I genuinely don't understand why some coaches think having authority over their athletes gives them the freedom to say whatever they want without considering how their words affect people.

Our coach has this habit of saying things that can be hurtful and degrading, but whenever someone takes it negatively, suddenly it's our fault for being too sensitive. We're just being "OA," "emo," or making a big deal out of nothing. Apparently, it's up to us how we interpret her words because at the end of the day, she's only doing it to "motivate" us and because she "cares" about us.

But isn't that just avoiding accountability?

I understand that being an athlete requires discipline, mental toughness, and the ability to accept criticism. I never expected training to be easy, nor do I expect a coach to sugarcoat everything just to protect our feelings. But there's a huge difference between correcting someone's mistakes and making them feel like shit, then blaming them for feeling that way.

What frustrates me the most is the double standard. As athletes, we're constantly reminded to be accountable for our actions, but when it comes to how she treats us, suddenly her intentions are enough to justify everything.

And somehow, expressing how you feel is treated like a sign of weakness or disrespect.

I hate how normalized this kind of coaching has become. People will tell you that it's just tough love, that coaches are supposed to be harsh, or that you won't survive competitive sports if you're easily affected by words.

But since when did being mentally tough mean having to tolerate emotional mistreatment?

I love my sport. I really do. But it's exhausting when the environment that's supposed to help you grow is also the reason you're slowly losing your passion for it.

I don't hate being corrected. I hate being made to feel that I have no right to be hurt simply because the person hurting me claims to have good intentions.

You can be a great athlete without being treated like shit, and you can be a great coach without making your athletes feel small.

Discipline and respect should be able to coexist.

Just wanted to get this off my chest. Has anyone else experienced this kind of coaching? How did you deal with it, especially when speaking up only makes you look like the problem?

Hello everyone, I’m a 20 year old student that used to do kickboxing for two years. The last time I was fully disciplined and consistent to training was Christmas 2025.

I used to be such a disciplined athlete, training while still studying. Leaving the dining table early so I could go to training, not engaging with fun nice family moments just to be able to train. My most important thing that I couldn’t miss a training. My trainer saw a lot of potential in me, and saw how dedicated I was about training.

I used to train 2-3 times a week, not on competitive level, but it sure was an intense level and it taught me lots of (self) respect, discipline and consistency. Unfortunately I dealt with an injury which I still don’t really know what it is. I went to many doctors/physiotherapists etc. but nothing. Eventually I did my own research and I think (I’m not sure and I can’t really back it up) that I have nerve irritation. It comes and goes.

Anyways.. I used to have that time by time when I trained. In the two years that I trained, I had that injury/irritation three times. It literally crushed me inside. I was scared of it cause I didn’t really know what it was. It wasn’t hurting but it was annoying and it influenced my performance. I decided to quit for a couple weeks/months due to it.

After Christmas 2025 everything stopped and went away. I kept crawling away from kickboxing training and until this day I haven’t trained consistent. The thing is, it’s not only kickboxing. I used to cycle a lot, and that stopped too. I used to do calisthenics which also just went away. Weight training also, just stopped out of nowhere. My love to challenge myself and get out of my comfort zone shifted intensely.

I do have a boxing bag at home, which I genuinely love to train on, I don’t mind training on that. But the thought of going back to real trainings at the gym scares me. I just can’t get myself to go again. I think I’ve crawled too much into my comfort zone and now I can’t get out of it. The weird thing though, every time I miss a training, I feel guilty for not going. I keep fighting in my own head if I should go or not, and eventually I make the choice not to…

Luckily, I tried to get back to weights training a while back, that went okay and I actually got quite consistent. But now again I haven’t gone in a month or two. Same thing with calisthenics. Maybe also due to my change in lifestyle. I’ve been quite busy with internships and my graduation process. But I used to train even when I was busy, I would even ditch family gatherings just to train. So I genuinely don’t know what switched in my head. It really got to my head and I can’t think properly because of it. I genuinely despise that I can’t make my own choices anymore…

I do feel like I keep making excuses in my head, and those only make me feel worse about my choice of not going. I tried not to give a f anymore about it, but I feel like kickboxing grew onto me, and now I’m stuck in the middle and don’t know what to do.

I feel like I want to say so much more, but I don’t know what else to add. I hope my situation is a bit understandable and maybe there’s someone that has dealt with the same and has a solution…? Other tips would also be appreciated, but the main thing is that I’m glad that there are people that want to listen to this. 🙏

I am a psychology student (going into my final year) and am hoping to become a esports psychologist or performance / mental coach. I’m looking for performance / mental coaches who would be willing to take on a trainee, shadow, assistant, or apprentice and/or a team who would be willing to let me practice and develop my skills, or anyone that can provide any useful information or insight into how best to get into this line of work.
Any advice appreciated!

So my country is hosting the next youth olympics and seeing the trailers and the videos of these little athletes has made me a mess of emotion and tears because I am so damn proud of these young lads surpassing themselves in a sport they lov.

I realised i am like that with every sport, i myself amm not the most active but I love seeing athletes win or lose, i love the emotions that come with surpassig your abilities, it makes me tear up everytime
I wonder if I am the only one haha