Parents Do you stay during team practice, or leave if you have a long commute?

[Iwannabemargo]

the UK, desiel is £ 1.41 per litre and its budget day tomorrow so its bound to go up again. Bummer as we live in a rural area with no public transport so motoring costs are really high.

 

[cbifoja]

I do but not for much longer. DD is getting a cell phone for her birthday and then I'm gone! We live 30 mins away from our gym and as long as gas is closer to $3/gallon than $4/gallon, I'll start going home over the summer. I told DD that she will NOT be the only optional gymnast at our gym whose mother stays at practice. She has some health issues that makes her anxious and has always made me reluctant to leave but it's time. I've devoted the last two years to her gym and I need some identity back that doesn't revolve around her sport. I don't regret it but I am weary of it.

 

[Amusibus]

?!?!where do you live?! I though $3.70 was outrageous!

That's how it is in the UK. Crazy, right?

 

[GymMom67]

I usually stay on the days I drive. We carpool with another girl, so I only have to go over there twice a week. Sometimes I will go grocery shopping or to Target, but if I don't need to do anything, I just stay. She's only there 2-3 hours (depending on the day) right now.....and the other mom generally drives on the 3 hour day. When her hours increase, I doubt I'll stay. We are about 15-20 minutes from the gym.

 

[gymmutti]

I am 30 min away with no traffic and I have 2 kids going so I'm heading over 6 days a week right now. On days where younger dd is not practicing (she practices 2-3 hours), we drive home and make dinner and come back to pick up big dd. On days when little dd is practicing or if they are both practicing, I stay. It stinks, it really does. I work from the gym though for much of my time there and have my laptop out and do conference calls (also from my car when the gym gets loud). Lost my carpool this year and it really, really is getting tough. No other kids from their school go to this gym but I'm trying to recruit!

 

[kayjaybe]

Are we the only gym where you aren't allowed to stay? Once kids hit L4 (we start competing at L5), you can no longer watch practice. You can show up about 15 minutes before the end of practice, but if you are there regularly before that, you will probably be spoken to.

They do this to cut down on distractions and CGM syndrome and sideline coaching.

Although it sounds like some of your gyms are in bigger facilities, with talks of cafes and pro-shops, so maybe you have places to go and not watch. Our gym is tiny. Leos hang in the small office, there is a fridge with bottled water to buy and a small viewing area, so if you are there, you would be watching, unless you want to sit & face the wall!

 

[bookworm]

Well we have an hour and a half commute (each way, without traffic) so needless to say, I stay in the area for the duration of the practice. I do not stay IN the gym (although it's not prohibited) but I usually go to the library and read or use the computers, or do some of my errands. In the summer, I usually take my book (hence my name "Bookworm" ) and go to one of the parks or beaches in the area during the practice. I couldn't go back and forth if I wanted to because by the time I got home, I would just have to turn around and go back!!

I have been in carpools in our many years in gym and they're not always the best thing...some of my fellow drivers were great, reliable, always there when they should be but others were not reliable ("Suzy decided she didn't want to go today...sorry for the 2 minutes notice") and were actually more trouble than they were worth so choose your carpool carefully if that's the route you go..

 

[erindel]

wow, an hour and a half commute is a long way! you are a saint for driving that long...

What does CGM syndrome mean??? Never heard of it, or atleast dont know it by abbreviation.

I think today I will sit in the car for awhile, i have some studying to do, and maybe I will drive over to the local italian bakery and pick out a treat! She does dance on tuesdays and in that location, which is 10 minutes away from our house, there is a beautiful beach and walkway I can go to if I want...

Thanks for all the replies again, I like hearing from everyone. We are all in this together and know what each and everyone of us goes through in order to make our kids happy with this crazy, time consuming sport.. In the end its worth it though

 

[kayjaybe]

What does CGM syndrome mean???

Crazy Gym Mom syndrome - those moms that are trying to coach their kids from the sidelines and complain to the coaches about things like "you spent 7 minutes helping that other Suzie on beam but my dd only got 1.5 minutes of attention from you! Why isn't my dd getting equal attention?"

 

[wallflower]

If I drive I stay. We are an hour from the gym, but it's more like 1hr 30-40 minutes home in traffic. Thankfully she starts early enough to miss most of the traffic going. It's 50 miles, but through rush hour traffic it's not doable. So when I drive I will always stay. Thankfully she catches a ride 3 of the 5 days and I just have to pick up.

 

[shelovestoflip]

My daughter's gym is about 20-25 min in traffic but only 15 on the way home...a mere 7 miles but city traffic is awful!

I leave no matter what because I don't need to sit there for 4 hours!

However I guess if we were an hour away, I would find things to do in the area.

I guess we are spoiled because there are more gyms than I can count all within 45 minutes....from laid back to Olympic training!

15 minutes works for me, though!

 

[teksquad]

We have a 20 min commute (one way) without traffic, and go to the gym 5-6 days per week, depending on the season. Since there is always traffic at rush hour, the drive is usually 30 minutes long going, and about 20 minutes coming home. The gym is nowhere near shopping or errand-running places (all of that is near my home) so I generally stay at the gym. With the gas prices as they are, I calculated that I save about $100/month if I just stay. I'd rather put the 100 bucks/month towards competition costs.

A few moms and I go walking during practice, so that fills time. I also have many projects I can do on the computer. (I have built 2 websites with the time!) I have also gotten quite a bit of reading done. After being so busy during the day, it's my time to relax, catch up with my gym mom friends, and be away from anything I would be pushing myself to get done at home. (if I were home, I would tend not to relax, but try to get t hose things done)

Though I admit, I do wish for a short commute, almost every day! (-:

edit: In the summertime, when the practice increase to 4 hours, (and move to mornings) I will probably go home. There are things to do in the mornings at home that can't work at other times.

 

[aussiebug]

We live 20 minutes from gym so driving home during a 2 hour practice would be a waste of fuel, we drop Kait off and go do some shopping or go to the park. However, mum takes her to her other 2 hour session during the week and stays, she usually does crochet or something

Sent from my GT-I9300 using ChalkBucket mobile app

 

[Bajanswife]

Our commute is very bad during weekday evenings (rush hour traffic) so I never go home. I also don't stay. I go running/walking nearby on Mondays and Wednesdays, and on Fridays I go to our yacht club to hang out with my friends. Saturday mornings are too hot to walk/run at the time that DD has gym, so I either do errands or I go home - the traffic isn't bad then and the commute is only 15 - 20 minutes each way. I actually should start going to the gym that's 2 blocks away from DD's gym and working on the weight machines or join a class. I was just trying to save some money by doing free exercise outdoors.

 

[MaryA]

We're not supposed to stay and watch either, though HC does seem to cut the parents who drive long distances some slack, as long as they are not actively watching practice the whole time (they bring a book, their laptop, etc.). We have a very elaborate "house-of-cards" carpool system set up which seems to be working for the most part. I wouldn't be able to drop her off at practice anyway because her practice starts at the same time I get out of work. I can sometimes catch the last bit of practice when I pick up, which gives me a bit of a gymnastics "fix" but it's hard in the summer when her practice time is during the day while I'm at work, and of course in the summer there are no meets or other opportunities for me to see what she's up to. And she's 12 so, for the most part, I get one syllable answers when I ask about gym. Maybe I can give her a survey to complete every two weeks or so in the summer.

1. The skill(s) I have made the most progress on in the last two weeks are ________.
2. The skills I am struggling with are __________.
3. On a scale of 1 to 10, the amount I am enjoying gymnastics right now is _____.
4. I (am) (am not) having conflicts with any of my coaches and/or teammates (if yes, please explain).
5. I have gotten positive feedback from my coaches a) hourly, b) daily c) every couple of days, e) weekly, f) only very occasionally g) not at all. Please list most memorable examples.
6. I have gotten negative feedback from my coaches a) hourly, b) daily c) every couple of days, e) weekly, f) only very occasionally g) not at all. Please list most memorable examples.
7. I (do) (do not) have any parts of my body that hurt beyond just general soreness. If yes, please list.
8. I have "gotten" the following skills in the past two weeks:
9. I have "lost" the following skills in the past two weeks:
10. Please list any other information, overheard conversations, drama, rumors, or speculation that you have become aware of that you know your dear old mom would just love to know.

What do you think? Do you think she'll go for it? Who was it who wanted to know what a CGM is?

 

[erindel]

ohhhh k yes yes i knew some of those... uggghhhh

 

[3gymgirls]

My three dds are not on team yet, but we think it is likely that my oldest will be training old L3 next year and competing old L2 (or the equivalents) next year. Her gym appears to take the top 20-25% from rec for team.

I stay for all of my dds classes because they are ages 6, 4, and 2, and most of the parents seem to stay at those ages. Our gym boasts a separate viewing area so parents can watch without bring distracted. Also, since our commute is 75 minutes, we scheduled the classes back to back to limit commenting. My older two have two one-hour classes per week and my youngest has one 45-minute class per week. If and when hours increase, me staying at the gym the whole time may change, but I'm already there 2-3 hours twice a week anyway.

 

[erindel]

that was me wanting to know about the CGM. i responded with a ohh k yes I know those.. lol

those questions are good, i need to ask my daughter about them bc she is 12 too and everything is a good, fine, ok, nothing, im tired, im hungry answer..

 

[gymmomtoo]

We are 12 minutes from the gym, so I don't stay for her 4.5 hr practices. If I had a long drive and had to stay, I'd bring a laptop to go online, a book to read, comfortable shoes to walk in or get my grocery shopping done nearby.

 

[MaryA]

that was me wanting to know about the CGM. i responded with a ohh k yes I know those.. lol

those questions are good, i need to ask my daughter about them bc she is 12 too and everything is a good, fine, ok, nothing, im tired, im hungry answer..

It is hard to know where interested and involved parent crosses over into "CGM" teritory.We went through a period early in the season where DD was having stress-related health problems, so I REALLY REALLY try to not seem overly concerned about her gymnastics progress, figuring that she doesn't need any additional stress put on her. But it's hard when I REALLY REALLY want to know how everything is going. At the last meet she threw two skills that I didn't even know she was doing yet. A pleasant surprise, to be sure, but it definitely does not bode well for me having any clue how she is progressing over the summer.