All-Star .....bad Girls, Talkin' About Those Bad Bad Bad Girls.. Beep Beep...

[cheerheart4life]

Do you think a time out corner is an effective "coaching method" ?

Definetly no time out corner. That would be for little minis. I would suggest conditioning, but mostly just encourage her! Have her have some one on one time to try and solve the bailing problem with coaches. It might take time, but eventually she will start throwing it. She just needs to get confident with that skill.

Also, tell her that she just can't bail. Make her through some type of skill. For example, if she bails a tuck, make her handspring. If she bails a full, make her do a layout. Then either way she is having to put effort into the pass and not just rebounding (which might scare the other girls tumbling around her)

 

[armycheermom]

Time out is for a kid acting out during practice. Time out for bailing on a tumble past seems cruel and kindergarten-ish..:/
There is usually a very good reason for a child bailing on tumbling. Try to figure out why she isn't throwing her skill and like @cheerheart4life said, make her throw some type of skill.

 

[mariahnicole1216]

Im having issues with this right now. I know i can do the skill, im just in a period where i cant allow myself to do it. I just know a time out corner or conditioning would NOT help me at all. Im much better off when no one is paying attention to me. I like knowing my teammates and coach are supportive but sometimes i just need to be in my own world.

 

[icheer8796]

Encouragement. Encouragement. Encouragement. Punishments never worked for me. In fact, I think they made it worse. But whenever my coaches encourage me and reassure me that I can throw [insert tumbling skill] then I feel more confident in myself and want to throw it to make them proud. My coaches have to believe in me before I believe in myself. Them punishing me for not doing a skill at competition would just make me want to never throw the skill to get back at them. Maybe that's just me though. But still, I would rather help the athlete to fix their tumbling problem than punish them for something that isn't always under their control. Mental blocks are scary. They take tons of encouragement to get through. Most of the kids who won't throw their tumbling don't need a spot, they just need security. A coach's job is to work with the kids so that they can find that security within themselves, without needing the coach to stand there. And whether to take the skill out or not depends on the kid. Sometimes the pressure at the competition will make them want to throw it. That's what happened to a girl on my team last year. She was terrified to tumble at practice and would only do it with a spotter standing there. But under those stage lights she would throw everything. But for some kids that's not the case. I think taking it out is the best option if they really won't throw it. That way it's still a punishment of sorts for the kid, but not for the whole team as it would be if they lost because the kid didn't throw their tumbling.

 

[DJ]

Love these replies.. I was appauled when I
learned of this tactic of coaching, appauled but not surprised. They've had a string of crazy business lately.

 

[WorkToWin]

There are four reasons why a cheerleader wouldn't throw her pass, and each of the four should be handled in different ways:
1. He/she has a mental block- Try and build up the confidence. I have always been an extremely mental tumbler. I know first hand that any type of punishment would not help. Pep talks and repetition are the only two things that help me.
2. He/she is lazy- If I coached I would not put an athlete in a corner for not throwing because they were tired. If they just 'didn't feel like it' or were tired I would make them condition right after they didn't throw and do it again.
3. He/she is injured- This is obvious, but if the athlete doesn't throw because they are injured they just need to sit out or do what they can safely do. The only problem is the athletes that are always injured and the ones who don't tell you and just cry after practice to their parents (which was me). I would never tell my coaches. A good coach should be able to usually tell the difference though.
4. He/she can't (lack of power, messed up at the beginning of a mixi pass, etc.)- Sometimes if an athlete messes up at the beginning of a long pass it wouldn't be safe to throw the end. Punishing the athlete won't help, and making him/her sit in a corner definitely won't. Fix what ever the problem is that they are messing up on.

By "balk" I assume you mean number one or two. No amount of punishment can help a true mental block. In fact, it makes it worse. For number two, CONDITIONING and make them do it. A time out when I'm tired sounds good!

 

[lovethesport08]

from an athletes point of view, I had my round off tuck put in the routine after I got it. It was good for a few weeks but then I developed a mental block. My coaches gave me a couple of weeks but I couldnt over come it and they took it out. I was upset at the time, but this was years ago and now looking back they did what what was best for the team. Basically, every situation is different, and a good coach will do what is best for the team. This incident was years ago, and although I was upset at the time, I would have done the same thing if I was one of the coaches

 

[Mamarazzi]

Who even punishes by making a child sit in the corner anymore?? Can't they just put them on "restriction," like maybe not being able to visit other gyms? Oh, wait...

 

[worldsring09]

I am not paying for time out in the corner at a competitive allstar program for any child Youth aged and up. There are a multitude of more professional, mature, and helpful means to handle the issue. You may feel free to make my child condition into oblivion, run laps around the gym, have her write a journal, etc, etc, etc.

 

[lakerfantlc]

Who even punishes by making a child sit in the corner anymore?? Can't they just put them on "restriction," like maybe not being able to visit other gyms? Oh, wait...

Im dying right now...you give me life....bahahaha

 

[DJ]

Who even punishes by making a child sit in the corner anymore?? Can't they just put them on "restriction," like maybe not being able to visit other gyms? Oh, wait...

DEAD.