couple questions for all you coaches out there

[oneofakind]

i have a couple questions for you more experienced coaches...

1. do you ask your gymnasts why are in hs to keep certains grades? like i like my girls to keep at leave a C average. good study habits etc..a few of the hardcore girls seem to forget about school,...while i love their enthusiasm for gymnastics i dont want them to get behind in school get poor grades (keep in mind that this rule is really only in forced for comp girls..but i stress it with my rec girls as well)..

2. how do you have the sensitive talk about that wonderful time of the month with the younger girls who have just started? i havnt had anyone young enough to have that talk or give advice to parents. but it would be a very good thing to know how to approach that should i have too which maybe soon seeing as i have a pair of 12 year olds.

3. how do you handle the divas in your groups/teams...we dont have any as our head coach nips it right in the bud..but ive seen some real snotty girls from other gyms and it just irrates me..any idivce for handling the high strug gymnast? lol

thanks in advance!!!

[lannamavity]

Wow...cut right to the chase...

1. The kids must bring their report cards in. I jokingly complain about how "boring" the report cards are 9 times out of 10...they are almost always all "A's".
We always have pre and post season meetings and discuss homework/school issues. If there are problems at school, then solutions are discussed.

2. A female coach always has "the talk" to the kids 12 and up, as a group. I steer clear of that one.

3. I do my best to treat all of the kids in any group as equally as possible. I believe that's why our teams are good...but it does mean that we have lost kids to other clubs when I refused to make exceptions for unexceptable behavior/work ethic. There are always those who want to be special and yet want to be treated "like everyone else" all at the same time, depending on the situation. I just say that one kid, no matter how good they are, is worth abandoning the principles which benefit the group.

Just my take on it.

[Aussie_coach]

1. No we never require gymnasts to keep certain grades. In fact I have never, ever heard of that. I have only seen it on TV that kids are oulled from sports and activities for not keeping up their grades. It simply does not happen in Australia, unless initiated by the parents.

Most higher level gymnasts have excellent grades, part of what makes them excell at gymnastics also helps them to excell at school. Dedication, intellegence, committment and so on. Sports like gymnastics also aid their learning ability and help them develop the ability to concentrate, remember, focus and learn.

I think it is important to remember that not every student is going to be academically gifted. Some kids have apersonality type that just doesnt fit in well with school. We often have kids who are amazing in the gym and they tell us that they are terrors in school. It is because they are the sorts of kids that need to be active and moving to learn well.

The idea of taking away their sport for poor grades frightens me. These kids can come to the gym and experience success and we can build their self esteem and confidence. Often the kids who are struggling at school are the ones who need the gym the most.


2. For the sensitive talk, we try to get the older more experienced gymnasts to have close ties with the ones around that age. Sometimes kids find it difficult to come to an adult but easier to come to an older gymnasts. We talk to the whole group about it once they hit 'that age'. We try not to treat it like a super touchy subject but help it to feel like a very natural thing that they are free to openly discuss.


3. When it comes to diva's they are often covering up for true insecurity. We try to build a team atmosphere where one persons success's are everyone successes. We offer whole team rewards for achievements so everyone can enjoy and share their successes.

[Eveningdew]

Our girls are not "required" to have good grades, highly encouraged. They bring in their report cards to the head coaches and depending upon the grades they can receive a "Pass" for conditioning. All our coaches stress the importance of school/grades first, not gymnastics. Our gym is dedicated to the whole girls' success in life. Poor grades are never talked about unless the parent brings it up to the coach, privately.