The pain goes away, but with it so does the pride, joy, and excitement of performing. Consequently, when the coach does reward the gymnast with an approving comment, the gymnast continues to respond without emotion. The use of anger as a punishment often creates fear in the athlete. This fear of punishment is often exhibited in such behaviors as making excuses for poor performance and even developing injuries to decrease the athlete's expectations. Talking back to the coach or throwing tantrums may be outward expressions of this rebelliousness.
Bad attitudes are contagious and often result in a negative spiral downward.
If coaches are frustrated, disappointed, and angry they tend to yell more. The athlete's attitude worsens and the coach gets angrier-a vicious cycle. An athlete's response to the coach's anger may be depression, withdrawal, and avoidance behavior. It is often devastating for a gymnast who has devoted her life, energy, body, and mind to gymnastics only to be exposed to criticism and anger. As a result, the gymnast may decrease any efforts to try, come late to practice, make excuses not to come at all, or even drop out of the program.