Just a vent..

[Itstrueimagymnast]

Alright.. bear with me now lol! So I am level 6 at the moment, but registered for level 7 in a meet in 8 weeks. I know I have a lot of work cut out for me, and am trying my best at every practice. My coach is starting to drive me nuts! She is saying things like I suck, that I am never going to make it past being a level 6, and has had threats like telling me she is going to break my leg off if I bend it again. This isn't all she has said, but just something to give you an idea. I really love gymnastics, and on HER good days, I really do well! there isn't really another gym (next closest one is 45minutes away) that my parents would take me too. My parents have already talked to her, but she never really changes, and I told my parents that I would just suck it up and Im used to it by now. Again, not looking for advice, just a place to vent!!!!!

 

[GymBee97]

Vent away but you shouldn't have to suck it up. Talk to your parents again the Owner needs to get involved to fix this. NO ONE should teach in that way. Don't be afraid either to stick up for yourself. if you don't like the way she is talking to you it IS ALRIGHT to say Miss So and So I don't mean to be disrespectful but telling me your going to break my leg doesn't encourage me to do my best in fact it makes me feel like I can't do anything. Could you please tell me what I CAN do and HOW to do it so I CAN get it.

It IS ok to tell an adult you don't like what they are doing so long as you do it in the right way and are respectful. I've always told my kids just because they are the teacher or coach or what ever doesn't mean they are right or doing things in a way that is good for you. I tell them to speak up if you need something done different, need a spot, need equipment changed, need to see someone doing it the way the coach wants it done, hold your body in the position or what ever it is you think you need to get it.

But you really need to talk to your parents again

 

[flips123]

Vent away but you shouldn't have to suck it up. Talk to your parents again the Owner needs to get involved to fix this. NO ONE should teach in that way. Don't be afraid either to stick up for yourself. if you don't like the way she is talking to you it IS ALRIGHT to say Miss So and So I don't mean to be disrespectful but telling me your going to break my leg doesn't encourage me to do my best in fact it makes me feel like I can't do anything. Could you please tell me what I CAN do and HOW to do it so I CAN get it.

It IS ok to tell an adult you don't like what they are doing so long as you do it in the right way and are respectful. I've always told my kids just because they are the teacher or coach or what ever doesn't mean they are right or doing things in a way that is good for you. I tell them to speak up if you need something done different, need a spot, need equipment changed, need to see someone doing it the way the coach wants it done, hold your body in the position or what ever it is you think you need to get it.

But you really need to talk to your parents again

AMEN!I really agree with this.

 

[wallinbl]

Talk to your parents about what they have observed as the best way to motivate you (encouragement, challenges, mini competitions, goals, or something else) and then have a talk with the coach and tell her what works best in terms of getting you to improve. I found that when I went to DD's coaches and said "The best way to get to her and have her respond is to do X", they paid attention and started doing it.

 

[GymBee97]

Talk to your parents about what they have observed as the best way to motivate you (encouragement, challenges, mini competitions, goals, or something else) and then have a talk with the coach and tell her what works best in terms of getting you to improve. I found that when I went to DD's coaches and said "The best way to get to her and have her respond is to do X", they paid attention and started doing it.

Not all listen. A few years back my DD had a coach that was "iffy" I tried to talk to the coach too about how my DD learns best lasted about a week then back to the old ways. Coach didn't last long after enough parents complained to the owner.

 

[my4buffaloes]

Yikes, so sorry you are dealing with this! You just need to remember that they wouldn't have signed you up for a level 7 meet if they didn't think you could do it. It takes time and is a learning process for sure. You will get it despite your coach. Maybe she was coached with negative comments as a way to motivate her to do better. It isn't working for you and that is ok. You could try telling her that her negative comments don't motivate you to do better or try harder that you are doing the best you can. Whether she listens or not is out of your control, just keep plugging along as best you can and try to tune the negative comments out. Good luck!

 

[Deleted member D3987]

what a shame...

 

[CoachTodd]

some coaches just don't know how to coach. Work with your parents.

 

[Geoffrey Taucer]

Alright.. bear with me now lol! So I am level 6 at the moment, but registered for level 7 in a meet in 8 weeks. I know I have a lot of work cut out for me, and am trying my best at every practice. My coach is starting to drive me nuts! She is saying things like I suck, that I am never going to make it past being a level 6, and has had threats like telling me she is going to break my leg off if I bend it again. This isn't all she has said, but just something to give you an idea. I really love gymnastics, and on HER good days, I really do well! there isn't really another gym (next closest one is 45minutes away) that my parents would take me too. My parents have already talked to her, but she never really changes, and I told my parents that I would just suck it up and Im used to it by now. Again, not looking for advice, just a place to vent!!!!!

Not appropriate behavior by a coach at all. I know you weren't asking for advice, but I'm going to give you some anyway: complain to the higher-ups.

 

[Canadian_gym_mom]

This really is not okay and you do not have to just suck it up. I know if ANYONE said something like that to my dd I would want to know and I would do something about it.

When I was younger it helped sometimes for me to write down what I really wanted to say to my parents, maybe you could print your post and some of our replies and take it to them.

I really hope you don't just continue as things are. No one should speak like that to a child, no one should speak like that to ANYONE.

Good Luck.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

this is when the 3rd finger held vertically or moutza would be appropriate...

 

[iwannacoach]

This really is not okay and you do not have to just suck it up. I know if ANYONE said something like that to my dd I would want to know and I would do something about it.

When I was younger it helped sometimes for me to write down what I really wanted to say to my parents, maybe you could print your post and some of our replies and take it to them.

I really hope you don't just continue as things are. No one should speak like that to a child, no one should speak like that to ANYONE.

Good Luck.

A great idea!!!! Some day somebody will find just the right combination a verbs, adjectives, and and pro-nouns to make this coach understand that she is doing it the hard way. I personally like to do things well, but negative imformation either ticks me off or tunes me out. I'm glad you feel you can "stick it out", but I'd rather see that energy used to learn new skills and improve the skills you've got now. I can't choose your coach's words or style for her, but really, it is so easy to find mistakes in ANY gymnast. If that were the criteria for being an olympic coach, I'm sure I'd be right at the top with her, and any other human with a trained set of eyes. But that would be no fun at all.

What is fun? Being a good enough coach to see the mistakes and trying to find a way to correct them , even if you have to word it differently ten times over, or go back to putting their leg in a straight position and challenge them to keep it straight while you (coach) try to bend it. That usually gets kids the information they need to keep their legs straight. Having fun as a coach means helping kids solve their problems by identifying solutions, not problems. This coach needs help she is'nt even aware of. So if you want to send a print out of this to your coach, I'd be glad to help by relaying it to her to keep you out of the middle. You can message me to get this started if you want if you want to, and any others that want to join in are welcome.