Parents When did you “know”?

[Puff]

I love all of what you wrote, but especially "she started advocating for herself". That is such a crucial skill to be proud of, that should be part the process. I feel like there's a less than 20% success rate when parents advocate for the kid (unless it means changing gyms but that can add a new layer of trauma), but maybe up to a 50% success rate when the kid advocates for themselves. Sadly, with a lot of coaches there is no advocating, it's my way or the highway. And sometimes the advocating just isn't well-reasoned, but the discussion itself can have value. I guess maybe it's because my daughter is older and a little bit known, but she has a coach on staff now that regularly asks her opinion of where they are at, the amount of numbers, what drills are helping, etc. It's been kind of shocking, incredibly refreshing, and also a feeling of well yeah of course she should be a participant in the decisions being made about her training.