No practice for a month because gym is moving.

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They are just in the "digging the Pit" stage!!!! You have at least 6 months (if not more) to wait. And NO PERMIT!! The town will come by at somepoint and shut them down with a stop order until they get the right permits. It's not just a simple deck addition here its a whole building and for me I think I would want the building inspector to check out each of the stages of building to make sure it was done right and safe!! If the town comes in with a stop order they may actually have to take stuff down and apart so the inspector can see the earlier stages (like the studding, electrical, plumbing) that may be buried under drywall. That will slow it down ALOT!! They won't be able to start again until the permit is pulled and the fines imposed for not having the permit are paid - that could be a big delay. How are they going to hook up to public utilities without a permit - in my area they would need a permit to do that. Something just isn't right with this whole build and I would be running as fast as I can from this gym.

all I can say is its so shady and not the way to build a building - YIKES!!!!!! I would never go back to them if they think because it's going to take longer that it's ok not to have the permit. What else are they cutting corners on . I wouldn't believe a time line they told you about and I certainly wouldn't give them another dime.

Send DD to Gymnastics Camp at least then she gets a whole day of gymnastics on the proper equipment then take out the phone book and start looking for a new gym.
 
I agree with all the above posts. Find a new gym permanently. It doesn't sound like these people really care about their athletes. If they knew a year ago (as rumored) they should have been making preparations for this much sooner. It sounds haphazard and irresponsible. That's NOT what I would be looking for in a coach for my DD. Take your money and RUN!
 
(I'm a gymnast) You have two options here, you could pay for that smaller gym, but I don't think $400 is worth less than ten hours in a gym that is to small. Or you could find another gym to train in. Though, if the coaches are like that, you might not want to go to that gym, just a thought. Maybe if you find a gym for her to train in for a month, if you like that gym better, you could just move there for good.
 
To gymbee97, that is exactly what my husband says about the permits, inspectors, time frame etc.. To get permits in that area would take at least 6 months. Yet, they dug up the pit and put a wall up within a few weeks. He does not think they have a permit since they just signed the lease a month ago. But maybe they do. If that is the case, then maybe everything will be alright. We'll just have to see. We just got emails indicating the gym will open in a week. They've practically lost all their recreational gymnasts and just a few of their team. But we only have about 35 in our team. So moving into the new gym, that is all they have. Many parents are very unhappy.

We have a few evaluations with other gyms in the surrounding area. Gym A is a real good gym (probably the best in our area right now) with an established team (rather large competitive team) and a well respected head coach but is the farthest away and the practice times coincide greatly with the schedules of my other kids' sports activities. Gym B is pretty close but just opened and only beginning to form a team. The head coach just came from Great Britain last October. Although she may have coached elites in her country, she has limited knowledge of the USAG system. Gym C is located somewhere in the middle and the head coach is proving to be pretty good but is not quite as established and experienced as gym A. In fact, the coach at Gym C goes to Gym A to get more training from the head coach there. The gym my daughter is currently in has decent coaches. They have experience and have produced some decent athletes in the past. I think they are good coaches but very sporadic in their coaching. Some days they are on the girls hard, but most of the days, they yell out direction while sitting on a chair across the room. (I've brought my daughter to other coaches for evaluations and they were making form and shape corrections and drills my daughter never even heard of.) The equipment is very worn out--nothing has been replaced at least in the last 10 years. But moving to the new location, we will have a pit, which we did not have (my daughter says she will do anything into a pit. So that will help with the difficult skills) and maybe a new vault. But the planning and organization will probably not change. But also these new gym may bring renewed energy for the coaches. They do seem very excited.

I am so torn up trying to make the right decision for my daughter and my family. I just hope my husband and I make the right choice.

Thanks for everyone's support and recommendations.
 
But moving to the new location, we will have a pit, which we did not have (my daughter says she will do anything into a pit. So that will help with the difficult skills) and maybe a new vault. But the planning and organization will probably not change. But also these new gym may bring renewed energy for the coaches. They do seem very excited.

I am so torn up trying to make the right decision for my daughter and my family. I just hope my husband and I make the right choice.

Thanks for everyone's support and recommendations.

The planning and organization skills of the owners will not change with a new facility. If they are poor communicators and planners that will continue that. Management style does not change overnight. And the coaches may be excited now and it may give them short term motivation but within a few months they will be back to there old tricks. If they are not expected to be involved more than sitting on a chair barking out corrections they are not going to do it. And that also reflects on the gym owners/managers. I know it will be a tough transition but when you are paying that much a month you need to be getting your money's worth and your daughter will excel in better run program.
 
I think they are good coaches but very sporadic in their coaching. Some days they are on the girls hard, but most of the days, they yell out direction while sitting on a chair across the room.


:eek: How can you coach sitting in a chair, yelling out instructions? If that's the case I could coach from the parents section! Sometimes change can be hard, but from everything you've said I would be running for the door. I just can't picture any of our coaches doing that. They are spotting, walking around correcting forms, grabbing runaway children, but there is so much going on they can't just sit there and yell. How annoying....
 
I would take the opportunity to find a new gym. There's a lot of unacceptable going on.
 
There is no way with just one wall up that this building will be done in a week and be legal!!

There is just so much that you have posted that just isn't right at all. I know its hard to leave a gym you know but the unorganized management, lack of communication and coaches that coach from a chair ??? Really? Not acceptable at all.
 
They've practically lost all their recreational gymnasts and just a few of their team. But we only have about 35 in our team. So moving into the new gym, that is all they have. Many parents are very unhappy.

How will they pay the bills? Nothing wrong with being the rat escaping this sinking ship.
 
I can't believe this has happened to you too! yes, too! A very similar situation happened to us 3 years ago. The gym had to suddenly move (it was damaged and not repairable). Very little communication, no practices, still charging us tuition, digging pits without permits - the whole thing. My dd was having some major heel issues at the time and at a much lower level than your dd, so we opted to stick with the gym and enjoyed the 2 months they were closed. Dd caught up on swim lessons, we went on vacation and her heel healed.

We seriously considered switching gyms and in hindsight we should have switched then, but we didn't. We stayed on another season and regretted it every day. what happened was just the begining of a year of frustrations, bitterness (from the owner/coaches at those that left and they took it out on those that stayed!), lack of communication, unorganization, poor team running, poor coaching, etc. We left 2 years ago and the first gym has yet to recover from what happened.

I vote for getting out of there even if it means a farther drive. We were 4 minutes from the first gym and that was hard to give up, so I totally understand!
 
How will they pay the bills? Nothing wrong with being the rat escaping this sinking ship.

I was thinking the same thing until I remembered the OP said they are still charging everyone full tuition for a fraction of the time and they aren't paying anything to the gym they are using.
 
My daughter had an evaluation with Gym A (see previous post). And despite the team being full, the HC is taking my daughter in her team! I watched the last hour of practice and practice there compared to our gym is like night and day. There was a coach spotting and/or coaching at every apparatus. They had three bar sets going and each one had a coach spotting. All the beams had a coach watching them. At our gym, we had two coaches at the most for 30 gymnasts. Gym A's bulletin board had all the accomplishments of their athletes, scholarships, birthdays, meet schedules, articles. In the 4 years we've been at our gym the only thing ever posted on our bulletin board is the accomplishments of one of the HC daughter. No one else was ever worthy. The equipment at Gym A was current, clean and had all the bells and whistles. Our gym had thread bear equipment and the bare necessities. Gym A had a staff. We don't even have anyone to answer our phones. The HC/gym owners do it all. So phone calls don't get answered and returned. Gym A is a professional environment. Our gym has coaches who bring their toddlers (from as young as 1 yo) and they are allowed to run in the floor where the gymnasts are practicing. My daughter is always worried because they unknowingly run in front of gymnasts performing tumbling passes or running towards the vault. Then some of the gymnasts are asked to stop practice and hold or watch the toddlers. Gym A has a clear sense of organization. Whereas at our gym, the parents feel like puppy dogs begging and hoping for any information they can get.

I know every establishment has its own issues. So, only time will tell. My daughter already likes the coach. I have a good feeling about this gym. I feel very optimistic and excited. Maybe this gym will make me whine less, need to vent less and just enjoy watching my daughter and be confident her gymnastics training is not being compromised and her safety at risk. It is amazing what we put up with for the sake of convenience and familiarity. I am sad though because despite all the problems in that gym, they had some good qualities. They aren't bad coaches at all. Just truly bad business people. I truly wish them only the best. Thanks again to all for taking the time to hear me and giving valuable insight and recommendations.
 
B

I did consider that. I ran into two problems. First, because our current gym was only providing last minute information, it was hard to plan ahead. They told us the gym would be closed for 1 1/2 weeks. Sunday evening before the gym was expected to open, we get an email, it is not ready and will be closed another week. A week went by and again we were told the Sunday night before the gym is still not ready and that we will be practicing limited hours at a recreational gym. And again this week same scenario. Second, I called the gyms in our surrounding area and because of the lack of gyms in our area, a couple said they could not take her because they do not have anyone in her level and the rest (because they are franchises and rival gyms so to speak) would not let her practice with their team unless she joined their team.:(


got a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach on this one based on several years of experience. nobody should pay any money whatsoever until they have that 1st practice in the new facility. good luck with the new gym.
 
got a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach on this one based on several years of experience. nobody should pay any money whatsoever until they have that 1st practice in the new facility. good luck with the new gym.


Dunno, guess which new gym we checked out and may be switching to? We loved her gym and her! I am pretty excited.
 
Awesome!! So happy for your DD (and you!)! The more you say about your old gym, the worse it gets. Gymnasts have to stop working out to hold the coaches babies? Maybe the coach would be better opening a day care.
 

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