thefellowsmom
Proud Parent
- Dec 13, 2010
- 1,349
- 1,980
The recent thread about the abusive coaching and some things that are happening at our gym have me wondering.
Where is the line drawn? The other post I was reading seemed very apparent that she should run from that situation. But it isn't always that clear.
Our HC is a former Eastern European country national team member and in that vein can be pretty tough sometimes. He has high expectations, pushes the girls to strive past their comfort zones and responds regularly with the hands thrown up in the air and "your killing me" look. He also has no problem recommending you try rec op if he doesn't think you are going to have success in his JO program.
But, he is also very loving with the girls and seems to have genuine relationships with them and as I have said in other posts runs a really safe, individualized program that is growing and improving every year. But, true enough, it is his program and he really doesn't want to hear what others have to say about it.
There has been some uproar lately from a couple of parents about how he speaks to their girls and makes them feel bad and one has left the gym and several more have moved to rec op. They say he makes them feel bad about their progress and like they aren't good enough.
I am new to the team and have only been interacting with the HC for about a year, but have always had good interactions with him. He is obviously building a relationship with my daughter even though she is not training with him yet. He spends time talking to her and gives her hugs. I have seen him take a minute to go over and coach her on something as well as pull her over to watch what one of the older girls is doing.
I have talked to my daughter about it and she says that yes, he is tough and sometimes he "yells", but that she doesn't think he is scary and it doesn't bother her and that she knows that he is just trying to help her become the best gymnast she can and meet her goals.
It seems like some girls are thriving and some girls aren't handling it well. I have seen the intensity and seriousness of the program slowly increase over the last couple of years and some parents and gymnasts have not been pleased with this, but if you want to grow into a great program then it seems like this is a natural progression. More conditioning, harder workouts, higher expectations etc.
Anyway, that long winded explanation was really just to ask where is the line? This is a tough sport and with most select competitive sports coaches are tough. I guess you just watch your own kid, but where is that line when even if your child is doing ok, you know the behavior isn't appropriate or healthy?
Where is the line drawn? The other post I was reading seemed very apparent that she should run from that situation. But it isn't always that clear.
Our HC is a former Eastern European country national team member and in that vein can be pretty tough sometimes. He has high expectations, pushes the girls to strive past their comfort zones and responds regularly with the hands thrown up in the air and "your killing me" look. He also has no problem recommending you try rec op if he doesn't think you are going to have success in his JO program.
But, he is also very loving with the girls and seems to have genuine relationships with them and as I have said in other posts runs a really safe, individualized program that is growing and improving every year. But, true enough, it is his program and he really doesn't want to hear what others have to say about it.
There has been some uproar lately from a couple of parents about how he speaks to their girls and makes them feel bad and one has left the gym and several more have moved to rec op. They say he makes them feel bad about their progress and like they aren't good enough.
I am new to the team and have only been interacting with the HC for about a year, but have always had good interactions with him. He is obviously building a relationship with my daughter even though she is not training with him yet. He spends time talking to her and gives her hugs. I have seen him take a minute to go over and coach her on something as well as pull her over to watch what one of the older girls is doing.
I have talked to my daughter about it and she says that yes, he is tough and sometimes he "yells", but that she doesn't think he is scary and it doesn't bother her and that she knows that he is just trying to help her become the best gymnast she can and meet her goals.
It seems like some girls are thriving and some girls aren't handling it well. I have seen the intensity and seriousness of the program slowly increase over the last couple of years and some parents and gymnasts have not been pleased with this, but if you want to grow into a great program then it seems like this is a natural progression. More conditioning, harder workouts, higher expectations etc.
Anyway, that long winded explanation was really just to ask where is the line? This is a tough sport and with most select competitive sports coaches are tough. I guess you just watch your own kid, but where is that line when even if your child is doing ok, you know the behavior isn't appropriate or healthy?