Coaches Gymnast Win

[Deleted member 30608]

Hi Coaches, should a Coach congratulate a gymnast who places 1st in her comp? What do most coaches do? Its our second year (only L3) but my daughter has never been congratulated for a 1st place win. Is this standard practice?

 

[ORgymmom]

My child’s coaches don’t say a word to anyone about how they do. They give general feedback to the entire team at the end of the session and then the next day they go back to their workouts like the meet never happened. They get corrections that adjust based on their meet performance, though.

At first it bothered me but then I realized that it wouldn’t make sense to give feedback to some but not others. Especially given how random age groups are and how you can place high with low scores in some events and vice versa.

 

[Deleted member 30608]

My child’s coaches don’t say a word to anyone about how they do. They give general feedback to the entire team at the end of the session and then the next day they go back to their workouts like the meet never happened. They get corrections that adjust based on their meet performance, though.

At first it bothered me but then I realized that it wouldn’t make sense to give feedback to some but not others. Especially given how random age groups are and how you can place high with low scores in some events and vice versa.

Understood.

 

[raenndrops]

It depends on the gym. Some congratulate for medals, some congratulate for scores, some congratulate for making corrections or overcoming a struggle.

1st place just means that the judges thought your daughter's routines were the best at matching the requirements of the girls in her age group at that particular meet.

I know girls who have earned 1st place on an event with an 8.5 ... but in a different age group, THIRD place was a 9.1.
More recently, in Level 3, 9.0 won Bars in one age group, but in another age group 9.25 was 2nd place. Another girl won Beam with a 9.15, but in another age group, a 9.1 was 5th place.
Or Floor ... 1st place = 9.0 ... another group, 9.0 was 5th place.

 

[Deleted member 30608]

Yes understood.

 

[Gymgirl84]

I congratulate every girl, the one that got first, the one that did well and didn't place, the one that did rough. Then, when back at the gym, I will give feedback.

 

[Deleted member 30608]

I congratulate every girl, the one that got first, the one that did well and didn't place, the one that did rough. Then, when back at the gym, I will give feedback.

Excellent. Helpful. Thank you

 

[BusyMomof2]

All girls get hugs/high fives from coaches as they exit the event and that is the extent of it. There is no discussion of placing (good or bad) post meet whatsoever in our 4 years of competing.

 

[Geoffrey Taucer]

I mean I usually give a kid a high five, but generally I don't like to put the focus on podium placements. Their focus should be on improving their technique bit by bit, step by step.

If they get first place, we'll head back in to practice next week looking for ways to improve their technique where it's weak, and work upgrades where they're ready.

If they get dead last, we'll head back in to practice next week looking for ways to improve their technique where it's weak, and work upgrades where they're ready.

 

[Deleted member 30608]

All girls get hugs/high fives from coaches as they exit the event and that is the extent of it. There is no discussion of placing (good or bad) post meet whatsoever in our 4 years of competing.

Understood.

 

[Tmacs]

Our coaches never discuss placing. They do all their congrats and high fives over skills and solid routines. Sometimes, the gym will post the top 3 finishers in each level.

 

[JessSyd]

Things can change as girls go up levels. Sometimes gymnasts are excellent compulsories but struggle as skills get scarier, and sometimes kids who struggle with compulsories blossom once they can tailor routines to their strengths. Because coaches can’t see the future, they tend not to do anything to make the gymnast believe that their worth is heavily tied up in their placing. Girls who only value the win drop out if something changes and winning gets harder. A girl learns more that she can take into the future, and into life, if the focus is on (and congratulations is for) meeting goals, demonstrating improvement, facing fears, etc.

Winning is FUN! But it should mostly be its own prize. It’s all the stuff that went into the win - the hard work, dedication, hours etc, that deserves the praise. And girls who don’t win often do all that too.

 

[Deleted member 30608]

I mean I usually give a kid a high five, but generally I don't like to put the focus on podium placements.

If they get first place, we'll head back in to practice next week looking for ways to improve their technique where it's weak, and work upgrades where they're ready.

If they get dead last, we'll head back in to practice next week looking for ways to improve their technique where it's weak, and work upgrades where they're ready.

I don't want them fixating on medals or placements or even scores; their main focus should always be on improving their technique bit by bit, step by step.

My child’s coaches don’t say a word to anyone about how they do. They give general feedback to the entire team at the end of the session and then the next day they go back to their workouts like the meet never happened. They get corrections that adjust based on their meet performance, though.

At first it bothered me but then I realized that it wouldn’t make sense to give feedback to some but not others. Especially given how random age groups are and how you can place high with low scores in some events and vice versa.

Still harsh to swallow.

 

[&bs]

Like other posters said, it’s the effort and the routines that should be praised, not the result. I’ve coached kids who are super happy with their performance and scores until presentation and then are disappointed only after not getting the placement they hoped for.

The effort and routine is under their control, the placement Is not. I always say to the kids I coach, imagine being Simone’s teammate. You could have been the second best gymnast in the world and never won a competition in your life because even in an in-house competition, s there was always someone better than you.

 

[Katie]

I mean, absolutely NOTHING would be kinda strange, but most people don’t make a big deal out of it. At my gym everyone cheers and high fives when the girl gets her medal at any place, but it’s a little extra enthusiastic if she got first. The coach might draw stars around the first on the score card, and the gym posts a congratulations to the whole team on Facebook, usually highlighting high places

 

[sun]

Nothing more than a "nice job!" at the meet, typically - like others have said, I care more about technique and adjustments than judge's opinion. I do post a leaderboard during meet season of top scorers per event and level in the gym for all to see and update after every meet. We also have a conditioning leaderboard that we update year-round

 

[Dahlialover]

They get fist bumps and high 5s after their routines. Last night my son won AA for the entire level. We walked with the coach afterwards and he probably said some kind of good job about the meet generally (like he would to any kid) but he mostly talked with my son about his one big error and what his score could have been without it. . Coaches generally don’t pay attention to placements, unless something is riding on it like qualification to the regional elite team. Coaches care about individual progress, not how they score in relation to the arbitrary assortment of kids in an age group at a meet. Those kinds of awards are For the families.

 

[Carly]

At both gyms my kid competed for, the coaches gave high fives, hugs or fist bumps after competing. They were not really concerned about placement but working towards improvement. The gymnasts get their special recognition at the awards ceremony on the podium and receive their medals. Is anymore really needed? It's just a random crapshoot as to who medals sometimes. A 1st place AA score in one age group could be lower than the 5th AA score in another. So who performed better and deserves more praise? The person who got 5th but wasn't "rewarded"?

If your gymnast tends to always do well and expects praise, you'll be a lot happier to see coaches treat all of the gymnasts equally after a meet when it's your kid who has an uncharacteristically bad meet and is already sad about it.

As a parent of a kid who competed for 8 years, parents sometimes need to just let this stuff go and not worry so much. The time goes by so fast; just relax and enjoy it.