Dear psych coaches: Stop ruining it for everyone else.

[CoachGoofy]

At meets I see crazy coaches, & I read about them here. And if you are a crazy coach, STOPPIT. You are destroying a wonderful sport for wonderful children. If they manage to only be sort of broken, you make it an extremely stressful transition to another gym-the next coach is picking up pieces, the athlete is stressed to high heavens & terrified of accidentally doing whatever set you off, the parents are edgy, and it just sucks for everyone.

So stoppit.

Think you might be a psycho gym coach? Easy test:

Go ask your athletes if they're afraid of you. If they look at you like you've lost it and ask why they'd be afraid of you, then you probably aren't. If they are afraid to answer the question, you are, and you need to cut it out.

Sincerely,
a coach heartbroken by all the damage

 

[AlexsGymmyMom]

Thanks for caring about these kids!!

 

[mayestra12]

Thank you!

 

[2grtkids]

We need many more like you, Thank you for showing coaches can really care!

Maybe your the one putting our Humpty Dumpty back together again, we have faith!

 

[marie83]

ugh tell me about it. We have a few of those coaches in our region.
We've been the club to pick up the pieces.

One of our newly gained 7yr old gymnasts came in terrified of the gym because of an experience she had had at her previous place - particularly with bars. It was a big problem to the point that her mum and her were both in tears at the end of every session at the old gym! During her first month in our gym her coach gave the whole group a piece of 'homework' to watch gymnastics on tv and pick out something they noticed and really liked about it. It just so happened that the world champs were on that week and this gymnast came back to the gym and reported that she loved watching the bars and it that it was her favourite apparatus now!

I swear almost every coach cried when she told us!

 

[CoachGoofy]

I, like, can't wrap my head around some of the things I see & hear about. Everyone gets frustrated, but, Oh. My. Gosh. And it's not like anyone does this job to get rich! So basically seeking out a position from which one can be awful? WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT? What is in it for an adult to terrorize kids?!

I actually did ask my gymnasts if they were afraid of me. Yeah. No. Lots of hugs and "we love you! Is someone AFRAID of you?!" They totally couldn't wrap their heads around it. From where I sit, that's way better than having the team that wins everything.

 

[Natasha]

Just finished a full weekend of coordinating our home meet. 99% of the coaches that came were great, but there always seems to be the one that you see yelling at the cute little 5 year olds....little 5 year olds in their 1st little bronze level meet....why???

 

[mamaoftwo]

Thank you for this.

I moved my DD away from one of "those" coaches recently. It took me awhile to see it. She is still currently terrified of the beam and her new coach is currently trying to put her together again. She cannot go anywhere near vertical on that beam anymore to save her life.

I am hoping for the best. She has nine(ish) months to get her confidence back.

Thanks for caring about our girls. It's heartbreaking to hear some of the stories out there. It's sad that it goes on to such an extent. I'm as sad for the rest of them that I am for my DD.