punishment in the gym?

[mayestra12]

Just wondering what is the norm for punishment in the gym? My dd was not allowed to work on new skills with her team because she wasn't able to make corrections to her vault. I'm hoping she was talking or doing something she wasn't supposed to be doing because I don't think she should be punished for not being able to correct her vault.

I've never heard her talk about being punished before during practice. I was just curious so I can talk to her more about the situation.

 

[skschlag]

Our coach will frequently not let a kid move on to the next skill if they are not making the appropriate corrections on a needed skill. I don't see this as punishment though. For instance, my son has been working his moy and diamidov on P-bars, but if he is not hitting his handstands correctly that day, he has to keep working those until they are correct. Not sure if this is what is happening here, or not.

For behavior, or other infractions (like putting hands back when falling on bhs or bt) the usual is pushups, v-ups or arm circles with weights. For serious infractions they can be kicked out of workout.

 

[gymdog]

If the skill is closely related (hard to imagine otherwise on vault) they should not be attempting it if they can't make certain corrections to the previous progression. This is not really a punishment, unless it's being framed as such.

 

[BlairBob]

I don't really a punish a gymnast for a bad score or a bad day. Behavior or running on mats, I do. Used to be silent wall sits for the girls and duration push holds for the boys. Too much and they can sit on a wall, sit in the stands or go home. I will probably just lean to those options in the future. I'm getting old.

 

[merit16]

just yesterday a girl from my gym was sent home from workout because she didn't do her back tuck off vault...

 

[Deleted member D3987]

pretty ordinary behavior modification for a gym.

 

[MaryA]

Was she not allowed to work on new skills on vault? That would make sense... Fix step A before you move on to step B. If she was not being allowed to uptrain on floor, for example, because of what she was doing on vault... That wouldn't make sense to me.

 

[Geoffrey Taucer]

Just wondering what is the norm for punishment in the gym? My dd was not allowed to work on new skills with her team because she wasn't able to make corrections to her vault. I'm hoping she was talking or doing something she wasn't supposed to be doing because I don't think she should be punished for not being able to correct her vault.

I've never heard her talk about being punished before during practice. I was just curious so I can talk to her more about the situation.

It depends on how its being presented.

If the new skills she wants to learn progress from the skill she's currently working on, then she definitely should not be allowed to move on until the current skill is correct. (However, it shouldn't be framed as punishment). I suspect that this is what's going on, and your DD is calling it "punishment" because she really wanted to move on and work new skills.

IF, however, the coach is framing it as punishment, and is giving this punishment for failure to make corrections, I would have serious objections to that.

 

[sally]

In my dd old gym the coach use to make them do a rope climb if the can't fix there mistake

 

[gymgurl]

Failing to make a correction = more repetition before we move on to next skill in progression or if necessary move back a step

Talking to much = yelled at/asked aggressively (only if repetitive)

tbh we are mostly older so running on mats etc doesn't happen a lot

 

[fliptwisttwirl]

If someone's not putting forth effort then they get sent to the stands. If you have a little mental block and you're not getting anything accomplished than same punishment. The other day I was scared to do this drill for fulls and my coach almost sent me home though but I asked for one more chance to do the drill so I could stay. Also people get sent home for attitude. We all have conditioning if someone falls off the beam or misses a squat on though.

 

[Mack_the_Ripper]

At my gym the girls who stay later usually have some extra time for new skills at the end of each event BUT you need to make your routines before you can move on. If you make all your routines really quickly, obviously you've mastered them and you should use your time to work on harder skills. Maybe you can put some of those harder skills into your routine later, if you become confident with them. It doesn't make sense to work on harder skills if you aren't competent with your current skills, and it doesn't make sense to do tons and tons of routines if you can make them in your sleep. After routines, we usually work on problem areas unless they were super good, too.

 

[beamer]

good coaching: insisting a gymnast is performing skills safely and with good form before moving her on to higher-level skills. (new gym)

punishment: storming off to the office to retrieve some Saran Wrap and wrapping a gymnast's belly with the stuff, then making her complete L4/5 workout in front of teammates with this embarrassing leotard embellishment. (old gym)

 

[barney66]

It depends on how its being presented.

If the new skills she wants to learn progress from the skill she's currently working on, then she definitely should not be allowed to move on until the current skill is correct. (However, it shouldn't be framed as punishment). I suspect that this is what's going on, and your DD is calling it "punishment" because she really wanted to move on and work new skills.

IF, however, the coach is framing it as punishment, and is giving this punishment for failure to make corrections, I would have serious objections to that.

I agree with Geoff...

 

[barney66]

It depends on how its being presented.

If the new skills she wants to learn progress from the skill she's currently working on, then she definitely should not be allowed to move on until the current skill is correct. (However, it shouldn't be framed as punishment). I suspect that this is what's going on, and your DD is calling it "punishment" because she really wanted to move on and work new skills.

IF, however, the coach is framing it as punishment, and is giving this punishment for failure to make corrections, I would have serious objections to that.

I agree with Geoff...

 

[wallinbl]

I agree with others that calling it punishment is bad, but as a parent, I want all the progressions done correctly before moving on because I want my daughter to be safe and not get hurt. They do some crazy (and scary to watch) stuff and I don't want her just throwing herself at skills to try to keep up.

On a side note - it's pretty cool to watch the progressions and see them come together for a skill. I also find it fun to try to figure out what skill the current drill is leading towards. It's not always obvious to me.

 

[kecks]

just yesterday a girl from my gym was sent home from workout because she didn't do her back tuck off vault...

so she got sent home because she was scared to do her back tuck that day? if so i say shame on the coach...

 

[skschlag]

so she got sent home because she was scared to do her back tuck that day? if so i say shame on the coach...

Maybe. We don't know all the circumstances. my son got sent home for gym one day for not "falling" out of a handstand on Pbars with spot. that sounds harsh initially, i mean, who wants to fall.. but.... in the meet before, one of the boys had fallen off pbars, coach caught him, and he was fine, but it scared the boys. So he was trying to teach them how to fall safely, and that he would be there. My son refused to do it multiple times (with spot) and was sent out. Other parents were appalled (which cracks me up), sayign that the coach was too harsh and that was mean. but it was a safety issue.

I guess my point is that we don't always know what is going on in the gym completely and most of the time, we are hearing only one side. As we tell parents at the start of every school year...we will only believe half of what your children tell us if you only believe half of what they tell you!

 

[kecks]

I am teacher so I hear you .

But sending a child home because he/she refuses to do something out of fear... that's just not fair. If a fear is strong there should be a progression to work through the block - go back some steps, redo the steps done before, don't get angry. Sometimes just do the progressions for today and try again the next day. Moreover fears can get stronger when you get punished for showing fear. You start to fear the fear...

 

[coachmolly]

I guess my point is that we don't always know what is going on in the gym completely and most of the time, we are hearing only one side. As we tell parents at the start of every school year...we will only believe half of what your children tell us if you only believe half of what they tell you!

Absolutely. I have had gymnasts who thought that every time I gave them a drill, conditioning exercise, or required them to make x number of a certain skill before they could move on think I was just the meanest coach ever who was simply out to get them and was treating them so much more unfairly than the other gymnasts- little ones and teens alike. I don't view any of those things as punishment, but logical progressions to developing the strength and reworking the basic foundation of the skill they are working on to build confidence, correct body positions, and ensure safety.
If a kid is giving an attitude, absolutely refusing to do a skill for no reason, not following their assignments, or similar behavior related problems- then I might make them sit out or stretch until they have calmed down and are ready to participate in practice. If the behavior persists, then it might come down to having a chat with them about expectations and behavior or talking to their parent.