Gender: FemaleGrade Level of Event: High SchoolSport Played: CheerYour Story: My coach played favoritism by race and the relationship she had with the kids’ parents. Even though other team members had better skills, her favs were chosen as captains and were always front and center.
Gender: MaleGrade Level of Event: High SchoolSport Played: TennisYour Story: My coach threw a racket on my head during a drill. So basically, I was working on my volleys (lawn tennis) during a session and I was missing quite a lot. My coach was upset and just lost his cool and threw a racket at me.
Gender: FemaleGrade Level of Event: 2nd–8th gradeSport Played: Figure SkatingYour Story: My coach was emotionally and verbally abusive. She yelled at me and told me that no one liked me. She told me at the age of 9 about her sexual assault and domestic abuse relationship. She lied to my parents. She body shamed me
Gender: FemaleGrade Level of Event: 9/10 grade varsitySport Played: CheerYour Story: My coaches have favorite players. One of those constantly belittles me, makes fun of me, calls me names, told me I should be eating less. I told my coaches about it and they told me to suck it up.
Gender: MaleGrade Level of Event: LifitimeSport Played: FootballYour Story: I haven’t experienced any traumatizing experiences with any coach but I wholeheartedly believe that most coaches used harsh language at kids and hitting our helmets It is what changes boys to men.
Gender: FemaleGrade Level of Event: MultipleSport Played: Competitive CheerYour Story: As a parent and cheerleading coach myself, I have witnessed cheerleaders be verbally abused about their skill set, body and performance by their coaches. I’ve seen young girls shrink inside themselves as a result of how they were talked to or treated. The verbal abuse
Gender: FemaleGrade Level of Event: Little LeagueSport Played: FootballYour Story: As a parent, I watched little league for years. Over the years I’ve seen coaches grip up kids and yell at them for mistakes adults would make too. I know it’s also about discipline, but sometimes these guys get to rough for little kids. Where
Gender: FemaleGrade Level of Event: High SchoolSport Played: CheerleadingYour Story: There was a coach that verbally abused the team. She would cuss and yell for simple missteps in the routine. She made every nervous and uncomfortable. She would even get into the girls’ faces to invoke a fight.
Gender: FemaleGrade Level of Event: Freshman-Senior VarsitySport Played: Varsity CheerleadingYour Story: I had a coach who would have us run and condition for a long period of time before having us run our routines. Her decision left us so tired that we were not sharp, which would induce more conditioning. The practice would follow right
Gender: FemaleGrade Level of Event: 3rd-7thSport Played: GymnasticsYour Story: I had this coach who would scream and scream at us for hours. He would also take away our water. He would make us practice through injuries and sickness. He would get so mad if you skipped one practice. He would also make us do skills