My 8 year old has been taking an advanced tumbling course with the HC for about 7 months. The practice is very late in the evening (8-9pm on Tuesdays) so the class is usually pretty small and sometimes she's the only one who shows up. I've made it a point to be there for this practice because when she's the only one in the class I feel like it's safer for her and for her coach to not be alone in the gym - I trust our coach completely, but that doesn't mean it's appropriate for him to be alone with my daughter at 9:00 at night. My daughter does fine at practice without me there with her lower level coach (an amazing woman who has the patience of a saint with the younger girls) but when she's with the head coach she really wants me there with her. I think it's because the HC is a much tougher and sterner than her usual lower level coach. She tells me that she likes him and trusts him, she'd just rather have me at the gym when she's practicing with him. This summer she is going to be doing some intensity training with the HC 4 hours a week with girls in the upper team levels. She's already begging me to be there but I feel like it's too much time having her mother in the gym. We are working on building her confidence to practice with the older girls and the HC without me there. Has anybody had any experience with this? Do you usually watch your children practice? Are there any suggestions about how to help my DD feel ready to work with HC and the older girls on her own?