Gymnasts Not nice people in gymnastics

[glitterrays]

Anyone else find that so many people who do gymnastics are loud, competitive, self centered, and just rlly not nice ppl, like im not saying everyone, but idk i just see so so many, body shaming, even subtly, . Idk anyone else?

 

[XcelGirl]

For me, it just depends on the team. Unfortunately, there will always be some people in your life who are just plain mean. If this is directly related to your team, then talk to your coach. (that's what I would do anyway

 

[Geoffrey Taucer]

I've noticed coaching tends to disproportionately attract two specific personality types:

1) People who delight in the accomplishments of others. These are some of the most delightful people I've met

2) People who delight in wielding authority over kids who have no real ability to challenge them. These are some of the most unpleasant people I've met

I'll also say that in my completely-anecdotal-and-not-statistically-meaningful experience, mental health problems (especially narcissism and alcoholism) seem to run much higher among coaches than among the general populace.

I think there's some pretty significant overlap in the venn diagram of "traits that make people unpleasant to deal with on a peer-to-peer level" and "traits that make one likely to coach competitive gymnastics as a primary career."

(Note that I make no claim of being exempt from this; I work with kids because I find most adults exhausting)

 

[glitterrays]

I've noticed coaching tends to disproportionately attract two specific personality types:

1) People who delight in the accomplishments of others. These are some of the most delightful people I've met

2) People who delight in wielding authority over kids who have no real ability to challenge them. These are some of the most unpleasant people I've met

I'll also say that in my completely-anecdotal-and-not-statistically-meaningful experience, mental health problems (especially narcissism and alcoholism) seem to run much higher among coaches than among the general populace.

I think there's some pretty significant overlap in the venn diagram of "traits that make people unpleasant to deal with on a peer-to-peer level" and "traits that make one likely to coach competitive gymnastics as a primary career."

ya i have to agree

 

[Pineapple_Lump]

There is a certain amount of anxiety that drives high performance... and sometimes those people are not fun to be around.

Anecdotally I have an Olympian (close to top of their sport) in the family and they can be a very difficult person for many in the family to understand/interact with. That drive extends to nearly everything they do, if it's not scheduled they struggle to function.

 

[glitterrays]

There is a certain amount of anxiety that drives high performance... and sometimes those people are not fun to be around.

Anecdotally I have an Olympian (close to top of their sport) in the family and they can be a very difficult person for many in the family to understand/interact with. That drive extends to nearly everything they do, if it's not scheduled they struggle to function.

yeah but i find it hard to understand why they have to be like that, they cld try to just be normal and not be a bully, idk, it just irks me

 

[Ajoy]

I think you need to be a little self centered to be successful. My daughter is at the age where a lot of her friends are starting to like boys but she isn’t really interested and I honestly can’t imagine her devoting that much time or headspace to another person right now. She is fully focused on her own success which leads to great results in school and at the gym but maybe is not an overall great character trait.

 

[NutterButter]

This has not been my experience at all but maybe it depends on the culture of the gym. My DDs teammates are all mostly out of college and are sweet and gracious young women. Very competitive and successful in what they are doing post-gymnastics but not to the detriment of their character. These were all multi-year L10s (except my DD) but not at an elite gym.

 

[glitterrays]

This has not been my experience at all but maybe it depends on the culture of the gym. My DDs teammates are all mostly out of college and are sweet and gracious young women. Very competitive and successful in what they are doing post-gymnastics but not to the detriment of their character. These were all multi-year L10s (except my DD) but not at an elite gym.

ya I also find college gymnasts are sweet/older kids, but I'm more talking about 14/15 yr old girls. idk what I've been seeing is a lot.