WAG Too much

[thatgymnastshona]

My coaches love spotting us. But sometimes I feel it's too much. I'm one of those gymnasts that when they say they can do it by themselves, they can do it by themselves. But for skills we have been working on at the gym they just spot too much. And almost hold me back... I know they are the trained and "know what's best" but still. Any advice?

 

[Aussie_coach]

Your coach obviously has your safety as their number 1 priority. Perhaps in the past they have sed spotting too soon and a gymnast has been injured.

Also many kids do the skill differently as soon as the coach stops spotting and can injure themselves.

A good coach will after a while be able to tell from a gymnasts past experiences as well as just things like the way they are standing if they will change the skill or not but sometimes it takes a whilE for a coach to get to know this about each individual gymnast.

 

[Krystan]

My dd would love that! She complains that her coach will tell her she's ready to do it on her own, but she doesn't "feel" ready. She's the type who wants to feel very secure in something before she tries it, though. Maybe ask the coach, "I feel like I'm ready to try it on my own. Do you think I am?" They may think you want them to spot - some kids really like it. That way if they don't think you're "safe" yet, they can tell you why.

 

[JBS]

My coaches love spotting us. But sometimes I feel it's too much. I'm one of those gymnasts that when they say they can do it by themselves, they can do it by themselves. But for skills we have been working on at the gym they just spot too much. And almost hold me back... I know they are the trained and "know what's best" but still. Any advice?

Go with it...they will let you perform your skills when it is time.

 

[iwannacoach]

There are some things I'll spot to increase numbers done in a short span of time to help someone get that the skill isn't such a big deal, and then there are things to spot as kids move from one step of a progression to the next, including the final version as it's done in competition. I won't allow a child the chance to go on their own without some safety measure in place, until I'm certain the risk to them is very minimal..... like in the sense that accidents can happen no matter how well you've learned the skill.

One thing that helps me decide who is, and isn't, ready is the reaction I get when I ask...."So do you think your ready?" I'll ask that question out of the blue, way before the kid is ready to do the skill on their own, just to see if they have the common sense to say no. The kids that say yes are the ones I really have to slow down because they think they can do crazy stuff when they can't. The ones that tell me they aren't ready will also let me know when they are, and I usually agree with them.

I'd say you should ask your coaches if they feel you have a firm understanding of your abilities and state of preparation, as well as your awareness of the risks you may be taking. Maybe there are skills they'll say you're ready to do as long as you agree with them and understand the risks of each skill. Maybe you can make some progress on this by having that conversation, or......

You may have to listen to them telling you that the holding you are feeling is not to keep you from doing the skill more freely, but that the holding you feel is from getting a little lift to get you through the skill..... You gotta admit, it may not be the first time they were right, and you were wrong. But hey, don't get me wrong..... I really admire the spirit behind what you want to do.

 

[raenndrops]

I know that in our gym, the coaches want to be sure you have it for sure before you do it on your own. With younger gymmie, the coaches are more scared than she is. During her L4 season last year, they were out there to spot her ro bhs in the first 4 meets. The coach touched her the first 3 times and admitted that she just couldn't help it. The last time she went out, YG got more height on the bhs and went over coach's hand, so no spot. They KNEW she had it and only risked an accidental spot, so they stopped going out on the floor.

We have another girl (old L6) that HAD her RO BHS BT, but could only do it if a coach was standing there. The coach is there just for the moral support. In practice, they continue to spot her and will keep doing it until the girl believes in her abilities.

I agree with the other posters, talk to your coach.

 

[kitkat]

I also use to have that opinion. Why do coaches spot so much or she can do that why are they spotting her.
My dd does a private tumbling lesson weekly. Her coach spots her on everything. Even the most easy thing such as standing front tucks. His philosophy is not to learn bad habits. When he feels they are good to go he lets her. He has been trying to correct a few very basis things for her and spots her spots her spots her. At first I was like seriously. But now I get it. My dd is ok with it as well. Its quite funny watching him run down the floor while she is tumbling.
He thinks its too easy to learn bad habits when you are told to go off and "do" the skills.
Now that being said its one on one and a normal coach ratio is not that so you can't expect the coach to be everywhere when they have a number of drills set up.