Women Competing with injury

[Muddlethru]

Coaches, under what circumstances, if any, would you let an athlete compete with an injury or not a fully healed injury?

I started a thread about feigning injury to bypass states and going straight to regionals and having a parent doctor write a note to support the supposed injury. While my post clearly did find this practice unfair, the gymnast I spoke about unfortunately got injured last week while doing a tumbling pass. This time she was really injured and the family had to take her to a doctor. Apparently she sprained her ankle and it us now wrapped. I don't believe in karma and I sincerely feel it is unfortunate she actually got injured. She is a very good friend of my daughter and this whole unethical scenario was not her doing. But she says she will still be competing at regionals. Without an injury, she did very poorly at states. So now with an injury, why would the coach have her compete? The coach told their family they've seen many gymnasts compete with really swollen ankles. The gymnast said it hurts when she runs. Could it be just getting the experience to compete and go to regionals? What other reason could there be? I don't think she has a chance at nationals if she can't even run. Plus I think she stands a higher chance of another injury or aggravating her existing injury. She is a young first year level 9.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

sounds like a bad idea...

 

[iwannacoach]

Three thoughts I'd like to share..... and and !!!!

 

[gymmomtoo]

Not a coach, but really, she performed very poorly at State (did she have to be petitioned in or did she make it to Regionals on her own?), has a painful injury now and very little chance at Nationals (per you), why on earth would you have her compete on it?? Seems like a recipe for disaster

 

[gymgal]

The only possible reason I could see was if she had a reasonable chance of being a regional champion on bars or beam (which don't require running, but admittedly carry their own risks for further damage). But from your previous posts, I am gathering that is not the case.

 

[Muddlethru]

The gymnast was petitioned into regionals. In the four meets she had this season, she scored two 5s on bars and beam was better with high 7s to high 8s. Her all around was hovering in 31s and 32s with one meet 35*. At states she got a low 8 and a mid 7 on two events. She warmed up all events. I remember one of our head coaches telling me she was hard to coach because she can do a skill exceptionally well one day and then can't do it again because the gymnast does not understand what she is doing wrong or right. She just keeps going for it and hoping for the best which she sometimes gets. So maybe they think she might have a great meet. But my concern is I don't think it is good for her and I really don't think she could take a regional title or qualify for nationals. In addition, my daughter told me today she is back at the doctor because the coaches keep making her run and now the ankle is more swollen. I don't think they have the gymnast's best interest. But I could be wrong.

 

[krisnkids]

I wonder what is going on with the parents that would allow their child to train and compete on such an ankle.

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[wallflower]

It doesn't sound like the best situation, but my overwhelming feeling is that it isn't your business. I'm not trying to sound harsh and I realize its easy to read tone into written messages. Please read this with the kindest tone in mind. You left that gym for whatever reason. Move on and don't worry about what they are doing. Even if she is your daughters friend, be supportive, wish her the best, but stop worrying and questioning what they are doing. It's hard when you leave a gym because there is still an attachment there. I know because I've been there.

Maybe the kid really wants to compete. Injuries vary and yes kids do compete on sprained ankles. If its not going to cause further injury and its just about whether she can handle the pain, it's her choice. Not being dr's and knowing the nature of her injury it's not our place to judge. And even if she has no hope of doing well or placing well it may still be important to her to go and compete. Again I just don't feel like this is your business. It's between her coaches, parents, drs and her. Even if they make the wrong decision, it doesn't impact you. Let her parents figure out if their child's coaches are making bad decisions for her.

 

[GymBee97]

Well I've seen some really injured folks this year who should have been out for at least 6 mos compeat and its more the parents allowing it and pushing it from the ones I've seen. Girls in boots that aren't supposed to be tumbling taking boots off to compete. A girl who was tumbled and was in a removable air cast on both ankles not supposed to be doing gymnastics at all take casts off to do gymnastics when I saw her I gave a comment "Looks like your ankles are doing better" Her response not really I'm not even supposesed to really be even walking on them!! My response and your mom is letting you tumble? her response YUP!. Not the decision as a parent I would make and I do wonder what were they thinking but in the end its their decision.

I don't get it either. Its just gymnastics, there will be another season next year, nothing is worth possibly crippling a child. And as a MOM I wouldn't care if my kid really wanted to compete - If she is injured, in pain and the DR said NO then the answer is Sorry No!! I think doing gymnastics on a sprian or with injury is just asking for more injury.

 

[Natasha]

Coaches, under what circumstances, if any, would you let an athlete compete with an injury or not a fully healed injury?

I started a thread about feigning injury to bypass states and going straight to regionals and having a parent doctor write a note to support the supposed injury. While my post clearly did find this practice unfair, the gymnast I spoke about unfortunately got injured last week while doing a tumbling pass. This time she was really injured and the family had to take her to a doctor. Apparently she sprained her ankle and it us now wrapped. I don't believe in karma and I sincerely feel it is unfortunate she actually got injured. She is a very good friend of my daughter and this whole unethical scenario was not her doing. But she says she will still be competing at regionals. Without an injury, she did very poorly at states. So now with an injury, why would the coach have her compete? The coach told their family they've seen many gymnasts compete with really swollen ankles. The gymnast said it hurts when she runs. Could it be just getting the experience to compete and go to regionals? What other reason could there be? I don't think she has a chance at nationals if she can't even run. Plus I think she stands a higher chance of another injury or aggravating her existing injury. She is a young first year level 9.

2 years ago my dd fractured the growth plate in her wrist, then broke her wrist again, then broke her finger. Came back to full training and a month later re-injured the wrist. Our first meet of the season was our home meet (L7). She was getting very discouraged and very tired of conditioning and dance. She begged her head coach to let her compete floor. He was against it at first, but after seeing the "fire" that it gave her to have a goal to work towards and after her demonstrating that she could safely do everything and after re-working the routine with her floor coach, he allowed her to show him her routine and he approved for her to compete. It was the best thing for her. She had been discouraged, completely unmotivated, no goals, etc. Once she had approval to do the floor routine she worked her butt off for weeks perfecting that routine. She competed it, received the highest score she had ever received on any event and took 1st place. It was a huge confidence boost and she learned so much about overcoming adversity and how hard work really can pay off, etc. The coaches worked with her to make sure that what she was doing was safe (she had MD approval to train and was actually able to do tumbling on the wrist by the meet but the coaches didn't want to rush it.) Also, because of the 6 months total with the wrist/finger injury she had been working the whole time on one-armed skills (back handsprings, etc) and had safely progressed to do what she did in the routine.
My point? Unfortunately, outsiders from other gyms who did not know the whole story voiced their opinions such as "I can't believe the coaches are letting her do that! What parent would let their child compete with a brace on their arm?" and "She is just risking more injury." (She didn't need the brace at that point, it was only for additional protection and to make it clear to the judges why she was doing everything with one arm).
In the OP's described situation...maybe it is a really bad idea or maybe we just don't know the whole story. If you asked my daughter about her favorite meet memory, she will tell you about the time she competed a one-armed routine.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

I wonder what is going on with the parents that would allow their child to train and compete on such an ankle.

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THAT is a great question...YIKES!

 

[Granny Smith]

I take it she is not going to a doctor for the real injury?? If I were her parent and my child was in that position, I would not have her compete. She doesn't seem to have a real shot of moving on. My dd has competed with injuries and she is currently coming back from an injury for Regionals (having been petitioned in). I was just saying to someone today, if she is not going to compete AA, there really is no reason for her to compete at Regionals. Looking at the competition, she probably would not win an event (to move on to Nationals), her only shot lies in the AA. She could squeak into NIT, if she can hit all 4 events.

I will say though that a couple of years ago, she had an injury that really flared up after Regionals, but before Easterns. We weren't sure what was going on. We thought it may be tendonitis in her elbow. The week of Easterns, the elbow started clicking and locking, here and there. I told dd (who is a little older, not a little one) if we go to the doctor, he will probably shut you down. Do you want to go to the doctor or do you want to wait till after Easterns? Maybe I was wrong for leaving the decision up to her, but she chose to wait till after Easterns. We went and she competed and the Monday after Easterns, we were at the doctor. Some might of said what we did was crazy, some might think what she is fighting back from this time around is crazy, but I think we are fairly sane people and we all do the things we do with and without judgement.

 

[Muddlethru]

It doesn't sound like the best situation, but my overwhelming feeling is that it isn't your business. I'm not trying to sound harsh and I realize its easy to read tone into written messages. Please read this with the kindest tone in mind. You left that gym for whatever reason. Move on and don't worry about what they are doing. Even if she is your daughters friend, be supportive, wish her the best, but stop worrying and questioning what they are doing. It's hard when you leave a gym because there is still an attachment there. I know because I've been there.

Maybe the kid really wants to compete. Injuries vary and yes kids do compete on sprained ankles. If its not going to cause further injury and its just about whether she can handle the pain, it's her choice. Not being dr's and knowing the nature of her injury it's not our place to judge. And even if she has no hope of doing well or placing well it may still be important to her to go and compete. Again I just don't feel like this is your business. It's between her coaches, parents, drs and her. Even if they make the wrong decision, it doesn't impact you. Let her parents figure out if their child's coaches are making bad decisions for her.

wallflower, I completely agree with you. And there were several times as I posted about this matter that I wondered why does it even bother me or why am I still so involved? I also feel that I may be doing the gym, gymnast and her parents a disservice because I may not have the full story and may also be inaccurate. But as you said, we've been there a long time and there are times, and there are many, I feel a loss for being away from the gym and still question our decision to switch. And maybe subconsciously i am still trying to convince myself we made the right move. But I also can't deny I am and have always been troubled by the mother of this gymnast (she claims to not care about how her daughter does in gymnastics, but her actions are so different) as well as some decisions the coaches have made. As such, their decisions still bother me. And even from a "non-personal" standpoint, as some posters above have indicated, it is troubling to see girls, not in the elite level, or gymnasts who really can afford not to push it, push it for what appears to be for no reason. The fact that we went to that gym, my daughter is friends with the gymnast and we know the gymnast does not mean I have personal motivations or agenda. I could have easily relayed the story without reference to our "personal" involvement and it wouldn't have the same negative connotations to it.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

you made the right move...

 

[iwannacoach]

you made the right move...

With respect to the previous gym club (or disrespect if you say so).......... I believe Forrest Gump's mother had a splendid phrase that appropriately sums up the situation. That being, of course, her saying of "Stupid is as stupid does.", and in that context dunno has "nailed it," as per usual.

Please don't infer, by this, that I'd casually malign a child, coach, or parents for helping their dd make a decision based on the reality, risk, cost, and benefit of their own specific situation. I simply feel this is a continuation of the same flawed initiative that began with a strategy to move the child we're talking about through to regionals.

I view the petition, as used by these adults, as a "glory grab" at the cost of an unwitting child, and I question the content of their heart for exposing this kid to an atmosphere that advancing is as, or more, important than training to be a capable qualifier. It just may be this child will one day form opinions about herself based, in part, on the fact that adults around her viewed her as so "needy" they'd best take advantage of this situation fearing that she may have few future opportunities for "fame."

The decision to compete at regionals may be a sound one, and I hope it is, but their past choice leaves me thinking there's an "ego agenda" that risks this child coming home after soundly anchoring the bottom tier on all events, and an aggravated injury as an added "booby prize."

I suppose some of my ire comes from having seen kids who've had a season full of meets with exceptional around scores repeatedly above the qualifying standard but have the misfortune of suffering through their worst meet of year and failing to get past the state meet. But then again, I have to realize that qualifying for regionals is all about having more than enough, and then some, to guarantee a spot.

I guess that's just the way it is in youth sports.....

 

[Muddlethru]

I take it she is not going to a doctor for the real injury?? .

Before regionals she claimed she hurt her heel in the beginning of March but did not see a doctor. They had a parent doctor write a note so she could go straight to regionals. Last Thursday, she really hurt her ankle. She did go to a doctor last Friday for the injury. She has a real diagnosed sprain. Maybe not bad enough or the swelling might have gone down because her coaches were having her run this Monday. But her ankle started to swell up again.

I guess there are many factors or justifications in letting a gymnast compete with injury. But in this situation, everything just seemed wrong from the start, and still going wrong, I believe. The little girl,told my daughter last Monday, "they said I should still compete. I will probably fail. But ok." Doesn't sound like she's too keen on it.

I know I put too much information in my posts. It's a character flaw. I always want to give details so I make sure the listener/reader knows the whole story as I know it. I should not have put the gymnast scores as I did in my other posts because it makes her sound like not a good gymnast. I think she has talent but it is being mismanaged or misutilized.

Thanks dunno. :goodvibes:

Iwannacoach, would have added more info to support your post but decidedI would again be giving too much information and deleted it. Let me just say, I think this whole situation and situations in the past is not doing the gymnast's psyche any favors.

 

[Granny Smith]

Well, maybe the parents were told that she couldn't do more damage to the ankle and then the parents thought, ok she can compete then. I'm not saying that is the best thing to do, but if you went to that Regional, I'm sure you'd see other competing with injuries as well.