Parents Coaching - What difference does it make?

[mom2557]

Some coaches really are "that much better" My DD is 6 months into a new gym and it was the best thing we could have done for her.

 

[tomtnt]

Playing devil's advocate as I definitely agree that coaching matter but......

You have some parents who sees girls doing better than their own DD and think that it must be the better coaching. Perhaps it's the coaching or perhaps natural talent matters in gymnastics?

My DD just can't seem to get her single bar release on bars.. coaching fault? He's able to coach bunch of other teammates their releases and has done an amazing job with her on vault and floor. Maybe sometimes it isn't the coaching and it's the inherent limitations of the gymnast.

 

[Gymmom0403]

Playing devil's advocate as I definitely agree that coaching matter but......

You have some parents who sees girls doing better than their own DD and think that it must be the better coaching. Perhaps it's the coaching or perhaps natural talent matters in gymnastics?

My DD just can't seem to get her single bar release on bars.. coaching fault? He's able to coach bunch of other teammates their releases and has done an amazing job with her on vault and floor. Maybe sometimes it isn't the coaching and it's the inherent limitations of the gymnast.

Totally agree with this. We had kids from our old gym wanting to switch to new gym since they thought they would be better just for making the switch. My dd was successful at old gym and has flourished at new gym due to a ton of hard work on her part. Coaching helped but she still has to put in the work

 

[John]

Playing devil's advocate as I definitely agree that coaching matter but......

You have some parents who sees girls doing better than their own DD and think that it must be the better coaching. Perhaps it's the coaching or perhaps natural talent matters in gymnastics?

My DD just can't seem to get her single bar release on bars.. coaching fault? He's able to coach bunch of other teammates their releases and has done an amazing job with her on vault and floor. Maybe sometimes it isn't the coaching and it's the inherent limitations of the gymnast.

Agree as well. IT takes hard work and the correct gymnast coach relationship. Each gymnast needs what they need, one great coaching style does not suit every gymnast.

 

[gymbeam]

Playing devil's advocate as I definitely agree that coaching matter but......

You have some parents who sees girls doing better than their own DD and think that it must be the better coaching. Perhaps it's the coaching or perhaps natural talent matters in gymnastics?

My DD just can't seem to get her single bar release on bars.. coaching fault? He's able to coach bunch of other teammates their releases and has done an amazing job with her on vault and floor. Maybe sometimes it isn't the coaching and it's the inherent limitations of the gymnast.

Right, you totally can't squeeze blood from a turnip! (I've never used that phrase before in my life. That was fun. LOL!)

Anyway, pretty sure the original question and replies that followed assumed inherent skill was the same, and then considered if good coaching can really make a remarkable difference in an individual.

 

[gymmom11]

Totally agree with this. We had kids from our old gym wanting to switch to new gym since they thought they would be better just for making the switch. My dd was successful at old gym and has flourished at new gym due to a ton of hard work on her part. Coaching helped but she still has to put in the work

This!![emoji121]️ we have had girls switch from our amazing gym that produces D1/D2 athletes to a gym that has an elite track and the name is "known" in the state.. some of these girls quit after switching and many return or go to another gym. A coach, while an amazing motivator and teacher, does not MAKE a gymnast. Talent, drive, willpower, etc need to be there in addition to a coach that is knowledgeable. However, a "known" or "great" gym or coach does not only produce great gymnasts... they may have a bunch of great gymnasts amongst a pool of subpar or fair gymnasts. Does that make sense?

 

[gymbeam]

This!![emoji121]️ we have had girls switch from our amazing gym that produces D1/D2 athletes to a gym that has an elite track and the name is "known" in the state.. some of these girls quit after switching and many return or go to another gym. A coach, while an amazing motivator and teacher, does not MAKE a gymnast. Talent, drive, willpower, etc need to be there in addition to a coach that is knowledgeable. However, a "known" or "great" gym or coach does not only produce great gymnasts... they may have a bunch of great gymnasts amongst a pool of subpar or fair gymnasts. Does that make sense?

Yes, it does make sense. "Great coach" doesn't mean "magician". Great coach just means being able to maximize inherent potential.

 

[H.J.]

Playing devil's advocate as I definitely agree that coaching matter but......

You have some parents who sees girls doing better than their own DD and think that it must be the better coaching. Perhaps it's the coaching or perhaps natural talent matters in gymnastics?

My DD just can't seem to get her single bar release on bars.. coaching fault? He's able to coach bunch of other teammates their releases and has done an amazing job with her on vault and floor. Maybe sometimes it isn't the coaching and it's the inherent limitations of the gymnast.

Yeah, you're right -- it's never easy or smart to try to attribute causation to one thing -- obviously lots of factors are important.

One thing I've noticed at DD's new gym is that they pay more attention to form and insist on it being correct. At the old gym, the coaches tried with form but would give up too easily and just let a kid move on to new skills or progressions without proper form or shaping or something, which, of course, meant that everything they added on was harder or even impossible (i.e., adding tumbling to a RO BHS that fundamentally wasn't correct). Right away, her new coach diagnosed something about where her feet were in terms of building momentum for the next add-on skill (can't remember what specifically -- maybe they were under her when they shouldn't be or in front of her or something like that; whatever it was, it was wrong) so all she was allowed to do was that one skill until she fixed it. Now, all the rest of her tumbling is better. I don't know that her other coaches even knew to look for that. Or maybe they did and tried but gave up too soon. Who knows. Anyway, I'm astounded by the progress my DD has made at her new gym in just 1 month.

 

[H.J.]

Right, you totally can't squeeze blood from a turnip! (I've never used that phrase before in my life. That was fun. LOL!)

Anyway, pretty sure the original question and replies that followed assumed inherent skill was the same, and then considered if good coaching can really make a remarkable difference in an individual.

Yes, it's still what I wonder. And by "good coaching" I just mean like they know how to diagnose what gymmie is doing wrong or wonky and then know how to help fix it. It just seems like there are so many parts to each skill that if one is off (i.e., head position) then everything else is too. Do all coaches know how to see these problems? They're all trained to, aren't they?

 

[H.J.]

Some coaches really are "that much better" My DD is 6 months into a new gym and it was the best thing we could have done for her.

We're one month in to a new gym and I'm already seeing tremendous difference. Some (most?) has to be coaching. Some is that the level all around her is higher too so what used to be good for her no longer is so she's motivated. Obv. that makes a big difference (motivation) but the fact that the skill level around her is higher to begin with again seems to go back to coaching. Or maybe it's a feedback loop -- success begets success. A few successful gymnasts attracts more, which makes a gym look better, attract better coaches, etc.