My DD had a rotten day at gym yesterday, and I am quite upset as she has been really enjoying it recently and doing well, and now she is quite down about it and seems to be questioning whether she wants to continue. I wasn't there, but here is what she has told me happened:
1. The coach was pushing her in bridge, and it hurt her back (this is not the first time this has happened) and she cried.
2. The coach was pushing her down in splits (the coaches always push all the girls down in splits) and it hurt and she cried.
3. They were doing leg lifts on the wall ladder, the coach was yelling at her to keep going, it hurt and she cried. The coach then yelled at her to stop crying.
Since I am new to the world of competitive gymnastics, perhaps some of you can answer my questions:
1. Is this pushing normal practice for coaches? Is it normal for young competitive gymnasts to have to tolerate the pain of this?
2. Is pushing actually beneficial to flexibility? I would have thought it was counter-productive, since if you push past the point of first tension in a stretch, the stretch reflex kicks in and the muscle contracts, making stretching more difficult.
3. Is there some rule or convention about 'no crying' in gymnastics? These are only 7 year old girls, and my DD was crying from the pain, not crying for attention.
I am hoping to have a discussion with the coach next Tuesday. Any advice would be appreciated.
1. The coach was pushing her in bridge, and it hurt her back (this is not the first time this has happened) and she cried.
2. The coach was pushing her down in splits (the coaches always push all the girls down in splits) and it hurt and she cried.
3. They were doing leg lifts on the wall ladder, the coach was yelling at her to keep going, it hurt and she cried. The coach then yelled at her to stop crying.
Since I am new to the world of competitive gymnastics, perhaps some of you can answer my questions:
1. Is this pushing normal practice for coaches? Is it normal for young competitive gymnasts to have to tolerate the pain of this?
2. Is pushing actually beneficial to flexibility? I would have thought it was counter-productive, since if you push past the point of first tension in a stretch, the stretch reflex kicks in and the muscle contracts, making stretching more difficult.
3. Is there some rule or convention about 'no crying' in gymnastics? These are only 7 year old girls, and my DD was crying from the pain, not crying for attention.
I am hoping to have a discussion with the coach next Tuesday. Any advice would be appreciated.