WAG Most innovative Optionals and Elite Coaches in the nation??

[CAKE]

Hi guys,

I like to joke that Im always looking for our Aimee Boorman...we are new to the sport and have no idea where our gymnasts will ultimately end up but they have big dreams.

If you could take your kid to any gym in the nation, where would you go? What coaches have caught your eye, amaze you, stand out, etc?

What programs do you hear only good things about?
Are you at a gym that you love that trains L10 / Elite?

 

[raenndrops]

We are at a gym I love, but they do NOT train L10 / Elite.
We have (currently) L3-L8 and Xcel Gold - Platinum.
We CAN also have L9 (and would have this season if 2 hadnt both gotten injured in CHEER and another didnt have to have surgeries to correct lateral tilt in both knees). We may have one or 2 next year... or the year after - as soon as they feel confident enough on Bars and Beam.

 

[John]

@coachp has impressed me with his coaching style.

With that said, I think every gymnast coach relationship is its own thing. Like Forest Gump said, you never know what you are going to get.

 

[Seeker]

That’s such a hard question to answer because there are so many variables that go into it. What’s good for one, might be horrible for another, training groups/partners matter a lot more than people realize, coaching consistency, etc. Gymnasts often train with the JO team thru at least L7. Some do TOPs and move into elite groups at various stages thereafter.

In order to narrow down good gyms, just look at the scores for JO L10 from Nationals over the past few years and then for Elite, look at Hopes, Jr & Sr Elite results. You will notice some patterns, but you’ll also notice that there are a lot of gyms getting kids to that elite stage.

For younger kids, my biggest recommendation would be to keep the joy in it. Not too many hours, keep them in other activities while you can (dance & rock climbing are very complimentary activities, Kids CrossFit is great too if you have a skilled coach leading it but anything from soccer to softball to basket weaving will be ultimately good for them). And finally — don’t stress about it. If you stress, they stress and that takes the joy from everyone.

 

[CAKE]

Our optionals coach is amazing, I really like what I see...and hopefully by the time my girls get there he will still be the optional coach and Ill never have to deal with another gym move. Our current gym is pretty perfect for us. I also LOVE that my gym is women owned. I looked long and hard for that and was surprised at how few gyms are owned by women when this is such a female intensive sport. What Im learning is that gyms can change alot! Coaches can move, gyms can shut down super unexpectedly... it's always good to have options.


I guess what Im most looking for is innovative programs.. the places that are taking the advice of innovators like Dave Tilley and Doc Aly..maybe I should just call him and ask him what gyms he works with

Gyms with staff that are innovators, not decapitators of self esteem. Im not interested in the old blame and shame technique of coaching. Period.

Ive learned that you dont know anything about a gym until you have watched them between state and regionals...

Im talking gyms with open viewing policies. My kids are under 10 and Im just not in the mood for any gym that thinks it is best for my 6 year old not to have the comfort of having me around should she choose. We have had some horrible situations with adults and my children and I just cant deal with super limited viewing because Id feel like I was failing my children. Im not saying anyone else is, Im just sayin I cannot do it. Especially considering the scandals of the gymnastics world right now and how policies have groomed a generation of gymnasts. I was the victim of sexual, emotional and physical abuse and it isnt happening on my watch so I just cant consider a program innovative if I cant even watch it when I want. I watch INTENSELY in the beginning of joining a gym so I think Coach P might get annoyed with me but... I need to know if your coaches know where to stand when they spot, I need to know if they spot my kids, I need to know if they have a texting addiction, or if they blame or shame my children, because the fact is, these kids are so young, they just internalize things and Id never know if a coach was screaming at my child because she would just feel so bad about herself because a grown adult was screaming at her. She would internalize it because she has nobody in her life outside of gym who has ever treated her that way and these people are "experts" so she she feels they must know. The fact is, if Im going to trust you, I need to know that I can and Im not just going to take your word for it. You need to prove it to me by letting me watch you do your job. Most gymnastics coaches have fewer certifications that I require of my babysitters and my baby sitters are not encouraging my kids to do dangerous things.


What gyms are strong in the triad between parent, athlete, coach? I'd treat our coaches like family if they'd let me. I consider them almost like family because they have such a huge impact on my children. I dont like coaches that will not connect with you while being guardian to your most precious gifts. They dont need to be my best friend, we dont need to go out to tea.. but I want to feel like I can talk to them and am not an inconvenience.

Im looking for places like:
Chow's (in a nicer climate )
WOGA - I know the coaching changes happened and that time will tell

 

[ayyyrial]

I think in general it's hard to assess what types of coaching practices a gym has, or how they approach the parent relationship, unless you've actually attended there or spoken to people who attend. And even then there can be a big difference in program outlook between rec, Xcel, low level team (e.g. pre-team and lower compulsory levels), higher level team, and elite track. A lot of gyms have a certain coach in charge of, say, levels 3-6, and a different coach in charge of levels 7 and up, but maybe a third coach is in charge of a separate group of kids who are being tracked towards elite at a young age. So being in any of the different groups could give you a different impression of the gym's philosophy and coaching strategy. Though some gyms maybe also coordinate that more thoroughly.

But I'm hesitant to make any calls about how a coach or gym works based on what I see from watching competitions, or even from interviews and statements from the coaches. E.g. in the 90s the American public saw Bela as a kind, fatherly figure who gave big bear hugs to his gymnasts, but lots of stuff has come out since then indicating that the environment training under Bela was pretty awful.

 

[John]

Very good points in this thread.

I hate to admit but since DD has changed gym I have spent many hours in the new gym, in the same chair night after night making myself comfortable with everyone at the gym.

I have only had a minor issue with the mom in charge of the parent organization. I think we have since buried the hatchet, she is very straight forward to a fault.

I'd like to think of the coaches as extended family. We will see.

 

[M2Abi]

I agree with needing an open viewing policy. In the beginning with my daughter, I watched every single practice. The Level 3s practiced at the same time as the pre-team, so I watched the Level 3 coaches interactions with the gymnasts also. I was probably annoying when I was there all the time, but now I have a high level of trust with the coaches for my kids. I almost never watch practice now, but I needed to at first, so that I could be comfortable with leaving my children.

 

[CAKE]

Very good points in this thread.

I hate to admit but since DD has changed gym I have spent many hours in the new gym, in the same chair night after night making myself comfortable with everyone at the gym.

I have only had a minor issue with the mom in charge of the parent organization. I think we have since buried the hatchet, she is very straight forward to a fault.

I'd like to think of the coaches as extended family. We will see.

I dont even understand booster clubs so dont get me started. I love our booster president but he and I are from the same geographic area so we get each other, but as a business owner the inefficiency of 501 nonprofit boosters makes me want to light myself on fire to stop the frustration. Cliquey boosters are the WORST and you dont know until you are committed.

Ive got one coach that is gold to me. She is so good to my youngest and has so much patience but can also be stern while being kind... Ive been thinking about what to get her for Christmas since early Oct! She will get better presents then my kids aunts and uncles because I really really value her. She is helping me raise my kid by teaching her how an adult should act and interacts with her more closely than anyone else besides immediate family. I pay her more money at privates because she undervalues herself. But next level I lose access to her



So since nobody will bite on the innovative coaching recs.. except Coach P, who Ive always thought was amazing but dont think would enjoy my parental style judging from his feedback here...


1. For those of you that have done this for awhile, which would you pick if you could go back and do it all again? Do you go with the gym that has the highest scores, or do you take the Aimee Boorman gamble and go with the place that believes the most in your child, scores be damned? (not that aimee's programs were getting terrible scores, but the program wasnt like some)

2. Ive been searching around the forums, but has anyone compiled a best advice to New folks, master thread list????

 

[raenndrops]

I dont even understand booster clubs so dont get me started. I love our booster president but he and I are from the same geographic area so we get each other, but as a business owner the inefficiency of 501 nonprofit boosters makes me want to light myself on fire to stop the frustration. Cliquey boosters are the WORST and you dont know until you are committed.

Ive got one coach that is gold to me. She is so good to my youngest and has so much patience but can also be stern while being kind... Ive been thinking about what to get her for Christmas since early Oct! She will get better presents then my kids aunts and uncles because I really really value her. She is helping me raise my kid by teaching her how an adult should act and interacts with her more closely than anyone else besides immediate family. I pay her more money at privates because she undervalues herself. But next level I lose access to her
So since nobody will bite on the innovative coaching recs.. except Coach P, who Ive always thought was amazing but dont think would enjoy my parental style judging from his feedback here...

1. For those of you that have done this for awhile, which would you pick if you could go back and do it all again? Do you go with the gym that has the highest scores, or do you take the Aimee Boorman gamble and go with the place that believes the most in your child, scores be damned? (not that aimee's programs were getting terrible scores, but the program wasnt like some)

2. Ive been searching around the forums, but has anyone compiled a best advice to New folks, master thread list????

1, The place that believes in my child the most, scores be damned.
If we were at another gym, neither of my gymmies would have ever made team.

2. No list that I know of.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

there's more to this entire topic. and there is more to being a good coach. Biles was a freak of nature. ALMOST anyone could have coached her and had the same result.

 

[CAKE]

there's more to this entire topic. and there is more to being a good coach. Biles was a freak of nature. ALMOST anyone could have coached her and had the same result.

I get it... I know that Biles is one in a million. Her body composition and genetics are obviously descended from the Olympic gods themselves..

Dominique Moceaneau's earliest coaches had way more to do with her success that Bella, who broke her... there are other stories like that where gymnasts have these amazing coaches in the early stages and then they move on an the big names get the credit. I always wonder how many times it has nothing to do with the high scoring club and everything to do with the folks who put the foundations in doing innovative stuff but they dont get a ton of the glory.

 

[John]

I just don't know if you can team a five year old with the coach that will be thst child's forever coach.

In the beginning DD needed a loving and caring coach. She found that in a young lady who instilled a loving relationship and taught her some high level tumbling. DD ate it up but reached the coaches limits.

She now has a man who is stern but kind. Seems to have have one desire, make every gymnast the best they can be. No favorites no special Groups. Train your level with up training then move to the next or repeat.

I guess my point is through the journey of gymnastics maybe you have to find the coach that fits your gymnast knowing that coach may not be the forever coach. Kids change and they demand something new?

 

[Pineapple_Lump]

Biles was a freak of nature. ALMOST anyone could have coached her and had the same result.

I'm not so sure that almost any coach could have kept Simone in the sport however.

 

[txgymfan]

I'm not so sure that almost any coach could have kept Simone in the sport however.

Yes! I don't think Simone would have stuck with some of the "techniques" used by other coaches. I wonder how many other phenomenal gymnasts we've lost due to athletes and parents not tolerating the behavior of some high level coaches.