" My coaching mentor used to leg it and hide in the gents, leaving me to deal with one particular mother! *
That,s actually quite funny, I totally can believe that when you think of some parents!
"When I have seen rink politics at play it is mostly the parents driving things, but it also stems a bit from what parents think the see happening on the rink and what is actually happening."
I agree I aslo have said / think it is coming from the parents, for one reason or another. Im pretty sure Im not overthinking things, Ive sat and seen a parent and her child take the pee out of my daughters skating. Its not just me either, her dad told me that when he took her yesterday the kids were looking up at their moms and pulling faces just because she accidentally got in "their space" Then they would stand together looking at her and talking. Someone else on the Ice (an adult) heard a couple talking about her when she was runnning through her programme recently and when they went and stood next to them they looked up and skated off. It has took a few years to build her confidence on patch, she always held back and was constantly worried aout getting in peoples way. She is fairly quiet and just gets on with things, she isnt one for standing chatting and she rarely slates the kids there, and one time I said something about a skater she told me off! She knows that they talk about her and luckily she is quiet a strong young lady BUT I do worry how it will knock her confidence in the long run, aside the fact that It really isnt nice for me as her mum to sit and watch.
"I suppose you could go along to some patch sessions at other rinks, if that's an option, and see how they were, try to talk to the skaters there, though obviously that would mean changing coach and if your coach got to hear you'd done that they might get touchy"
I am hoping to start lessons at another rink after this initial 6 week block has ended (around mid February) so I may use that as an excuse to see what that rink Is like and maybe influence my daughter. She started skating because I did, she started netball because I played, She now comes to the gym with me, so am hoping If i have nice things to say about a new rink she may want to follow lol (She isnt like a little sheep though, she does far more than I do in general, i hardly saw her last week!) I have told her coach so its not a secret, I am if nothing else an very honest person. It is catch 22 though, it may be better or not for her in the long run to move, but equally is sad she would have to get to know and feel comfortable around another coach and those kids and parents would get what they want, her off their Ice (and she would not be the first skater there to have left due to bullying!) Its not a nice situation.