Timing woes

[bogwoppit]

HI Coaches,

I posted this over in the parents forum, I'd like to get your insight on this.

The coach emailed me to say that my girls, who have trained at the same hours for at least three years, may not be any more. During the week would stay the same, but on Saturday oldest dd would start at 9am and finish at 12:30, little DD would start at 12 noon and end at 2:30pm.

We live 35 -50 mins from the gym, depending on our nasty Quebec weather. I would have to leave home at 8:15am and I wouldn't retuen until 3:30pm at the earliest. Not to mention trying to waste time in a small town with nothing to do with two different bored and tired kids.

I emailed her back to say that this can't work for us and could she please accomodate us as we live the furthest from the gym, we have been there for 7 years and the other sisters in the gym do work out together, or at the same time.

Hubby says if the coach won't work with us the girls will have to choose to quit or go to a club over an hour away, if they can get in this late in the season.

The gas bills last year were nuts, but now it's really about family time, I have a fifteen year old son who would like to have a life too.

What would you do? How would you deal with this as a coach?

[gracefulone]

At our YMCA, we accomodate families like this all the time. While it can require more effort from staff, it usually works out. I taught a class like this-the kids' parents were divorced so they both had to come at the same time and day so they were place in the same class even though skill level varied. A good coach should be able to work with this, doing stations with options. Example: dive forward rolls OR front tucks. Backwalkovers OR backhandsprings. Half handstands OR vertical handstands. The list goes on and on.....

[jasmine196]

At the gym I coach at we always try to do the best to accomidate all the families. We have 3 sister groups, of course none are the same level, and they always practice at the same time regardless if their group is there or not.

The way we think of it, the families give up enough time to come to practice, taking away more time by spliting them up...well those families would just leave and go to another gym. Unfortuatnly for the coaches, but fortuantly for the parents there are about 10 gyms within a 20 mile radius. Crazy.