Cinderella gymnasts become queens: exploring positive gymnastics coaching

Abstract

This thesis builds upon my Honours dissertation Cinderella Gymnasts and Stepmother Coaches: A Guide for Gymnastics Instructors. In this earlier work, the former gymnasts I interviewed described how their coaches manipulated and forced them to perform, ignoring their input, individual opinions and needs. In contrast to the happy ending in the fairytale 'Cinderella', the gymnasts retired from the sport at a young age because of injuries, conflicts with their coaches and loss of enjoyment. These findings strengthened my belief that existing, traditional coaching approaches needed to change. In conclusion of the Honours project, I formulated a coaching policy. The guidelines were designed to aid coaches in providing a safe, athlete-centred and non-authoritarian learning environment. In this Masters project, I aimed to determine the effects of the Honours study policy guidelines on the gymnasts' sporting experiences and competitive achievements. Using action research methods, I put to trial the policy's guidelines at the 5 Star Gymnastics Club. The viewpoints of an observer, gymnasts, other coaches and myself were collected as part of this implementation process. Extensive discussions with the gymnasts about their opinions on coaching occurred throughout the year, with the guidelines adapted in response. I found that the study participants had clear ideas on the responsibilities and tasks of a coach. They wanted their coach to involve them in the coaching process, be friendly, supportive and positive, while still being focused, organised and challenging. Further, the gymnasts and I developed friendly relationships. This facilitated the girls' development of independence and self-responsibility. The study results also revealed that the gymnasts enjoyed being part of the coaching process. In fact, toward the end of this study, the training sessions had improved to positive and productive practices and the participants continued to achieve in competitions. The Coaching Handbook: Practical Guidelines for Coaching High-Performance Youth Sports is the outcome of this study. The handbook is for coaches aiming to maximise their sport's benefits and minimise its risks, in order for youth athletes to develop physically, psychologically, emotionally and socially - and to become 'Queens and Kings' of their experiences.