12 Tips About Discipline for Coaches

  There is a difference between discipline and punishment. Discipline is about fixing and learning from your mistakes.  It is corrective and instructional, focused on the child’s long-term well-being. Its goal is to teach what behavior is and is not acceptable. Punishment is about paying for those mistakes. Its goal is to inhibit a behavior […]

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White Bears and Gymnasts’ Fears

On the count of three, don’t think of white bears. How did that work out for you? You thought of white bears, didn’t you? Don’t worry. It’s inevitable. The mere act of trying not to think of white bears causes you to think of them. And, if you are stressed out, tired or distracted, the […]

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How a Gymnast is Like a Carrot: Myths and Truths of Progress

  “My child wants to quit because she is not making any progress.” These words begin so many of the meetings that I have with parents who are conflicted about having their child continue in gymnastics. Quite often, the parent will say that the child likes gymnastics, is happy when she is at practice and […]

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12 Ways to Let Your Child “Own” Their Sports Experience

Drop WE for HE/SHE. Watch what pronouns you are using when you are talking about your child’s sport.   Unless you are your child’s coach, WE do not have practice or a game, HE/SHE does.  Pronouns are the part of speech that indicates possession.  Let your child possess their sports experience.  Don’t keep up with […]

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My Smart (Olympian) Friend’s Coaching Advice: Stop Punishing your Athletes!

  My friend Wendy Bruce-Martin is funny, opinionated and accomplished. And she is wicked smart and shares her brilliant perspective on mental toughness and sports in her blog, Get Psyched. This is probably the best article I’ve ever read on why it is incomprehensibly foolish to punish athletes for poor performance. In short: It isn’t effective. […]

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No Lying on the Mats: How Horizontal Coaching Hurts Your Gym’s Morale (Backed By Science)

Ask any gym owners or managers pet peeve or gym parents’ concern about their child’s coach and in the top five you are likely to hear “sitting/lying on a mat during practice.” I know it makes my list consistently. We have a name for it: horizontal coaching.  And horizontal coaching is like fingernails on a […]

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Moments at Regionals that Gymnasts Will Understand

With regionals coming up this weekend for many gymnasts, a little humor as you head into the big weekend! Your super supportive parent trying to motivate you during the car ride to the meet  (and you trying to keep a straight face). Your coach at 7:45am…   When you and your BFF find out that […]

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10 Things to Do When Things Go Wrong

Not every workout is a good workout. Not every meet is a good meet. And not every season is a good season. That is the sad truth. Things are not always going to be good. And sometimes they are going to even been pretty awful. You will argue with a teammate, coworker, manager or a […]

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