enough corrections from coach. When kids play gymnastics at home, I HOPE parents are saying... " wow Good job little Suzy with all those cool tricks" versus "Wow good job, now try it with straight legs and pointed toes"

 

[Coacharella]

Okay, Pre Comp is more what I was referring to.....sorry, not like a pre school rec class.... why is it necessary to step in for pre comp, hopefully the coach is knowledgeable enough that you do not feel the need to.

My particular child is a Level 4. When she just started she practiced a lot at home and I helped her. Now, not so much. She will work on things from time to time like holding handstands and parts of her floor routine. She'll ask me if her legs were even on her split jump and her leap. Am I supposed to say no honey I won't look and I won't tell you? Becasue surely I as an uneducated parent coudn't possibly be able to tell if her legs were even.


Especially at the gym during practice time. If you want to be a mother or father who "coaches at home", then go ahead because nobody can stop what happens behind closed doors. But really, I think the last thing a kid wants to hear while "playing" is corrections on their form. I have always been very strict in no gymnastics corrections at home. If she feels like doing it, go ahead, it would be no different than if she chose to to play dolls. And I wouldn't be sitting there teaching her how to play dolls so why should it be different for gymnastics.

Helping your child correct their form is the same way you sit and help them with their homework or teach them to do anything. The same way DD will sit down and try to write a story and ask me for my help in spelling words she doesn't know. I'm not talking about forcing a child to do 100 beam passes like someone else said. I'm talking about my child running out of practice and telling me her coach said she could move to preteam once she had her backwalkover with straight legs and pointed toes. Then her working on it everyday until her next practice and being so happy and excited to show her coach. Luckily her coach was happy she practiced at home and was happy that someone helped her.

HOPEFULLY any coach who is hired, is a coach who is qualified, understands how to talk to kids, and cares. All of our coaches have to coach with another coach until the head coach thinks they are ready to be on their own. Some of our gym's best coaches are with the pre school aged kids actually.

Well your gym is way ahead of alot of gyms out there.

This is nothing towards Bella's Mom and NGL7080309, I don't know you either personally. I'd like to make the poiint that just ...I think WAY too many parents in gymnastics get too caught up in their daughter's gym career. And usually ( not always), the crazy parents, find something wrong with the coaching, and claim the line "I know what's best for my kid".....(ie - another example....at home gymnastics on youtube.. "5 year old gymnast doing back handspring", then you open the video and its a 5 yr old chucking BHS at home on a trampoline...) I feel like saying....Sit back, let it be your daughter's experience, and your daughter will probably have better results and happiness. If you get too involved and start making it your experience...uh-oh.

DD has never learned any crazy skill at home, has no home equipment and I've never "taught" her how to do any skill. Helping your child is far from making it your experience. There are a lot of crappy coaches out there and sometimes we do know what's best for our kids. Coaches are not always doing a good job as we've seen from many posts on this board.

LOL, you took apart my whole post. Look - all I'm saying is coaches have a job. We get paid to do it. If parents were confident enough in their coaches, HOEPFULLY, at any given gym, parents shouldn't feel the need to play role of coach.

If a child asks "Mommy were my legs straight?", it would be rude not to answer. Kinda put words in my mouth on that one, never did I call you an uneducated parent and never did I intend that you should "look away" when she asks if her legs are ver. I am referring to parents who suck the fun out of gymnastics by becoming the coach, which is what the original poster was referring to...

 

[gymdog]

I think at this point the discussion is deviating from the intended point. Obviously like with anything else, there's a line. No one is saying you need to ignore your child. If you're uncomfortable with your level of involvement, that's mostly for you to think on and deal with in my opinion. Personally I stay as far away from parenting issues as possible at my job, unless I'm directly asked, and even then I tend to hedge. I've only said something in the case of actual disruptions to the practice time that are unfair to the other children.

That said I find some parents are way too involved and I think I have children on my team who probably wouldn't still be in competitive gymnastics if their parents weren't pushing so much, and quite frankly probably don't have much future in it past the compulsory levels. So I mean, yeah, there's a fine line and I think more people are crossing it than you might think. To be fair you can't entirely put the blame on the parents. There are a lot of coaches and gyms out there propagating the sense that gymnastics is the end of the world. Combined with the financial and time outlay, it's pretty much unsurprising that we see this stuff. But gymnastics is not the end of the world.

And I can certainly agree that gymnastics is expensive. If I was not a gymnastics coach, with the costs in my area, if I had kids as a younger parent I would not be able to afford competitive gymnastics at all, without wild sacrifices that would probably be unreasonable. That kind of money won't be in my budget any time in the foreseeable future. But the best advice I can give is that if people can't do this, they need to just not do it, because the strain on the family relationship is not proportional to the importance of gymnastics. It's too much pressure on the kid to live up to getting a scholarship or whatever because "we spent all this money on gymnastics." Or if it's not money, emotional issues, whatever. It's hard to leave gymnastics. But it's even harder to undo years of resentment or check your child into a treatment facility. We need to have some sense of scale here.

 

[Shelovesthebars]

Gymdog-you just hit it on the nose! Thanks.........

 

[gymjourneymom]

Thanks gymdog & Coacharella for stating your points of view so clearly. I totally agree with you both. You have both obviously been coaching & around this sport for a while. Your wisdom & experience come thru in your post!

I think we may have some parents that are rather new to the sport posting on CB ( ie. DD L2.5 & L3 moving to L4 and such). They are very enthusiastic, which is wonderful!!! I'm not trying to pick on anyone, but as with most things in life, with experience comes wisdom. I'm glad we have involved parents here on CB. And believe me we are ALL involved parents or we wouldn't have sought out a gymnastics message board. But after your DD's have been in this sport a while you may have some changes in your way of thinking. They move to a skill level that is beyond most parents realm of "expertise". Then we are left to be the emotional support & cheerleaders.

Yes, your DD's are young now. But at some point it HAS to become their sport or they won't stick with it. It DOES become about the athlete & the coach & their ability to work together. Finding a good gym fit, a good coach fit for your DD's is the best thing a parent can do for a child who loves this sport. JMHO.

 

[jdf]

I agree about the coaches knowing the girls as athletes. I teach elementary school, and thr most frequently heard words at a parent conference when I praise a kid for helpfullness are, "are you talking about my child?!?"
Most kids are much more responsible and grown up outside of their own home and when interacting with adults who are not their parents. I have 3 kids, form age 8 to 11. I know this is true of them.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

I am not at all being egotistical. Not my intention and if it came across that way, it was not supposed to. Coaches know what I mean.. it's just funny when parents feel the need to even mention "I know her best"... lucky for me , I've never had a parent come into my class and tell me what to do. If parents coach from the sidelines, I nip it in the butt early by explaining why it is not necessary. A) I'm the coach , I'll be happy to coach, b) It's unsafe for a kid to try and listen to two people at once while trying to do gymnastics.

As for telling a kid to straighten their legs, not even a coach has to be an elite coach, to do that. Anyone in the world can do that. I believe my way of coaching works, kids work hard for me, parents respect me when I ask them not to coach, and call it egotistical or not, but when a parent tells me they know their kid best (in 15 years it has happened twice), I tell them, wonderful, thank you, I know gymnastics best, and I know your daughter as an athlete. I am, having been in the sport for many years, commenting on the fact that as the original poster mentioned, it is VERY annoying when parents coach from the sidelines in lower level pre team.

I am talking about the difference here between being supportive vs. being pyscho. If your daughter struggles at gym and has sloppy legs, you as a parent should be able to let it go, and assume the coach will fix it, even if ten kids are in the class, and parents should have the brain power to not mention form to their daughters...instead focus on what little Suzy did well at practice rather than what she did poorly (ie - practice finishes .."you did great on beam!!", rather than "Why didn't you point your toes on beam?) Because trust me, that kid who is sloppy knows they are sloppy since they hear enough corrections from coach. When kids play gymnastics at home, I HOPE parents are saying... " wow Good job little Suzy with all those cool tricks" versus "Wow good job, now try it with straight legs and pointed toes"

THIS ^^^ is spot on. No one knows your gimmies better than the coach. there is a huge divide between that of the parent's child and that of the athlete regardless of the level. no debate.

 

[Bella's Mom]

Thanks gymdog & Coacharella for stating your points of view so clearly. I totally agree with you both. You have both obviously been coaching & around this sport for a while. Your wisdom & experience come thru in your post!

I think we may have some parents that are rather new to the sport posting on CB ( ie. DD L2.5 & L3 moving to L4 and such). They are very enthusiastic, which is wonderful!!! I'm not trying to pick on anyone, but as with most things in life, with experience comes wisdom. I'm glad we have involved parents here on CB. And believe me we are ALL involved parents or we wouldn't have sought out a gymnastics message board. But after your DD's have been in this sport a while you may have some changes in your way of thinking. They move to a skill level that is beyond most parents realm of "expertise". Then we are left to be the emotional support & cheerleaders.

Yes, your DD's are young now. But at some point it HAS to become their sport or they won't stick with it. It DOES become about the athlete & the coach & their ability to work together. Finding a good gym fit, a good coach fit for your DD's is the best thing a parent can do for a child who loves this sport. JMHO.

Gymnastics already is my daughter's sport. It isn't mine. If I had my druthers she would take music lessons and take ballet. She however wants to fly.

Maybe I'm not "wise" yet, but that doesn't mean I'm living my dreams through my daughter. But perhaps if I don't drive her from the sport, someday I will gain all the wisdom that others already possess.

My point was that when my daughter was even younger and not as verbally developed, that there were times I could have helped the coach communicate with her. But I have never gone onto the gym floor and have never coached my child. And her skill level is high enough that I'm already unqualified to provide any kind of technical coaching. The best I can do is to remind her to listen and focus.

 

[Bella's Mom]

I When kids play gymnastics at home, I HOPE parents are saying... " wow Good job little Suzy with all those cool tricks" versus "Wow good job, now try it with straight legs and pointed toes"

Very excellent point. Bella likes to play "olympics" in our living room. She has very specific requirements for how I'm supposed to announce her to the imaginary crowd. She does some crazy routine full of handstands, hopping on her hands, weird split turns, and the like. It's all very frantic but I love watching her enthusiasm. The kid cracks me up!

Now I"m sure if her coach saw Bella's form while she's playing "olympics", the coach would cringe. But hey, she's having a blast, bad form and all,so I'm not going to criticize her during her olympic appearance. LOL

ETA: Oh yeah...and Bella ALWAYS scores a 99.100 on all of her routines. Yes, that's a ninety-nine point one hundred. So beat that Shawn Johnson!

 

[Bella's Mom]

There were times, mostly at the lower levels, where they did reprimand me for goofing off in class because I could goof off at home at no cost to them. But I feel these examples are so different than parents making their child do 100 routines at home, try to teach them upper level skills at their home gym, or waltz into the gym to step on the coaches toes (provided the coach is not asking the children to do something unsafe).

Excellent point. I would never insist that Bella do x number of routines, round offs, or mill circles at home. But I will talk to her for not focusing in the gym because she has GOT to learn how to control her exuberance and energy.