flipsandgrips15
Coach
Yesterday we had a meet with our upper level Compulsories. The girls were having trouble during bar warm-ups...slipping off at the end of their kips and one even peeled off during her flyway. The bars were obviously really new so the chalk was not sticking to them at all. I told the girls to just do the best they can with what we have been provided and I stood there for all of their routines for safety. Anyway, one of the girls (11 yrs old) slipped when she went for her back hip circle on high bar & didn't make it all the way around so I had to help her back up. She immediately started to cry as soon as she realized she missed it. When I say cry I mean loud, hysterical, like she's seriously injured kind of cry! [emoji15] All I could do was to encourage her as she finished and try to calm her afterwards. This gymnast often cries when she messes up, even during practice, but it's rarely to this extent. Mom even says she does it when she makes a mistake in her other sports. My question is, 1) I'm at a loss on how else to handle this. Any suggestions? I encourage her & her teammates...meets are a do your very best and have fun kind of talk b/c I find pressure & threats for mistakes at meets is an awful way to coach 2) are there deductions for this kind of outburst? I ask this b/c the judges looked at me like control your gymnast now!