Parents Standard practice @ gym during coaching change?

[Mariainlv]

How does your gym handle a coaches departure or new coaches joining the gym?

I ask because J's gym has been in a state of flux recently. She had 2 main coaches and one left for maternity leave. Since then the girls have had a carousel of coaches. They are scheduled to move to L4 May 1st but the coach that was to coach them left suddenly Tuesday. As a result it is unknown who will coach the girls.

In addition, there have been 4-5 new coaches in the gym (more have trialed, these are the ones we have seen working with the kids)

As a parent, I would expect some notice of who is working with kids. Am I overthinking this? My job as a parent is to safeguard my kids. I don't feel I can adequately do this if I am not diligent in knowing who is exposed to my children. This is really bothering me and the gym just is not doing a very good of communicating to the parents what is occuring.

 

[ZJsMom]

I would be unhappy with the lack of communication too. I'm afraid it's probably not that uncommon though. My dd's old gym went through a major upheaval with all the girls team coaches leaving around the same time. I was not pleased with the lack of communication around some of the changes and decisions too. I would talk to the head coach or owner and ask to be filled in on what's going on. The answer may be that he or she just doesn't know yet how things are going to shake out, but I'd rather know that than be completely in the dark.

 

[Pickle's Mom]

That sounds tough and, unfortunately, not uncommon.

It would bother me. A lot. I’m a control freak and I like to know what is happening and what to expect. And I’ve been frustrated with my gym when I’ve been told “that hasn’t been decided yet…â€￾ when “thatâ€￾ is happening next month.

There’s a good chance that the gym owner doesn’t have the answers. Coaches are not paid all that much and good coaches are difficult to find. With a major upheaval, the owner has the opportunity to rethink the direction of her program and what the coaching staff will look like.

So, I don’t have much advice for you except to say that I don’t think that the gym management is really holding information from you. They probably don’t have the information yet. If you think the program is too unstable, you can present your concerns to gym management, but there’s probably little they can do. If it’s a problem with management, you might need to consider a change.

 

[flip out]

Hi, it has been our experience that coaching changes are not uncommon, and YES it is SO aggravating! There are a million reasons why and so we just persevere. Its hard on the kids sometimes, especially if they were particularly fond of a certain coach. Other times the kids are DELIGHTED that a coach suddenly disappeared. Ha Ha! Kids are so resiliant, and parents are not. Be sure that your gym management DOES want to keep great coaches, but it pays lousy so they come and go.

Good luck!

 

[Aussie_coach]

It does happen, and really does have to happen when a coach leaves.

Your gym won't be able to tell which coach is the best for the kids until they see them coaching the kids, a coach can look fantastic on their resume and come across really well in an interview, but until the gym see's them working with the kids they won't know if they are the right coach for the program.

In many ways you can be happy to see this happening. Some gyms will hire the first person who comes along but it seems like you gym is taking their time to make the right desicion and find the best person for the job.

If a coach is trialing the head coach or gym owner will be keeping a very close eye and ear on them, to make sure they are working appropriately with the kids.

 

[TnTTaxi]

I actually has the same problem last year. My oldest was on the L4 team and the coach was going to be leaving. We were having all kinds of issues with the current coach and wanted to know who her replacement would be. Instead of answers from the Gym Owner and the HC, I just got a whole lot of runaround for a couple of months. In the end I decided to move to a new gym, I could not handle the constant upheavel for kids in the middle of the meet season. After we left, the L4 girls went through 4 or 5 coaches in a 3 month period, so I was glad to have left when I did.

So, I have to agree that unfortunately it is more common than parents would like to think. With patience the gym should sort it all out. They are just looking for the right fit. The frustration in the lack of communication was my final straw, so try talking to the owner and getting any info that is available.

 

[cathiann]

Hasn't been much coaching changes recently, but when there was, the HC (owners) sent a note home telling parents why someone was leaving (if that was the case) and who was going to coach now. We don't, however, get updates if someone is subbing or whatever while a main coach is out.

 

[Mariainlv]

Thanks for sharing your experiences. I should clarify that there have been 10-12 new coaches but there are 5 that were hired. Im glad the gym is being selective but once a coach is hired, I think the gym has the obligation to inform parents.