Parents Promotion/Job Transfer - changing gyms middle of season?! Advice Needed

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jusb123

Proud Parent
I hope you guys can offer up some advice as I have no idea where to even begin with this process. So here goes....

DD is a L4. We just had our first meet of the season middle of September. I was offered a job/promotion with my company that will require me to move 2.5 hours away from where we are now to the Charlotte, NC area. I am slightly panicking right now. Yes I knew I might get the job but didn't want to start shopping around so to speak until I knew for sure whether I would be getting the job or not. I have heard about some of the gyms in the area and haven't necessarily decided what side of Charlotte we will move to. I have no idea how something like this is handled middle of the competitive season. Obviously I need to tell current gym ASAP and then start reaching out to some of the gyms to see what options DD may have.

I'm just curious how some of the other moms out there might approach a situation like this? Have any of you been through something like this? How do I approach the conversation with the current gym? Do I send an email then ask to meet with them? Just go in there first thing Monday and let them know?? We have been there since she was 4....she is 8 now. There is actually a girl in a similar position that recently joined our current team. She will miss some of the first few meets simply because she has to wait to get her leo, USAG paperwork, our gym's paperwork and various meet fees and such. My company is willing to work with me as far as a start date though we could be there as early as November (yeah I know...deer in headlights look on my face). She has already qualified for the State Meet which will be held the first weekend in December. What if we find a gym that we love and they can't take her because they have too many girls? Could she practice with the new team and finish out the season with old gym at the remaining meets?? If a gym's L4 team was "full" could she just wait it out until the first of the year when some gyms start their "training" groups and still practice with the L4?

Thank you all so much in advance for any advice of ideas you can offer :)
 
Talk to your current gym ASAP. Gymnastics is a small world. They can probably give you some suggestions and smooth the path for you to a new gym.

This. The head coach would be the first person I'd talk to. He would be the best source of information about gyms that would fit with what he knows about my daughter's personality, training style etc. He/she might also help you figure out how to best finish out the season. A coach might be able to get a kid onto a "full" training group where a mom might not be.
 
Definitely talk to your HC like others have suggested. The HC may actually know some of the coaches / teams and it would help.
Are you currently in NC like just in a different part of the state? I ask because a lot of states have Compulsory State meets in December and NC is one of them... and there are several states within 2.5 hours of Charlotte, lol.
Luckily, there are still meets after that for L4 (and L5+ if she is almost ready to move up) and also AAU meets that some gyms attend in NC too.

Good luck with your position and finding a good gym.
 
Yes, I'm currently in NC. That seems like the best approach to talk to the owner/HC first. Hopefully there are no hard feelings and the owner can offer a good plan to finish out the season.
 
Coaches understand that sometimes children's families move for reasons that have nothing to do with gymnastics. In those situations, I'd guess that 99% of them will just want to help the family figure out a way to keep the gymnasts in the sport. Whenever DS's coach goes to a big meet with some out-of-region folks, he makes a point of getting a detailed report on one of his guys who moved to another state, and one of DD's former teammates' moms piles up a lot of warm comments and likes from our office manager and coaches when she posts videos of her daughter's latest exploits.
 
I agree, this is not a hide until you pull the "going to another gym trigger." In this case the coach will understand and should help you figure out your options. In this case you should be able to talk to the coach about the change and still be able to send your kid to practice with not concerns about "bad coaching behavior" Good luck to your family on your relocation. I know it is stressfull!!
 
I agree with everyone above-relocation is not the same as moving your child to another local gym. I'm sure your HC would be happy to help you find the best fit for your dd in your new location. Good luck to you!
 
We had a move about a year ago that forced us to switch gyms. I had been afraid to tell the HC because I thought they would stop giving my DD the same attention that she had received previously, but the HC completely understood. Everyone treated my DD exactly the way they always had. They weren't able to help us find gyms because they weren't knowledgable about the area we moved to or about usag competitions in general, but they were nothing but supportive. Heck, they are still super supportive today and whenever we are in the area they make room for my girls to train with them for free. We have even stayed in the owners house. Anyway, it'll be ok. Talk to them, and best of luck finding a new gym!
 
I agree with the others. I am sure that since it involves a job move, your gym should be able to help you. I also live in NC and my dd just competed in a meet against several of the Charlotte area gyms. Some of them are really good, but I've heard they can be intense and may be hard to move into during the season. Good luck!
 
We had across the country move during meet season. Get all your ducks in a row. Talk to the gym, earlier rather than later and let them know you might be moving. With their help, or on your own, find a new gym.

At that point switching the USAG card and stuff is just a matter of paperwork. For most meets they will be able to add your gymnast no problem (my daughter was even added to a couple meets with a wait list as there are always injuries or illnesses).

The only problem you will run into is if the gym you choose doesn't have a spot for her, but I would think with the extenuating circumstances they might go further out of their way to help you.

Additionally, what I wouldn't expect is any kind of a refund if you've already paid to compete. We had paid 75% of our assessments/meet fees to the old gym and none was refunded as they had already paid out checks to the meets she would've been attending. We then had to repay meet fees and assessments at the new gym. That stung a bit, even for how expensive gym is normally.

Thankfully she was able to borrow a leotard and warm-up for the duration of the season since she missed the ordering period at the new gym. The moms and coaches were super helpful with coordinating who she could borrow from who was the same size, but competed at a different time.

Good luck!
 
Seems strange that you had to repay the meet fees. Should have just needed to request a change of gym name for the meet. We had a gymnist change to a new gym and that was all she had to do.
 
Seems strange that you had to repay the meet fees. Should have just needed to request a change of gym name for the meet. We had a gymnist change to a new gym and that was all she had to do.

Surprisingly enough, meet fees paid to compete on one side of the country don't work on the other side of the country... You pay to compete at the meet you attend. When you are now competing at 6 entirely different meets, you get to repay to your entry fees.

I realize OP is moving a much shorter distance, but this was a cross country move.
 
Seems strange that you had to repay the meet fees. Should have just needed to request a change of gym name for the meet. We had a gymnist change to a new gym and that was all she had to do.
I would think that would only work if you changed gyms but attending the same meet.

Different meets entirely in different areas, they aren't moving the fees.
 

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