"Parents feed your kids before class. It helps us as coaches to keep the class running smoothly and without distractions."
Funny I thought this was the parents thread, not the coaches thread!!!
As parents we do our best to make sure our kids fit into the coaches plans, we of course assume that it works the other way too! A child falling over from hunger is as silly as one stuffed with a big mac meal, both are safety issues.
My girls leave for school at 7:45am, they take food to last until I see them at 8pm (Mon,Wed,Fri) They are on school buses two hours a day. They eat when they can. Our coaches know that some of their gymnasts travel long distances to school and gym and therefore have become very smart about fitting in nutrition breaks. My kids cannot have lunch at 11:30am and keep going until 8pm with nothing to eat. That is dangerous and ridiculous, having said that when they do eat at gym it is not a sit down three course meal, usually soup, cheese and fruit.
We all do the best we can, and we all, parents and coaches alike, want to do the best for these young growing athletes.