So, a few things I would like to speak up about from the 2019 Youth National Championships. For the most part, it was a great experience. Our lifters performed amazingly well, and the meet itself ran extremely well.
However, I must say I was appalled at some things I saw in the back warmup areas.
Remember, this was Youth nationals. Kids only as old as 17, and as young as 7 or 8. Hopefully what I saw, and heard about, was just because there are new coaches who may not know the unwritten rules of etiquette and sportsmanship at a Weightlifting competition.
Let's talk about coaches pulling plates off another athlete's bar to take to another platform, without asking. Not just grabbing a plate off the ground, which is bad enough without asking, but literally removing plates from a loaded bar, leaving one side completely empty, and the other side loaded. Proper etiquette would dictate that you ask permission to use the plate, or better yet, ask if your lifter can jump in for a quick warmup. You never just yank plates off another bar to take to your platform.
How about coaches refusing to share a platform, or refusing to allow an athlete to jump on the already loaded bar for a quick warmup. How about coaches asking other athletes to leave a platform because "we already have this one", when no one was actually there to begin with, and that athlete was actually competing on a separate competition platform(male coaches saying this to female coaches, by the way, but we will address that in a minute). Newsflash, no one owns a warmup platform. No matter how important we think we are, we are no more important than the next person, and everyone MUST share warmup space. Do the math, 17 athletes, 6 warmup platforms, equals 3 deep with the exception of 2 deep on one platform. It's great that "you already have this platform", but you are about to "have this platform" with 2 other athletes.
How about 6 coaches for 1 athlete, all crowding the marshall's table. Yes, 6 coaches, 1 athlete. This is Youth Nationals, not Senior World's, and even there you cannot have that many coaches.
Let's talk about how female coaches get treated in the back. Female coaches and female athletes helping coach their teammates were completely disregarded and disrespected as coaches. They were the ones getting kicked off platforms, and being refused to allow their athletes work in. They were referred to as "that little girl". They were shoved around by male coaches and had to fight to find room at the marshall's table just to make a change for their athletes. Conversations completely disrespecting female athletes, and vulgarities referring to male anatomy all happening within earshot of female coaches, and teenage female athletes. Again, at the Youth National Championships.
As the husband to a female coach, and the coach to a plethora of female athletes, I know how much harder they have to work for respect. They have to act twice as aggressive just to get a warmup platform and coach an athlete. The ones that do get aggressive for their athletes are mocked in the back room by the male coaches using terms we are all thinking of. Guys, we are not as important as we think we are, and a lot of these female coaches probably know more, and are better than we are. They have to know more and be better than us, otherwise they will not get any respect.
There were a lot of puffed out chests, and over-inflated egos this weekend, which I know would have made my coach sick to his stomach, were he still with us today. Maybe I am too old school, but I think we all need to pump the brakes a bit.
This was the Youth National Championships, and as coaches, we are supposed to be teaching our athletes how to compete, show sportsmanship, and treat other athletes and coaches with respect. While this WAS the case for most athletes and coaches, I saw way too much of the opposite. Coaches, and athletes, treating other coaches and athletes with total disrespect. The athletes acting this way were simply following in their coaches’ footsteps. What are we teaching these kids? Is this how we are bringing up the next generation of coaches?
We all need to keep things in perspective. Let's remember that this is Weightlifting, and while we may love it, it is not the NFL, MLB, or NBA. Unfortunately, most people still don't even know what Weightlifting is, though we are all working very hard to change that. Let’s remember how important we really are not, and coach and mentor, and bring these youth athletes up the right way. Let’s give them all the things we know this amazing sport can provide. Discipline, self-confidence, strength, athleticism, resiliency, and humility. Let’s teach them how to pick themselves up when things don’t go their way, instead of throwing a tantrum in the back. Let’s teach them how to be good sports and respect everyone else around them. Let’s teach them how to be thankful for the opportunities they have, that maybe we did not. Let’s let them develop the same love we have for this sport.
Maybe USA Weightlifting could require a coaching course, the same way Safesport is required, before anyone can register to coach at a National event, that spells out proper etiquette in the warmup room.

Good idea?

Etiquette such as:
Unless there are only 6 athletes in a session with 6 warmup platforms, you will share equipment and spaceChairs are for the athletes to sit inAsk before taking plates from a competitor's platformUnless your athlete needs the bar in the next 10 seconds, allow someone to jump in for a quick lift3 coaches max per athlete, pretty sure that is an actual ruleAnything else I am missing?

I have been in this sport since 1995, and have loved it since day 1, and want nothing more than for it to continue to grow and become mainstream. I just think we need to be careful and conscious of how we are bringing up our youth athletes. Just my opinion as a very unknown Weightlifting coach.

Dan Rose - Harrisburg Weightlifting Club