Parents Communication about scratching

[Lilou]

I've read some of the responses here and will offer mine, which may or may not be a popular opinion. I think when there's a safety issue at hand scratching can and should happen, but there is no reason that is needs to happen on the floor, right then and there when we're talking Level 3. The gym should have established expectations that each girl must safely do all moves for at least one but more likely two weeks prior to the meet prior to competing it. This would then stop last minute scratching, parents and gymnasts would know what's going on, and goals can be appropriately worked toward for the next meet. And coaches know... 99% of the time, they know a week or more before if the gymnast should do the routine or not, or is on the fence (and even that can be communicated to parents in advance).
I also do not believe gymnasts should be scratched, at a lower levels like 3, if they're having a bad warm up. Bad warm ups can translate to great performances. I've seen it dozens of times and the gymnast should have a chance to prove that. We all know perfect warm ups don't necessarily mean perfect performance, and the opposite isn't true either.
Otherwise, you trust the conditioning, muscle memory and move repetition to get them successfully through the skills. The routine may be great or it may be mediocre but neither of those require a scratch while at the meet. I'm writing this for lower levels as once gymnast reach higher levels I think the rules change a little.

 

[OrchidZ]

If it's a last minute decision then no, the coach doesn't need to tell the parent. If they feel a child needs to scratch, so be it. Coaches want the kids to compete as much as we do, so we can trust that if it's at all possible, our kids will compete. For a last minute scratch, the coach needs to be focused on the team as much as possible, not talking to a parent (by text or in person). However! If the coach knows a scratch is possible beforehand, yes. Ideally, they should give the parents a heads up the week of the meet. It takes 30 seconds to send a quick text to say, "Just a heads up: Your child may not compete X event this week due to safety concerns on X skill." If the coach KNOWS the kid won't compete, they should definitely send a message before the meet. It's just courtesy.

The goal is (or should be) that, eventually, the gymnast becomes independent and understands and communicates these things themselves. My kid is pretty much at the point where the coach doesn't need to tell me about scratches or issues anymore, because my girl understands the situation and will communicate with me. It takes a while for a kid to reach that level of maturity and until that time - in my opinion - yes, it would be better if a coach were to give the parent a heads up. As a parent, I'm expected to keep the coaches informed about vacations, illnesses, injuries, etc.. anything that impacts their end of this working arrangement we all have. Parents don't need week-by-week or even month-by-month breakdowns of what their kid is doing, but it seems perfectly reasonable that coaches/the gym should communicate to the parents anything that impacts our end of the deal. This ranges from coaching and schedule changes to level changes and meet competition information.

I suspect that some coaches may not want to tell the parents because it's faster and easier to deal with it after the meet ("Oh. Sorry about that! But it was for their safety.") than risk a parent wanting a meeting to discuss the skill or event. It may even be something one can encourage in a coach by staying "low maintenance." If a simple "Your kid won't compete" message will work, I can't imagine a coach would mind sending one.. but if it's going to trigger a big long meeting and a push to change the situation.. maybe not so much.

Been There Done That Anecdotes:

Situation 1) Compulsory coach was thoughtful and would warn us. It would be just a simple heads up text: "She's been rough on this skill this week. I'll let her warm up, but if it's not looking ok, she'll scratch the event." This was much appreciated.

Situation 2) Optionals coach did not inform us. We knew she'd been working on a skill and was struggling with it. She could do it but was fearful and inconsistent. She'd been doing privates for 2 months and had competed it before. We had family who had come to watch her compete. She did not warm up. We watched her do the touch, and that was that. It was her first scratch. After the meet, the coach said "Oh yeah. I never intended for her to compete this event. She needs more work on this skill." I had zero issue with her being scratched if the coach felt it was necessary. I had issue with the fact that we had had no clue beforehand, even having taken her to the private that week. She told me that she had expected to compete it as well and was surprised. Communication with coaches was not discouraged, so I asked the coach to please let me know (even just a short text at any point) if they thought it might happen again. The coach said "Of course, I'd be happy to" but didn't. She scratched again at a later meet, and we were again clueless. I understand that the coaches are busy and have a lot on their minds. Meet season is very stressful for everyone. It's a tough one. I wished the coach would at least have told her so that she could tell us.. or send a short text.. It wasn't a deal breaker for me. A frustration, yes, but not a deal breaker.

Situation 3) New gym and coaches. In a parent/coach meeting I told them situation 2 and asked that, if it happens she isn't ready and needs to scratch, will they please send me a text. It doesn't matter when, I would just really appreciate it. They agreed. She has had to scratch a few times this season. Each time, I was informed. Once it was a week before ("Gym policy is that she needs to be making routines for a week before the meet. She isn't making this skill, so she's scratching."), and once it was at the start of the meet ("She will not compete this event today. It's not safe.") I very much appreciate the consideration, and their dedication to her safety.

 

[A's Mom]

sometimes there are other elements at play too. The head judge may have decided to remind everyone that kids shouldn't be competing unsafe skills and it has filtered through to the coaches so they have decided to scratch a child. Im a judge and we have a meeting at the start of each competition. An example might be the head judge saying at the last few competitions there has been some unsafe back handsprings so today can we make sure we are pulling up coaches that are allowing kids to compete them. There may have been other skills too that the coach was concerned about.

Thanks! I had no idea this was a thing. It makes perfect sense. Kids shouldn't be competing skills they can't do safely anyway.