All-Star Coaching With A Negative/coercive Approach

[megaflipper]

I didn't think CJA came from the "harsher" school, then again our previous gym had a coach who screamed, belittled, and cursed at the kids (even the little ones), so my judgement may be a little clouded...lol!

I guess you never saw the original "Jersey Cheer" on Lifetime before "Cheer".

 

[ryann3794]

the coaches at vizion yell... a lot. Beth will be the first person to tell you that shes not the coach for everyone. But at the end of the day ( or practice) I know that my coaches care about all of us. They're basically my family.

 

[Jarod_allan]

I've had firm coaches - which is fine- but I've never really had a coach yell at me or my team for unnecessary reasons; it's always been because we weren't doing what we were supposed to after being asked several times or dropping a stunt to the floor multiple times...
I would HATE if my coach yelled at me like the coaches on Cheer Perfection yell or the coach from Smoed yell. I understand if it's necessary because the team is screwing around or dropping flyers to the ground repeatedly or something of that nature, but I know there are some coaches that will tear you apart at the first sight of the tiniest bobble and I think that's wrong. You shouldn't make you're athletes afraid of making mistakes. I would never be on a team where the coach yells every five seconds over an unpointed toe or someone who is half a count off hitting a motion unless it's been pointed out and fixed multiple times.

 

[xpressjag]

I think simplifying it by yelling vs. non yelling is not a true sign of good coaching, or for that matter good parenting. I don't think any coach plans on yelling once they get to practice. I think more kids now are not very disciplined at home so much of their structure comes from when they attend sports and other outside groups. That is NOT to say many parents aren't firm with their kids, just more kids need additional/or any firm adult in their life. I personally don't take "yelling" as being negative. To me it says, that individual has told you in a calm tone numerous times to do something, and now you are going to know that I mean business. I actually enjoyed the coaches from Smoed, CJA and other similar programs. For as much "yelling" as they give out, they seem to match that with love for their programs and kids.

 

[Keep_Believing]

I have to somewhat disagree. CJA and Cali seem to use the 'harsher' of the two schools of thought, and still are successful. Cheer Athletics appears (from all videos I've seen) to use the 'gentler' approach.

It all comes down to the athletes and their needs. I'll never say that your way, my way, or anyone's way is better. Each is different. Its basically a Pepsi vs Coke situation.

Your thoughts BlueCat ?

 

[beelovesfury99]

You've got that right, but she loves each and every kid in her gym and the kids know it, but they respect her and don't want to make her mad.

Patty Ann can be mean but she also has a special relationship with her athletes. They can come to her for any problem they are having but I feel like if she were to be degrading them they would be scared to talk to her.

 

[cheernerd5678]

I think you just need a balance between firm and being loving. Which means the coach might have to yell sometimes. They'll have to be the bad guy and enforce the rules sometimes... But the team should know it's for the best and it's because the coach love them and wants them to succeed.

I don't think being a softie is ever the way to go. But neither is being really mean. It's all about BALANCE

 

[BlueCat]

Your thoughts BlueCat ?

I haven't seen either video, so I can't comment directly on them. I can only speak for our program.

We actively try to stay on the positive end of the coaching spectrum in general. Every coach is different, and sometimes situations dictate a stern approach, but high-5s are more common than yelling. We feel that has worked well for us. There are certainly other styles of coaching that can be successful, however.

 

[Cheer Observer]

Although I have never coached Cheer I have coached many other sports and I have never yelled at an athlete to degrade them in front of others because I feel like that could go South in a hurry. I am a believer that you need to coach kids as individuals as well as a group because they are all different. That said, the coaches at our gym tend to yell at times and our practices are closed. Some parents have a hard time with the yelling (especially the new ones) but our kids have grown to accept it and they just deal with it. As far as what you see from the coaches on TV, I put little to no stock in that because scenes can be edited for TV and people tend to act differently when they know they are being filmed.
If you want to get a feel for what is really said in the gyms check our Twitter, #tweetlikeyourcoach, I laughed really hard while reading some of them, I don't think you could make this stuff up....

 

[Jessicaa]

I think i'm a "nice" coach. Trying to be kind, never degrading and try to make everyone feel noticed etc. But sometimes I get a bit angry but i never yell. Maybe raise my voice a bit and get annoyed hehe.. I do agree with cheernerd5678 about balance. It's very hard to find, i would rather be a bit too nice than just yelling.