Coaches W200/W300 Courses

[coachmolly]

I have been giving some thought to perhaps attending one of these courses, just wondering if anyone had experiences and which they would recommend?
I am HC of our club's pre-team/developmental team programs and also work as a team coach (Xcel only) and have coached upper level compulsory skills in several other capacities in the past. Because I am not currently coaching beyond Xcel Gold, I'm not sure I would meet the requirements for the W300 course, or would perhaps be in over my head? But I want to do it because I feel like my coaching skills are a bit stuck at the moment as I am not in a position where I am progressing in my abilities as much as I would like to be (gym does not attend congress/clinics, any staff trainings are geared toward rec. coaches) and always want to learn more and improve myself as a coach. I would just do W200 this year and hold off for 200 until next, but not sure what the chances are of it returning to the east coast.
Just looking for suggestions from those who have been there or are also considering it.

 

[gymdog]

W200 is great and has been held in VA several times (well, it's predecessor too). So I would keep watching through the summer. They publish the dates every so often. W300 is being held at IGC. I think it's new? Anyway I don't know of anywhere else it's being held or has been held. W200 shows drills through level 4 but no tucks, flyaways, etc.

 

[coachmolly]

W200 is great and has been held in VA several times (well, it's predecessor too). So I would keep watching through the summer. They publish the dates every so often. W300 is being held at IGC. I think it's new? Anyway I don't know of anywhere else it's being held or has been held. W200 shows drills through level 4 but no tucks, flyaways, etc.

I think W300 is held yearly at the ranch, this is the first time (at least in recent years) that it's being held in 2 places. As our team girls get into harder skills- clear hips, cast handstands, bhs on beam- skills I have coached in the past but have gotten a bit rusty with as a result of not practicing them- I feel our gym is really in need of some new ideas and drills. And I could use some refresher courses!

 

[gymdog]

Those things aren't addressed in W200 for sure. But personally, I would do W200, lower levels are harder and more important to manage and develop correct body shapes and strength, physical abilities, movement patterns. Once the underlying fundamentals are in place you can learn drills for clear hips and cast handstands. But if you are in the position of trying to teach skills instead of developing the strength for skills, then you will never move forward.

 

[gymcat]

We held the W200 course at our gym and I was, unfortunately, unimpressed. There were too many coaches and too little time devoted to the actual hands-on portion so that coaches only received maybe 1-3 tries at spotting a skill before it was time to move on. We had coaches in groups of 6-7 for rotations that lasted maybe 3 minutes each.

When I saw the W300 course I was initially excited at the idea of a whole weekend of hands on training, but since I only coaches beginners, it wouldn't be applicable to me.

 

[gymdog]

The spotting at w200 was pretty low. It didn't really affect my impression of the course because I feel that with the skills being demonstrated spotting was pretty straightforward (for me personally). But if you are new to coaching entirely then I can see how it might disappoint. I don't know that it will be a factor for Molly though.

 

[gymcat]

You make a good point, gymdog. Based on what I have read, Molly has quite a bit more experience than I do and therefore simply seeing/hearing/learning about new drills could be great for her, whereas I was definitely wanting the hands-on part.

 

[coach.e]

I would say W200 is not very helpful unless you really don't understand basics or don't have much experience coaching and spotting. I went a few years ago and did not get much out of it.

I did however attend the W300 course at the ranch in October and enjoyed it very much! I am fairly young and really enjoyed learning from those who have been in this sport for so long. I probably will do W400 sometime in the next few years.

 

[Deleted member 14190]

Go to the Ranch, you will learn plenty.

 

[coachmolly]

Thanks for the input! For lower level skills I wouldn't be really looking for hands on spotting experience, I get plenty of that, I would go more for some new ideas and insights from a different perspective. I'll keep checking to see if W200 comes within a 2 hour radius or so, the cost is pretty small, so it might be good just as a refresher.
I'll check into W300 at IGC, I imagine it will fill up pretty quickly?

 

[Nicole19]

I did W200 with a coach from my gym who was very hesitant spotting skills and tended to spot less when she was nervous rather than go all in.
I liked the collaboration with other coaches and learned some new ideas. I am super grateful that the other coach had an opportunity where she had to spot and spot now so she came back to the gym a lot more confident, which made me a lot more confident. There were a lot of young coaches there, which was awesome to see.
I would like to do W300 and am considering doing it this year.