WAG WWYD? Two gyms?

[Sneezyone]

Big girl is on lvl 6 team at GYM A. Great gym, great coaches, limited space and hours. Team coaches, DUH, like to be the only ones coaching for a variety of reasons (consistent terminology, maintaining progressions, form expectations, etc.) but teammates are known to attend other gym camps, etc. from time to time, especially when traveling.

DD went to open gym night with friends at GYM B and had a blast. The team coach there was working that night and allowed her to do "halfs and fulls". He also invited her to come work on higher level tumbling skills one-on-one. DD says, "He's a great spot! He caught me in mid-air and held me upside down! It was like camp!" 2nd coach says he knows current gym and doesn't want to interfere so would let DD come and work on Lvl 8/9 tumbling only. Kid was super excited about this offer.

NOW...
We've got less than six months before we move out of the country and big girl wants to train as many skills as she can before we leave due to uncertain gym quality overseas. It's highly unlikely that we will return to this state although we will likely return to this region. Regular gym will be working L7 competition skills and L6 routines during this time.

SOOOO...
Would you let big girl work on tumbling with other gym? I'm terrified that DD will get hurt and, well, we'd have a lot of s'plaining to do! Or that the coaches will talk at a meet or something and DD would be banned for life! On the other hand, the gym quality where we're going isn't the best and the skills she leaves with will probably be the skills she returns with.

WWYD?

 

[bookworm]

If you weren't moving out of the country in 6 months, I'd say you were playing with fire but seeing as you are, go for it..

 

[GlobalNomad]

I would not move gyms now. Your DD will have a hard enough time leaving her friends. I wouldn't make her do it early or twice in 6 months. Besides, any strong and flexible gymnast can probably work higher level skills than they are perfecting, and it's difficult to see problems at a new gym in one night. Don't let the shiny new skills fool you. If you're going ever going to be visiting home for summers and holidays, your DD will need a home gym. If your dd's friends are at gym A, it won't matter what skills are at gym B. She will want to see her friends. If the overseas gym isn't good, you are going to want the option to return to gym A and polish her skills. You can pm me if you like. We have done the overseas move.

 

[Sneezyone]

Yes, if we weren't moving I wouldn't even consider it. GYM A is known to successfully move homegrown compulsories to L10 and I trust their system over the long-term. It's the gym we're moving to that I don't know/trust. We're not leaving GYM A; this would be adding tumbling privates at GYM B. We will only be overseas for two years but have no plans to come back to this state. DH is retiring in 5 -7 years.

 

[raenndrops]

Since you are leaving the country in 6 months, I say go for it. Coach at Gym B knows where she does gym and basically said he doesn't want to step on their toes. That's one reason he wants to limit her skills he teaches. I don't think he would say anything to them.

You won't be back in this state when you return, so it isn't like you are burning any bridges either.

Good luck.

 

[suebee]

What happens if Gym A finds out in the 6 months? Maybe from another kid or parent?

Are you and your dd willing to risk being kicked out of gym A for any time period before you leave for abroad? Or would that devastate her? Because it sounds like you know gym A would not tolerate the tumbling privates at gym B, so this may be the outcome.

 

[Iwannabemargo]

where are you going ? Gymnastics does exisit outside the States and you may be ale to find some excellent coaching in your new home.

 

[NutterButter]

If I was in your situation I would be so tempted to have my DD train at both gyms. I'd like to think that if Gym A found out that they would not kick you out given your moving situation. What would concern me though is that the risk of injury increases by training at the other gym and why take that risk during competition season. I'm not really talking about risk of injury from the uptraining of the more difficult skills necessarily but an increased risk from training with coaches who don't know her as well as her current ones and differences in coaching/training style. You say that she will be working different skills but sometimes learning new skills can affect old ones. FWIW, DD had a teammate who frequently did open gym at another gym and she got mixed messages on one particular skill from the two gyms. Although her mom would not admit this, I do think it affected her training by doing the open gyms elsewhere (mom was a CGM though). Also, the girl did break her foot at the other gym.

 

[Sneezyone]

There are many gyms overseas, yes, but few where we are going. Honestly, there's one and a fledgling half. Everything else is a plane ride away. The plan is for DD to focus on conditioning and maintenance and fun while we're there. I don't honestly know how GYM A would react. It's an unusual set of circumstances. I am tempted but maybe closer to the end of the season. DD loves to flip and just wants to go wild and crazy but I am worried about potential injuries. Yep, I'm leaning toward waiting.

 

[Ali'sMom]

How is Gym A? Is there ANY chance you could ask them?

 

[Sneezyone]

Yes, I could ask GYM A and they do offer privates. The problem is that the facility is booked solid from 3PM onward and pretty much all day on the weekends (especially during the season) so the only time kids can do extra stuff, especially floor, is during the school day (and there are homeschool groups, rec and team, that practice then). They do not even offer open gym time, it's just too busy w/regular classes and team practices. The place is bursting at the seams.

 

[gymdog]

First of all, I think you guys are being a little naive. Someone holding your daughter upside down in a half is not anything close to level 8/9 tumbling skills. If I was current coach in this scenario I would just laugh and say go ahead and switch there. She needs basics and physical preparation. Most of the best coaches in the U.S. don't teach twisting in the method you described.

In six months she is not going to move up 2-3 levels no matter who's coaching her or if they spot her on twisting. If you want fun, then you can do whatever - that's valid. But realize that's all it is. If you want to learn gymnastics progressively, it sounds like your current coaches have a better handle on things. Also, you need to either switch or choose your current gym. The other coach is being extremely unprofessional. I would never in a million years offer to do privates with a child currently enrolled and competing for another gym whether they were moving at the end of the season or not.

 

[Sneezyone]

First off, that was a quote from DD who is not known to be especially precise with her descriptions and, yes, she has been able to work on twisting progressions from time to time at GYM A so it's not as though she's never tried it. Coach at GYM B gave her lots of things to try to see what she could do and DD does fly. She is a well-conditioned athelete. Second, the goal is not to move up 2/3 levels in 6 months. Wherever did you get that ridiculous idea from tumbling-only privates? The goal is to uptrain some new skills and make my kid happy before we move. That said, that kind of defensiveness is EXACTLY why I have reservations. Heaven forbid one actually consider each child and his/her circumstances individually.

 

[Sneezyone]

As for the professionalism of the coach at GYM B, I really can't say. I do know that the program was created to serve a highly mobile population of gymnasts that often get short shrift out in town. For obvious reasons, local coaches prefer to work with local kids. I have seen TOPS level gymnasts move here and not get TOPS spots because they're thought to be temporary, for ex. I hardly believe GYM B coach is interested in poaching an athelete that he knows will only be here for six more months.

 

[wandrewsjr]

As for the professionalism of the coach at GYM B, I really can't say. I do know that the program was created to serve a highly mobile population of gymnasts that often get short shrift out in town. For obvious reasons, local coaches prefer to work with local kids. I have seen TOPS level gymnasts move here and not get TOPS spots because they're thought to be temporary, for ex. I hardly believe GYM B coach is interested in poaching an athelete that he knows will only be here for six more months.

Gym B coach may not be interested in "poaching" a gymnast to join his team, but I assume you will be paying for these private tumbling lessons? As gymdog said, it is highly unusual for a team coach at Gym B to offer private lessons to a team kid from Gym A that is currently competing for Gym A, without informing the other team coach.

 

[Sneezyone]

Gym B coach may not be interested in "poaching" a gymnast to join his team, but I assume you will be paying for these private tumbling lessons? As gymdog said, it is highly unusual for a team coach at Gym B to offer private lessons to a team kid from Gym A that is currently competing for Gym A, without informing the other team coach.

No, the man is not offering to donate his time so it's not entirely altruistic. The whole set of circumstances is unusual. I don't know what the protocol is in these situations. I don't know whether he'd tell GYM A or not; the coaching community here is small and (to the naked eye) insular. I just find it galling that people might be so punitive/nasty/vengeful toward a kid who wants to go have some flippin' fun learning new stuff before she's moved to the hinterlands.

 

[OzZee]

If you weren't moving would you do it?
I don't really see what is so special about your circumstances for gym a to overlook your dd training at another gym.

 

[Sneezyone]

If you weren't moving would you do it?
I don't really see what is so special about your circumstances for gym a to overlook your dd training at another gym.

As I said upthread, if we weren't moving, no, I wouldn't allow it because I trust her current gym to give her those opportunities eventually but we are moving overseas so the point is moot. We're not going to AUS or the UK or Italy or Germany or anywhere else facilities and trained coaches are plentiful. I'm told most girls L5+ who move to our new location quit within a year. At a minimum, DDs hours will be cut in half. If that's a circumstance that most folks experience, it's news to me. I'm trying to keep my child upbeat and engaged and excited about a sport she loves through an overseas move that will be difficult for all of us. I welcome input from folks who have BTDT.

 

[skschlag]

No, the man is not offering to donate his time so it's not entirely altruistic. The whole set of circumstances is unusual. I don't know what the protocol is in these situations. I don't know whether he'd tell GYM A or not; the coaching community here is small and (to the naked eye) insular. I just find it galling that people might be so punitive/nasty/vengeful toward a kid who wants to go have some flippin' fun learning new stuff before she's moved to the hinterlands.

I don't think that anyone is saying that people are punitive/nasty/vengeful, but the truth is, both gyms are running a business. If gym A gets wind of it, they might think that you are saying they are not good enough. THen, in their eyes, if other parents know that, and start goign to GYM B for privates, they start to lose business. It is nothing to do with a your child, or vengefulness, or being punitive, but about their business.

HEre, if we were to even go to an open gym at another gym, it would not be good. I would ask before I even considered it. one for the injury aspect, and 2 for me to be open.

I am so sorry that you are moving somewhere that will be void of gymnastics. I hope that it all works out for you and your dd.

 

[Sneezyone]

I don't think that anyone is saying that people are punitive/nasty/vengeful, but the truth is, both gyms are running a business. If gym A gets wind of it, they might think that you are saying they are not good enough. THen, in their eyes, if other parents know that, and start goign to GYM B for privates, they start to lose business. It is nothing to do with a your child, or vengefulness, or being punitive, but about their business.

HEre, if we were to even go to an open gym at another gym, it would not be good. I would ask before I even considered it. one for the injury aspect, and 2 for me to be open.

I am so sorry that you are moving somewhere that will be void of gymnastics. I hope that it all works out for you and your dd.

It is nasty to threaten or dismiss a kid over some tumbling privates in this circumstance, yes. We didn't ask to move, we have to, and she is committed to her team through the end of the season. We actually extended so that she could finish here and contribute to the team. I am not advertising this, recommending it to other parents, or trying to steer business away. GYM A has so much business that they can barely accommodate the girls they have now. I guess I'm mostly extremely disappointed that adults might be so incredibly insecure that they behave that way, and that people think it's OK.