Obsessed with spotting

[superflipgirl]

One of my coaches is obsessed with spotting people! I know she's just trying to make sure we don't get hurt, but sometimes it isn't really spotting, she's just obsessed with touching us on our skills because she thinks we need help but we don't! Vault is one of the worst, she used to touch me when I went over the vault which would mess up my perfection. Also whenever I get tired out as I'm about to approach the vault, I know how to stop myself without hurting myself, but she always grabs me when that happens and then I crash into the vault and hurt myself! On bars one time, my teammate was complaining that she didn't want the coach to spot her doing giants on the strap bar because she always "holds her above the bar" and it messes her up. On floor one time she told my head coach to watch one of my teammates because she had done a back tuck on the floor by herself for the first time, but when she was doing the back tuck, the coach was about to spot her anyway! And once when I was going to do a back tuck into the pit, I asked her not to spot me because I thought that it might mess me up, and she said okay, but I started a little too far and I didn't make the back tuck, and the coach was trying to spot me anyway and because of that I hurt my leg when I fell into the pit. During meets she will go onto the floor when people are about to do their tumbling passes that she thinks they need help with, even though they are fine doing them themselves. I know she is just trying to make sure we are okay, but she goes overboard sometimes and when no one needs spot on something she actually seems kind of bored and upset that no one needs spot! Does anyone have an opinion on this? It's getting really annoying!

 

[gymgurl]

wow! that does sound frustrating!!
What i think you need to do is tell her "look i am fine doing this by myself and i am happy for you to stand there but please don't spot me because i don't want you to become my walking stick and for me not to be able to do the skill without a spot because you spot me all the time" If this doesn't work i think you need to ask her why she is always spotting you.

The fact that she is doing this at meets is an issue and can get you deducted so i would seriously ask HC about it if she doesn't stop.

Do you up-train a lot? maybe do more up training so that she can spot you on those skills - come to a mutual agreement.

Overall i would check out WHY she is doing it and go from there

 

[gymdog]

It's not really appropriate for the gymnast to dictate when a coach should spot. You were too far from the pit and she spotted anyway? Every decent coach I know would do the same thing. It "messes up your perfection" when the coach spots on vault? I'm starting to wonder if this is for real. If someone gets hurt, the consequences could be very serious for everyone...especially when this is your job. Have you ever considered that your coach might know more about spotting than you do?

 

[superflipgirl]

Yes, but I don't know if she knows how to spot that well anyway because the only teams she coaches are a pre-team and a rec team. My dad even said that he thought it was weird how much she was spotting me when I did a back tuck, he said she was grabbing me before I even went into it. I know some of you coaches don't think anything is wrong with this, but if you had seen this happen you would understand.

 

[gymcoach26]

the only teams she coaches are a pre-team and a rec team. quote]

I think she probably coaches more than that if she is spotting back tucks and giants. Something's not making sense here?

 

[gymnastics07849]

One of my coaches used to do that too. It would get really annoying because I had the skills but she wouldnt let me do them without a spot when i really just wanted to do it by myself. Luckily I was only with her for about 10 months becasue she changed coaching jobs.

 

[coachmolly]

Some more input from a coach.
So many times I have girls (usually rec or pre-team) who want to try a skill without help even if they are not ready. If I spot them, they get upset. If I don't, they fall or just keep doing the skill incorrectly. It really is a lose-lose situation. I look like a less than adequate coach and they make little or no progress.
If she's doing it only in warm-ups at meets, I don't see the problem either. Watch any higher level optional meet and you will probably see coaches on the floor "just in case."
I'm sure your coach has her reasons for spotting or at least putting a hand on you and it's just hard to see those reasons from where you are right now. Just try to look at her from her view if at all possible. I hope things work out!

 

[Deleted member D3987]

i really commend you guys for even responding.

 

[CoachGoofy]

Yes, but I don't know if she knows how to spot that well anyway because the only teams she coaches are a pre-team and a rec team. My dad even said that he thought it was weird how much she was spotting me when I did a back tuck, he said she was grabbing me before I even went into it. I know some of you coaches don't think anything is wrong with this, but if you had seen this happen you would understand.

That's how spotting a backhandspring back tuck WORKS.

Kid does roundoff backhandspring.

You put hand on kid on the backhandspring-snapdown-set, so if something goes wonky in the tuck, you have your muscles engaged. This is especially important for us coaches who aren't that much bigger than our gymnasts. We have to direct your momentum where it needs to go before it goes the wrong way, if you don't put it there yourself. Otherwise everyone involved gets hurt and it's very tragic for all.

It's much easier to prevent a take off issue than to catch someone who decided that up is ->> that way.

Your posts lead me to wonder if you even like gymnastics.

 

[gymgurl]

Well my first reply was uneducated and now hearing a coaches perspective i can understand both points of view so now i am not sure what to think, this situation has happened to me when i was working on bars and one of the coaches i don't normally have for bars kept spotting me and i asked why and he said "you didn't have the attitude to show you could do the skill" and i look back and i was having a bad day that day. sometimes its your attitude sometimes its not just a thought.

 

[superflipgirl]

But some of you really don't understand. I think she just spots everyone because she hasn't been coaching for very long and she doesn't know that we can do these things! When someone tells her that they don't need a spot she actually looks kind of upset! Like the only thing she wants to do is spot people. Believe me if you had seen these things, you would understand!

 

[bogwoppit]

Well no one here can fix that. If it is a real issue for you, go to the head coach and talk to her about it. If that experienced coach thinks it is too much she will deal with it, if she thinks its fine then you will have to live with it.

Our coach saved my 7 year old from a horrible crash when she flew over the vault once.I even have it on video. A coach who is always at the ready can be a literal life saver.

 

[superflipgirl]

I agree with you. I'm sorry, I was just frustrated by the situation. I know that coaches can save you, but this coach has actually made it worse when trying to save me sometimes. Thanks for all the advice!

 

[marie83]

I think I can see this from both sides - I am coach in charge of our pre-team and one of our volunteer coaches (aged 15) is a very 'hands on' coach. I have had to pull her up sometimes in private because she does sometimes hinder the gymnasts rather than helping them.

It is pure inexperience and I've had to try to explain to her that she doesn't always need to hold the girls, just be there as a safety net, and I've also had to teach her how to change the way she supports the gymnasts.

I also agree with the other coaches that you should probably speak to your head coach about the situation, rather than saying to this coach directly that you don't want her to support you.
I find it a bit hard to believe that the head coach hasn't noticed this themselves though if it is truly a problem - unless they aren't there during the session of course! In which case you and the other gymnasts need to tell them!

 

[superflipgirl]

Thank you so much for the support! You were right about the coach just being a "safety net." When I said it messes up my perfection when she spots me I guess I worded wrong, I meant that it messes up my timing, like some of you have said.

 

[gymcoach26]

If a kid can't do the skill properly with a spot for whatever the reason (ex: it "messes up their timing"), then more than likely they cannot do it correctly alone either. Part of spotting is to help gymnasts get the timing right. Sure a gymnast may be able to throw a skill "by themselves" but it is probably performed wrong. Then when the coach goes to spot and the kid feels the correct timing, they are not used to it and blame the coach. Even thow you are getting over/ around without killing yourself does not mean you can do something on your own. I am sure your coach will be able to tell when you have mastered the skill and it is safe for you to try on your own. If you feel strongly enough, speak with the head coach.

 

[slkbeambabe07]

One of my dd's coaches spots all the time as well for lots of skills. And for her it has been frustrating because she has the skills and when her coach spots her on those skills it throws her timing off. Some of the girls in her group clearly need spotting and that is understandable. At her first competition, during warm-up, her coach would spot the girls on their fly-aways and not let them do any routines without a spot (yet when it was time to compete they had to do it by themselves). At her first two competitions, her dismounts were horrible. Afterwards she said "I wish I could have done my dismount by myself before competing it, I just can't get my timing when I am spotted." Even during their regular practices the coach would spot most of the time.
So at competition number 3 she finally told her coach she needed to do it by herself... and he let her. She did the most beautiful layout-fly away and stuck her landing. All this to say for some girls spotting is not an issue, but for some it is.
Ultimately it is the coaches responsibility, but, understanding the concerns of a gymnast can go a long way... IMHO.

This is my hugest pet peeve. Parents and gymnasts who use excuses when they can't get a skill by themselves when it's time to compete. I believe your daughter had a beautiful layout flyaway, and I give her a lot of credit for it, you should be proud!, but don't blame it on the spotting. As a coach and a former optional gymnast, I know, as well as other coaches, that I'm spotting to HELP the gymnast, NOT HINDER them. I know the "timings" of the skills, and my spot is there to HELP them get their "timing" right, compared to what the athlete THINKS is the right timing.. which leads to bad habits, bad form, bad basics. Coaches are here to help, not hurt, and it frustrates me when a gymnast can't get a skill it's always blamed on the coach in the end when most of the time it is the athlete's attitude and effort (not saying your daugther, I'm just using your post as an example).. appreciate the people you have helping you in the gym.. we're not dummies!!!!!!!!!!!!!, or we wouldn't even have the job we have.

 

[gymdog]

Beam is kind of different from the other three events. The skills are generally physically easy. Many beam coaches don't spot, especially after a certain level. You're just not going to be spotting BHS layouts on the high beam for the most part.

Many coaches spot the first time at a meet because the equipment and settings are different. I had a coach that always spotted my double flyaway even though I'd already been competing it when he came along, and it didn't mess up my timing...it was just weird (he spotted it in practice too, I got spotted at meets by a lot of coaches). But generally it is something I feel the kids need to get used to. I'm not saying everything needs to be spotted but I just think many of the examples given have been quite reasonable.