Category: parents

USAG is boycotting the IndyStar

A BIG red flag.

Li Li Leung should be driving over to the newspaper her first day on the job. To apologize. And pledge to work together closely in future.

Ronnie Ramos – Executive Editor IndyStar:

… With your hiring, we hope it will herald a new chapter for USA Gymnastics.

Unfortunately, the way your organization handled the announcement raises concerns we hope will be rectified. As has been the case for the last three years, USA Gymnastics specifically excluded the IndyStar from the initial media call announcing your appointment.

By excluding us, the state’s largest media organization, you excluded the people of Indianapolis.

This is meaningful in that it is indicative of an unwillingness to do what the abuse survivors — and this community — have repeatedly called for: a new path forward focused on positive change. Not a continuation of the secrecy of the past. …

IndyStar editor: An open letter to USA Gymnastics new CEO

Serena Williams – Dream Crazier

If they want to call you crazy, fine.
Show them what crazy can do.

Feat. Simone Biles, Chloe Kim, Ibtihaj Muhammad, U.S. women’s soccer team, …

… Sam Gordon, the young girl who’s dominating football with the boys; Lisa Leslie, the first woman to dunk in a WNBA game; Becky Hammon, the first woman to be a full-time NBA assistant coach.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

on Gymnastics pain

A detailed discussion on a topic often brushed over by coaches.

Kids know what pain is, but they can’t always discern sore muscle pain from sharp injury pain or torn muscle pain. …

When you hear kids complain of pain, draw their attention to it. Ask them to describe it and maybe even call it a certain color or give it a pain rating. Differentiate kinds of pains early. The better you genuinely know your kids relationship to body pain, the better you’ll be at knowing when something’s not right. …

tricks & twists

3 levels pain

kids should do competitive sport

Tony Retrosi

10 Reasons to let your child get involved with competitive Gymnastics (or any competitive sport)

importance of the sport parent

One of the biggest weaknesses I see in Gymnastics coaches is poor people skills with parents.

That’s especially true of young coaches who haven’t learned the hard way yet.

Many parents need to be convinced that a young coach knows what they are doing. (Those same parents assume an older coach does have the experience to do the job. Indeed, it’s not fair.)

Are you spending enough time keeping YOUR parents informed and onboard with shared goals?

That’s from Lisa Mitzel’s book FOCUSED and Inspired. Recommended.

Dave Brubaker acquited

Brubaker, who lost his standing as a national coach since his arrest in December 2017, was found not guilty in a Sarnia, Ontario, courtroom on Wednesday by a judge who questioned the conduct of the investigating police officer, who is reportedly a cousin of the complainant and was in her wedding party. …

Reuters

Via email:

OTTAWA, ON (February 13, 2019) — Gymnastics Canada acknowledges the decision by Justice Deborah Austin today regarding Mr. Dave Brubaker. In light of this verdict, an internal investigation on this matter will now proceed. This investigation will be conducted by Gymnastics Canada in accordance with our Code of Ethics and Conduct and Discipline policies.

the car ride home after the competition

Advice for parents from Katherine Tamminen (PhD), University of Toronto:

Give time to think, and take time to think

Develop “rules of the road”

Ask questions in a supportive manner

Be positive

THE CAR RIDE HOME

coaches defending themselves from #METOO accusations

Most accusers are being truthful. Well over 90%, I’m thinking.

But there are a FEW cases of wrongful accusation.

Dina Bell-Laroche of the Canadian Sport Law & Strategy Group:

In any dispute, including sport disputes, once an individual is charged with an allegation, they are entitled to both natural justice and procedural fairness, regardless of the allegation.

We are unfortunately seeing sport organizations jump to conclusions and sometimes rush to sanction individuals before taking the necessary steps to ensure that the individuals are afforded natural justice and procedural fairness.

With this being said, there may be specific scenarios where it is socially and morally responsible to suspend an individual during the disciplinary process. …

SPORT DISPUTES AFTER #METOO: NOW WHAT? (2018)

Click through to see advice on how we should be handling accusations.

emotional abuse in Gymnastics

In this post a former British national squad gymnast reflects on her former coach.

The under-reported risk for competitive gymnasts is psychological abuse.

Anonymous:

Looking back over my time with Coach is something I find difficult. I know not all my memories are bad but those are the ones that most easily come to mind. …

But, at this point the good days for me far outweighed the not so good days and I enjoyed being there, I enjoyed working with Coach, in fact I would go as far as to say I loved her. …

… after a while no matter what I did it just wasn’t good enough, my name was now added to the blacklist. It became a matter of survival, be the one who least upset Coach during a session, praying Coach would take her wrath out on anyone but me. …

It was only Coach’s talent that would get me to the Olympics, not my own and if I moved to another coach my Olympic dream would be over. In retrospect, I can see how naïve I was to believe this, yet this haunted me throughout my career and I gave up on myself once I left coach, believing my dreams and goals were shattered.

Warriors in Leotards

Click through to read the whole story.