WAG Heartbreaking

[Deleted member 14190]

That was what she was reported by Gymternet to be attempting and somehow when she balked and "didn't release the bar , swung back out of it, her hands let go and she flew over the low bar and landed in a really bad position on the mat (on her stomach, feet flipped over her head) "
I still can't wrap my head around how it all transpired...

The following info is based on the same information that everyone is reading online (I do not have any inside info). .

Why am I writing this? Because if it helps just one child then it's totally worth it.....

Its something we drill into our kids Not to do and I am sure was drilled into this young lady. I call it a slip grip. Based on the information supplied this is what happened. She did not release on her dismount (which wasn't the cause). The problem was that instead of continuing over the bar in a giant her body stopped mid giant. As she was falling back she attempted to regrip under the bar (swing all the way back down and up without changing her grip to reverse or turning). Basically doing a front giant without turning her hands around. This is basically a guaranteed fall . The standard protocol is to drop off the bar and half turn, or stay on the bar and 1/2 turn. it is never to reach under and regrip. Some of you who have seen Shapposh or Malony peels can relate to the difficulty in maintaining a grip during a backswing and witnessed peels, which are super dangerous. This particular incident was coming from much much higher. Consequently she lost her grip during the rise of the swing causing a Straddle back type release .... the rest is too unbearable to explain... It was a split second mistake followed by another. I am certain it was not intentional .... We (coaching community) train our kids not to do this but it still happens from time to time.... I drill into my kids that if they ever feel themselves slip gripping that they just let go immediately and take the crash.... Take the pain, take the tears,... because we would rather have tears than none at all........ My heart absolutely aches for everyone involved........

 

[mommyof1]

Coachp, thank you so much for this explanation. At what level do you teach the kids to use the half-turn protocol? On the basis of your description, I would imagine this might be needed as early as when they are learning the flyaway?

 

[Deleted member 14190]

Level 3 , they learn it on beam . Dismount . But drilling never to slip grip is also done , starting in level 4 . The front mill circle in level 3 bars is also training to change the grip in order to swing backward .

 

[aerials]

So so awful. I feel so much for the family/athletes/coaches involved. It always scares me so much when a girl balks on a skill. I don't know why but it seems to be so dangerous.

 

[duyetanh]

I think it is so important for a coach to discuss this with their athletes. I know as a parent I would have somehow said the wrong thing. I am very grateful that at my daughter’s gym, it was discussed with the optional girls. This really helped my child, and she came home and brought it up over dinner in a way that was very healthy and sensible. We had a very good, short conversation where I basically listened and then just said I am glad it was discussed, and moved on. I know some coaches might not want to discuss this with their athletes, but I am very grateful my child’s coaches did, because they are the ones with the knowledge about the sport, and my child respects every breath they take way more than mine. It was truly helpful.

 

[tomtnt]

it truly is horrible to read and contemplate when your child is in the sport. It should also be noted that fatality in gymnastics is incredibly rare. Last year, there were at least 7 football related deaths in middle and high school (Link Removed)... there were over 50 deaths related to skiing/snowboarding... over 500 deaths related to recreational boating. everyday, 11 teens die in crashes related to texting and driving... Ironically, I think this fatality has gotten a lot of mainstream media coverage primarily because of how rare gymnastics-related deaths are...

 

[l.c.o]

That was what she was reported by Gymternet to be attempting and somehow when she balked and "didn't release the bar , swung back out of it, her hands let go and she flew over the low bar and landed in a really bad position on the mat (on her stomach, feet flipped over her head) "
I still can't wrap my head around how it all transpired...

My DD landed like this on trampoline and was extremely lucky to have had gotten away with a relatively mild injury to her spine. She was never the same in the gym again, and left the sport within a year. She was old enough to truly understand how lucky she was, and it wasn't worth the risk to her anymore. Reading this makes my heart stop and makes me feel incredibly grateful she was so lucky.

 

[gymjunkie]

The following info is based on the same information that everyone is reading online (I do not have any inside info). .

Why am I writing this? Because if it helps just one child then it's totally worth it.....

Its something we drill into our kids Not to do and I am sure was drilled into this young lady. I call it a slip grip. Based on the information supplied this is what happened. She did not release on her dismount (which wasn't the cause). The problem was that instead of continuing over the bar in a giant her body stopped mid giant. As she was falling back she attempted to regrip under the bar (swing all the way back down and up without changing her grip to reverse or turning). Basically doing a front giant without turning her hands around. This is basically a guaranteed fall . The standard protocol is to drop off the bar and half turn, or stay on the bar and 1/2 turn. it is never to reach under and regrip. Some of you who have seen Shapposh or Malony peels can relate to the difficulty in maintaining a grip during a backswing and witnessed peels, which are super dangerous. This particular incident was coming from much much higher. Consequently she lost her grip during the rise of the swing causing a Straddle back type release .... the rest is too unbearable to explain... It was a split second mistake followed by another. I am certain it was not intentional .... We (coaching community) train our kids not to do this but it still happens from time to time.... I drill into my kids that if they ever feel themselves slip gripping that they just let go immediately and take the crash.... Take the pain, take the tears,... because we would rather have tears than none at all........ My heart absolutely aches for everyone involved........

It's possible this gymnast did not have the good training we assume was "drilled into her" as you say. If on-line scoring websites can be trusted, her club looks very small and the only 2 L 10s they produced were Melanie and her sister. They also only produced 2 L9s. Melanie did not score well on bars during her L10 years (scores in the 6s-8s). This injury could also be the product of having/being advanced with a poor bars foundation. *If* that's true, it makes me angry as well as heart-broken.

 

[RTT2]

It's possible this gymnast did not have the good training we assume was "drilled into her" as you say. If on-line scoring websites can be trusted, her club looks very small and the only 2 L 10s they produced were Melanie and her sister. They also only produced 2 L9s. Melanie did not score well on bars during her L10 years (scores in the 6s-8s). This injury could also be the product of having/being advanced with a poor bars foundation. *If* that's true, it makes me angry as well as heart-broken.

Wow. Just looked at her bars scores and you make a very good point. Something in her bars training definitely seems to have been lacking. So incredibly tragic, but also worth considering the long-term ramifications of building strong foundations before moving up.

 

[Tigtimes]

Wow. Just looked at her bars scores and you make a very good point. Something in her bars training definitely seems to have been lacking. So incredibly tragic, but also worth considering the long-term ramifications of building strong foundations before moving up.

Perhaps her low scores had to do with missing required elements not that what skills she was doing were lacking in training or competence. Perhaps she was only competing what she could safely do.

Maybe the lack of upper level gymnasts at her club has to do with gym location and geographic population not insufficient coaching.

Please let’s not speculate on a already horrific occurrence.

She was a college gymnast, with college level coaching.

 

[tuckfull]

I agree. Analyzing past meet scores to speculate on Melanie's bars foundations and training, or her old club's ability to produce level 10 gymnasts, is not helpful. Online meet scores can only provide a small piece to a bigger picture, for any gymnast or club. She came from a smaller club in Region 6, in a state that doesn't have many gym choices within a drivable distance in most cases and only had about 20 Level 10s competing at States last year. The gymnasts that make it to that level are working very hard with what they have available to them in terms of gym choices, coaching and equipment.

Melanie was a college level gymnast at a D3 school, and we don't know that she would have ever competed bars or AA for her college team. If reports are correct, like bookworm posted, she was simply working her double back dismount during practice, a skill she had probably been training since she was a Level 7/8. This was just a tragic accident with a very horrific ending.

 

[Deleted member 18037]

I was so hoping folks wouldn’t go there. To speculate based on scores or the amount of higher level kids.... ugh

We are a really small gym. To assume kids from a small gym are not well trained or “deserving” of being L9/10. To assume we have so few is due to quality of training. Not a good assumption.

Proportionally, when the total amount of your team is 40 kids, across all levels 2-10, there will just be less kids at upper optionals. And what improvement and training stops in college? SMH.

The gymnastics world is a lot smaller than you think. Do really think Melanies family, her teammates and her coaches need that.

 

[Sari]

So tragic. I didn't read through this entire thread until just now because I had to coach at the last meet of the season today and didn't want to freak myself and my gymnasts out.

But my heart breaks for Melanie, her family, coaches and teammates. What a horrific thing to witness. I can't imagine the guilt everyone involved must be feeling.
A few years ago on the trampoline, I had a young gymnast suddenly lean into a front tuck when I had asked her to do a simple tuck jump and she landed on her head (thankfully she didn't suffer any injuries). I can still remember watching it happen in slow motion but being unable to jump in to prevent the fall.

 

[Deleted member 14190]

Guys I understand you want to feel comfort in thinking your kids are properly trained etc... but I have seen the best of the best make this error . Every kid knows and learns early on not to do this . But it only takes a split second decision ... she obviously did not do it intentionally ... we make split second mistakes in life and sometimes they cause horrible consequences for yourself and / or others . We (Americans) call them accidents . Her current and former coaches are not at fault . Let’s not go there . One of my level 9 kids did similar this summer ... that was after years and years of training .

 

[Deleted member 18037]

Guys I understand you want to feel comfort in thinking your kids are properly trained etc... but I have seen the best of the best make this error . Every kid knows and learns early on not to do this . But it only takes a split second decision ... she obviously did not do it intentionally ... we make split second mistakes in life and sometimes they cause horrible consequences for yourself and / or others . We (Americans) call them accidents . Her current and former coaches are not at fault . Let’s not go there . One of my level 9 kids did similar this summer ... that was after years and years of training .

My daughter had an injury last year. Obviously not nearly as catastrophic i. And the first thing she said was Mom, I know I wasn’t supposed to do xyz, and I just didn’t have time.

There by the grace of ... go i. Well you get the idea

 

[mommyof1]

What really worries me is the possibility that my kid, who is otherwise a fantastic bar worker but is fearful of releasing on dismounts, may NOT have been drilled on how to bail out safely if she fails to release. If I start asking very specific questions about her safety training she will ask why I want to know, and then she will go and find the whole tragic story on the internet and become even more fearful, which will put her at even greater risk.

More generally, I worry that we as gymnastics parents can never have the expertise to determine whether our children are being trained to minimize risk. As a non-gymnast, there is only so much I can do to assess the quality and safety of the coaching my child receives.

 

[Cmumgym]

What really worries me is the possibility that my kid, who is otherwise a fantastic bar worker but is fearful of releasing on dismounts, may NOT have been drilled on how to bail out safely if she fails to release. If I start asking very specific questions about her safety training she will ask why I want to know, and then she will go and find the whole tragic story on the internet and become even more fearful, which will put her at even greater risk.

More generally, I worry that we as gymnastics parents can never have the expertise to determine whether our children are being trained to minimize risk. As a non-gymnast, there is only so much I can do to assess the quality and safety of the coaching my child receives.

Parents are able to educate themselves to be able to gain that knowledge. Either by asking questions to coaches in appropriate ways such as emails or asking for a set time meeting where you write down the questions you have and discuss. By asking to come into the gym during a training session or certain apparatus training times. And then even further by studying the biomechanics of the sport. Yes we put such a large amount of trust into coaches in a sport where injury and accidents are high and it is up to us as parents to make sure we are asking the right questions when necessary. I’d like to think any coach teaching these skills teach correct “bail out” techniques before teaching these skills and are adhearing to the safety precautions necessary. This was an absolute horrendous accident and I am sure the coaches and all involved are a wreck and asking themselves what more they could have done. But at the end of the day something like this was a freak accident which could have occurred with every safety technique in place. My prayers go out to this family and all involved the discussion this thread has gone is very counter productive. Bad things can happen in every sport it’s important to discuss to our gymnasts as they may have already heard about it and have so many thoughts in their head, without an outlet or discussion their minds can cross to a negative way. It’s healthy to talk about it and also healthy to make sure if you have concern and are not familiar with the sport to educate yourself To an extent where you understand the training and how to pick up if there are holes in a gyms safety whilst training.

 

[gymjunkie]

I was so hoping folks wouldn’t go there. To speculate based on scores or the amount of higher level kids.... ugh

We are a really small gym. To assume kids from a small gym are not well trained or “deserving” of being L9/10. To assume we have so few is due to quality of training. Not a good assumption.

Proportionally, when the total amount of your team is 40 kids, across all levels 2-10, there will just be less kids at upper optionals. And what improvement and training stops in college? SMH.

The gymnastics world is a lot smaller than you think. Do really think Melanies family, her teammates and her coaches need that.

I didn't assume anything from the size alone, it was the scores. I have worked at small gyms and large gyms. You can have a very small program with top scoring kids if the training is good. I have seen way too many small gyms try to push kids up the the top too fast just so they can say they "have 9s & 10s." I have also seen kids get hurt on their weak event because it wasn't treated as if they were weak in that event, and they were asked to do something they were not ready to do. I get angry when it happens.

 

[Cmumgym]

An

I didn't assume anything from the size alone, it was the scores. I have worked at small gyms and large gyms. You can have a very small program with top scoring kids if the training is good. I have seen way too many small gyms try to push kids up the the top too fast just so they can say they "have 9s & 10s." I have also seen kids get hurt on their weak event because it wasn't treated as if they were weak in that event, and they were asked to do something they were not ready to do. I get angry when it happens.

and I have seen many gymnasts get hurt on their strongest event. Speculation isn’t the right thing to discuss on this thread. Information on how to discuss a death in this sport to gymnasts is and how to source information in regards to safety in the gym.

 

[gymjunkie]

Parents are able to educate themselves to be able to gain that knowledge. Either by asking questions to coaches in appropriate ways such as emails or asking for a set time meeting where you write down the questions you have and discuss. By asking to come into the gym during a training session or certain apparatus training times. And then even further by studying the biomechanics of the sport. Yes we put such a large amount of trust into coaches in a sport where injury and accidents are high and it is up to us as parents to make sure we are asking the right questions when necessary. I’d like to think any coach teaching these skills teach correct “bail out” techniques before teaching these skills and are adhearing to the safety precautions necessary. This was an absolute horrendous accident and I am sure the coaches and all involved are a wreck and asking themselves what more they could have done. But at the end of the day something like this was a freak accident which could have occurred with every safety technique in place. My prayers go out to this family and all involved the discussion this thread has gone is very counter productive. Bad things can happen in every sport it’s important to discuss to our gymnasts as they may have already heard about it and have so many thoughts in their head, without an outlet or discussion their minds can cross to a negative way. It’s healthy to talk about it and also healthy to make sure if you have concern and are not familiar with the sport to educate yourself To an extent where you understand the training and how to pick up if there are holes in a gyms safety whilst training.

I am just curious how you feel parents who do not coach (coach at a safe reputable gym) are able to get this education? Also, I don't see anywhere in this post where we are only directed to discuss how to discuss this issue with a gymnast and how to source safety in the gym info???