Dwight Normile has a feature on one of the real stars of World Championships 2011, USA Champion Danell Leyva. And his stepfather coach:
… When I see coaches chewing out their gymnasts after a bad routine, I appreciate that Yin Alvarez is always there with a hug. He realizes that his gymnasts don’t mess up on purpose.
“I have my moments like everybody else, but I never go to the gymnasts when I’m mad,” Alvarez once told me. “Gymnasts want to do nothing wrong; they want to do good all the time.” …
The first time I saw Yin I was offended. His behaviour seemed unsportsmanlike.
Yet like near everyone else, I’ve been won over.
But Yin is unique. The real deal. I don’t think anyone else could get away with this.
Click PLAY or watch Yin at Danell’s first BIG routine on the World Stage.
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Coach Howard on Gymnastics Zone:
… Many coaches are posturing during warm-ups and competition. They seem to be trying to ensure that everyone (spectators, parents and other coaches) sees them as competent, even if their gymnasts are not. They go to great lengths, use big visual coaching displays and actively interact with gymnasts, often obviously more and differently than they do at practice in the gym. They are only too aware that they are being watched and they put on a show. …
Some coaches seem to do all their coaching at the meet. Well, not really. It only seems that way. They can been seen or heard giving long lists of things for their gymnast to remember before they compete. You begin to wonder if they had forgotten to teach any of this back at the gym and have just now remembered.
Perhaps the worst are the coaches whose personal egos are so closely invested in their gymnasts that they explode in anger or some other equally inappropriate emotion. …
I’m sure you can recall coaches who live up to this awful stereotype.
read more – Gymnastics Coaching Styles… Watching and Winning
Gymnastics Coaching.com 