Coaches How do you deal with whining kids?

[gymisforeveryone]

The summer practices have begun and some moves and changes have been made. The groups I coach are a bit different to earlier and I have some new kids to coach (they came from different groups but same level). The hours have been increased and the weather has been HOT and so has the gym!

I have few kids who have started to whine a lot. "It's so hot I'm going to pass away now!" and "I can't do rope because my hands are hurting SO BAD" etc. And then I have a new girl who has had a different "injury" every practice. Once it was her head, then foot, then leg. She comes to me looking like an orphan puppy and limps and shows me the place that's being hurt. I have just let her sit down the rest of the practice but I'm not sure if I'm doing the right thing. At last practice the other kids started to do the same thing. The problem is I'm pretty sure they are exaggerating and focusing too much on minor issues. But then again I'm afraid to tell them they have to keep on practicing like big girls and bite the bullet because of if it actually one time is a real issue then the parents will kill me.

Oh yes and now the kids are also starting to get rips for the first time. Some of them even cried. I just congratulated them for becoming real big gymnasts and sent them to wash and tape the hands... Then back to bars (no swinging drills thought). That's how it works with my older girls but the little ones made it a big drama and couldn't even grab the bar because it was hurting so much.

Please tell me how do you handle the whining kids? How do you tell them they are not allowed to complain about every little thing? How do you teach them to tolerate minor pains?

These girls are all 7-8 years old and they practice 6 hours a week.

 

[shadow]

When our little ones start to do that I just tell them, in the nicest way possible, that if it's really bad then they can call mom and go home. It usually works. We use to sit kids down then a majority of them wanted to sit also. Or, if they keep on about something hurting then tell them that they probably should go to the doctors about it... and also ... tell the parents about whats been happening, just to that they are aware of whats going on just in case it is a real injury

 

[iwannacoach]

Have the "injured kids" do conditioning to help them improve their strength..... and attitude with respect to minor "owies."

 

[gymisforeveryone]

Actually I made the "injured kid" to do all the conditioning with the others since it was arms and upper body workout and it was her foot that was hurting. When I asked her to stand up and start conditioning with us I felt like a monster when she jumped and limped there with a ice bag tied to her ankle... I talked about her issue with her former coach and she said she felt bad too when she made her keep working even if she complained pains. But she said she had realized that the girl herself believed in her injuries and pains so deeply she limped even when she didn't know the coach was watching... At first it sounded a little harsh talk but now I think she is right. She showed up to practices every day even if she had had those "injuries" the night before and when I asked if the leg/foot/head still hurt she always said no.

I hate this because this girl doesn't complain about tiredness and never cheats when it comes to conditioning and she is very promising little gymnasts. So she isn't actually whiny irritating child and she truly seems to believe in her pains and injuries. Could it just be a bad habit?

One thing that came to my mind is that could it just be her way to get attention? I also coach her big sister who is 15 and she has had some really bad injuries during this year (broke her knee and a finger f.ex). Might it be that she has noticed that her big sister who she looks up has got some extra attention when she has been injured and she would like to get that kind of attention too?

The same kid is super hard working sometimes and she also rides 10 kilometers by bike to get to gym during summer and it's because SHE wants to do so. I don't know what to think about this kid!

But now I'm planning to make the "injured" kids to call their mums when they get hurt. I think it might help since calling and leaving isn't fun like sitting still and watching the others work hard.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

tell them to join a knitting team.

 

[Aussie_coach]

The way you treat this is very important as it will establish how they train as they get older. If whining become the way to train now it will continue through to their teen years.

first of all make sure whining does not get too much attention, ask them where it hurts and how it feels and watch them closely so that you can establish just how bad it is but give lots of praise and attention to the kids who aren't whining, and not a lot to the kids who are.

if you have a kid who gets up and keeps doing bar with the rips of so,etching similar, make a huge deal out of it. Let everyone know how impressed you are with her gymnastics spirit.

If they must sit out throw in a fun game or some fun drills while they are sitting out, to establish that its far more fun to be in class than to sit and watch. Have the sit out and rest station some where well away from other kids so they get bored.

i second the idea of sending them home. If the can't train then they must go home, the gym is not a babysitting centre. And this will perk most kids up quickly.

 

[BlairBob]

Heat adaptation takes 2-3 weeks.

These are real concerns. Well some of them. Many younger athletes also have less of a pain tolerance.

Basically they can sit out on events or participate.

If their hands are getting too chewed up, which is common when increasing hours all of a sudden, it's a plain and simple fact.

As for the heat exhaustion. Fans help besides AC...I find ice cubes work the best.

 

[Deleted member 14190]

team building, condition as a team, get punished as a team, get rewarded as a team. Eliminates the individuality when it comes to conditioning. As far a pain tolerance,, IT IS TAUGHT, no ifs ands or buts. You can teach any child to workout with bloody hands, first couple of months are tough, but after a while they get used to it. Hence, it is Taught.