how do favorites work?

DON'T LURK... Join The Discussion!

Members see FEWER ads

ChalkBucket may earn a commission through product links on the site.
Joined
Aug 12, 2012
Messages
15
Reaction score
1
Ok..this summer I've hung out with one of my gymnastics friends and we always love to talk about gymnastics and everything related to it. She brought up how one of our coaches loves me and I'm his favorite. Favorites have popped up a few times in conversations but our gym doesn't have a problem with favoritism at all. Nobody gets jealous, mad, sad, etc. THough about 5+ girls on my team have come up to me and said "He really likes you!" But it's weird because there's girls that are a lot better than me yet he still spends more time with me than he does with other girls. Our coach works super hard for all the girls.
I was wondering (to coaches/gymnasts) HOW DO COACHES PICK THEIR FAVORITES??? Does he see something in me that he doesn't see in the other girls?:confused: Please help, I really want to know. I never know what coaches are thinking.
Thanks:)
 
Last edited:
Every coach has favorites because it is human nature to be drawn to some people over others. The art of being a good coach is not to show it.

If you were a coach what would make a gymnast one of your favorites. Hard working, great attitude, positive personality, treats the other kids well, humble but confident, commitment to trains, great attendance, reliable etc.
 
When I'm coaching i find myself drawn to the gymnasts that are hard working, are respectful to me, do not muck up/cheat in strength/Cheat in flexibility. The one's who try their hardest and makes their best effort to make corrections, positive attitude, willing to try new things and quiet confidence is always nice, good commitment is always important as well.
 
that's so weird, the level 10 coach at my gym is the opposite.
On my team, there's this girl who does absolutely nothing. NOTHING! It get's me so mad. Because everybody else works really hard.
Then, when someone important visits our gym, she just chucks new skills the coach said she's not ready for.
Anyway, the coach FAVORS her.
She's a Junior in high school.
And, what gets me mad is, that the important person pays attention to nobody but her. I always thought that the judge would rather see a very clean front full than a very sloppy Rudy(1.5 front layout), but maybe I was wrong.
Oh, yeah, the coach favors her big time. She never conditions, does skills she doesn't want to do, makes the coach make some other girl pull over a mat for her, and everything. What gives?
 
Thanks guys, this helps(: What if I was kinda struggling with staying positive. I have had low confidence issues in the past and as my friend says 'you don't realize what you're capable of.' I don't have a bad attitude (I work hard, I go to extra practices when there are, etc.) but I have had a really hard time with having a positive attitude. My coach works really hard and does everything possible for me (he's told me that he's put in more effort and time with me than he has with any other girl he's coached). I felt bad that I couldn't figure things out quicker that he tells me.
In summary;
how can he still like me and work really hard for me when I use to have a really negative attitude?
Thsnks:)
 
That stinks! I once heard (wasn't any of my coaches) that there was this one coach that kinda "flirted" with the girls. I don't know how to explain it because i only heard about it. Also maybe the coach and her like to just talk to each other and it's easy. Maybe I should have asked why coaches like certain girls so much even if they're not the best, or don't work hard at all, or don't have a good attitude.
Keep working hard:)
 
Thanks guys, this helps(: What if I was kinda struggling with staying positive. I have had low confidence issues in the past and as my friend says 'you don't realize what you're capable of.' I don't have a bad attitude (I work hard, I go to extra practices when there are, etc.) but I have had a really hard time with having a positive attitude. My coach works really hard and does everything possible for me (he's told me that he's put in more effort and time with me than he has with any other girl he's coached). I felt bad that I couldn't figure things out quicker that he tells me.
In summary;
how can he still like me and work really hard for me when I use to have a really negative attitude?


Your coach sees something special in you. Maybe he sees a little of himself in you. He sees that you try hard but struggle with your confidence. As a teacher, sometimes my special kids are the ones I relate to, the ones that I want to succeed so bad. The ones that can't see the best in themselves. I love pulling the best out of someone and helping them be more than they see. I bet your coach feels the same way.
 
Thank you so much txgymfan!!! That does make sense because my friend said that I act the most like this coach out of the 6 coaches in our gym. I'll definitely remember this in the future! Thanks:)
 
Glad I could help! I know its hard but try to live up to what he sees. You can do it!
 
In theory, we as coaches are not supposed to have favorites.

In reality, every coach has favorites. We can't help it. We generally do our best to hide it and treat all the kids equally, but we're not always successful.

I can almost guarantee it's for one of three reasons:

1) You may work harder, listen better, or be more focused than other girls in the group when working with this coach. This is a pretty-much-guaranteed way to get on a coaches' favorites list.

2) He sees some hidden potential in you that he doesn't think you see in yourself.

3) You may remind the coach in some way of himself. Perhaps it's some element in your personality, perhaps it's some stylistic thing in your skills, perhaps it's that you've struggled and/or excelled in the same areas he did. Or it may be something completely unrelated to gymnastics.
Thinking aback on who my favorites were at my last gym, there are three things that were true of all of them: 1) they all worked extremely hard, 2) they were fans of some of the same books and video games that I was, 3) they all had a strong interest in understanding the theoretical aspects of gymnastics (ie they were never content to simply know what to do to make a skill work, they always wanted to know why the skill worked that way, and I always LOVE when kids take that sort of interest in understanding the science of the sport). And most (though not all) were huge cosmology nerds and Legend of Zelda nerds.


There is a third possibility: there are some coaches (far too many in my opinion) who choose favorites based on perceived talent or body type. (If this is the case, I think it's a safe bet that your coach and I wouldn't get along very well.)
 
Last edited:
Taucer hit it right on the nose.

I've had some of the kids complain I have had favorites. My general response to this is, " Work hard, don't cheat, and don't be a pain in my butt and you too will become my favorite. Doing a lot of the third will make you least favorite very fast. "

I know one of my favorites of old was literally the first kid who talked/came up to meet me at the gym on the first day I was checking out the gym. It also happened that her mom served as the Boosters president who was part of the interview board. She was quite a talkative 9/10yo who worked hard and never gave any guff. As well, I had to watch over her early at the gym because she incurred an injury and I was appointed to watch her rehab.

Another of my favorites was a kid who just seemed to be going through that preteen/teen crap so she had low self esteem. As her coach I had to try deal with that. I guess the other coaches didn't.

Some kids and coaches just bond from day 1.
 

New Posts

DON'T LURK... Join The Discussion!

Members see FEWER ads

College Gym News

The Hardest Skills: McKayla Maroney

3 Skills that FIG Would Ban at First Sight

Back