Fast-tracking to Elite - Pitfalls or red flags to look for?

[Deleted member D3987]

The time is ripe. Money can talk louder than words if you put it where your mouth is. Lets pay the committees and research teams that need to be founded to do the studies and write the statistics in stone. As you can see from this thread this country has no idea what its talking about. Neither does it know what its doing. Its all a hodge podge and helter skelter is how we win gold medals.

now listen here stretch...the people at this site DO know what their talking about BECAUSE WE DO NOT HAVE A STATE/GOVERNMENT SUPPORTED SYSTEM AND EACH STATE IN THE UNITED STATES IS DIFFERENT DUE TO DEMOGRAPHICS AND POPULATION AND FREE ENTERPRISE SYSTEM THAT AMERICANS AND IMMIGRANTS ENJOY ALIKE. THE USA STATE/GOVERNMENT DOES NOT REMOVE A CHILD FROM A PRIMARY SPORTS SCHOOL AND MOVE THEM TO A SECONDARY SPORTS SCHOOL AND THEN ON TO A NATIONAL TEAM TRAINING CENTER BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE ANYONE THAT WILL PAY FOR THAT AND WE DON'T DO IT THAT WAY IN AMERICA! UNDERSTAND NOW?? FINALLY, USA GYMNASTICS CAN NOT DICTATE TO A PRIVATE BUSINESS OWNER ON HOW THEY RUN THEIR BUSINESS, WHO THEY CAN COACH, OR WHETHER OR NOT THEY HAVE ELITES OR THE COACHES HIRED TO DO SO. THIS IS AMERICA WITH ALL OF IT'S GLORIOUS FREEDOM.

enough of the american bashing. i'm about ready to go out and purchase block salt and find a place to pound it...if you all know what i mean!

and for those that may not be aware of the former eastern bloc system. it was a caste system. and for love and country...with an unspoken agenda and before they outright paid their athletes for brining home medals.

if you were moved within and up in the system i described above in BOLD print, and the athlete was successful...then the parent was moved from a menial paying job to a better factory paying job. if the athlete continued maybe both parents had good paying jobs. if they continued the family would be moved from a 1 BEDROOM APARTMENT AND NO INDOOR PLUMBING to maybe a 2 bedroom apartment with indoor apartment and an icebox. along with the icebox came more "food coupons" where this family could purchase more bread, fruit, vegetables and meat. and more than their fellow comrades. if the athlete went on to the olympics?? thie athlete would receive a car, the parent would receive a car, and both would receive "fuel coupons" so that they could actually travel somewhere as they could not NEVER feasibly afford to pay for gasoline. this is about it in a nutshell. you want me to go in to how, in my youth, at international competitions with eastern bloc nations, the americans would exchange blue jeans and gym shoes [addidas, the shoe of choice in those days] deodorant and Brut aftershave in exchange for ALL that they had. a version of toothpaste and deodorant all made of baking soda.

eastern bloc coaches were paid more than doctors and nuclear physicists. they lived like royalty. and with that came with it some of the most gross forms of abuse that i WILL NOT speak of on this site. maybe a former romanian will read this, and at a minimum will tell you that i know of what i speak. if stretch is a former eastern bloc female coach or athlete...then YOU know exactly of what i speak.

so...Bogs asked to keep it a civil discussion so please do so AND DON'T SPEAK DISRESPECTFUL OF ANY COUNTRY IN THE SAME BREATH WITH GYMNASTICS!

 

[Tumblequeensmom]

I've been following this discussion and have come to one conclusion.... Stretch is never going to be swayed by anyone's opinion on what works and what does not work in this country. His goal is for any gymnast who fits into that "elite" ideal to work toward the Olympics.... period. I think the more anyone tries to defend what we do here in America, the more it just fuels his opinions about what is done WRONG here. I vote to end this discussion. It's becoming tedious. He won't understand and refuses to consider anyone else's goals in gymnastics.

 

[emandelsmom]

I have a friend who grew up in that system. She was chosen at 2 to train as a gymnast. She was moved away from her family. It was hard work. At 10 her body was broken. She had numerous problems. After the corrective surguries, she was dismissed from the gymnast training program and placed in the one for concert piano. Her life was then spent on a piano until what happened that brought her to the USA. Her parents were given no choice. Even now she cannot easily go visit her parents without some potential problem ensuing.

 

[Geoffrey Taucer]

This thread has run its course and does not need to continue.

 

[bogwoppit]

I agree 100% GT!