WAG What to do...

[Jard.the.gymnast]

What to do when you are an assistant coach and you don't agree with certain parts of the coaching philosophy of the coach?

 

[ayyyrial]

I think it depends on what the specifics of the situation are. If you don't love their techniques, that doesn't matter so much. But if they're doing things that could implicate safety or create an abusive environment, you probably need to take action on it. There's also differences depending on what the goals of the class/program are.

 

[azara]

Yep, depends on how bad you think the coaching philosophy is.

If you'd just do things differently, or you think the coach is being a bit too harsh on the kids, I wouldn't say anything.

If you think the coach is being unsafe, unduly nasty, or even abusive, I'd firstly ask the coach why they're doing what they are. Assistant coaching teaches you how to be a better coach (in theory), so you're supposed to ask the coaches why they're making decisions anyway. Even if you know you'll be dissatisfied with the answer, ask, because the next step is to quietly speak to the head coach/supervisor/office and let them know what you're thinking. You don't want to look like you're accusing the coach of anything without speaking to them first.

Would you be able to elaborate on what the coach is doing that you dislike? It's hard to give more specific advice otherwise.

 

[Jard.the.gymnast]

Using strength as punishment is the biggest one. This is a rec class with maybe 2 competitions a year and states. Compare it to competitive level 2

 

[ayyyrial]

I don't think that would be worth escalating. Lots of coaches think it's detrimental, but lots coaches also do it sometimes or in certain situations. And for some kids it does work. At the end of the day, doing more conditioning is usually not a bad thing. Maybe not ideal but not a big deal unless it's ridiculous and kids are being forced to do crazy numbers of conditioning that they can't handle.