Private Lessons?

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taximom

Hi everyone
Tonight at our board meeting we discussed private lessons. we currently don't offer them but are attempting to set them up. How do your clubs run them? Do you pay the coach directly or the gym? How much do you charge per hour? Does it matter if there is one gymnast or more? Thanks so much for input!
 
We have seen and used private lessons on and off for years and so hope we can give you some useful info. We have paid anywhere from $30 to $50 an hour and the rates were always based on the degree of expertise the individual coach has. The coach has always been paid directly at all of the gyms we have used and they pay a portion back to the gym (Usually $5 - $10). Hope that helps!:)
 
Our club charges $40 CAD per hour, this is paid to the club directly. At this point privates are always with the childs regular coach and parents cannot approach other coaches. Privates can be shared by two kids, the rate is the same per hour.
 
Privates are great but remember that they are not the best way to teach. Part of learning is doing it with your class, you then have your class to share the results with. Privates are great for more dedicated students who know what they want to learn but encourage group classes first and privates as an add on rather than the primary way to learn.

e have had many people ask for privates who do not do gymnastics. Often dancers or cheerleaders who want to learn a specific skill. Like back handsprings or aerials. It rarely ever works. Learning skills can't be rushed and shoved into a few 1 hoiur privates. It takes time.

We offer them but dont actively encourage them. If someone asks for a private we organise it but dont really advertise it. We would rather have kids in group classes.

We charge $50 per hour. Half goes to the coach and half to the gym. We allow it to be done in small groups. Thats fine. There really is no need to limit it. They can pay less each if they want to have 2 or 3 there and the consequence is they get less attention.
 
We do not do them that often, but our gym also charges 50 an hour. The customer pays the gym directly but the gym pays the coach double their hourly rate. Typically they are done one on one although I suppose we would allow two, maybe three.
 
Hi everyone
Tonight at our board meeting we discussed private lessons. we currently don't offer them but are attempting to set them up. How do your clubs run them? Do you pay the coach directly or the gym? How much do you charge per hour? Does it matter if there is one gymnast or more? Thanks so much for input!


In our gym we set them up with the coach directly. Once the coach gives us a time they give us a slip of paper with that time on it that we bring to the office and the office puts that on the coaches schedule so the office knows when coaches and gymnasts are in the gym.

The rates are in our gym

$25 per 1/2 hour, $40 for 3/4 of an hour or $50 for an hour with the owner (he is worth every penny)
or $20 per 1/2 hour $30 for 3/4 hour and $40 for an hour with any other coach.

We pay the office with a check or cash in an envelope with the coaches name on it and they give it directly to the coach. They give me a receipt that I made the payment. Several years back there was an issue with one coach claiming they weren't paid by parents so the office does all money issues now.

They can do Semi-private (with one other gymnast) and split the cost but I don't like that set up I want my DD to be the focus and work one on one with the coach on a specific skill when I do privates.
 
Privates at our gym are arranged through the gym office staff. You tell them you are interested in privates & they tell you what coaches/time slots are available. Then you pick what works out best. I don't know how much the coach gets paid b/c it's all handled by the gym. My check is made out to the gym(as just about every check in my check book is, LOL!!!:p). Many who do privates have a set scheduled weekly private(this cuts down on scheduling issues & insures the coach you prefer). Cost is $25 per 1/2hr for 1 gymmie. You can have 2 or 3 girls, but the price doesn't change that much(I think then it's $22 & $20/per girl). I've never added girls to DD's private...to me it would defeat the purpose. DD needs the one on one coach time to over come fears, that can't be fully addressed during regular practice. I'm VERY thankful that our gym offers privates...they have been the key to my DD over coming many mental blocks & fear issues:).
 
Gymjourneymom, This is along the lines of what we were thinking. We want to offer something extra for those athletes that need some help on specific things.
Everyone has been so helpful in sharing info. We discussed $25.00 per hour, the coach being paid regular wage and the rest going to the gym and the check made out to the gym.
I like the idea of the coach getting something more since I see privates as over and above regular responsibilties. I also like the idea of having a schedule in office and being to pick your coach and time slot.
Thanks to everyone for their speedy replies :)
 
As a coach, I think that we have the best way of doing it! The parent's can leave a message in the office or approach a coach directly. One of the benefits of working at the gym is that you can use the gym to do privates. If the gymnast is a member, then the gym does not require a fee. If the gymnast is not a member, then there is a gym fee (I think it's $15, but I've never needed to charge it). The parents pay the coach in cash. The cash aspect is important as I have had two people give me rubber checks for their private lesson. The coaches choose their own pay rate which no parent has ever had a problem with. If they thought one coach was asking too much, then they would just get a different coach. This is really helpful for different issues:
  • The coaches who are in highest demand can ease their schedule by asking more and eliminating people who can't/won't afford it
  • People like me who have to find a babysitter and drive .5 hour each way with a toll can cover my cost ($25 for 1/2 an hour doesn't cover my costs for doing the lesson)
  • You can charge more for certain days (one coach will not come in for less than $100 on a Sunday!)
  • Gymnasts who want a series of privates can be given a discount if the coach chooses (I had a girl doing two hour privates every week, so I charged her $65 instead of $80)
  • If parents want to do joint privates and split the cost, that can be taken into account (I usually charge $10 extra per extra child up to 4 students)
  • You can take into account different economic situations (our gym has two locations. I charge less for people in the lower income gym, which I also don't have to pay a toll to get to and can usually take my kids with me).
It's really a nice benefit in a job that doesn't offer any benefits like health insurance, 401K, etc. Of course, if your gym does offer their coaches those things, then a gym fee may be reasonable. Besides the fee for non-members the only stipulation on our privates is that they cannot occur during classes, birthday parties, or Kids' Day Out & Kids' Night Out. (I've only worked at 4 gyms, but they all did privates this way and I love it, though figuring my price was difficult at first!) I agree with aussie coach that they need to be in conjunction with a class and are rarely effective with the kid who wants a skill by a certain date, but they are really great for team kids who are struggling with one skill and would like more time with it or like the young lady that I was working with weekly -- she was on a team of 15 who had only 6 hours in the gym and didn't feel that she was getting enough attention. They are also nice for the class kid who is far behind the others and wants some help getting down the basics so that he/she can catch up.
 
As an afterthought, due to my particular situation and years experience, I would not do a private for less than $40 per 1/2 hour -- nor would any of the seasoned coaches in my gym. I know of only one coach who charges $25 per 1/2 hour and she's only been coaching about 4 years. The rest of us have been coaching 10+ years. If the gym stated my pay rate as any less than that, I would not be willing to offer my services.
 
I like this method. I was looking at it as a perk for both the coach and gymnast. If the coach wants to increase their income they can and if they don't they shouldn't be obligated. I also like the cash aspect as in other sports such as golf with my kids this is how it was handled.
 
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As an afterthought, due to my particular situation and years experience, I would not do a private for less than $40 per 1/2 hour -- nor would any of the seasoned coaches in my gym. I know of only one coach who charges $25 per 1/2 hour and she's only been coaching about 4 years. The rest of us have been coaching 10+ years. If the gym stated my pay rate as any less than that, I would not be willing to offer my services.


At my DD's gym, we pay $70.00 per hour or $40.00 per half hour. The fee goes directly to the gym and they work it out w/the coach.
 
I know at our gym, if the scheduling wasn't handled by the office staff with "equal oppurtunity for all and on a 1st come 1st serve basis"...there would be cries of favoritism. I prefer having the scheduling & price set established by gym. So everyone knows no special deals are being cut & favoritism isn't involved. There have been times when I couldn't get my DD privates with the coach that helps her the most, b/c someone else "booked' her 1st. That's just the way it is. No one gets any special deals and no special treatment, that way there is nothing to feed the gossip mill...I prefer that. JMHO.
 
Our gym does not let us do exessive privates, though they may suggest one to us if they think we need an extra push in any area, or could benefit for a little one on one. The limit on privates keeps parents from thinking their child is being favored or neglected, and they are entirely optional. I think they help you to reach skills quickly. My gym also offers double privates, where two team members participate, and the price is split in half, not raised. This is very helpful for team members paying for the private themselves, or just making it easier for two peolple to get some extra practice. We request the coach we want to do the private with, and set a time that works for both of us. This keeps us from being schedueled with a coach we either do not get along with, or does not coach the event we want to work on. Hope this helps!
 
We pay $5 to the gym and $25 to the coach per hour, so that would make it $30 per hour. I think this is reasonable. I would probably be willing to pay $40, but $70 is way too much for one hour. Don't doctors make around $70 an hour?
Coaches can set their own prices, but I've talked to 3 coaches at my gym and they all charge $25 an hour.
 
We have no issues with favoritism. We all know that some gymnasts get along better with certain coaches and that we all have different coaching styles. The people that ask the most expensive coach for privates are not people that I would choose to so privates with. They are the people that need someone who is going to be VERY strict and make them do what they can do. The gymnasts that I like to work with are the ones who want to understand the mechanics of a skill they are troubled with or the gymnasts who need a strong foundation. LOL... the owner often sends the heaviest, least coordinated gymnasts to me, because I can get them to do things they don't think that they can do. The other coach (and the owner, for that matter!) would just make them cry!

For an hour private, $25 is not even close to enough. I'm surprised any coaches are willing to even do that. I would only make about $5 on that after paying a babysitter (2 hours including my travel time), covering gas, and paying the toll!
 
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My gym charges $25/half-hour. We don't advertise, or really encourage them. Not sure how it breaks down for coach vs. gym take-home, as I don't do privates due to a complete lack of time (60 hours/week is quite enough, thank you very much!).
 
Every coach at my gym charges a set amount- $20/half hour or $35/hour- and all of the money is paid directly to the coach.
 
We have no issues with favoritism. We all know that some gymnasts get along better with certain coaches and that we all have different coaching styles. The people that ask the most expensive coach for privates are not people that I would choose to so privates with. They are the people that need someone who is going to be VERY strict and make them do what they can do. The gymnasts that I like to work with are the ones who want to understand the mechanics of a skill they are troubled with or the gymnasts who need a strong foundation. LOL... the owner often sends the heaviest, least coordinated gymnasts to me, because I can get them to do things they don't think that they can do. The other coach (and the owner, for that matter!) would just make them cry!

For an hour private, $25 is not even close to enough. I'm surprised any coaches are willing to even do that. I would only make about $5 on that after paying a babysitter (2 hours including my travel time), covering gas, and paying the toll!


AT my gym there is no favoritism, but if one chilkd keeps having exessive privates and another cannot because the coach is booked, than parents might get the wrong idea :)
 

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