| The Critical Need for a Positive
Gymnastics Coaching Style
Coaches’ Feedback in Practice Not Meet Performance Most Important
T. S. Horn’s 1985 study of coaches' feedback and its effect on
children's perceptions of their physical competence concluded not only
that athlete’s perceptions of their physical and cognitive abilities were
related to coaches' evaluative feedback at practice, but that positive
competition success and feedback was not related.
Coaches’ Negative Response Become Self-Fulfilling Prophecy
Not only are a gymnast’s perceptions of their abilities and possibilities
for success dependent on their coaches feedback in practice, but success
in competition would not overcome negative coaching in practice.
Perhaps this is not so outlandish a concept considering the amount of practice
time in relation to the relatively small number of competitions.
Negativity and Punishment Deeply Affect the Gymnast
The study showed that athlete’s perceptions of competence and attained
level of skill ability were directly related to their coaches' practice
evaluation and feedback. Similarly, punishment was negatively correlated
with athlete’s self-perception.
A Coach’s Negative Mental Attitude Will Eventually Drive the Gymnast
Out of the Sport
The implications are clear that an athlete will eventually come to
believe what a coach says about his or her standard of performance at practice.
If a coach does not respond positively, then the athlete's self-perception
of his/her competency in the sport will ultimately be degraded.
Coaches Must Take Deadly Serious Their Responsibility to Become Positive
Forces in Their Gymnasts’ Careers
There is no avoiding the heavy responsibility this places on coaches
to control their emotions and provide a positive coaching environment.
Or they must take the credit for the gymnasts who they have psychologically
programmed to fail and for the overall lack of success of their negative
coaching for the majority of gymnasts.
 Previous
Page
GymnasticsZone.com
321 West 13th Street
Suite 4
Idaho Falls, ID 83402
(480) 264-1885
webmaster@GymnasticsZone.com
|
|
Copyright © GymnasticsZone,
Inc. 2003
|
|
