Coaching Styles

[Adam]

Firstly, I've only just started coaching cheer. I cheered for three years in college, but before that played basketball for most of my life.

I think that getting angry at your athletes is never the right decision. Negative emotions will simply elicit more negative emotions. But I strongly believe in the benefit of stern coaching. I push my girls to preform at their best, and though I have no problem joking, laughing or making sarcastic remarks with them, they know there is a time and place for it. That time and place is not while I'm talking, it's not when we're focused working on something, and it's NEVER while they're near someone who is in the air. At those times I'm more strict because it is an issue of respect and safety. During stretching, warm-ups, etc. there's a little more flexibility for casual friendliness.

Also, no talking while we're conditioning. If you're talking you've obviously got extra oxygen, so I'm obviously not pushing you hard enough, so obviously you were only talking because you wanted to ask me if I could make it more strenuous! Coach Adam during conditioning is cruel and heartless!

 

[KimWC]

My coaches are very stern but never curse at us. I actually like a coach that is a little more vocal!

 

[soccercheergirl]

At my first 'gym', the coaches were super, super easygoing. All for fun, no yelling, only positive corrections. That is not my style, and I don't really think it works. That team never improved. No one really worked for anything, no practicing at home, no conditioning. No one was motivated.
At my current gym, it's much tougher. If a stunt drops, if someone's not pushing hard, if we're not working, they don't mind telling us. They make us condition, and sometimes yell. I really appreciate it. If you're trying to be a "just for fun" team, 100% positivity and friendliness is fine. I want more than that, though. I want to be competitive. I really want to be a successful team, and push to be the best. You aren't going to get there if coaches don't push you to your limits. It's called building character. If your coaches truly don't push you hard, you won't know how hard you can push. Nice coaches can push you, but they'll let you off easy. Tough coaches push you to your full potential. For example, Smoed. They haven't won Worlds 4 times out of the five years of their existence (I think) for nothing. They got yelled at.
Now, I have 3 coaches. One is really nice, one is more of a yeller, the other is in between. I think it's perfect. We need to get pushed the extra mile sometimes, if we're going to get anywhere worth going.


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[Rudags]

I am not saying a curse word has never came out of my mouth around a Senior Team, because it has. This is a sport of passion and sometimes you get caught up. However, I think cussing openly, all the time and around kids not on a Senior team is a bit much.

 

[tumbleyoda]

I believe you can be firm with your expectations, and corrections yet fun in your applications. As an athlete I worked better with coaches that encouraged me rather than put me down so I tend to gravitate towards that style of coaching. I am definitely more of the I believe in you, you can do it, I won't let you quit on yourself type. If I am disappointed in them I let them know and instruct them how to do better. I rarely yell. The times I have, the entire gym got silent for 10 minutes because they knew something had to be wrong for me to yell.

I do feel however there needs to be a balance. Everyone can't be the super nice coach and everyone cant be the coach that is feared, hated, yet loved if you win. Balance in assignments and responsibilities are the key.

Personally speaking, yelling is for safety hazards. The doing stuff and not thinking about it, the kid trying a skill they have no business trying because their parents said they have to, or their peers push them to. The quiet voice is for you ticked me off and you will get it together or I will pull out all of my old school gymnastics conditioning and drills and you won't do as much as a forward roll the rest of class. Disrespect gets you put out of class immediately because I am not going to let other kids feel like it is ever right to disrespect an adult. And I have been known to do it if they disrespect their own parents in my presence. I don't play that one at all.

 

[shawn smith]

I LOVE coaches who are stern because the children will take the coach seriously and not goof off at practice. I want a coach like Eddie and Orby from smoed.


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[Official OWECheer]

At my first 'gym', the coaches were super, super easygoing. All for fun, no yelling, only positive corrections. That is not my style, and I don't really think it works. That team never improved. No one really worked for anything, no practicing at home, no conditioning. No one was motivated.
At my current gym, it's much tougher. If a stunt drops, if someone's not pushing hard, if we're not working, they don't mind telling us. They make us condition, and sometimes yell. I really appreciate it. If you're trying to be a "just for fun" team, 100% positivity and friendliness is fine. I want more than that, though. I want to be competitive. I really want to be a successful team, and push to be the best. You aren't going to get there if coaches don't push you to your limits. It's called building character. If your coaches truly don't push you hard, you won't know how hard you can push. Nice coaches can push you, but they'll let you off easy. Tough coaches push you to your full potential. For example, Smoed. They haven't won Worlds 4 times out of the five years of their existence (I think) for nothing. They got yelled at.
Now, I have 3 coaches. One is really nice, one is more of a yeller, the other is in between. I think it's perfect. We need to get pushed the extra mile sometimes, if we're going to get anywhere worth going.


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Sounds just like Eddie and Orby!

 

[Coach Sam]

It sounds like from these post the best coach is a mix. I try to be extremely supportive at all times but when we have a performance coming up I push a little extra which I think only plays into their nervs about performing. I'm a volunteer coach for a university club team for the non competition squad. The squad performs at local school and all star competitions as an exhibition routine. The squad is basically overflow from girls who don't make the competitive squad and girls who have never cheered before and just want to try it.

So, I have a few extremely talented girls and the rest starting at square 1. I have experience coaching middle schoolers, so I understand how to teach the basics. Some of the girls complain that I feel like I'm babying them and they feel like they're in high school again. I think because of the drills and having to start at the basics. I am worried that my background with younger girls is biasing me or if the girls are just belly aching.

The girls say they want to be more involved with planning practices but when I take suggestions they get nothing done that day.

Does anyone have experience coaching older girls? I've heard my girls say, "I'm an adult" so many times, but then they act like children. Has anyone ran into this before? Or experience coaching extremely varied talent levels? Keeping everyone interested in practice?

 

[cxcheermom]

I'm watching a team go through a transition with new coaches this year. They are not used to be yelled & cussed at. It can create a negative environment and I've seen respect for their coach start to decrease. I do not see any reason a10 yr old should be cussed at. I don't see how that's motivating. As for yelling there are definite times it is needed. stunting & tumbling can be dangerous if somebody's not focusing or playing around so sometimes a good yell is needed but I don't see a reason to cuss

 

[lifeoftheparty]

I think each child needs to be coached according to their personality. CP1 has always been coached VERY sternly and responded well to that. I know she gets screamed at at times but is also shown a tremendous amount of love. On the opposite end if CP2 was coached that way he would never want to go back in the gym.

 

[Official OWECheer]

I think each child needs to be coached according to their personality. CP1 has always been coached VERY sternly and responded well to that. I know she gets screamed at at times but is also shown a tremendous amount of love. On the opposite end if CP2 was coached that way he would never want to go back in the gym.

In many ways, coaching is like parenting. A coach that is too soft can't be taken seriously, but a coach that is too tough/shows toughness without love will have an impossible time garnering the respect of his or her athletes (in fact, he/she will likely be resented). There is a difference between a kid that refrains form doing certain things for fear of angering their coach, and a kid that refrains from doing those same things for fear of losing the trust and respect of their coach. Kids in the latter group trust and respect their coach because their coach trusts and respects themselves AND the athletes (hence why kids that train under abusive coaches or are raised in abusive households tend to lack self-respect and have low self-esteem).

Taking out anger/frustration/embarrassment on kids is different than yelling for discipline, or to get them to take something seriously (like careless behavior that causes a stunt to fall). Coaches have to tailor their training/disciplinary methods to each kid in the same way that parents must tailor their child-rearing methods to each of their children.

 

[Julia Cole]

I have two coaches with opposite coaching methods.
My tumbling coach is quiet where she doesn't scream her head off at every chance but she will make a correction if she sees a mistake. Toes weren't pointed? Do it again. It helps when she isn't yelling at me in the middle of a pass because I can focus on the task at hand then take corrections and actually apply them and have success.
However my second coach will yell at us, and have us start over if it isn't as clean as she knows we can do. We sometimes become sloppy to try and focus on hitting stunts and having high jumps but it all means nothing if our arms look terrible. My coach has never cussed at us or said anything meant to personally attack us, its all to try and make improvements as an individual and an athlete.
I enjoy the different coaching styles and I believe its what makes us a successful program

 

[nicolecunn]

my girls are 9-14 years old, so they have the attention span of a nat most of the time. i'd say i'm a mixture of a hard a** and a softy. i yell when necessary (never curse) but i think my teams know that i mean business when i get like that because most of the time i'm fun loving and easy going. there are also days when they don't recognize my yelling as a sign to crack down and those would be the days i yell the entire practice. if even i have days like that, they know i love them. if i never raised my voice we'd never make it to competition season

 

[Ellie Bullock]

I'm watching a team go through a transition with new coaches this year. They are not used to be yelled & cussed at. It can create a negative environment and I've seen respect for their coach start to decrease. I do not see any reason a10 yr old should be cussed at. I don't see how that's motivating. As for yelling there are definite times it is needed. stunting & tumbling can be dangerous if somebody's not focusing or playing around so sometimes a good yell is needed but I don't see a reason to cuss

Those type of coaches are just inappropriate. Athletes don't need to be cussed at, that will get them no where, but leaving the program!



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[cxcheermom]

Those type of coaches are just inappropriate. Athletes don't need to be cussed at, that will get them no where, but leaving the program!



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Yep!!! Agree! Guess who is no longer with our program. Happy that this behavior is unacceptable in our gym!!!