Parents Do your coaches use cell phones during meets and practice?

[COz]

All correspondence goes thru front desk.

...if someone's not gonna make practice we just call the office and leave a message

Not all gyms have an office or front desk

Our HC has a mobile, on, that sits at the side. It tends to ring once or twice during practice. Everyone can hear it, it's not particularly loud, but it is a small space and it has the "I sound like a real phone" ring tone. At an opportune moment some lengthy time after the call has been received HC will go and check who's parent is running late this time. There are no other phones in sight.

At our old gym, there were phones around. They were used for timing, but there were also coaches that spent a lot of time texting people when they should have been, um, coaching.

 

[wallflower]

I've seen appropriate and inappropriate use by coaches. Old gym DD had a coach that was on the phone constantly. Texting, facebook, candy crush, who knows what else. Drove me insane. It was a gym wide problem from HC to lower levels.

Current coaches occasionally are on their phones. Doesn't bother me one bit. They are people with lives and they coach from 8am-8pm. Because they don't abuse it, nobody minds if they take a call. They are attentive and hard working people. Unmatched in work ethic. I think as a parent I know the difference between above scenario and current scenario.

 

[gymdog]

and,,,, here is a prime example of a text that a parent would send a coach, "sick" "stuck in Traffic" and "DD is not able to check in" . Anyways, obviously if a coach is fixated on a phone when they should be taking care of a group then that is a problem. But on the flip side parents have to communicate with the coaching staff to alert them of sick kids, or a massive accident and traffic etc... So the notion that a parent/coach should never EVER communicate via text at a meet is not realistic.

When these things happen my parents text another parent at the meet and that parent alerts me. I do not keep my phone on or on me during a meet, so they could text me those things all they want but I'm not going to get it. Don't really have a problem because the parents will alert me.

As far as the issue with the scores being mixed up, that can't happen with the meet format my state and seemingly my region uses. Each kid has a card, the judges get the cards in order of the kids, judges say their name first, write score on card, enter score in mobile device. If a parent texted me about it, then again I'm not going to get it.

 

[duyetanh]

Our coach has specifically asked us NOT to text during meets or the same day after meets...as the HC phone isn't on the HC's body, it would do no good to text at a meet...the message wouldn't be received until the meet was over. Never seen phones out at practice either. Yay! I would have a real problem if there was texting going on during my girls beam routine. Sorry about that happening.

 

[3gymgirlsmom]

I text all the coaches, one more than others but she will text me as well. The other 2 coaches it's more about letting them know if a kid is sick and will miss or if they are extra tired for a heads up kind of thing. Tho our gym is a smaller one and the coaches even will pick up a kid for a meet when something happens. I have 2 of the coaches on facebook as well they love when I share the kids conditioning for them.

But unless it's an emergency not during practice , they peek at phones now and then but not during spotting times and such just during break or when the girls are running and that stuff when hands on are not needed

 

[rjb123]

I have never noticed our coaches on their phones at meets, but I assume they have them. Usually if a child is sick or has to scratch last minute the parent texts the coaches and also the group of moms so that if the coach doesnt' get the text everyone knows and can let them know. I (and everyone) have coaches email and phone info. I text them for things related to illness/ injury restrictions etc. I think most parents try to stay respectful of this info and not harass the coaches. As my DD gets older, more and more of the communication goes directly from her to her coaches, but as she is still only 9 I communicate some things to be sure it gets relayed properly (as opposed to DD saying "sure my doc said I can do whatever" when in reality there are a few caveats! LOL!) I feel that phones have a place and I don' t think the coaches abuse them at all in our gym.