USA Gymnastics National Team Coordinator
Being in Europe for the past 6 months have helped me gain valuable perspective on the issues within the gymnastics community in the USA.
In my gym back in America I have always had 5 rules that all coaches and employees need to follow.
1- Be on time and prepared
2- Do not sit down in the gym
3- No cell phones in the gym
4- Do not come to me with a problem without a potential solution
5- Everyone leaves with a smile (sometimes you may have to fake it)
Last year, I added a 6th rule.
DON’T LET THE PERFECT BECOME THE ENEMY OF THE GOOD.
As USAG continues its journey it is simultaneously trying to save itself and move forward. Trying to find absolution at home and re-dominate the world stage.
Hindsight should always be 20/20 and looking back we can all point out the mistakes that have been made. We need to learn from those mistakes and continue to move forward. We cannot forget these mistakes. We need try to make amends to all injured parties but we cannot become mired down in them.
As a coach, I do not coach the same way today as I did 30 years ago or even 5 years ago. I will not coach the same way in 5 years as I do today. We learn, we make path corrections and move forward. What is completely acceptable today will be frowned upon in just a few short years. Like a hair cut or a suit, Today I look cool. In a few years, Oh my god, what was I thinking?!
The USA is searching for a new National Team Coordinator. Reality is that there are not a lot of qualified individuals. For the record, I do not feel I am qualified or interested.
Going down the list of my rules here are my thoughts.
- Be on time and be prepared. The National Team Coordinator (NTC) needs to be a tremendously organized individual. There are a lot of moving parts.
- Do not sit down in the gym. A high energy individual is a must. There will be a great deal of travel to training camps and competitions. This individual needs to lead by example. To be on their feet working, encouraging, assisting when necessary. The other coaches around them will mirror their behavior as will the athletes.
- No Cell phones in the gym. This really me be focused on the HERE and NOW. In this day and age everyone has at least one electronic device with them. Obviously you cannot have a phone on the floor with you at an FIG competition but during training, this coach needs to be focused on what is happening in front of them. There will always be exceptions, but you cannot make the exceptions the rule.
- Do not come in with a problem without a potential solution. Life has a way of throwing you curve balls. 3 weeks ago we had great plans for DTB Cup in Stuttgart. 2 minor injuries later we went to plan B. 2 positive covid tests the week of the competition we went to plan C. 1 bad vault landing at the competition we went to plan D. If you only focus on the problems you are just a complainer. A leader needs to search for solutions.
- Everyone leaves with a smile. It is important to be able to finish each training on a positive note. Even on the worst days there were some small victories. This doesn’t mean you are a hopeless optimist. This just means you have a positive outlook. It does no good to breakdown the gymnasts and coaches at the end of a training session or camp. Focus on the good. Learn from the mistakes of the previous day, address the issues at the beginning of the next training, make some course corrections and move forward.
- Don’t let the Perfect become the enemy of the good. As the USA searches for a candidate we are often blinded by the flaws of individuals. As humans we are imperfect creatures. We have all made mistakes. Hopefully we have learned from them and moved on.
I am not advocating to look past some coaches heinous acts. At the same time, we need to ask has that coaches been given an opportunity to apologize and rectify the issues? Have they learned and changed their behavior?
There are few truly qualified individuals and each one will have their strengths and weaknesses. Before we jump fully behind someone we have to ask if they have the support of the elite community. If they have the necessary background it takes to move us forward in the world. Are they a unifying figure?
I have seen many people say ATHLETES FIRST, MEDALS SECOND. These are NOT two mutually exclusive things. I may have a blind spot because I have always been an athlete oriented coach. I judge my success not on medal count but by how many weddings and christenings I have been invited to. I feel a gymnasts role is the driver and the coaches role is the navigator. They must form a partnership. A driver with out a navigator may never reach their destination. A navigator with out a driver is pointless.
The NTC will not just be navigating an athlete but the entire program. This may be a thankless job where anything less than a GOLD medal could be viewed as a failure by the general public.
Although I was at the same competition as USA this weekend I was busy with my own team and athletes (Switzerland) and didn’t get to see a lot. The USA looked strong, confident and happy. They performed extremely well for so early in the season and seem to be on track in this covid shortened quad.
Just my thoughts.
