WAG Coach leaving and taking gymnasts with him

[Freddy's Fred]

What are the ethics, non- compete clauses, etc. associated with a coach leaving one gym and going to another. Is it just poor form or actually way worse to recruit gymnasts from the gym to take with him. We had already left gym A for gym B, and the coach is leaving gym A for coach C. He contacted us to let us know he was moving. Is this the same as the coach contacting current gymnasts at gym A to take with him to gym C?

 

[2G1B]

We have followed a coach before. He didn't really ask us to follow; but my kids were particularly close to him so he did tell us before most of the gym knew that he was leaving. My kids and I then talked and between following him and some other issues we decided to follow him.

I do think that it would be bad form for a coach to contact families and ask them to follow. I think that in most situations it wouldn't be a civil legal issue; but it definitely would be bad form.

 

[M2Abi]

It might be poor ethics but it is definitely not unusual in my experience.

 

[CoachAlex]

I think if he contacted the parents of ALL of the gymnasts he coached to simply let them know that he was leaving, then no, not much is wrong with that (and nice to be informed instead of just showing up to practice with no coach).

If he only contacted some people and said “hey, I’m leaving Gym A and going to Gym C I think you should consider bringing Susie to Gym C” then there is nothing legally wrong, but it isn’t very ethical. Most non-compete clauses are during employment - for instance, I can’t coach at a rival facility while being employed at my current job - but assuming it was legal, I could see some gyms putting a clause into an employment contract that says a coach that leaves can’t “recruit” from the gym they are leaving (again, I’m not a contract lawyer, so I’m not sure that is even legal, but if it was then the leaving coach would be breaking a contract).

So probably nothing illegal, just not very ethical.

 

[Aussie_coach]

Very inappropriate. The coach is employed by the gym, the clients are clients of the gym not the coach.

Our coaches do not have access to the contact details for any of their gymnasts, if any communication needs to go out, it goes through the gym not the personal coaches.. Coaches are not permitted to have the contact details for any of their gymnasts in their phone etc, which is also due to the information privacy act.

Havaing apparatus coaching instead of level coaching is also quite beneficial here. It allows the gymnasts to work with a develop a positive relationship with a number of coaches. If a coach leaves, they don’t have to feel like “my coach is gone”, but they know there are other coaches who care about them and know their gymnastics progress.

 

[coachmolly]

I don't know that I find anything wrong with a coach getting in touch with families of current and very recent gymnasts and just saying they have made the decision to move to gym B. No invitation to come along, no negativity about gym A, no detailed account of how absolutely amazing Gym B is, just a statement about the choice they have made. Parents and gymnasts can take it upon themselves to explore their options and decide what they want to do. The gymnasts and parents will find out eventually, so I'm not sure it really matters who the information comes from. I think it would be a very nice gesture of the departing coach to include something like "Coach Suzy and Coach Bill will continue to work with the team" so the parents/gymnasts don't feel like their whole world is being thrown into chaos and everything is changing, but I also wouldn't expect that.
I don't think it would be appropriate to invite certain (or all) athletes to move with him/her, detailing any problems the coach has with the gym or what caused him/her to leave, explaining why gym B is better (flaunting equipment, cost, or any other major component of the program), or suggesting that moving to Gym B is your child's best chance at meeting her goals. While the coach might have very valid reasons to pass around any of that information, I don't personally thinks it's a great ethical choice. Obviously this is different if there is a major safety issue at a the gym being left.
Honestly, some kids just do better under some coaches. And while a kid shouldn't do gymnastics just for the sake of Coach X, because one day he/she could move across the country, I think in some cases it's okay for a child to follow a coach. Especially if parents have had some issues with the gym leading up to the point and the departure of a great coach is sort of the last straw.