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COACH'S CORNER CASE STUDY 1

You are a dance teacher. One of your students, Shuyen, is wearing an oversized, baggy hoodie in class, although she usually takes it off after warm-up. You notice that she is feeling warm and uncomfortable, but she doesn’t take it off. You ask her if she wants to take off the hoodie, and she replies that her mother commented on her weight gain and she feels fat so would rather leave it on.

What could you do? Select the best response below.

It is up to her what she decides to wear, so there is no need for me to intervene.

Not quite. Although what she wears is her choice, the comments from Shuyen’s mom have made her feel uncomfortable about her body.

I could call her mother and tell her not to comment on her daughter’s body.

Not quite. Although this may be appropriate depending on your existing relationship with Shuyen’s parents, this will likely make her mom defensive and might make Shuyen feel awkward about sharing her mom’s comments with you.

I could speak to Shuyen about how she would like me to support her and arrange to speak with Shuyen and her mother about this issue.

This is correct! As a coach, you should also aim to build relationships with your athletes’ parents or guardians, if possible, so that you can effectively intervene and offer support when required.

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Coach’s Corner Suggestions & Tips: When speaking to your athletes’ parents or guardians about sensitive issues, keep in mind the following:

Inform and include your athlete to make sure your athlete feels comfortable with you raising this issue.
Avoid placing blame on the parent or guardian – their own body image and comments on their child’s body are likely to be influenced by many factors, such as their own parents and the media.
Give reasons for your concern about such comments or behaviors by outlining the potential implications for their child.
If the parent is open to it, offer concrete advice for how to avoid such comments in the future. You can share the ‘Key Takeaways’ handout, which you can find at the end of this module with parents so they can learn more about body image issues.

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ApplyCOACH'S CORNER CASE STUDY 1

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COACH'S CORNER CASE STUDY 1