Coaches Doing gymnastics without a car

[estamey21]

THE FACTS​

• When I was a child, my parents drove me to gymnastics
• When I was a child, my patents drove me to meets
• When I grew up, I drove myself to gymnastics
• When I grew up, I drove myself to meet

... flash forward 15 years ...

• I coach gymnastics in a city with phenomenal public transportation
• I have been offered a coaching position that requires travel by car
• I do not have a car

MY QUESTIONS​

1. Is it possible to "climb the ranks" as a gymnastics coach without a car?
2. How do coaches with cars afford their cars? (My current coaching salary does not cover the cost of car ownership.)

 

[Geoffrey Taucer]

How do coaches with cars afford their cars? (My current coaching salary does not cover the cost of car ownership.)

Yeah..... that is pretty much the biggest problem/challenge with being a coach these days: living on coaching income.

Every car I ever owned while coaching was mostly paid for by my parents. I only just last month (at age 35, and 3 years after I quit coaching) bought my first car that I actually paid for with my own money -- which I could only afford because I got it absurdly cheap from a family friend.

 

[Coach Kate]

I had some coworkers for awhile who didn't have a car and were coaching DP (then JO). They rode the bus to and from work, ubered in emergencies, and carpooled with the rest of the staff to meets. I would have found it unbearable personally but it worked for them.

 

[JBS]

My first real coaching job was 1/8th of a mile from my apartment... had a bike... walked a lot though. My parents helped me with the down payment on my first car... I lived in an apartment with 3 other people to split rent with. Still I had to go to two payday advance places to get enough money for rent sometimes.

 

[JBS]

MY QUESTIONS​

1. Is it possible to "climb the ranks" as a gymnastics coach without a car?
2. How do coaches with cars afford their cars? (My current coaching salary does not cover the cost of car ownership.)

1. I would say that you would be at a disadvantage.
2. I make good money through gymnastics now. Back in the day... cheap car (4 cylinder Ford Ranger)... lived close to work... didn't drive very much.

 

[sun]

I've been walking 3 miles to and from bus stops to get to the gym 5 days a week for the last 3 years, carpool to meets. Before that, I saved up for a used 2008 Volvo that I got rear-ended in and totaled, and before that my parents paid for half of a 2002 WRX that I took to a mechanic who totaled it in a test-drive.

Car stuff has always been stressful for me. I guess I've been able to "move through the ranks" in that I started coaching classes at the YMCA, then level 3/4/5, now 6/7/8 and rec staff education. Most of this was done with a car, and life is a lot harder without one.

 

[estamey21]

Thank you for all of your input!

The good news: My gym is willing to accommodate my transportation needs. They say that car rentals and Uber are covered under the competition travel stipend. In the short term, it looks like I can still enjoy my car-free life!

Based on what you fine folks have told me, it seems that coaching with out a car is possible but not glamorous. And at some point in my coaching career, I will likely need to throw down for a car. Right now, my coaching income is far too low to even think about buying a car. But car ownership might be a worthwhile investment if it opens the doors to higher paying coaching positions.

Note to self: figure out how to make more money.