Parents "Parent-teacher conferences" in gymnastics?

[amphomma]

Hello, all! I'm still a newbie to the world of gymnastics, since my Little A started taking classes at our local gym about 7 months ago. Briefly--Little A turned 4 last fall and was asked to join a pre-pre-team group right before her birthday.

She loves her class, and I love watching her. My question is this: her teacher has another class immediately following my daughter's, so I never get a chance to chat with the teacher about how things are going. I'm trying to find the balance between seeming indifferent, and coming across as a CGM.

Are "parent-teacher conferences" normal at this level of gymnastics? I want the teacher to know I care about A's progress and that she is excited to be on the team someday, if that works out. Is six months a reasonable amount of time to have passed to ask for some time to sit down with Teacher and chat? One of the ladies at the front desk of the gym said she would be happy to set something up for me when I mentioned how I was a little frustrated that A's teacher has no time between classes when we are done...

Thanks in advance! My daughter continues to love gymnastics and her joy and passion are beautiful and often beyond her years!

 

[MILgymFAM]

My DDs are fairly new to gymnastics also, at about 18 months and 6 months respectively. I haven't ever had a conference about progress for either of them. When they danced previously to gymnastics, for about 5 years, I didn't either. I am not sure that type of thing is common. At our gym it's a running joke that it's your special day if the HC starts a convo with you at all, about anything. I think it's good that they seem willing to have the meeting once you suggested it though. I am interested to see if this is a common practice, so I can be more informed for our next gym.

 

[amphomma]

Thanks for the input! I'm not worried, just curious.

I guess we had something of a special day or two recently by your gym's standards--Little A and I passed our gym's head coach and she not only greeted my daughter and I, but she knew my daughter's name! We've not officially met before, so I guess that means Little A is on the radar somehow. It was a little thing, but somehow it felt encouraging!

 

[Deleted member D3987]

she's 4. only 7 months in the sport. 'conservation of energy". conserve yours and wait and see how it's going.

 

[SurpriseGymMom]

As a coach of little ones, I like to take the time and chat with parents when I have the chance about how they are doing. I don't do it every class or anything, but I like to be accessible. I have never had any sort of "conference" with any of the kids and parents, but if they approach me I like to be able to chat for a moment when I can.
As far as my own gymmie goes, she's in level 4 and I have never had any sort of conference with her coaches either, not through her whole gym journey so far (she started when she was 5 or 6). Every now and then I have gotten a chance to chat with them casually but I always want to be very respectful of their time and not overdo it.
I think it's pretty much par for the course.
I know we had one girl whose mom asked for an evaluation (written, nonetheless) and I gathered from the coach who had to write it that it was somewhat of a nuisance and not commonly done. This was a pretty pushy mom and a kid who was struggling (and has since quit). I understand the mom, we all want to know where our kids are and what it will take, but there's a fine line between casually conversing quickly about something and being a CGM.

 

[gymdog]

What is it that you need to know? Do you have a problem with the way the class is being run? If not, I encourage you to sit back and enjoy. Your daughter is learning gymnastics. Unless there is a problem there really is nothing to talk about. You are observing the entire class time. What else could the teacher tell you?

Doing anything more at this point will likely only hurt your reputation. I don't really advise you to move forward with setting up anything unless you have a specific problem. If you were requesting conferences every six months after observing the class time I would likely find any excuse not to move your child up. 6 months is a hot minute in gymnastics time.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

bwahahahahaha, gymdog. you really meant a "hot second".

 

[amphomma]

Thank you all. This is why I asked. I grew up playing tennis and started at five, and I have no idea how much my mom spoke with my instructors. I'm guessing it was pleasant chatting.

There is nothing I need to know. I didn't know if it was customary to check in with a teacher from time to time--you know, since we do that more formally for school.

I confess I do tend to be a feedback-seeking person in general; not because I'm after perfection but I just like to know that things are ok. I suppose no news is good news!

Thanks again; we are definitely in the wait and see and enjoy camp. Just didn't want to seem like I didn't care at all!

 

[suebee]

Dd's coach has another group right after hers too, but is more than happy to chat briefly with a parent while she's running warm-ups for the next group. It has to be a brief chat and I've seen that it's often interrupted by the coach giving instructions for the next warm up drill, but it happens. If you just want to touch base and say, "I just wanted to let you know how much dd is enjoying gymnastics," and see if she has anything to say, I don't think that would be an issue.

 

[purpleleomom]

Our gym has a parent/coach contact form. I used it to ask about a minor injury that my daughter got in class (more to see if we needed to do something to prevent it again), but I noticed it had a space to ask about progress. Other than that, she hasn't been at this gym long enough for me to know the ropes. Her class is last though so her very angelic coaches will usually chat the parents up for a minute without being asked. I'm guessing there are no official conferences, but they were testing the girls last week, so some type of report may be coming. Previous gym gave a report card at the end of each 8 week session for rec.

 

[GymMom67]

I've never had any kind of sit down conference about DD's gymnastics. I do have brief conversations from time to time about different things, but they are just kind of done in passing.

 

[Krystan]

Early on, dd's rec coaches only spoke to me each time they decided to move her up to the next level and to team. Since she's been on team, I am only approached for logistical issue: what size leo should I order her, is she going to attend camp, would she like to go to this extra meet, etc. HC has NEVER approached me about dd's actual gymnastics in her three years of team. That seems to be between the two of them. I have approached HER if dd is stressing/avoiding/having major meltdown about a particular issue/skill, and I have always initiated that. We ONCE had a conference a couple of years ago when dd was going to quit until they offered to let her repeat a level while training with her same group. That was a rare occurrence. They are not normal by any means. In fact, at that age/stage, I would assume no news is good news! I agree it can be tough to not hear anything (especially if you have a non-communicative dd like me), but totally understand that that is *my* issue and not theirs. In an ideal world would it be nice to have an annual meeting with team kids/parents? Yes, but it's not gonna happen.

 

[amphomma]

Thanks for even more replies! I'm getting a great sense of how things work.

 

[Ariekannairb]

I don't mean to be combative and honestly, I am curious why talking to the coach would be so...weird? I mean I pay a heck of a lot of money to the gym for me to have "reputation ruined" or my kid held back because I made a general inquiry as to how she was doing. And that isn't even to mention the idea of a coach taking out a problem with me on my daughter. Because of distance, I stay for my DD's practices so rarely feel the need to talk to the coaches myself, but if I did, it would sure be nice to know they would make a few minutes for me. I totally get making sure you aren't being a CGM and I get being respectful of the coaches time BTW.

 

[gymdog]

There is nothing I need to know. I didn't know if it was customary to check in with a teacher from time to time--you know, since we do that more formally for school.!

I assume that school isn't open for viewing though.

Most of the time there really isn't much for the coach to say unless there is a problem or your daughter is ready to move up.

 

[LJL07]

Hi,
I have a just turned 4 year old (also A ) in a "hotshots" rec class and a 6 year old on team. I agree with the above poster that we are paying a lot of money (I know I am!!), and I see nothing wrong with wanting some feedback.

Here is how my experience has been with my 4 year old: we switched to a new gym fairly recently. The rec program director did a brief placement evaluation to see which group was the best fit. At the end of each class, the coach comes out with the kids (it's a fairly small group), and she gives brief feedback to each of the parents (e.g., she did great on beam today or she seemed a little tired). This has been sufficient for me, and it's pretty comparable to what we were getting at the old gym. I guess I would be more interested in more formal "feedback" if it were the beginning of a new registration/placement period if that makes sense.

I also have a 6 year old on team. I do want a little more feedback on her, and I have spoken to her coach by phone and in person. It's really less about placement/skills and more about her ADHD and managing that in the gym. She was in preschool gym before team, and I think I first "requested" feedback around the time they were moving kids up to new groups and team. She had been there well over a year by then.

Hope that helps! I think communication is so important. I think poor communication is what leads to (some) moms becoming CGMs!

 

[iwannacoach]

Child's smile = parent conference

 

[amphomma]

Of course my daughter's delight in going to class is wonderful assurance that all is going well.

And there are no problems or imminent move-ups.

No, school is not open for viewing. However, I do get to chat with my son's teacher even when everything is going great!

Again, maybe "conference" sounded too formal. I suppose if there was a concern, A's teacher would seek me out.

I don't know how far my daughter will go in this sport. I can say with confidence that I would feel comfortable requesting a short talk with her teacher if I needed to. I have always felt very welcome at the gym; all the coaches and staff seem very engaging and friendly. I would hope to find that atmosphere in a place where my child is in someone else's care and where my child is learning physically demanding skills, and is perhaps embarking on a long journey into a challenging sport! I know she's "just 4", but she's my kid and she is growing fast! I don't want to be a crazy gym mom, but I just wanted to find out how this whole process works. Thank you to all who replied in an encouraging way!

 

[Keno11]

We had one a few months after the start of pre team to explain how things were done and what they would be working on and what the end goal was. However I am pretty sure that was out of the norm and we have not had one since...
LOL.

 

[cbifoja]

Threads like this make me really appreciate DD's coach. She frequently gives us updates on the girls...as in, asks you to stay after practice or grabs you on the way in or out. Sometimes, it's just a 5 minute update on things that have been looking good and things that they are working to improve. Sometimes, it's a come sit in my office and let's talk about what we want to do with your daughter over the course of the next couple of months. She will bring out video and show us skills and places where the kid is struggling and where she is getting deductions. And most of the time, she SEEKS us out to talk.

We also have formal sit downs a couple of times a year where we can sign up for 15 minute "conferences" and get whatever questions we may still have answered. But we can also email, text, or call her with questions/concerns. It's a very open atmosphere.

Now I will say that we have a very small team....a total of 50 competitive gymnasts divided between 6-8 coaches so the ratio allows the coaches time to do that. I don't know how big of a gym you are at so that might not be feasible if you are at a big place.