Anon Coach rough

[Anonymous (d060)]

Hi, I'm the new gym group parent of Level 3 JO gymnasts which is a group of 7 girls aged 8-10. It has been brought to my attention that a newer coach has been physically harsh on the gymnasts by pulling their legs (causing lower back injury for one gymnast) pushing their shoulders down harshly...so on and so forth. 3 of 7 gymnasts have complained. We are all new to this and therefore what is protocol for coaches physically assisting girls and how do we make a complaint and what do we say to head coach to sound concerned but not meddling in coaching? Advise needed. Thank you

 

[Anonymous (8623)]

Talk to owner of gym ASAP, depending on extent of possible abuse safesport may need to get involved. Watch practice the whole time until that coach is gone for your daughters safety.

 

[Dahlialover]

Your First responsibility as a parent is to ensure your child’s safety. If you are not completely confident that your child is in safe hands at gym, then you need to pull your child immediately.

Then talk to the owners.

 

[mezzamare]

There can be some jostling and yanking in spotting and shaping, but it should never be aggressive. By the time a coach is working with team girls, they should be experienced enough to know how to do what they need to do without hurting anybody. IMO, either your coach is woefully under-trained, or this is intentional behavior.

I would raise the issue immediately with the head coach. Pay close attention to how the HC handles this; you want concern and action on their part. If they brush you off, do a lot of talking but don't take any action, or immediately make alot of excuses for the coach, that is a bad sign. They should offer a plan to address the situation, as well as make clear to you/the girls that this is not okay, and talk to you about making modifications while they look into the issue. Then they need to stay with it until they figure out what's going on.

In the meantime, as someone else said, I would stay and watch practice carefully... And look into other gyms.

 

[Anonymous (d060)]

There can be some jostling and yanking in spotting and shaping, but it should never be aggressive. By the time a coach is working with team girls, they should be experienced enough to know how to do what they need to do without hurting anybody. IMO, either your coach is woefully under-trained, or this is intentional behavior.

I would raise the issue immediately with the head coach. Pay close attention to how the HC handles this; you want concern and action on their part. If they brush you off, do a lot of talking but don't take any action, or immediately make alot of excuses for the coach, that is a bad sign. They should offer a plan to address the situation, as well as make clear to you/the girls that this is not okay, and talk to you about making modifications while they look into the issue. Then they need to stay with it until they figure out what's going on.

In the meantime, as someone else said, I would stay and watch practice carefully... And look into other gyms.

Thank you. Very helpful.

 

[Anonymous (eaac)]

3 of 7 girls complaining is huge imo. I don't know what your relationship is with these kids and how comfortable they feel bringing things up but... my experience is that usually kids dont want to "make a fuss" when it's serious; they dont want to seem like they're overreacting.
In my experience for every 1 kid who complains there are many who don't dare to. So if half the kids are complaining I would be worried.

Plus their complaints sound very serious. A coach should never injure a gymnast unless it's some freak accident.

 

[Anonymous (a831)]

Hi, I'm the new gym group parent of Level 3 JO gymnasts which is a group of 7 girls aged 8-10. It has been brought to my attention that a newer coach has been physically harsh on the gymnasts by pulling their legs (causing lower back injury for one gymnast) pushing their shoulders down harshly...so on and so forth. 3 of 7 gymnasts have complained. We are all new to this and therefore what is protocol for coaches physically assisting girls and how do we make a complaint and what do we say to head coach to sound concerned but not meddling in coaching? Advise needed. Thank you

If you meet the owner then follow up with an email. The owners know they have a duty of care so if there's is no confusion that the matter is raised to them they should be a lot more motivated to address it seriously. I don't have much info from your post but if you concerned then stay and watch the full sessions, don't be glaring in or commenting as this will only upset your child but stay and watch (if you gym permit parents to watch?)...if the don't let you watch then definitely put your concerns in an email.

 

[MaggieMena]

Your First responsibility as a parent is to ensure your child’s safety. If you are not completely confident that your child is in safe hands at gym, then you need to pull your child immediately.

Then talk to the owners.

I like that!
Good thinking