A few weeks ago I was having trouble writing. The truth is, I was starting a lot of different articles, but I couldn’t finish them. I would sit down and begin to write about VAULT and then my brain would turn to summer camps that I wish existed. I would begin to write about dismounts on bars, then my brain would go to things I think should exist.
I expressed my frustration with my own brain to a friend and she sent me an e-mail asking some questions on COACHES PSYCHOLOGY and finding our WORTH in the gym. It was just what I needed to get through this.
Dear Tony
I too often find myself holding my value as a coach within what my athletes do or do not accomplish. I ask you “silly” questions about tons of gymnastics issues that I see when I feel that my gymnasts are not performing the way I would like. I always translate this into I am not performing the way I would like. I am feeling amazing about gymnastics right now. The girls are competing amazingly. They all made it to regionals. I automatically translate this into I must know what I am doing. I might actually be good at this coaching thing! I have said this season is going so well that I might have to quit because I don’t think it is going to get any better than this.
When the girls fail I feel like I fail and when they do really well I feel like I do really well. I have felt all kinds of emotions with them. Does this mean I make it less about them than I should? If I didn’t feel this way does that mean that I made their successes or failures about me?
I hold expectations for them. They know I expect them to perform up to what they are capable for performing, nothing less. My expectations for them are also based on what their individual goals are. My personal goals are never in what my expectations for them are. Example:
This past weekend, one of our gymnasts made it to Level 8 regionals. I believe she was 8th AA and they take 9 places. She just made it. I heard a group of girls after her last event comparing who got the higher 38. This was a group of kids from WOGA. Our gymnast is not a 38 kid. She’s a 37 on her absolute best day. Would I like her to get a 38, sure but NONE OF THIS IS ABOUT ME. I am just proud of her for having a good meet and making it to regionals.
Another coach told me he felt like the athletes we coach could do what they do without us. I told him as a teacher and coach I have a slightly different belief. I think you can teach anyone anything. As a coach and teacher my job is to provide the tools to help athletes or students be successful.
My goal this year was to get all our 10s to National Championships. I wonder if this means I made it about me? Am I allowed to have goals for myself as coach because again none of this is about me?
I have heard that you are only as good of a coach as your worst athlete. Just like them, I strive to be better. A better coach, a better “giver of tools.” A coach of all the right lessons. I feel as I learn more, they learn more. As I become better, they become better but again
C.
C.
I think the biggest mistake many coaches make is that they do not have goals for themselves. Gymnastics can be a pretty cruel sport for coaches. If we have a National Champion it is because the kid was talented. If we have a kid who self destructs at State Championships its because the coach sucks. The truth is somewhere in between.
In all my years of coaching I have heard every success for someones success.
- They come from a bigger city,
- They are in a small town with nothing else to do.
- The coach is so nice that kids come to them from many different gyms
- The coach is so mean the kids are afraid not to succeed
- The gym has a super successful rec program where they get a lot of kids from
- The gym has no rec program. All that matters is team.
I have had some extremely talented gymnasts who have had great work ethic and gone very far. I have had some who didn’t have the work ethic and relied solely on their talent. They did not go as far.
I have had some gymnasts who were marginally talented and made up for it with hard work. This group was my favorite.
We set goals together. Goals that were concrete, practical and measurable but pushed us. When a gymnast competes there is NOTHING a coach can really do for them once they set the board or press play on the iPod. During practice a coach must be that guiding light. A positive force. We must set the tone and expectations.
It is very easy for us to loose our feeling of self worth when gymnasts fail. I know I took every failure very personally but would discount my role in their victory. After a bad competition I would exam all parts of practice and training trying to figure out what the problem was. Too much emphasis on execution and not on difficulty? Too many skills and not enough routines? I have always been a bit of a compulsive note taker and have filled countless journals with these questions and answers. Now, when the wheels totally come off the bus- I go back and look at what I did last time that worked. Is that plan going to work with this current group of gymnasts? What can I adjust in training to make corrections?
When we have a great meet- I also go back and review what we did.
I think it is important (for me) to be able to physically see what has worked and what hasn’t. That way I am not reinventing the wheel.
My final thought is that although there is no substitute for talent, coaches job is to show them how to work hard. Teach them to win, teach them to recover from failure.
Good luck on your quest
Tony
Coaches- just like the gymnasts we all have good days and bad days. Keep things in perspective. Keep track of your goals and progress. Plan your recovery from failure.
At Crown Of The Carolina’s Competition I was giving out awards. In my “pre award” speech I reminded every athlete that Their Talent was a gift from god. What you do with your talent was your gift back.
