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    Return to Training

    Even for the elites restrictions have been imposed as to who is eligible to return to training at this point. There is a strict criteria based on competitions entered/international medals won as to who has been selected from the current Mens/Women's senior squads. There is also a government age...
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    WAG What's it like to whistleblow in sport?

    This video talks about the difficulties athletes face in recognising doping issues, coming to terms with what they have witnessed and the process of reporting doping violations. You could very easily interchange the word 'doping' for 'abusive coaching' and the issues would be the same. Gives a...
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    WAG Maggie Haney suspended

    I can't state that happened in this case, but yes this does happen. Parents are groomed as well as gymnasts - it's scary what a parent will do to show their support for an abusive coach, and it is usually to protect their own child.
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    Parents Well I can relate this ...

    An honest account of what it can be like to be a gym mom. I certainly spent my time reading it nodding along with some of the issues encountered. Worth a read if you have a space 10 minutes. Opening paragraph: "I often wonder what the outcome would have been had I made different choices in...
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    Parents Idiots guide to NCAA recruiting?

    Ah ok thank you. It's been a few years since we went through the process.
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    Parents Idiots guide to NCAA recruiting?

    With regard to recruiting we filled out the online recruiting questionnaires, sent an introductory email (from my daughter) then followed up a few weeks later with a phone call. Although the coaches cannot reply to emails or call you until she reaches year 12 you can speak to them if you call...
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    Parents Idiots guide to NCAA recruiting?

    Hi Faith, We went through the NCAA process and requested information regarding grades and eligibility. Which university you are considering will depend on the academics required for admission, some will accept only GCSE's whilst more academic colleges will want A Levels. The academic...
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    WAG Whistleblowing

    I understand your thought process here suggesting an environment may not be what is being portrayed to be if parents continue to allow their children to attend but please consider the following - 1. Parents are often conditioned to accept certain (often abusive) practices as part of the elite...
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    WAG Whistleblowing

    It might also be worth considering how many people move on from abusive environments and don't report - therefore leaving the coach to continue the abuse for generations to come. All I am saying is false reporting is rare, not unheard of but rare when you consider the number of complaints that...
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    WAG Whistleblowing

    I know of a gymnast who stated they were forced to quit due to emotional and physical abuse from the coach spanning a long period. All the current parents jumped to the coaches defence when the gymnast publicly announced what had happened over the years. The gymnast was called a liar and her...
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    WAG Whistleblowing

    The research on emotional abuse supports what Faith is saying. I am aware of a child who's parents removed them from a club due to emotional abuse and physical abuse and 2 years later the child begged to return to the coach. The child threatened to kill herself if she couldn't return to the...
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    WAG Whistleblowing

    In the US SafeSport is supposed to be the body to do this - however, I understand they are predominantly there to look into sexual abuse allegations and more general safeguarding concerns are still considered by USAG. In the UK you are right, all concerns (outside criminal cases) are...
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    WAG Whistleblowing

    I believe it happens regularly enough to cause concern within the coaching community, but the documented percentage of false reporting compared to valid reports is still relatively small. This may be due to lack of research on false reporting or that those stories go unheard as they do not fit...
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    WAG Whistleblowing

    Hi everyone ;) Following on from the Haney/McCusker thread where there was discussion around motives behind formal complaints and how coaches may feel scared to have complaints filed against them with SafeSport for minor transgressions or malicious complaints - here is a blog post about the...
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    WAG Letter to my former self

    Copied from another site. One day you will get in the car after training and she will tell you she is done. This will hit like a bolt of lightening in a flash summer storm. Although you are stunned by the revelation you tell her it’s ok, it’s her decision and you support it. Today you are...
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    Parents I love this blog!

    I believe the post is saying the type of environment imbued by the coach can reflect on the athlete (whether gymnast or other athlete) in both negative and positive ways. I like the fact the author of the blog uses empirical research and is not just their point of view or opinion. Each of their...
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    Parents I love this blog!

    This blog shines a light on the difficulties many parents face in the world of gymnastics. No matter which country you are from, the narratives may well resonate with your own experiences. The following post entitled 'I wish I had known' discusses the coaching environment and the impact an ego...
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    'If I knew then what I know now' - interested to see views from UK parents.

    Thanks for the reply Faith. I too have mixed views. My daughter went down the compulsory pathway and reached a decent level. She had a number of injuries which set her back, a few of which were not handled in the best way and prolonged her return to full fitness. She spent a number of years...
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    'If I knew then what I know now' - interested to see views from UK parents.

    The Parents thread had a post with the same title and I assume most posts were from parents in the US. There are 2 clear difference between the UK and the US at the top end; the money involved through sponsorship deals when competing on the Olympic Team and the pursuit of college scholarships...
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    WAG Gymnastics is F*****

    Some thoughts on why parents may not intervene when the sport takes ahold of their/their daughters lives. Including a very honest narrative from a parent. None of the parents I have interviewed over the years set out to put gymnastics before their child’s wellbeing, it was a slow, almost...

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