Camille Martens: Surviving Sport, Red Flags & Becoming the Sports Parent Your Child Needs | Ep 55

Camille Martens survived fear-based coaching and abuse to become a Canadian champion, Commonwealth Games champion and Olympian in rhythmic gymnastics. But she always knew there was a better way, so she now focuses on helping parents build healthy, loving sport environments.

Camille has spent four decades in sport as an athlete, coach and parent. She competed at the World Championships and Olympics, founded the Okanagan Rhythmic Gymnastics Club, and became president of Gymnastics BC, a master coach developer, and National Team Coaches Chair for 16 years. She's also the author of MVP in the Stands: Becoming the Parent Your Child Needs in Sport.

In this powerful episode, Camille talks to Scott Rintoul about moving away from home at 13, training in Russia and Bulgaria under coaches who normalized fear, weigh-ins and abuse, and competing at the Olympics on a torn labrum. She shares the toll it took on her body and relationships, why she stayed silent to protect her access, and how she tried, and sometimes failed, to build something different as a coach and parent.

You'll learn:

• The difference between "Red flags" vs. healthy "growth edges"

• Why emotional regulation is the parent's real job

• How intention and impact can be worlds apart

• Tools: keyword check-ins, a fridge scratchpad, the "buddy system"

• How to build a strong coach-parent-athlete relationship