One of the difficulties for coaches is developing realistic expectations for their athletes. Having expectations set too high can be demoralizing for the athlete and having expectations set too low will slow the athlete’s growth. It is important for the coach to have reasonable expectations for their athletes to avoid future frustration for themselves as well.
For a team program to be competitive, an 80% effort or higher is always a reasonable expectation for the gymnast. This performance level looks different for each athlete. It is important to conduct routine fitness tests that consist of strength, flexibility, and conditioning competitions to find out what the athlete is capable of. Once you know what the athlete looks like when they are performing at 100% effort, then you will be aware when their effort level begins to fade below your threshold. Obviously, the closer the athlete can stay to 100% effort level, the more likely they will reach their potential. Keep in mind though, it is an unreasonable expectation for an athlete to maintain a 100% effort level all the time.
Now that you know what your athlete is capable of with conditioning and flexibility, it is time to decide what to expect of them with the skills they intend to compete. All of the conditioning and flexibility you have in your program should correspond to some portion of these skills. For example, leg lifts, piked rope climb, and stalder presses make up the 3 parts of the kip cast handstand on the uneven bars. If a gymnast has a weakness in one of these areas, you can expect that weakness to show up on this skill. Hip and shoulder flexibility limitations will show up on beam in the form of varying techniques to complete skills that use extreme ranges of motion such as back walkovers and switch leaps. Foot speed and the ability for an athlete to change shapes from a pike to an arch will be beneficial on floor and vault. If the athlete has the ability to excel at the conditioning exercises that focus on these qualities, it is a reasonable expectation for them to be able to achieve a higher level of competency on the skills that incorporate those respective patterns of movement. Talent level and the willingness to take risks will also come into play as the gymnasts increase their competitive levels, but making sure gymnasts can make the correct shapes during conditioning should be addressed first.
As you can see, it is crucial to know each athlete’s strength and weaknesses so you can gauge their potential for learning skills. Once you have this knowledge, you should notice your workouts are more productive. Instead of giving the gymnasts corrections that they are not able to make because they lack the strength, you begin to focus on corrections that you know they are capable of making. This is ideal. It creates a feeling of productivity for you and your gymnast. It will also help you both avoid frustration as it is useless to expect an athlete to perform a major skill when the underlying conditioning requirements are not being met.
It is very important to be actively involved in their conditioning and flexibility program. Once you understand your athlete’s strength and weaknesses – and you have developed your ability to understand how each exercise corresponds to the major skill, you will be able to help your athletes by setting reasonable expectations for them. Proper expectations will help you and your athlete feel more productive as you provide guidance to help them reach their goals.
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