Parents Questionable coaching practice?

[jlogym]

My 8 year DD just started summer practice with a new male coach. She was a bit nervous with the new coach so she asked me to stay for warm ups. Which I did. As the girls were doing Back Handsprings the coach told my dd not to bend her legs, then had them do BHs again. Apparently DD had bent legs again, at which point the coach called her over. He then had her sit on the floor with her feet raised on a panel mat. He then straddled her and sat on her legs. I had no idea what was going on so I just watched. After he got off her she got up and was crying. When I spoke to her later she told me what he did. I don't think he really hurt her, but she was scared and embarrassed more than anything. I plan to speak with him, but just curious if anyone had seen something like this before? Is it some kind of stretch? It seems a very unsafe practice to me but I am not a coach.

 

[kaloss]

Like this? Dd doesn't do it often, but I believe it stretches behind their knees to allow them to hyperextend a bit. I would never want a full grown man to do it though!

 

[needcoffee]

this is a hard one. I am constantly reinforcing in my DD that NO ONE gets to touch her in a way that makes her uncomfortable. Gymnastics is no exception. I think it's really important that she feels safe at all times, with all adults she is with. And while I'm sure this stretching had legit reasons behind it, she didn't like it. End of story. You need to talk to him and tell him not to do it again, and she needs to know you have her back.

This is something that I'm really passionate about.

 

[Avasmom]

I would definitely address it. As a male coach he should be very careful in ever putting himself in any type of comprising situation. IMO it's not appropriate for him to do that.

 

[bookworm]

"A male coach straddled your 8 year old".....just typing that made ME uncomfortable....it needs to stop, period.

 

[Firefly]

Our coaches, male and female, do sometimes stretch the girls in all kinds of strange ways, including that one. So I don't think it's totally out of line. BUT if your daughter felt uncomfortable about it, it should stop.

 

[sce]

On top of the fact hat a grown man was sitting on an 8yo girl, which is ; how is that not bad for the knees?

 

[profmom]

On top of the fact hat a grown man was sitting on an 8yo girl, which is ; how is that not bad for the knees?

As someone who's always had slight hyperextension of joints, just looking at the picture of the girls doing it made my knees hurt!

 

[lovegymnastics22]

I have seen this stretch many times in our gym, in videos, and even watching girls warm-up before international meets. (My DD has this problem and a coach once suggested I do it with her every night so I actually researched this). Usually I have seen the legs on the mat and someone pushing down on the knees, not straddling them. But I wouldn't assume any impropriety in what the coach was doing. It is definitely meant to be uncomfortable so if your daughter was upset because it hurt, I'd think of it like oversplits-- they do hurt. Sometimes girls cry. But I agree that you should talk to him about it if your DD was uncomfortable because he is a man. I wonder what the more experienced male coaches on this list think and how they'd want to be approached in a situation like this.

 

[Anna's_Mom]

this is a hard one. I am constantly reinforcing in my DD that NO ONE gets to touch her in a way that makes her uncomfortable. Gymnastics is no exception. I think it's really important that she feels safe at all times, with all adults she is with. And while I'm sure this stretching had legit reasons behind it, she didn't like it. End of story. You need to talk to him and tell him not to do it again, and she needs to know you have her back.

This is something that I'm really passionate about.

This, definitely!

 

[gymdog]

Is it a stretch that's done, yes. Do I like it? No.

I have an issue with the fact that it most likely had nothing to do with why her knees were bent in her back handspring (unless she can't sit on the floor in a pike with straight legs) so that's just silly. If it was done as punishment then I'd have an issue, but I can't really see how it is helpful at all except to intimidate. I'm not saying I'm a perfectly patient person all the time when I say the same thing five times in a row and I know the kid can do it, but would I ever do this? No, definitely not.

 

[gymdog]

Ps, I would watch closely for now...

 

[my4buffaloes]

I just there is SO MUCH wrong with a grown man sitting in anyway on an 8 year old girl. It is not safe, now OK.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

okay, folks. the coach is a moron and the pic of the stretch is moronic...and dangerous. if Tammy Biggs saw that she'd punch the coach out verbally...and even maybe physically.

if it looks like a fart...and it smells like a fart...then it's a fart! that's all.

you know, i'm gone for a couple of weeks and come back and have to reread something like this several times to make sure i haven't lost my comprehension skills. SMH

 

[Geoffrey Taucer]

Gymdog summed up my thoughts pretty well. What you described does not sound to me like anything malicious or improper in that sense; it does, however, sound like very low-quality coaching.

I'd complain, and if it continues to be a regular occurrence, I'd pull your kid from the program.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

View attachment 5707

Like this? Dd doesn't do it often, but I believe it stretches behind their knees to allow them to hyperextend a bit. I would never want a full grown man to do it though!

i'm going to say this one more time. you can NOT improve the straightness of the knee joint by doing these kinds of stretches. you CAN increase the dangerous stretching and rupturing of the 5 ligaments of the knee. one, the ACL, that can't take this type pf stretching. and neither can the growth plates in either pre or post pubescent kids.

the ONLY way to make a slightly bent knee joint become permanently straight is to have augmentation surgery to the joint. understand what that is? break and cut bone.

 

[munchkin3]

We had a girl on our team with naturally bent knees.......coach kept telling mom that that was the reason for floor and beam deductions.....he would stretch them, (not this way at all!!!!!) and the girls would cry.......
I am not a coach or anything, but I finally told the mom to LEAVE her DD legs alone! She was born that way, and why the heck was everyone making such a big deal! So what that she gets tenthed to death! Her knees, and her DD, are more important.....besides, once she makes it to optionals, it won't matter as much..........

 

[lovegymnastics22]

This thread has been really helpful. Especially the feedback that stretching this way is not advisable since it was something done at our old gym (pushing on the knees, not sitting on them).

@munchkin3 It's good advice. I also decided not to worry about DDs bent knees and to just be happy they are healthy knees. But it is hard watching a kid that thinks they are doing skills with straight legs get deducted the same as kids that are not trying to straighten their legs. Of course, there is as much unfair in gymnastics as in life so I don't spend too much time worrying about it