GymBeeMom
Proud Parent
My daughter trains in a high-level group of little girls (ages 8-10). They are competitive and talented children. My dd is 8 and holds her own but definitely is a half step behind the older girls (though ahead of where they were at the same age). I talked to the coach a while ago about one girl who is the ringleader of being mean to my dd. Of course this child doesn't do it in front of the coach. Coach tried to handle it and now this child is getting sneaky with things like "I am not trying to be mean but...." My dd is sick of it and asked me to talk to the coach again. There is a pattern here...as soon as dd gets new skills or creeps up on the other girls in her abilities, the mean stuff starts up again. I am trying to teach my dd to handle these situations herself and not let the other girls bring her down. I don't know if telling the coach again will make me seem over-protective and whiny or if I should intervene. It's hard to see my daughter treated like an outsider in her own training group but I also feel like there will always be some girl that wants to see her fail. I understand the importance of her learning to deal with these things on her own. I am venting, but would love to hear your experiences with similar situations. Is this just the nature of competitive gymnastics? Do the coaches really even want to deal with these situations? My dd is not the type to throw back negativity and she just doesn't understand why they cant be encouraging (like she tries to be for them). Uggggg, I guess its time to toughen her skin.