Attitude During Training : drop the soap

Hey Guys,

Lets face it, Sports are not easy, nothing in life worth getting is. I believe that attitude is the most important part of a persons sporting career. Any joe shmoe can land a trick a few times and feel invincible. How many can land on their head 10 times  the exact same way with no idea how to fix it but yet still manage to muster up the courage to keep going especially with no discernible light at the end of the tunnel ? I find it takes a different type of athlete to do that and I hate to say it but the majority of athletes, within trampoline, I see are drama queens. Maybe  its a sense of superiority. Many athletes I communicate with seem to have an air of accomplishment by just being able to say they train gymnastics. I have seen it become more of a competition to the outside world rather then a respectable show down of hard work of opposing athletes within the confines of a gymnastics club. I find this attitude tends to come from the athletes who have been given special standings compared to other athletes. Yes I am talking about "rising stars". How do you really expect much else if an entire sporting nation labels you as higher up on the latter then the  regular stream , non- high performance, categories?. I have to be honest, attitudes of the majority of athletes is going down hill. Athletes are getting lazier, giving  up to early, and use the sport as a way to increase their perceived self value in comparison to other athletes or non athletes.

It is understandable to many degrees. My coaches would tell me about times that they set up every piece of equipment before training and then having to tear down. We now do not have to go through this thankfully. gymnastics is also getting easier in a sense due to the constant changing of equipment for better spring and easier landings etc, trying to make the athletes job easier.  I understand that injuries are very prone in gymnastics and any little difference may make the sport more enjoyable. Are we doing irreversible damage by catering to the athletes however? Other coaches have agreed with me in the idea that athletes back in the 80's and 90's trained much harder then the athletes of today.More was expected and the slow but steady decline in hard work is gradually increasing. I myself fall victim to its grasp and find that I could always put in more effort, but for some reason I would rather go out with some friends. What causes this laziness? Is it coaching styles? Do we need to start beating athletes again? Is it evolution and genetically humans are getting lazier? Who knows, but what I have done to try and combat this problem is one major thing. I treat the athlete like a co worker. You come in and are expected to do certain tasks before you leave. You do not go home until they are complete. I see too many coaches give in to the athletes whimpers of pain after getting tramp burn or crunching an ankle after a sloppy double back on floor.  I tell you before you start what I expect, I wait for a nod or comment leading me to believe you agree with the set parameters and you go on your way. If you need help, spot, a matt, emotional guidance, fine, but I do not allow the athlete to move on until he or she gets done what needs to be done. I explain exactly why they are doing what they are doing and how to be able to accomplish what I have asked from them. If the athlete gets hurt by failing to follow instructions I simply reiterate the instructions. I dont allow for excuses or changes of the task. Finish what you start no matter what. I find I get resistance from the start but after a while and some compromising, the athlete soon learns what I am trying to teach. They can develop the hard working attitude if forced upon them but in a manor that both parties can understand. The athlete will not learn the attitude if they do not see a reason for it. Most athletes understand what the attitude needs to be like but the laziness factor over rides. If the athlete sees a way to get out of work then a lot of the time they will take it. If you as a coach are constantly thinking about how every little decision will change their perception of what it means to be an athlete  then you are on the right track to creating a mentally sound athlete, which arguably  is better then a talented, lazy athlete.
I have had athletes literally cry when I tell them to go get a beat board. I kicked that athlete out because she was too lazy to be a gymnast. I told her to go to recreational. She got upset, cried to her mommy and daddy but then what do you know, she ended up back at the front door of the gym looking sheepish asking to come back and promised to work hard. She told me that after a rec class she saw the attitude that I was trying to fix in her, that was evident in every kid in her class. Simply she finally understood that it is not skill that seperates recreational from professional, its attitude. Skills come after the attitude is in place.

       With that being said, I have coached many athletes that have a great attitude and follow instructions, ask questions, are motivated by learning rather than parental influence and those athletes have excelled. The top 10% of athletes is my goal for all athletes. I find that many coaches admit that one kid just cant learn and they give up. Simply the coach will just wait it out till the athlete quits and then blame the athlete. It takes two to tango. Any physical or mental issue can be worked on and fixed, or at least improved.  And lets face it , some athletes just do not have it in them to become the best but I believe if they want it enough they can learn that state of mind. If an athlete truly wants to learn then they will, one way or another. I find that incentive to train extra, give up sleep, to fix the issues and make your world revolve around a sport has deteriorated greatly. I blame the economy. Everyone is forced to believe that easier is better. Every new piece of electronic equipment or house hold utility is made to be easier to use every time a new model comes out. Great, we can get out stains that could not have been removed 20 years earlier. But now people think  that there is always something that will do the hard work for them. There is no incentive to not spill because you know all you have to do it go downstairs and grab a super powerful soap and it will get rid of  YOUR mess. Why can't people learn to not make a mess in the first place? Why cant athletes develop stronger bodies, rather then make the equipment easier? Why cant athletes see that there is no magic soap that will given them a gold medal at worlds? Well when people grow up with the soap in their face all day long its hard to not believe it.  So coaches, please think about what you are doing. ask yourself questions like, " will this make them stronger long term or weaker long term?" . Everything is about a long term goal, not a short term goal. I find that coaches think the same way as the athlete and that also causes a lazy attitude.I fully admit to this as well and am trying to slow down and remember that accomplishments do not happen in a quick time span. I will make my training harder and my athletes training harder on purpose when there is a clear and obvious easier way of accomplishing the same thing. I will also make sure I scare the kids. I need to see that they do not hold back because of fear. I will put a hard beam in the middle of the trampoline and make the athlete do crash dives on the one half of the trampoline. That athlete better not travel or they are not going to feel good smoking their head on a beam. A lot of coaches probably don't like this idea but in 5 minutes she learned crash dove and has not shot forward since. If you give people the option to make mistakes then they will. Try to force the athlete to have to do it perfect every time so that it becomes instilled into their head. Coaches you are responsible for your athletes attitude. They learn from their surroundings, so please keep this in mind when you allow your athlete to go home because of a bump on the arm. Thanks ,

:)