How common is the coaches giving conditioning for punishment in gymnastics clubs? In this gymnastics club they are even doing this at the summer camps - this is even more ridiculous. The kids want to be there and do gymnastics, and then they learn that conditioning is for punishment - they are getting that message, not that conditioning is to build your engine and get to do the harder skills in gymnastics, and to be safe. What a horrible atmosphere! And it is not just the older experienced coaches doing this, but also the older gymnasts that are working summer camps or rec. classes when they can in between their school schedule. What a line of learning by poor example! The most common conditioning for punishment is V-ups and tuck jumps.
USAG has an article called "The Anger Trap: How did we get in? And how can we get out?", at
http://www.usa-gymnastics.org/publications/technique/1999/6/angertrap.html . In this article the punishment they ar specifically referring to is the coach's anger.
[quote]B. Decreased Motivation to Try
Gymnasts who participate for the love of sport have an inner striving to be competent and self-deterring, to master increasingly difficult tasks, and to be successful (Martens, 1987). However, when a coach continually uses punishment (such as anger) to decrease sub-par performance, that inner drive to improve is significantly squelched.
C. Increased Callousness
To be yelled at and condemned on a seemingly continual basis, is painful to the psyche. The easiest way to cope with the pain is to become emotionless or callous. The pain goes away, but with it so does the pride, joy, and excitement of performing. Consequently, when the coach does reward the gymnast with an approving comment, the gymnast continues to respond without emotion. For the gymnast it is much easier to just "go through the motions" in practice, competition, and in interacting with others (coach, teammates, and media) than to knowingly invest one's emotions in what is repeatedly a painful experience. [/quote]
