Petty politics

[Natalia]

Hi everyone,

I have a dilemma.

Each year our gym puts on an end of year "gala".The rehearsals are taking 4 to 5 hours a week.My daughter is currently training level 5.

My kid missed 2 weeks of training because she was sick,she returned to gym shortly before all these rehearsal began.She has lost a lot of strength during her absence.

She is now made to participate in the show,she is part of a group of 20+ girls doing ROBHS and "dancing"to odd sounding music.My daughters ROBHS is not looking very pretty,her coach is lamenting the hours spent for all this and my daughters lack of strength.The Head coach ,however wants all team members to participate.

My daughter doesn't like the music and is ambivalent about taking part.Her coach and I would prefer that she not participate in the show and rather work with my daughter to regain strength and better form.

The girls work with a choreographer who can't possibly correct technique ,she has 3 weeks to put everything together.

On the one hand my kid has lost 2 weeks of gym and will now spend the next 3 weeks on "fluff",but if the coach and I insist on something different we will go against the wishes of the head coach which isn't really a good idea.

Should i just keep quiet and keep out?

 

[JBS]

If you don't like the situation...then address it with the owner/HC. However...I would not bring up the fact that you and the other coach are in this together unless you would like to see that coach get fired.

 

[Natalia]

Yeah,I know.

The thing is I did address it with the HC(he's not the owner)who backed out of the situation by answering
"I prefer that all girls participate but I will leave the decision to her coach".
He then went to tell the coach that he was to inform me that "this show is very important and all girls must participate"

The HC is known for playing the diplomat,never giving a straight answer and passing down responsibility.The HC is rarely present and usually each coach follows his own agenda until it's "Showtime".

It's a bit of a miserable situation,the gym was built 5 years ago for the owners daughter .We live in a Mexican town and the best way to ensure your kid had good training facilities was to build it.The owners daughter moved to Texas and the gym is in the hands of the HC who is more absent then present.The owner comes once a year.

The facilities are great and compare to European standards(we're french).My kids coach is passionate and dedicated about his work,so it works for us.But the HC spends a LOT of time traveling .He rarely makes himself clear with the parents prefering to act the diplomat and often changes his mind according to the person standing in front of him.

 

[JBS]

Just do a little extra training with the coach right now. That way everyone gets what they want and no one is behind.

 

[usnagymnasts11]

I'm with JBS on this one. Although it can be difficult, I'd stick with whatever the coach decides and try to make alternate plans as well to rebuild strength. (I've dealt with enough HC's/Owners in the past to learn to really pick my battles.) Can she come to open workouts (if that's an option), or add an extra day to her training for skills? She can always do lots of conditioning at home...I always tell my girls that I don't want them working skills, but they can do bridges, splits, leg lifts, crunches, v-ups, reach ups, shoulder taps, pull ups, candlesticks, you name it and it will help them regain their skills quicker. The core strength is key to many skills and IMHO you can never do too many handstands.

 

[Aussie_coach]

These special Gala events are important for the gym, its the kids chance to do something together as a team rather than against each other like in a competition and she will probably really enjoy it when it does happen.

It is important for the kids to participate in these things, their gymnastics training should not always be about themselves and for themselves but also the positive they can do for the gym being a team member. A lot of the younger gymnasts look up to the team gymnasts and will be inspired by watching them perform.

Perhaps ask for a strength program for her to do at home to regain her strength.

 

[gymgal]

I'm with the others. I wouldn't battle it. Do some strength training at home. And maybe a couple privates to clean up the robhs. Losing a few weeks won't put her that far behind. She'll catch up quickly when she gets back to full training

Sent from my ADR6400L using Tapatalk

 

[Natalia]

Thanks for giving me some perspective.

We've been battling the on again off again HC for some months so I think this situation just brought underlying frustration to the surface.

I got lucky with my daughters coach,he gets great results,his girls are enthusiastic and happy,and they have formed great friendships spending most of their Fridays and Saturdays at each others houses.

Many parents noted this and ask the HC(when he's there)to place their daughters with our coach.The HC never says No to a parent ,so the tight group of young level 5's has grown into a group of 9 girls with a wide range of skill,ability and maturity level.

The coach managed it with a great attitude ,and simply divided the groups into different schedules....

One mom complained that her daughter shouldn't be in the second tier group,that it was discouraging to her kid....Reminds me about the A and B team thread....

So HC turns around and tells the coach"sorry you'll have to put them all back together again." We're all feeling a bit like humpty dumpty.

When I mentioned a sloppy ROBHS to the HC his response was"Her ROBHS is amongst the best in her age goup".The attitude developed by her coach has always been "don't look at how much better or worse it is compared to others,but rather how far it is from the very best ROBHS that individual gymnast can achieve,THAT is our benchmark of progress"So our coach and HC are not on the same page about ANYTHING.

 

[dreamBIG05]

The head coach is suppose to help every gymnast with every need to his/her best ability. Take it up with him/her but keep your dispute with the HC seperate from your daughters gymnastics life.
Good Luck

 

[Geoffrey Taucer]

"don't look at how much better or worse it is compared to others,but rather how far it is from the very best ROBHS that individual gymnast can achieve,THAT is our benchmark of progress"

I would just like to say I absolutely love this, and have every intention of stealing it.