WAG Div I NCAA Walk-On Offer Info

[duyetanh]

The Thompson have many rumors about their poor treatment of athletes. There was an interview where Jeff said something along the lines of he wont take any kids from 'broken' homes.

Oh, please! He needs to wake up and smell the coffee. Better yet, get a life. Because that is what it is...LIFE.

 

[B.Gold]

So, I've kept up with all 13 pages of this thread and don't remember this being addressed, sorry if my memory fails me but...
@bookworm and others, what sorts of red flags does a gymnast look for when starting to figure out if a team will be a good fit? Can you tell anything by how girls and coaches interact together at meets? What key things would you look for if you had to do it over again?

 

[bookworm]

My post back on September 10,2015 details a list of questions I would ask now, but seriously, I don't even know if that's enough with the way that the NCAA is heavily weighted in favor of the institutions, versus the student athletes...

Case in point, when an athlete GRADUATES from their college and say hasn't used up their 4 years if eligibility, and the school she's at doesn't have 5th year money for her, if she decides to use her 5th year and go somewhere else for grad school... She must get a release from her original school, that she graduated from and that doesn't have a spot for her to go elsewhere! This is just wrong... She's graduated and should be free to go where she wants on her own dime...

What would I look for if I did it over again? The sport has changed so much in the last 4-5 years I seriously don't know if I'd go down that road again... I'd probably get them into skiing at a young age to keep them busy during that season...

 

[flipster]

Why would Ivy League athletes put up with anything less than productive, beneficial experience ? Is it Control again, although not clearly defined monetarily?

 

[bookworm]

Beats me why ivy league or any walk on puts up with any of this...if I were paying my kid would not be on teams that behaved like this...I think the girls do it " for their team" but the negative stuff erodes their self esteem and just isn't worth it.

 

[B.Gold]

My post back on September 10,2015 details a list of questions I would ask now, but seriously, I don't even know if that's enough with the way that the NCAA is heavily weighted in favor of the institutions, versus the student athletes..

Okay I'll look for it thanks! But CB has been hit or miss with past posts.

Case in point, when an athlete GRADUATES from their college and say hasn't used up their 4 years if eligibility, and the school she's at doesn't have 5th year money for her...

What does this mean?

 

[GymDad9.9]

My post back on September 10,2015 details a list of questions I would ask now, but seriously, I don't even know if that's enough with the way that the NCAA is heavily weighted in favor of the institutions, versus the student athletes...

Case in point, when an athlete GRADUATES from their college and say hasn't used up their 4 years if eligibility, and the school she's at doesn't have 5th year money for her, if she decides to use her 5th year and go somewhere else for grad school... She must get a release from her original school, that she graduated from and that doesn't have a spot for her to go elsewhere! This is just wrong... She's graduated and should be free to go where she wants on her own dime...

What would I look for if I did it over again? The sport has changed so much in the last 4-5 years I seriously don't know if I'd go down that road again... I'd probably get them into skiing at a young age to keep them busy during that season...

What has changed in the sport in the last 4-5 years? Forgive me, I'm new to the sport but familiar with NCAA in the revenue sports like football and basketball where at least the perception is a slow moving change favoring the student athlete so I'm surprised to hear it's moving away from the student athlete in gymnastics.

 

[bookworm]

1. What has changed in the sport in the last 4-5 years? Forgive me, I'm new to the sport but familiar with NCAA in the revenue sports like football and basketball where at least the perception is a 2. slow moving change favoring the student athlete so I'm surprised to hear it's moving away from the student athlete in gymnastics.

Point 1: the sport has ramped up the requirements, starting back in JO , so that by the time they even get to NCAA, their bodies are so beat up that they have a hard time lasting the 4 years...and especially if you have crazy coaches that try ( and succeed) to get around the NCAA rules of 20 hours required by making them "volunteer" to come in for extra cardio, running, weight training etc . The coaches will flat out say "yeah we're limited to 20 but if you don't volunteer for the rest , you're not on this team".

And in terms of the requirements, my oldest didn't do a double back on floor until her 2nd year level 10...or a back tuck on beam either...and it was kinder to their bodies...now it's pretty standard to see double backs in Level 9 and the BT on beam...just earlier pounding and it is lasting longer...and the college coaches don't know how to preserve their athletes because the NCAA mentality is "what can you do for me today, in this meet?" so they do endless reps and beats the crap out of them..

Point 2: "SLOW MOVING CHANGE": remember that first word, SLOW.....nothing in NCAA really favors the student athlete when it comes down to the nitty gritty, especially if there's an issue. If all is going well , and the kid has their scholarship, and they luck out and get an actual human being in their coaching staff, well yeah, they're ok...but if a problem arises, all favor is to the NCAA, period...they hold all the cards in any type of issue with the athlete...and even if they PULL a kid's scholarship and the kid wants to transfer, the kid still has to request a release from the original school ( who pulled the scholarship) to go somewhere else on their own dime...and the original school can say NO!!! Utter rubbish...

 

[GymDad9.9]

Point 1: the sport has ramped up the requirements, starting back in JO , so that by the time they even get to NCAA, their bodies are so beat up that they have a hard time lasting the 4 years...and especially if you have crazy coaches that try ( and succeed) to get around the NCAA rules of 20 hours required by making them "volunteer" to come in for extra cardio, running, weight training etc . The coaches will flat out say "yeah we're limited to 20 but if you don't volunteer for the rest , you're not on this team".

And in terms of the requirements, my oldest didn't do a double back on floor until her 2nd year level 10...or a back tuck on beam either...and it was kinder to their bodies...now it's pretty standard to see double backs in Level 9 and the BT on beam...just earlier pounding and it is lasting longer...and the college coaches don't know how to preserve their athletes because the NCAA mentality is "what can you do for me today, in this meet?" so they do endless reps and beats the crap out of them..

Point 2: "SLOW MOVING CHANGE": remember that first word, SLOW.....nothing in NCAA really favors the student athlete when it comes down to the nitty gritty, especially if there's an issue. If all is going well , and the kid has their scholarship, and they luck out and get an actual human being in their coaching staff, well yeah, they're ok...but if a problem arises, all favor is to the NCAA, period...they hold all the cards in any type of issue with the athlete...and even if they PULL a kid's scholarship and the kid wants to transfer, the kid still has to request a release from the original school ( who pulled the scholarship) to go somewhere else on their own dime...and the original school can say NO!!! Utter rubbish...

Thanks. I appreciate the information and insight. I have never been a fan of the NCAA and the fact that in this day and age student athletes have so little say and have so little advocacy in the issues impacting them is appalling.

 

[CanAmGymMum]

Interesting article that supports a lot of what has been said in this thread:
http://www.collegian.psu.edu/featur...al&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

 

[GymDad9.9]

Interesting article that supports a lot of what has been said in this thread:
http://www.collegian.psu.edu/featur...al&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

Thanks for sharing. Another disturbing story about the Thompsons that adds to their patterns of abuse. Hopefully this story adds to efforts to see them removed from their positions along with the Athletic Director whose indifference to this brutal behavior only enables them.

 

[BachFlyer]

Disgusting. I find it very disturbing that so many people have spoken out, both at PSU and Auburn, yet I've seen many in the gym world (including some other PSU gymnasts) cry "sour grapes". Our community should be better than that and support a thorough investigation.

 

[twinmomma]

What's worse is if you look at the comments on that article there are Penn State gymnasts saying it's not abuse, and it's sour grapes, etc...

 

[gymgal]

What's worse is if you look at the comments on that article there are Penn State gymnasts saying it's not abuse, and it's sour grapes, etc...

I think one's impression is based on previous experience. If they have a history of being coached or raised in a similar way, they are not going to view it as abuse. And while most folks would likely agree that it is certainly not best practice, they would not see this as crossing the line to abuse. There is a very wide range as to what people interpret is questionable practices vs abuse, particularly in the realm of emotional/verbal. The fact that there is a former coach who was a high level gymnast herself (did I read a national team member so she must have seen at least some questionable practices at the ranch, no?) is stepping up to confirm at least some of these allegation add more credence (to me at least) that this is not simply "sour grapes" but true questionable practices that need to be investigated.

Either way, I really feel for these ladies who worked their entire young lives to get to that point only to be treated like crap and felt like they could not do anything about it for fear of disappointing their coaches teammates, parents, jeopardizing their college money, etc. There is no doubt that this should not be going on but at the same time, how is it that we are raising our girls to think it is acceptable to continue on like this? Thankfully they all got out but not until they felt beaten down. If the environment isn't right for you, you need to speak up and change it or get out - in all walks of life. I just don't see that this would happen on the men's side. Am I disillusioned?

 

[BachFlyer]

^^i don't think you're disillusioned. I think the "no questions asked" culture is ingrained early in WAG and it makes for a very fuzzy line between right and wrong for these young ladies. It is our job as parents to constantly evaluate that line.

 

[CameraShy]

Thank yo for sharing. That article was appalling. I am completely shocked that this type of coaching happens and is reported with no repercussions. My eyes will stay wide open if college is ever a reality for my daughter.

 

[sewgood]

Taylor Rice on Stanford: Link Removed

ETA: Strong language/profanity is used in that post.

 

[Pineapple_Lump]

Taylor Rice on Stanford: Link Removed

You just need a language warning on that.

 

[sewgood]

You just need a language warning on that.

Done... sorry about that. I just read it and it made me immediately think of this post.

 

[bookworm]

And Taylor Rice presents a very realistic story of how it is in NCAA.....