It’s time for gymnastics parents and coaches to come together.

During my gymnastics career, in actually doing the sport and in coaching, parents and coaches in the sport tend to be very separate. Parents drop their kids off for hours at a time with a coach who spends sometimes more time with the child than the parents do. Parents don’t always know how to speak to a coach when there is a problem in the gym or even just an innocent question about gymnastics. Coaches don’t always know how or when to speak to a parent about an issue with their child.

On social media groups, parents and coaches are almost always separated. Parents want to be able to speak their minds and ask their questions without a coach chiming in, and coaches want to be able to talk freely about issues without parents chiming in. And this type of atmosphere has its place. However, it seems to be par for the course in the sport.

What this creates is a disconnect between the parents who love their children the most and the coaches who are doing some very important child-rearing. Let this sink in: the coach you choose for your child is an important part of her life and is helping to raise her. Parents should want to interact with these people freely.

Too many times, we hear that a parent is afraid to speak up to a coach when there is a problem because they don’t want to make things harder for their child, or they don’t want the coach to take whatever is said out on the child. Let me advise you, if this is a legitimate fear that you have about your child’s coach, then remove your child from the situation.

Other times we hear coaches resist and resent parent questions as an affront to their authority or their judgment. But as coaches, we need to be open to the fact that we are working with someone else’s child. That someone else needs to be informed, and has every right to be.

I believe that in a new gymnastics culture, it is important for parents and coaches to come together so we are all on the same page. The way that we do this is by all standing by a common mission and philosophy with the child’s well-being at the center. No, not every experience or encounter will be pleasant, but with a common middle ground, parents and coaches will be able to speak more freely to one another, respect the other’s roles, and also have the gymnast’s best interest at heart.