Category: parents

Rachael Denhollander on USAG

Guardian: It’s been more than three years now since you came forward and this movement started. How do you feel about everything USA Gymnastics has done since?

Rachael Denhollander: Disappointed. They have completely refused any shred of transparency and accountability.

They have refused to identify even one thing that went wrong. They have refused to identify even one coach that was abusive or one abusive situation, to point to something and say, hey, we shouldn’t have allowed that.

And if you cannot even acknowledge the problem, you cannot fix the problem. …

Rachael Denhollander: ‘When you speak out against your own community, you lose everything’

why more girls than boys drop out of sport

I coach at one Gym where some of the teen gymnasts are training — but still deciding whether or not to compete this season.

That’s working well. They are less worried about getting routines ready in time. Having more fun. And are more consistently motivated day-to-day.

Teenage girls should place a lower priority on competition. A higher priority on FUN and FITNESS.

According to Gatorade’s recent “Girls In Sports” study, girls are dropping out of sports at 1.5x the rate that boys do by age 14. By age 17, more than half of girls will quit playing sports altogether.
…

Refinery29 partnered with Gatorade for its #SistersInSweat movement, in hopes of figuring out why this is happening. Over the course of two weeks in August 2017, we polled 1,000 teenage girls in the United States between the ages of 13 and 18 to find out their reasons for giving up on something that has been proven to make them happier, healthier, and more confident throughout the rest of their lives. …

Young Girls Are Dropping Out Of Sports — Here’s Why It’s A Problem

Thanks Jeff.

related – keeping TEENS in Gymnastics  

a Gym Mom reflects on Compulsories

Mia Pomerenke:

… My daughter just made the jump from compulsories to level 7. …

I wish I videoed more of the struggles, the falls, the 15th places.

I wish I saw the progress in the small steps along the way.

I wish I never got caught up in comparing my child to other athletes.

I wish I enjoyed the process more.

I wish I relaxed.

I wish that I told her even more how wonderful and strong and amazing I think she is. …

Read more on Facebook.

Simone US Female ATHLETE OF THE YEAR

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Oh WOW. Have you seen Sterling K. Brown (Randall Pearson on THIS IS US) talk about Simone’s parents.

Click PLAY or watch it on Twitter.

NEW parent fund-raiser …

SWIM the English Channel. 

Natalie Dodds swum 1,416 lengths of her local pool (21 miles) to raise funds and awareness of the Weymouth and Portland Recreational Gymnastics Club.

Dorset Echo

 

SUPPORT these amazing gymnasts

FANS are FANatics. In every sport.

They are passionate. I get it.

And I want more Gymnastics FANS, not fewer.

That said, lets try to keep your comments on social media as positive as possible. This sport is incredibly difficult.

#respect athletes, coaches, parents and officials. 

Click PLAY or watch Nick Ruddock on YouTube.

Suni Lee dedicates Gymnastics to her father

Dad recently suffered a spinal injury after a fall.

Click PLAY or watch it on Twitter.

Abigail Pesta’s The Girls

I haven’t read The Girls yet.

But here’s one review:

The survivors and those who advocate for them are the only voices telling the story. This is partially due to the fact that numerous others in the larger investigation—people who have been subsequently fired, charged or outed as having aided Nassar—refused to comment or never responded to Pesta’s requests.

Pesta also makes no effort to explain Nassar’s motivations or to locate the “man” behind the “monster.” It’s a choice that makes the book stronger, and as a true crime story, it makes a case for how these narratives can be told in a victim-centering way. …

Abigail Pesta’s The Girls Succeeds by Solely Giving a Voice to Sexual Assault Survivors—Not Their Abuser