Just who are you, Coach? What do you stand to gain?
The easy and common transition is from competitive gymnastics to coaching. I'm still competitive, still a perfectionist. I can't relate to the inability to straighten one's legs, or the lack of awareness that one's legs are in fact bent. Sure, sometimes we all need to be told something more than once. But every practice? On the same skills?
Maya's not the only one with a full schedule. Nearly all of them play at least one other sport or are in school plays and bands and the like. That was my life, too. Basketball, lacrosse, cross-country, varsity gymnastics, indoor track, outdoor track, a couple of plays. Except I always wanted to do gymnastics the most. When it came down to a performance of the school play or the county championship, I chose counties.
I strive for consistency in coaching. Some days, it's not easy. I come in ready to work and the girls goof around. I come in exhausted and they complain about everything. Sometimes, we're all on the same page.
On one of those "I'm exhausted and in no mood for nonsense" days, all of the Level 5's and 6's showed up to practice. I tried a new approach.
"Listen up, ladies." I gathered them around. "I am really tired today, and really cranky. If you annoy me, we'e going to have problems."
A couple grin.
"What are some things that annoy me?"
"Talking when you're talking!" one called.
"Running across the tumble track!" added another.
"How about we avoid those things?"
They nodded.
Maybe honesty does work!
..
My problem is that I tend to laugh. I crack jokes. I overhear snippets of conversations and I'm amused. I compliment the girl whose twentieth back walkover was less horrendous than the previous nineteen. The tough coach does not settle. I'm afraid that I might.
I only yell when I absolutely have to, and it stops the girls in their tracks. They know they've gone too far or not enough. They know that when I send one of them to the lobby, they had all better be on their best behavior. I've made a few cry. And then I felt terrible about it.
I give them specific numbers and let those numbers set the rules. Two minutes in an oversplit, and the team gets three warnings for people coming out of their splits. If three of you come out, we start all of the splits over. Slacking on your kicks, your push-ups, your handstands? Start over.
It's easier with the younger girls, the ones who love just gymnastics and nothing else. They don't know how to battle back yet. Maybe they won't want to. The older girls are coming closer to middle school and soon they'll be pulled everywhere, and not necessarily toward the gym. Is it worth the yelling and the prodding if they'll retire soon? Is it worth the pushing when they're in Level 5 and 6 and not the upper levels, and don't seem to have the drive to achieve those levels?
I don't believe in age as a factor. Many coaches do. If you're not cranking those big skills by eight, nine, ten years old, you're done. I began gymnastics at age eleven and powered through the levels. It can be done, if you want it enough.
But it's easy to say this in the gym. It's quite different at the competition, when your girls sneak into tenth and eleventh place (if at all) and the other gyms sweep the awards. Then I think that it's time to stop joking. I want to see my girls win. On the occasion that one places first or second, I'm delighted. But then again, I'm also happy for the girl who placed fourteenth.
What does victory mean? Does it validate me as a coach? Give our gym prestige? Is it a simple case of one gymnast having a better day than another? As gyms make most of their money from recreational classes and birthday parties, does it matter all that much how the girls perform on one day in one gym? Yes and no.
What do I stand to gain? I love gymnastics but I don't plan to become a full-time coach. John works at the gym full-time, but Greg's looking to another career, too. I want to keep coaching regardless of where and what position I find. But I don't know if it'll ever be about the glory for me.
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I have found a variety of teaching methods, each of which with their pros and cons:
ReplyDeleteThe Hardnose - Very strict, angry, aggressive. They will never relent on their students.
Pros: Students that thrive in this environment will rocket their way to the top.
Cons: Most people either can't handle or refuse to put up with a colossal jerk, so there will be very few students that do stick around.
The Soft Touch - Kind-hearted, sweet-natured, gentle and caring. "You can do it" and "Great job" are their war cries (which they use their indoor voices when they use).
Pros: Everybody feels good about themselves, making them want to keep trying no matter how many times they fall.
Cons: These students tend to fall more often because they aren't getting their rumps kicked into gear. Exceptional students may not reach full potential (or take longer to reach it) because everybody is getting equal time.
The Water Boy (or Girl) - Water becomes the shape of whatever container it is put in. Such a coach gets a feel for the best teaching method of their students and acts accordingly.
Pros: Every student gets what they need.
Cons: You can handle far fewer students in order to do it well (also, it assumes you are able to figure out what method works best for somebody and you are able to teach in that method).
There are plenty others, especially if you want to get into the nuances, but it's a start. In any case, the type of teacher you will be depends on a number of factors. What is your natural teaching style? What is your desired teaching style? What teaching style will work best, given your current situation?
I've experienced each of those three teachers and personally thrive best with a combination of The Hardnose and The Water Boy (or Girl). Hardnoses really are colossal jerks and they make me want to punch them in the face as hard as I can, but I also have this innate urge to meet and surpass every one of their demands to prove that I can. However, the one-on-one attention and slightly less antagonistic training style lowers the stress and always makes me want to keep doing better.
However, as a teacher, I gravitate toward the other end of the spectrum. Unless somebody really needs to be pushed full-force, I never want to be that mean or aggressive. I would prefer my students to feel good and want to do better to make me proud of them. I like to work one-on-one if possible because it allows the most specific and effective growth in a student, but the variety you get from having numerous people to work with and learn from is also a respectable choice.
You're going to end up being exactly who you want to be.