WAG I'm annoyed

[3rd_time_around]

As much as this statement disgusts me, be glad they told you up front and didn't send your kid there to get dumped on because, even though she stays on the beam, she wears an adult medium leo because she is an adult female with boobs and hips...the horror! One of our gym mates is at a D1 program that only buys "up to child XL" and tells the girls to deal with it...so as one poster asked, yes, this is why you see so many ill fitting Leos in NCAA because the coach is more concerned with the size, than the fit...

My daughter competed beam all through her NCAA career for 4 years and recorded ZERO falls in all home meets, and only 2 on the road ever .....but she couldn't help the aforementioned 7 falls in a meet team because she wore an adult medium leo....hope that school had fun eating the 3.5 points in deductions from the falls alone....

OH my word! That is so small! Like only 10 year olds or extremely growth-challenged young ladies could wear. What is up with this mentality? It's cruel to force a girl into such a tiny leotard. I'd like to see the coaches put one on (or maybe not[emoji51]).

 

[Seeker]

This is really disheartening and disgusting. Why is this allowed and/or tolerated? It makes me mad.

 

[cbifoja]

DD's coach has recently started making comments to DD about what she eats during break. This infuriated me for several reasons. When I discussed the matter with the coach, I shared both DD's personal history as well as her sister who has lived with anorexia for over a decade. I also reminded her that my daughter is the fittest member of her team and still has a prepubescent body shape. She isn't carrying any extra body fat and is super strong. The coach countered with it not being a weight thing but an "energy" thing. I sort of get what she is saying but I have also heard her tell the girls that their food is going to make them fat. I told her that regardless of her reasons, I would prefer no comments be made about DD's diet in the gym.

I also informed the owner. Changing gyms will not happen for DD but I've made it clear that I will continue packing DD's snack as I see fit.

 

[bookworm]

DD's coach has recently started making comments to DD about what she eats during break. This infuriated me for several reasons. When I discussed the matter with the coach, I shared both DD's personal history as well as her sister who has lived with anorexia for over a decade. I also reminded her that my daughter is the fittest member of her team and still has a prepubescent body shape. She isn't carrying any extra body fat and is super strong. The coach countered with it not being a weight thing but an "energy" thing. I sort of get what she is saying but I have also heard her tell the girls that their food is going to make them fat. I told her that regardless of her reasons, I would prefer no comments be made about DD's diet in the gym. .

And this is how it starts...with code words like "fitness'..."condition"..."energy" ...."better food choices".....

Your daughter is there for gymnastics, not nutritional counseling....

 

[BachFlyer]

My kid hasn't fit into a child XL since she was 10 and she's 15 now. She's 5'4". That's asking for a major wedgie! Always appreciate your insight, Bookworm...

 

[mommyof1]

It seems as if a smart college coach could recruit herself a winning team by letting word get out that the program does not own a scale and leos are available in all sizes.

 

[twinmomma]

It seems as if a smart college coach could recruit herself a winning team by letting word get out that the program does not own a scale and leos are available in all sizes.

This would basically mean selling out all the other programs and committing political suicide I'm sure. However, the bravery and chutzpah it would take would earn the respect of so many that I would hope others would follow suit.

 

[LindyHopper]

This would basically mean selling out all the other programs and committing political suicide I'm sure. However, the bravery and chutzpah it would take would earn the respect of so many that I would hope others would follow suit.

If only this would happen sooner, rather than later.

 

[GymDad9.9]

This would basically mean selling out all the other programs and committing political suicide I'm sure. However, the bravery and chutzpah it would take would earn the respect of so many that I would hope others would follow suit.

Not necessarily. A scathing mainstream media expose' regarding this kind of body shaming could go a long way as well and help turn the tide.

 

[bookworm]

Not necessarily. A scathing mainstream media expose' regarding this kind of body shaming could go a long way as well and help turn the tide.

Would love to see this but it would never happen...there's a whole "don't ask, don't tell" in NCAA...and there's the whole ego thing that they all think they're right about the body issue...Bridget Sloan was the top dog in NCAA for years and she was normal sized but try convincing the general populace of NCAA coaches on this...

 

[GymDad9.9]

Would love to see this but it would never happen...there's a whole "don't ask, don't tell" in NCAA...and there's the whole ego thing that they all think they're right about the body issue...Bridget Sloan was the top dog in NCAA for years and she was normal sized but try convincing the general populace of NCAA coaches on this...

We are in the midst of a major seismic shift culturally regarding body shaming, women issues, etc., no thanks to the horrible election cycle we are in. I can see more emboldened journalists taking this issue head on. I am optimistic.

 

[twinmomma]

We are in the midst of a major seismic shift culturally regarding body shaming, women issues, etc., no thanks to the horrible election cycle we are in. I can see more emboldened journalists taking this issue head on. I am optimistic.

No offense, but I don't see the same "seismic shift" you do. Once the election dies down, women will still be dealing with body shaming. And it's not just at the hands of men. It's at the hands of women as well. As long as teen and women's mags still tout how to lose 15 lbs in 15 days and we still think we all need some sort of detox (here's a clue, it's called your liver) there's no end in sight for this sort of behavior. If anything, it's going to become more insidious as they try to couch it as "nutrition advise" or "in order to safely perform skills." No. This takes vigilance and awareness on our parts are parents to instill in our children that they are NOT to accept this sort of thing and to stop being googly eyed every time a coach promises elite or Olympics or D1 that we're willing to let our children endure treatment we never would allow from anyone else.

 

[GikiGirl]

During our recruiting heartbreak, we heard from 1 D1 school that they do not take gymnasts who wear larger than an AS leotard. This was a team who counted 7 falls at a D1 meet, so hard to understand why they limit themselves like that. More worried about body size than a winning team. SMH.

Simone Biles and Shawn Johnson are examples of body type that would not fit the bill that these coaches (and some doctors) are desiring, yet SO successful! It's ridiculous the standards they expect.

I know this isn't your point...but Simone wears an AXS or AS as of last year according to her ask.fm. It's amazing how you can be muscular and still fit into these sizes. However, to support what you are saying, I have heard of other universities limiting what size leo they would buy for the athletes to AM. And, these are full grown women, age 18-22. Perhaps 5'8 or taller. Disgusting.

 

[GikiGirl]

I am a little late to this thread, but want to confirm that these intial comments are concerning from this coach. From my experience these comments only intensify as the child ages, and end up being said in front of the kids at some point. I developed an ED during high school largely due to coaches (and also my parents) comments about everything from size of my stomach, to how much I ate (I was actually underweight if anything, according to BMI). This disorder almost killed me and took about 15 years to recover from. And I was one of the lucky ones. Nothing is worth this.

 

[azara]

I'm a teen rec gymnast, 73kg and 168cm. That makes me pretty heavy - and I don't have the years of conditioning and training as a kid to overcome this. I still flip, and tumble, and do bars, and beam, with pretty decent success. So if I can do all of that, at my completely normal teen weight and height, these beautiful gymnasts and children you're describing do NOT need to be starving themselves, and they shouldn't be TOLD to be starving themselves, so they can get the next skill, jump higher, run faster, whatever the coach's flawed reasoning is. This makes me so sad to hear about

 

[Iwannabemargo]

I know this isn't your point...but Simone wears an AXS or AS as of last year according to her ask.fm.

Yes but at 1.45m she is the height if an average 11 year old !

 

[GikiGirl]

Yes but at 1.45m she is the height if an average 11 year old !

Yes, that's also my point. Height has a huge amount to do with size of clothes.

 

[raenndrops]

Yes, that's also my point. Height has a huge amount to do with size of clothes.

Height and girth. My gymmies have long torsos. They moved into adult size leotards at around 9 years old each. OG is 15 now and about 5'7 or 5'8 and wears an AM-AXL, depending on the leotard. YG is almost 12 and about 5'0 or 5'1 and wears AXS-AM.

 

[LindyHopper]

You know, I just finished watching Laurie on DWTS. Looking at her costume, there is no way she would fit in a youth XL. I know that she's no longer eligible, but any NCAA program that would turn away Laurie Hernandez because she has a woman's body really needs to rethink their priorities.

 

[GymDad9.9]

No offense, but I don't see the same "seismic shift" you do. Once the election dies down, women will still be dealing with body shaming. And it's not just at the hands of men. It's at the hands of women as well. As long as teen and women's mags still tout how to lose 15 lbs in 15 days and we still think we all need some sort of detox (here's a clue, it's called your liver) there's no end in sight for this sort of behavior. If anything, it's going to become more insidious as they try to couch it as "nutrition advise" or "in order to safely perform skills." No. This takes vigilance and awareness on our parts are parents to instill in our children that they are NOT to accept this sort of thing and to stop being googly eyed every time a coach promises elite or Olympics or D1 that we're willing to let our children endure treatment we never would allow from anyone else.

Women may still be dealing with body shaming (I never said it would go away) but at the same time they will feel more empowered to fight back.