Condescending coach making rowing practice MISERABLE?

Condescending coach making rowing practice MISERABLE?

Condescending coach making rowing practice MISERABLE?

Posted: 17 Sep 2013 01:07 AM PDT

Note: you don't need to know anything about the sport to answer my question. I don't know if "condescending" even describes it, I haven't heard of anything like this before... I am a novice crew member, although I had been practicing intently all summer to prepare for the team. I was a preparing as part of my high school's learn to row program, and I got to know this coach fairly well in the weeks spent there. I should probably tell you that she (the particular coach) never coached me specifically during the summer, and we were actually getting along rather well at the time. So school rolls around, and crew starts up for the year. On the first day I am extremely excited to come back to the sport, and I really just want to get back into a racing shell and row all afternoon. So, I ask the coach if I could spend the day in an eight, maybe with some of the varsity members. I was sort of stunned by her reaction. She glowered at me, and then started to tell me REPEATEDLY in front of all the other novices how it wasn't about me, and that I was being needy and not thinking about the rest of the team, who were all going on the barge that day. Okay, I couldn't care less about spending time on the barge with my team! But embarrassing me like that in front of them seemed really unnecessary. If anything I've always strived to be a considerate, thoughtful person. Today's practice was worse. Our regular coach was out, so she (the coach I've been talking about) was subbing. Once again, we were on the barge. I have a lot of good friends on the team, and I've been trying to help them by occasionally giving them advice on how to take a good stroke. My friends seem to appreciate what tips I do give them, and I make sure never to interrupt the coach while doing so. What brief words I did give to my friend in front of me were just very simple tips to help her stroke, completely crew related. This infuriated the coach, though, who then had to go on a tangent in front of the whole boat about how I had to learn to NEVER talk on the boat. Once again, I was mortified. There was more more instance of her doing this to me at the end of practice. She told me my shoulders were misaligned... and I wanted to know what I was doing wrong. I shifted them and gave her an inquisitive look, to which she shook her head in dissaproval. A few minutes later, while she wasn't giving any commands, I asked her if my shoulders were still out of place. Once again, she was enraged, and had to go off about how I needed to learn my place and never talk on the boat. Why, why, WHY is she doing this to me? Am I being a complete brat without even knowing it? I started crew this summer, fell in love, and thought I had found my sport. I had a wonderful coach, who, as it turns out, only works withh the boys team during the year. High school has been a terrible experience, bullying, horrible classes and teachers, tons of work... I thought crew would be an escape, not another miserable factor of 9th grade. I don't know whether or not I should stick with the sport now, I've had to deal with so much sadness and humiliation at school, this might just be too much. What should I do?

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