spotting in gymnastics

[SillySammy]

two weeks have passed since this and ive been
there twice. and nothing out of the ordinary happened.
i think i might have overracted. i feel kinda dumb.

 

[all-aroundgirl]

two weeks have passed since this and ive been
there twice. and nothing out of the ordinary happened.
i think i might have overracted. i feel kinda dumb.

I don't think you've overracted. But that's good that nothing has happened.

 

[SillySammy]

I don't think you've overracted. But that's good that nothing has happened.

ive actually completely forgotten about the
incident the past few weeks.

 

[all-aroundgirl]

ive actually completely forgotten about the
incident the past few weeks.

Well that's really good! so did i lol...

 

[SillySammy]

tumbling relaxes me. i think about it when im bored.
my hardest pass right now is a roundoff-backhandspring-backflip-backhandspring-backflip.
i can do it with a spot.

 

[Kendahl08]

[FONT='Verdana','sans-serif']Well you are uncomfortable with how he is touching you than you should talk to an adult. When I get spotted through my straight leg pullovers on the bar my coach gives some momentum by pushing our butts over it helps. I don't really know if you teacher was doing anything wrong but if there is then please go to an adult.[/FONT]

 

[all-aroundgirl]

tumbling relaxes me. i think about it when im bored.
my hardest pass right now is a roundoff-backhandspring-backflip-backhandspring-backflip.
i can do it with a spot.

Well that's awesome!

 

[GymLyon]

Silly Sammy I'm glad that nothing seems to be wrong and that you are comfortable going to gym again! I am a male coach and have, on accident, touched some students inappropriately at times. This was due (usually) to a few factors:

1. Inexperience on my part. I have only been coaching for four years. These past years and I'm sure for many years to come, many spotting techniques I learn on-the-job or in brief seminars. If you've ever heard the mantra "practice makes perfect" then you will know what I'm talking about. Until I spot something about 500 times I will not be very proficient at it. Sometimes I make mistakes when I spot and I always let the gymnast/tumbler/cheerleader know that it was not their fault and that I am sorry for the poor spot.

2. Unexpected/uncommon movements. Let's say Suzie Gymnast has had a back-handspring back tuck for about two weeks or so. She is doing them fairly consistently, and only needs little to no spot. Basically she can do them by herself it's just getting over the mental block and doing it. The coach is standing there and all of a sudden Suzie Gymnast decides halfway into her set that she doesn't have enough height for her back tuck and "freaks out". In this instance if I was spotting I'm going to do whatever I can to make sure I either: A. get Suzie over to her hands/feet or B. stop the rotation and put her back down on her feet. IF this means touching her inappropriately then so be it, I would rather apologize for touching her chest/buttocks than call an ambulance. Also all of this happens in less than a second, in my haste to spot I may make an error in where I place my hands.

3. Honest-to-goodness mistake. Sometimes, I admit, I am not totally focused on my task at hand. 99.9% of the time I am focused, and it is not right for me, as a spotter, to not have 100% of my focus on spotting. However, sometimes my focus slips and I am thinking about something else while spotting, and at these times I can make an honest mistake and not notice where my hands go while I am spotting. Also during the times I am focusing I may make an honest mistake and simply miss a spot and have to catch a gymnast in an un-appropriate manner.

If I were you you Silly Sammy, I would ask myself if this incident falls into one of these three categories.

1. Is my spotter/coach unexperienced in general or unexperienced with the particular skill or drill I am doing?
2. Did I do something uncommon? This doesn't necessarily have to be a bad thing, I have accidently touched a tumblers bottom when they had an unusually high set for their back tuck.
3. Is it possible that it was an honest mistake? Sometimes a coach simply does not notice, or is too embarassed to say anything about it.

IF you are in any way concerned that it was intentional, I would use the three strike rule (where strikes are "incidents" where you feel you were touched in any way that may have been intentional):

Strike 1: Tell your parents of your concerns, they should know right off the bat if you feel uncomfortable about ANYTHING at gym.
Strike 2: Go with your parents to the head coach or owner of the gym and express your concerns.
Strike 3: This is the extreme case, if the above strikes have not cleared up the issue, there are a number of options here, including finding another gym, legal action, and a few others; if you are in this deep your parents and head coach are/should be taking care of things.

That being said I wish you the best of luck and keep us updated!

 

[all-aroundgirl]

That was amazing for you to say! Very valid and strong points!

 

[SillySammy]

Silly Sammy I'm glad that nothing seems to be wrong and that you are comfortable going to gym again! I am a male coach and have, on accident, touched some students inappropriately at times. This was due (usually) to a few factors:

1. Inexperience on my part. I have only been coaching for four years. These past years and I'm sure for many years to come, many spotting techniques I learn on-the-job or in brief seminars. If you've ever heard the mantra "practice makes perfect" then you will know what I'm talking about. Until I spot something about 500 times I will not be very proficient at it. Sometimes I make mistakes when I spot and I always let the gymnast/tumbler/cheerleader know that it was not their fault and that I am sorry for the poor spot.

2. Unexpected/uncommon movements. Let's say Suzie Gymnast has had a back-handspring back tuck for about two weeks or so. She is doing them fairly consistently, and only needs little to no spot. Basically she can do them by herself it's just getting over the mental block and doing it. The coach is standing there and all of a sudden Suzie Gymnast decides halfway into her set that she doesn't have enough height for her back tuck and "freaks out". In this instance if I was spotting I'm going to do whatever I can to make sure I either: A. get Suzie over to her hands/feet or B. stop the rotation and put her back down on her feet. IF this means touching her inappropriately then so be it, I would rather apologize for touching her chest/buttocks than call an ambulance. Also all of this happens in less than a second, in my haste to spot I may make an error in where I place my hands.

3. Honest-to-goodness mistake. Sometimes, I admit, I am not totally focused on my task at hand. 99.9% of the time I am focused, and it is not right for me, as a spotter, to not have 100% of my focus on spotting. However, sometimes my focus slips and I am thinking about something else while spotting, and at these times I can make an honest mistake and not notice where my hands go while I am spotting. Also during the times I am focusing I may make an honest mistake and simply miss a spot and have to catch a gymnast in an un-appropriate manner.

If I were you you Silly Sammy, I would ask myself if this incident falls into one of these three categories.

1. Is my spotter/coach unexperienced in general or unexperienced with the particular skill or drill I am doing?
2. Did I do something uncommon? This doesn't necessarily have to be a bad thing, I have accidently touched a tumblers bottom when they had an unusually high set for their back tuck.
3. Is it possible that it was an honest mistake? Sometimes a coach simply does not notice, or is too embarassed to say anything about it.

IF you are in any way concerned that it was intentional, I would use the three strike rule (where strikes are "incidents" where you feel you were touched in any way that may have been intentional):

Strike 1: Tell your parents of your concerns, they should know right off the bat if you feel uncomfortable about ANYTHING at gym.
Strike 2: Go with your parents to the head coach or owner of the gym and express your concerns.
Strike 3: This is the extreme case, if the above strikes have not cleared up the issue, there are a number of options here, including finding another gym, legal action, and a few others; if you are in this deep your parents and head coach are/should be taking care of things.

That being said I wish you the best of luck and keep us updated!

I think it was an accident. im not 100% sure but who can be? anyways, he has to watch two groups at the same time so maybe he was watching someone else. ive forgotten about this the past two weeks and i feel its no longer an issue because nothing else has happened. and i realize i think too much about things due to my anxiety.

 

[Gymtastic]

I'm glad you're feeling more secure about this right now. I am a coach (a female coach, so it's a bit different).

As far as the spotting technique goes, I have spotted back-handsprings (I sometimes spot both the legs to flip them and the back to support them) and sometimed, my hand will graze the gymnast's bottom. Also, when I am trying to make a gymnast squeeze her bottom, I will sometimes poke it and tell her to "squeeze".

The "chest" thing with this particular skill; I don't really understand how that would happen, except if, like a previous poster said, it was a freak incident where you did something uncharacteristic or he's just new at spotting and doesn't really understand the physics involved. I teach 3-8 year olds, and sometimes, when spotting a "stride-circle", I need to push the chest up as the gymnast comes around the bar in order to teach them to keep the chest "open", but it's only momentary and necessary for the spot to correct the gymnast's form.

You've done the right thing. You told your parents, you are on your guard (so if it ever happens again, you will be able to better assess the situation) and you are not afraid to speak your mind about it (as you have shown on this forum).

You are very brave to even post about such a sensitive issue, and I know it's not a comfortable topic, so well done for doing/saying something about your concerns.

Basically, for now, I would never be alone with this person and I would just be on my guard in case it happens again. You are right to question what the spotter is doing. You should always be comfortable with your spotter/coach at all times. Every gymnast has the right to be comfortable with what is happening with her coach both in and outside of the gym.

Please let us know if this ever happens again or if you ever feel uncomfortable around this coach.

Good job taking care of yourself

 

[Gymtastic]

Sorry, re-post