WAG Unqualified Coaches?

[raenndrops]

Though they also face some of the same problems as USAG- YMCA type clubs and school based programs would be exempt unless they also participated in USA Swimming (or had coaches who were on top of certifications).

The coaches in our YMCA District all have USAG Professional Memberships and take the classes / trainings. I also have my professional membership and have taken classes (just in case coach needed me on the floor for YMCA Nationals last year - it is a requirement to be certified to be on the floor at Nationals). I am working on getting better and will take more classes as time permits.

 

[Iwannabemargo]

from what I was told Level 4 is the top qualification, unless you have elite (ie national squad) gymnasts. Then you can be level 5, unless that gymnast moves on then you drop back to Level 4.

I know hubbie did his rugby, back in the day, and he was a club coach, however he has also done some of his level 4 modules.

 

[Faith]

Level 4 is hpc (high performance coach) and I think you have to have coached a national level gymnast, so to british espoir/junior/senior champs.

Level 5 is IPc (international performance coach) and that is having coached to national squad and international competition level.

I am not sure how much emphasis is on skills, or the attainment of your gymnasts. I'm not sure there's even courses like for level 1/2/3. Actually there must be, because I signed up for a level 4 course (one of the first "advanced club coach" courses), but had to drop out for uni. I'd never coached past club grade national finals though so I don't know how that works- which comes first, the gymnast or the course )

Will look it up when I get back to my laptop. BG are awful though for putting all this stuff behind their "coaches only" firewall.

 

[Iwannabemargo]

tell me about it.

I'm sure level 4 is open to everyone, P&F's coach is doing her level 4 now, (lots of mentoring I think) and we have no elites. I also know of another level 4 coach in the county who doesn't have elites either plus one who was doing her level 4 but dropped out.

I have been trying to look up the requirements for grades, its like pulling teeth

 

[Flossyduck]

We have level 3, 4 and level 5 coaches and the level 3 coaches are club coach, level 4 coaches are classed as Senior club coach and level 5 as High Performance Coach. I thought that was standard and if it is it would suggest you don't need elites to be a Senior Club coach or level 4. We also have coaches who coach national squad and international level gymnasts too so they maybe another level - maybe level 'don't mess with me I'm off the coaching hierarchy scale!'

 

[Deleted member D3987]

so you know, what we are in the US is based on performance. if a coach has produced an athlete which achieved Pan Am's, Worlds or Olympics they are called a "Master of Sport". the next tier is "National" coach. you must've produced an athlete that qualified to Level 10 Nationals. this is for both Men and Women. this is separate from education certifications.

This was the work of Kathy Kelly, the former and retired Woman's Program Director and BOSS under Steve Penney. we all have her to thank for this.

 

[coachmolly]

The coaches in our YMCA District all have USAG Professional Memberships and take the classes / trainings. I also have my professional membership and have taken classes (just in case coach needed me on the floor for YMCA Nationals last year - it is a requirement to be certified to be on the floor at Nationals). I am working on getting better and will take more classes as time permits.

Sorry, I didn't mean that as a blanket statement, I was just trying to convey that there are indeed loopholes. I know of some exceptional Y programs- both at YMCA sanctioned meets and USAG meets who have very qualified coaches and are better than some of their competitors who are private clubs. I just meant that, say a gym were to compete solely at local Y competitions, USAG would have no idea about the quality of their coaches. Same with programs like USAIGC where you don't need to be a USAG member club to compete at sanctioned meets, so USAG coaching standards don't apply. There are some great clubs with very qualified coaches that work through these programs, but because they don't have USAG ensuring that qualifications are met, there are clubs that choose not to follow industry standards.