Women Problems with a Coach

[GymSurvivor]

Alright, first a little background.

I'm on a recreational gymnastics team (so we tend to not get the experienced 'team' coaches, which sometimes works out and sometimes doesn't)
we have levels 3-7 on the team right now. I myself and competing level 5 half the year and after Christmas I'm supposed to compete level 6 (on request of my coach, not exactly my choice haha, but oh well)

Here's the problem, we've had this new coach come in mid way through summer.

First of all she has this issue with being wrong, like she literally cannot take it. Example: At one point she was calling a plank a hollow hold, one of the girls on the team mentioned that it was called a hollow hold and this coach literally could not take it. She insisted she was right and finally the gymnast just said forget it. Then later on she started calling it a hollow hold after all.

Second she hasn't quite been trained much but assumes she knows things and has been actually given wrong corrections, to the point of possibly being dangerous.
Example: On vault one of the girls on the team has a vault that scored 9.7's all year last year, but she's always wanting to improve so after she went she asked what she could improve on and the coach told her that her vault wasn't really good overall, she really needed to go straight up onto the vault and her hands should land at the front of the vault (she pointed to the part near the springboard) so she could block better.
Not sure if this is just another method, but I've always heard your hands need to go towards the back of the vault for just a simple handspring, which is the only thing this gymnast is working on.

And third, I feel like I'm wasting my money. Like I said she hasn't been trained much so she honestly doesn't know how to spot the higher levels skills. I am in the highest level group which is girls level 6 and 7. We were put with this coach in 3 out of 4 of the rotations. The head coach wants me to compete level 6 but this coach cannot spot any level 6 skills. Not flyaways, tucks, back walkovers on beam. So I'm forced to only work the skills I have (Which I'm just working on cleaning up, this is fine for some practices but not all of them!!)

What would you do in this situation? The head coach seems to like this girl (mainly because we don't exactly have another option.....)

Should I go to the program director or gym owner about it?? Or should I just wait it out to see if it gets better?

 

[Deleted member D3987]

it's sad and true...if this gymnast is from where it states under her name, she should be lucky to even have a coach.

give this young coach some time. it may be YOU someday.

 

[GymSurvivor]

Yes, I am from KY. And I wouldn't really mind if the head coach were at least still training her....but shes completely on her own now and not really interested in doing any more learning....

Also, I do coach already so I know that side of things.....

 

[wandrewsjr]

If the head coach wants you to compete level 6, you could go to him and voice your concerns about not being ready to compete level 6 because you aren't training those skills during practice. That way you aren't directly criticizing the coach, but just voicing your own concerns about being ready to compete.

 

[fliptwisttwirl]

Tell the head coach exactly what you told us. They might not understand how bad the entire situation is affecting you.
Another thing though, our rec girls don't get half as much of the attention as the club girls simply because that's what the hc's focus is.

 

[GymSurvivor]

To clear it up, there is a head coach of the rec team and a different head coach of the club team.

But thanks for the suggestions guys! It helped to just type it all out and hear different opinions.