Anon Coaches Fees

[Anonymous (7316)]

I've recently started paying coaches fees for meets. Do gyms typically provide a breakdown of expenses to parents? They seem a bit high for the amount of gymnasts attending meets.

 

[Anonymous (4480)]

I have never been given an itemized breakdown of coaches fees. I have seen different ways gyms do it, estimate at the start of the season, wait till right before meets, etc and either way, they have never given a breakdown. I had one gym owner threaten me, that how dare I ask and she was under no obligation as a private business to share anything with me.

In fairness, airfare can fluctuate wildly, hotel rooms are insane.

 

[Anonymous (0f70)]

Our gym does not, but keep in mind that on meet weekends, coaches are working overtime. They often don't get a day off that week at all and work full days. During state weekend for example, I coached my regular schedule all week, plus 14-15 hours each on Saturday and Sunday with awards and was back coaching preschool at 9am on Monday. That is an extreme example, but even a normal meet can easily take a 40 hour work week to 50+ and again, mean that there is no day off. They also have mileage and hotel costs that are covered, as well as some amount for meals if it's considered a travel meet usually ( I think ours was $15 breakfast/$20 lunch/$25 dinner).

 

[Anonymous (87ab)]

We don't get a breakdown, we pay a set fee (varies by level) each year. Its expensive to have a team of coaches travel to meets (hourly pay, hotels, gas, airfare, meals).

 

[Anonymous (ec9f)]

At both of the gyms that my kid competed, we never got a breakdown of the coaches fees. The fee varied by level based on how far away the meets were and the number of meets for the level. I'm assuming that the number of girls per level was also factored in.

 

[Anonymous (4254)]

I have never had a breakdown of the costs, but so far it has always been a very small amount (less than $30) which doesn't really bother me.

 

[Anonymous (3f6a)]

It's a set fee for us, just over $400, paid in August each year that covers the season from September to April. They ask girls to compete in at least 6 meets total but some girls do up to 8 meets; either way, the flat fee is the same. Travel meets such as states have an additional coaches fee that is determined based on the number of girls competing.

 

[Anonymous (41b3)]

We were given estimates for hotel, airfare, rental car, meals, etc and then told the amount each family would pay would be evenly split depending on how many gymnasts attend. We were billed for actual but not provided additional info aside from the initial estimates.

 

[Anonymous (2719)]

Be careful about asking. There is a tale at our gym that a dadasked what equipment the gym has been buying with the annual equipment fee we all pay. His kid was immediately kicked off the team and not allowed back in the building. Just remember that Gyms are private businesses and they can charge whatever they like and they do not have to justify their pricing to the customer. They can also reserve the right to refuse service to anyone who asks annoying questions.

 

[Anonymous (c4f0)]

We (the booster club) provide a pretty clear breakdown. Coaches get $100-$300 per meet day depending on how many sessions they coach and what tier of coach they are. Then they get a per diem for food/mileage. If it's over 50 miles away, we pay for hotels because of early/late sessions. Then there are flight/travel meets that are divided among those athletes who go.
Our assessments (divided 4-5 months) include meet entry fees for 7-8 meets and then all coaches costs divided among the athletes who are attending. It's a lot of money but the booster club is very transparent and it really helps to NOT have the gym run that part. The gym charges equipment and team fees and it's never clear what they are used for.

 

[Anonymous (e67f)]

Nope no breakdown.

 

[Anonymous (993c)]

Be careful about asking. There is a tale at our gym that a dadasked what equipment the gym has been buying with the annual equipment fee we all pay. His kid was immediately kicked off the team and not allowed back in the building. Just remember that Gyms are private businesses and they can charge whatever they like and they do not have to justify their pricing to the customer. They can also reserve the right to refuse service to anyone who asks annoying questions.

Wow. If it were me, I would be quietly researching other gyms in the area. If you can get kicked out for asking one simple question, you never know if you might be next.