Parents Chosing a team

[guest301]

We have about 5 gyms in our area within 20-30 mins drive from our house. The gym she goes to does a good job but all the coaches and staff are trained (seems like) to have super poor costumer service. I cannon come anyone with little question without feeling like CGM. so knowing that i don't want to commit to that in a long run. At the last local meet level 1-3 they got 2nd and 4th all around. The gym my friend goes to took all 1st places. So I am at loss. I don't know any other gyms personally when it comes to watching team girls. I don't want to be a gym hopper either at the end.
I am not CGM, I am not CGM, I am not CGM, I am not CGM.....But yet I feel like one right now (on the inside) lol

I want to find a good gym for my soon to be a 5 year old girl. What things should I ask gyms when selecting one for a team?

 

[onebusymama]

Interested to see other people thoughts & views on this too...

 

[GymGirl's Mom]

IMO- Any gym can do well in levels 1-3 I wouldn't put that much thought into that. When looking for a gym years ago for my DD when she started to become interested in gymnastics more than just rec I looked for a gym that had girl performing well in levels 5-10 even though my DD was a pre-teamer. I wasn't looking for the most rigorous program, or only Elite gyms. I asked around, watched some practices, had her try out a few places, saw how the coaches interacted with the kids, and went with my gut. If the only reason you are thinking of switching is due to communication... you may be surprised to see/hear that none of the gym are that good at communication- I find it's one of the big things most people on here complain about. Ask around, ask at the practices, ask other parents- what are you most looking for in a program for your daughter- communication?

 

[guest301]

Being in the gym for 4 years where parents are treated like crap big time. I don't talk to coaches or owners much but little I do they make me feel like crap. I am just tired of it. And yes people skills are important to me (at this point).

 

[onebusymama]

Being in the gym for 4 years where parents are treated like crap big time. I don't talk to coaches or owners much but little I do they make me feel like crap. I am just tired of it. And yes people skills are important to me (at this point).

I don't have any advice for you, but I have to agree w/ you about people skills. I think if you have been a customer for 4 yrs & they still aren't communicating w/ you & treat their long standing customers like crap, then its time to hit the road. Your DD is still young. She will probably adapt to a new gym easily. But I know it's got to be hard after you've been there for 4 yrs. Have you looked at/tried out other gyms in your area??

 

[txgymfan]

This is a frequent topic of conversation on this board. If you use the search feature you will see many different opinions. The short version is

1:Look online at gyms that are a reasonable drive and/or ones you have seen compete and are impressed with how the coaches treat the athletes.

2: Vist the ones that you are interested in, alone, without your DD both during a time that has your DD's level and older

3: Narrow the list to your top 3

4: Call the gym and ask to bring in your DD for a tryout.

5: Make an informed decision, with your DD's input but relying on your impressions more.

This is not an exact list, just a summary of ideas that I see on CB and have used for other services.

 

[Wanona]

Choosing the right gym is important and difficult. The two biggest things for me are communication and the “goodness of fit” between my daughter and her coach. Good luck!

 

[iwannacoach]

Keep your eyes wide open as you go about gym hunting. You're suffering from lack of communication....and that may draw you to program that can "talk the talk" to the extent that the HC and owners resemble "snake oil" carney vendors more than they do coaches. Don't get me wrong.......I think communication is important, but if I had to choose, I'd go with clubs that can "walk the walk".

The thing is, there's not an awful lot to talk about if things are going well. Personally, I enjoy talking with parents, but have found that when I stop to talk to one......the rest kinda edge in a little closer. When they finally get to talk to the oracle (me), I get a sense that they edged in to have a chance at a social chat and get a little info about next year and beyond, so that ended years ago.

Now, when I get the chance at a gym I drop into occassionally, I'll visit with an old buddy from the glory days, offer up some perspective, and chat with a few familiar parents on the way out. It seems that most of them want to know a little more about the sport, what to expect at the next level, what it takes to get to the next level. I always answer that one...hard work and believing in themselves and even more in the coaches.

I answer that way because it's true, and it's about the only thing in the sport that isn't different from one child to the next. For the rest of the questions, I don't answer them directly....only in generalities, and let them know that their child is the only one who can answer the question, because the children are the variable....one that changes frequently. The reality is there are few answers......conjecture sure, lots of it, but you can't make plans based upon conjecture that is based upon the work, desire, energy, and distractions that affect every child and can change at any moment.

Not trying to blame you for feeling left out of the loop, but there isn't that much that goes on beyond Suzie gets to the gym, works hard, and goes home a little stronger....repeat....repeat...repeat. If there are pressing needs to be discussed, and please keep in mind that some of these kids can talk a blue streak to their coaches about what they need, and you ask to speak to anybody who can make sure the coach knows what's going on, it'll get passed on to the right person.

Sadly this gym world is not usually a have your cake and eat it proposition. The majority of the better clubs dedicate all their into the quality of their instruction, and cut every corner possible to offer a little more out on the gym floor. So make sure you know what you want....is it neccessary for your daughters safety or your family to function smoothly, because if it isn't, and you move gym's based on "customer care" that targets parents vs. kids, you'll find 3 years down the road that the income derived from that customer care was the reason for the customer care, and while your daughter seems happy......she's slowly losing any chance of pursuing reasonable goals being realised by kids at other gyms in town.

You just can't have it both ways.......well not usually.

 

[krisnkids]

Many many gyms do not even compete levels 1-3, some don't even compete level 4, so judging on results from a level 1-2 meet to me would not be wise. Questions I would ask myself (and did when finding a new gym when we moved)

1. Hours: are the hours that a gymnast trains appropriate for their level? ie 9hours/week level 4, 12hours/week level 5-6 etc.

2. Days: are the girls there 3 days? 4 days? 5 days? 6 days?

3. Do they encourage the gymnasts to have lives outside of the gym? Gymnastics is a grueling sport, if a child only does gymnastics the chances of her feeling like she missed out on her childhood later in life is going to be strong.

4. Viewing: Can you watch? Is there a policy?

5. How big is the team? How many coaches per child? If there are 30 level 4s and 1 coach thats a huge red flag. In the gyms with bigger teams you may find that they have extremely high scoring gymnasts, but what does that mean to the "normal" gymnasts, do they get equal attention or are they just a number?

6. Communication: Are the coaches approachable or do they run out the door as soon as practice is over? Our gym actually has parent/coach conferences twice a year so the coaches and parents can discuss little Suzy's progress and where she is going.

7. Policies: Make up policy? Is there an opportunity to make up missed work outs. Competing policy? Does Suzy have to score so high in an in house meet before she can compete in a real competition? Move up policy? What does a gymnast have to score to move up a level. USAG is 31.0 at the lower levels and there is no score out for levels 1-4 (right now, changes next year), while this is low, some gyms have a 38.0 score out policy. Huge difference.

8. Comfort: Does Suzy like the girls, are they snarky? Does she like the coaches? Are they firm but loving? Mean? Demanding?

These are just the ones I can think of this morning, I haven't had my caffeine yet. lol I should add that my dd has gone to 5 different gyms, first one (and my favorite) was sold to another gym; I was not happy with the new gym. Dd got hurt at the new gym because of lack of quality coaching, when she came back we went to a new gym. She was petrified to go on bars so she quit. 4 years later she decided to go back, the first gym we tried she didn't like, we are now happy at our 5th (and hopefully final) gym.