Leaning/sitting during practice

[Deleted member D3987]

"with what seems to be attitude and disinterest all of the time"

this is what i was looking for. sitting and leaning has nothing to do it with it. now you have a legit gripe.

and i am an older coach. competed as an athlete for 12 years high level. another 8 or so doing circus. my body gets tired. must sit. the kids know why. and i still spot a bit. this includes "shaping". so, i don't agree with the sitting and the leaning if there is "attitude" or "disinterest". i have seen this and know what you are speaking of. this is no good for kids doing gymnastics. but not the same as the work habits, planning, etc; of some and older coaches.

 

[MissBear]

I think this is a really interesting thought.
As a rec coach, I never sit. I am always supporting, shaping or demostrating (positions, rarely skills). If I have a small group at a station I may be spotting some on my knees, and not others. For the gymnasts that do not need spotting I may well sit on the floor some of the time. This is for a short time, I am watching carefully and is a practical thing - very different from being disinterested.

As a team coach I spend more time sitting and/or leaning. When a group is conditioning or working on floor basics the coaches often sit on benches with the gymnasts spread out in front of them. Some may sit and overview all the gymnasts while others go between them correcting. If they have independant beam assignments I may be sat or leaning against the spare beam against the wall, where I can see all the gymnasts. The difference here is time - I would find it difficult to stand up all the time for a 4 hour session when I have been coaching rec classes all morning. I would never sit down if it made my communication more difficult or stopped my from keeping the session as safe as possible. I would never take time to move something around the gym to sit on - that's not an effective use of my time.

This has turned into an essay, but I do think this is an important subject.

 

[gymfan4ever95]

My coaches don't sit a lot. They stand and watch us and walk from person to person giving corrections. They will sit, sometimes, if we are on beam, they sit on a beam that is in front of all the beams, that way they can see everyone. They don't usually sit though.

 

[ky7403]

I have absolutely horrible knees (6 surgeries total) and I very rarely sit. I'll kneel to spot some skills on floor or help with stretches or things like that but i don't often sit. It lean sometimes but only when I am not spotting or have no intention of spotting because the girls are doing routines and I only need to be giving corrections at that point. I will shift my body weight from one leg to the other so I look bored but its only because of my knees. At the gym I am now, everyone sits except me. The owner, head coaches, everyone! At the gym I was at before; no one was allowed to sit...well only the kids that were in rec classes ages 6 and under all other rec kids had to stand all practice. In gymnastics I don't think it is acceptable at all for a coach or gymnast to sit. For coaches they need to be able to move as fast as possible; expect for the occasion that the gymnast are doing routines and they just need corrections to be given.

 

[NOG]

We learned over the summer that she was gripping the bar incorrectly and needed to change her grip. Because she had been doing it incorrectly for an entire season, the change was difficult for her. The other coach does beam, again over the summer we bought her to another gym that has made corrections in very basic things that have become bad habits because she has been allowed to continue to do these things incorrectly.

Needless to say, this was overlooked by a leaning coach and corrected by a coach at a gym with a no leaning or sitting policy.

Does this mean that you have switched gyms, or that you have taken her for evaluation at another gym and are wondering what to do - gym wise -- because I think that you have already made that decision mentally. I mean that you obviously know which gym/coach would be the better choice for Elizabeth, it sounds like if you haven't made the move, you might just be waiting for someone to say ---JUMP. I say go ahead and jump. It sounds like you have found a really great combo gym/coach and that Elizabeth is flourishing under the instructions of the new coach. Unless you are going to approach the old gym with your concerns and wait to see if a positive change is made, the new gym sounds great.

All of us who have had to switch gyms (for any of numerous reasons) have all gone through the "practice makes permanent" problem. My dd had a lot to fix after switching gyms over a year and half ago. It took quite a while for the ingrained habits to be broken down and new habits formed. Good luck to Elizabeth in re-learning some good habits.

 

[TeamDad]

Hi nwog,

Thanks. Elizabeth is very happy at our gym and it's ten minutes from our home. We're also five minutes from her ballet school so it all works. The best part is that she developed a relashionship with the head coach of the other gym that she worked out at over the summer and she is welcome to practice with their team whenever we are in the area as long as we call ahead of time.

They understand that her schedule is crazy with gym, ballet and upcoming performances with new york city ballet and they make her feel welcome and just want to help her with her gymnastics. It's all working, so there's no need to change anything. It takes a village We try not to put any more pressure on her than she puts on herself and just want her to be happy and feel fulfilled. The thing with Elizabeth is that when she is happy and performing to the best of her ability, she usually winds up on the top of the podium. It's a good balance, I am very proud of her.

 

[flippinlolly]

Wow Elizabeth sounds like one busy little girl! Im glad shes enjoying herself!

At my gym I find that my coaches will vary rarely sit down. They tend to always be spotting or demonstrating. We have one coach who will sit down during our conditioning which I dont mind at all because he still watches us very intently and to be honest while were conditioning there's not much for him to do because we're a reasonably old team and have worked out our own good systems which work well. One of my othre coaches will never sit down even during conditioning. In fact I dont think I've ever seen im sit down! In the gym office he still doesnt sit he walks around! And at comps he stands upright with his arms crossed while were waiting...he just never sits down! I find I do feed off their energy on harder days. Some days Im exhausted and my bodys screaming at me and all I want to do is sit down but when you look at them and realise they hardly sit down through the whole day theyre here coaching and they always seem to have energy and enthusiasm for what every single child is doing it makes you feel more energised and enthusiastic. It may seem like a very small thing but its a subtle effect. A coach who's leaning or sitting the whole time gives off a negative vibe and a lack of energy and this definitely passes on to the gymnasts!

 

[ffliwt]

My ex, ex coaches (!) barely ever stood up. Well, they were a kinda old (like 60-something?) so it was understandable but it was annoying. They couldnt be bothered to get any equipment out whatsoever (it was a put it up take it down every practise gym...) so the gym went from a successful 4 piece gym, to every training session being the air track blown up and her planting her bum on a seat next to it, screaming instructions at us! I understand it cause of their age and stuff but unluckily for me i was just beginning to get good and successful as the gym got lazy, so i never really got anywhere despite having the potential, which bugs me.
Then a new coach took over and it got better but she'd often spend 30 minutes sat down talking, leaving us to train on our own.
I've moved gym now and i've never seen a coach sit down!! But now i'm 18 so it's a bit late

 

[shorty_gymnast03]

ok, im new here...whats a dd?

 

[TeamDad]

ok, im new here...whats a dd?

We can't tell you until you have 10+ posts

 

[Geoffrey Taucer]

We can't tell you until you have 10+ posts

Haha, you're so mean!

DD = darling daughter

 

[NotAMom]

We can't tell you until you have 10+ posts

Only 10. Let's up it!

Haha, you're so mean!
DD = darling daughter

Too late. GT, you're a party pooper. Actually, it can be dear daughter as well. Not that that matters.

 

[Linsul]

They couldnt be bothered to get any equipment out whatsoever (it was a put it up take it down every practise gym...)

Haha I usually require the girls to grab random mats and whatnot that we may suddenly require during practice. It's usually faster, and familiarizes them with proper equipment names and drill setups. I won't lie, there is a bit of comedy involved for me to watch sometimes. I swear they can debate how to get an 8 incher around some high beams for 10 minutes (if I let them)! They'll discuss it, as they're holding the mat 3ft off the floor...so I tease them by calling it 'conditioning' and they laugh at me. All in all no more than 5 minutes in mat retrieval, I'm a big fan of it. I don't ever do it with beginner class, just advanced groups or team since they have loads of experience moving through the gym safely.

 

[emacmommy]

Overall I'm not a believer in sitting, and definitely not laying. Now leaning I find I do somewhat often, but I find I have created certain exceptions that are consistent with what we are doing during practice. For a Rec or Preschool class... no sitting ever for me, unless I'm stretching or playing a game or taking roll so I can be at their eye to eye level.

For team we'll sit during general stretching at times, since the girls lead themselves or do our choreographed team warm up to music. Every once in awhile we'll do it with them. Often times we'll take that time to bring the Jr staff up to speed on the day's activities/expectations. During active flexibility time, i.e. splits on the line, partner stretching, over stretching, etc, I pace through the girls, nit picking hips, toes, posture, etc. Same with conditioning. When we are in routine mode, the week of meets for example, when I'm tuned in more to the complete routine and less on the drills workers on the sides, I will sit and watch routines for floor and beam, but as soon as the routine is over I'm usually up and giving corrections and examples.

I have one particularly long day on Tue where I start with Preschool and Playgroup at 9:00am and my last group in is performance group finishing at 7:30. I find by that last group I'm searching out the pillatte's ball to sit while I watch them drill mini tramp and our aussie bed tramp. This is a sub-talented group, not quite good enough for team (except my daughter) or older and phasing out of competitive, so it's a pretty hands off group. I spot some fronts and occasionally a back tuck on the aussie bed tramp, but for the most part I'm drilling bigger and better dive rolls, working on creative jump combinations. It's really fun, but I do sit a lot with that group. Not to mention this is a very laid back group. We are there to have fun and perform for our community and at home meets. They come Thu as well, but I'm not there all day so I tend to be on my feet a lot more, but that is also our routine run down day too.

 

[gymjuice]

and by the way, how successful your gymnasts are has nothing to do with how often we sit.

only what comes out of our mouths via our brains...not our feet.

I disagree. A gymnast's success depends on much more than what comes out of your brain via your mouth. Your feet, as a coach, are very important to her as well. I understand that some coaches are unable to stand for long periods of time, but a coach needs to be able to provide body positioning, spotting, and yes...even visual examples from time to time if possible.

We are fortunate at our gym because even though we only have 2 coaches to run the whole program (rec and team), they have it together. Sure, they're exhausted by the time they leave at night but it's what they signed up for, just like their gymnasts. The only time I see them taking a few minutes for themselves at the gym is during stretch and warmups for team. Most nights, they end practice by conditioning with the team and I have seen them jump on the equipment and perform a skill numerous times if one of the girls just isn't quite getting how it should look. They're constantly on the go.

 

[Geoffrey Taucer]

A coach absolutely should be exhausted by the end of a workout. As I said, the kids feed off the coaches energy. If you're not having fun, your kids won't have fun. If you're not working hard, why should you expect any different from your kids?

If, at the end of a day of coaching, you aren't physically and mentally exhausted, you're probably doing something wrong, in my opinion.

Now, granted, there are ways to teach most skills without spotting. There are ways to explain most skills without demonstrating; it's not necessarily these things that should tire you out.

I would compare coaching to theater. When you're up on stage, you pour out every ounce of energy you have for the audience. Coaching is no different. Just as an audience feeds on an actor's energy, gymnasts feed on their coaches' energy.

 

[TeamDad]

Interesting point. At our gym, some of the coaches are actors and dancers. Some days, it just seems as though coaching is just what pays the bills. It sure would be nice to see some of that fire in their eyes

 

[CoachGoofy]

Interesting point. At our gym, some of the coaches are actors and dancers. Some days, it just seems as though coaching is just what pays the bills. It sure would be nice to see some of that fire in their eyes

I don't know your gym's situation.

Full disclosure: I'm one of those ridiculously high energy hands on coaches, who only sits down to make a point, along the lines of "well none of you were ready, I thought it was break time? Oh, we're here for gymnastics? Alright, let's go"

There are factors that wear down even the most hyperactive and fire-lighting coach. Like Issues with management. Like being sick and not being able to take a sick day. Like personal issues-we aren't immune. A number of factors, some of which everyone sees as reasonable, some of which you have to live it to say 'yeah i can see that'.

Speculating about what's going on in a person's head on the internet doesn't actually solve what's bothering you, though. Talking to the person does.

Just my 2cents.

 

[Linsul]

I don't know your gym's situation.

Full disclosure: I'm one of those ridiculously high energy hands on coaches, who only sits down to make a point, along the lines of "well none of you were ready, I thought it was break time? Oh, we're here for gymnastics? Alright, let's go"

There are factors that wear down even the most hyperactive and fire-lighting coach. Like Issues with management. Like being sick and not being able to take a sick day. Like personal issues-we aren't immune. A number of factors, some of which everyone sees as reasonable, some of which you have to live it to say 'yeah i can see that'.

Speculating about what's going on in a person's head on the internet doesn't actually solve what's bothering you, though. Talking to the person does.

Just my 2cents.

I agree on all points! Regarding sickness, it happens and often we have no substitutes. We have to take a vitamin, grab the hand sanitizer and truck on. It's not out of bitterness that we don't get hands on those days, it's more about containment of germs.

Injury, well I have a personal story there. I tore my abs in 2 places, had no substitute. My doctor gave me the whole excused absence option and pushed pain pills and bed like crazy to avoid a hernia. I had things to do at the gym I was excited about and after spotting all summer the kids were ready and itching to go it on their own. Plus I know the chaos of coaches not showing up, it REALLY sucks for everyone having to adapt. So I took advil, promised I wouldn't spot, and showed up.

Well the whole class got their robhbt on a 4 incher on floor with no spot, and one got her layout. I was REALLY happy. After class I got (literally) yelled at by a group of parents who thought their kids would have been doing layouts too had I 'decided to' spot. I explained the situation to them as I had to the class. They all calmed down except for one, who switched classes to get a 'better' coach. Getting yelled at and aggressively put on the spot was NOT fun. I told my husband about it later and he was like 'Yeah I bet you wish you had been in bed drooling from the vicodin now huh??' He was trying to be funny, but it actually did sound better at the time.

So sure there's a dark side of lazy to sitting, but as coaches we don't have legions of qualified back ups when we can't spot. We show up, do the best we can, and hope to not get yelled at ><

**EDIT** I tore my abs demonstrating...sometimes our 'fire' kicks us in the butt! I respect my age, old injuries, and ability usually but used bad judgment. It was a leg lift lol, doc said the angle put too much pressure in one spot and that caused the tears. I play sometimes when I'm not coaching, but always in the pit. Now I have a rule that demonstrating anything other than shapes, leaps, or cartwheels won't be done by me when there are so many awesome and willing gymnasts around to do it! Self preservation will always win when it's that vs spotting a skill, there are so many spot-less skills to work on it that it's really no contest.

 

[NotAMom]

but a coach needs to be able to provide body positioning, spotting, and yes...even visual examples from time to time if possible.

Are you kidding me? Have you seen some of the man coaches, especially those of age?