Tough Coach-advice/opinions

[Official OWECheer]

And @sassyonthesidelines , click the envelope icon in the top right corner of your screen.

 

[Nina Zack]

I live in New Jersey and I know the HIB laws were brought up earlier, but I thought I'd give you my input since I went through a similar bad coaching situation last year.

I was captain of my team last year and we had a brand new coach. This coach had never coached a team before and was still in college. She constantly bullied my girls and put them in danger. She would bully girls based off of who their family was (she went to school with many older siblings), she would not let girls wear jackets when it was cold even though many of them had asthma. Her direct wording was "You can wear the jacket in the hospital" (alluding to if one of the girls had an attack). Made girls do stunts that were way more advanced than their skill level and if a girl got hurt she insisted on doing it again and again. She constantly told girls that they would never get better, that they would never make varsity (this was a freshman/JV squad) and that they were horrible.

My athletic director did nothing despite the 20 phone calls from concerned parents. And honestly, I was scared that I would get in trouble for "bashing" a coach if I approached someone. But in the end, you and your teammates mental health is crucial to having a good season. I had girls on my team having anxiety attacks when they got home from practice and they never wanted to show up. It made my heart break.

I approached my principal towards the end of the football season. He was APPALLED that such behavior was occurring in his school. He made this issue his top priority. He could not find a replacement coach until her contract (the football season) had expired so he demanded that the JV/Freshman team practice in the same area as Varsity so the other coaches could keep an eye on this coach's behavior. Once the season was over, she was told that she was fired and off she went.

I'm telling you, your school administration CARES. Bullying is something that every school in the nation is trying to prevent. I advise that you write a letter stating what's going on with specific incidents, this way, when you leave your principal's office they don't forget anything important as they have that document.

Cheerleading is not a big deal in my high school either, although it is coming up as we have started competing and we have been holding our ground. But no matter if people in your school hate your team or love it, a coach who is bullying is not an acceptable coach.

Good luck, I wish you the best in your senior year.

 

[Cheer Dad]

And @sassyonthesidelines , click the envelope icon in the top right corner of your screen.

Did you ever hear from her?


**It's all fun until someone tags 'that' mutual friend in your Facebook post and it turns awkward**

 

[Official OWECheer]

Did you ever hear from her?


**It's all fun until someone tags 'that' mutual friend in your Facebook post and it turns awkward**

Yup.

 

[Twinklestars]

[QUOTE="Nina Zack, post: 1050473, member: 43947"

I'm telling you, your school administration CARES. Bullying is something that every school in the nation is trying to prevent. I advise that you write a letter stating what's going on with specific incidents, this way, when you leave your principal's office they don't forget anything important as they have that document.

Cheerleading is not a big deal in my high school either, although it is coming up as we have started competing and we have been holding our ground. But no matter if people in your school hate your team or love it, a coach who is bullying is not an acceptable coach.

Good luck, I wish you the best in your senior year.[/QUOTE]
I wish every school administration and even district administration cared. Sadly, they all don't. They might talk big about anti-bullying, but when it comes down to it, they don't always do anything except talk.

I wouldn't spit on our former principal if she was on fire and she is my neighbor! We switched schools to out of district because of bullying and being told we were imagining it all.

 

[Nina Zack]

[QUOTE="Nina Zack, post: 1050473, member: 43947"

I'm telling you, your school administration CARES. Bullying is something that every school in the nation is trying to prevent. I advise that you write a letter stating what's going on with specific incidents, this way, when you leave your principal's office they don't forget anything important as they have that document.

Cheerleading is not a big deal in my high school either, although it is coming up as we have started competing and we have been holding our ground. But no matter if people in your school hate your team or love it, a coach who is bullying is not an acceptable coach.

Good luck, I wish you the best in your senior year.

I wish every school administration and even district administration cared. Sadly, they all don't. They might talk big about anti-bullying, but when it comes down to it, they don't always do anything except talk.

I wouldn't spit on our former principal if she was on fire and she is my neighbor! We switched schools to out of district because of bullying and being told we were imagining it all.[/QUOTE]


Wow, I'm really sorry to hear that. NJ is also very strict in its HIB laws as well, so maybe that attributed to how quickly and with what severity my principal responded.