Parents Ethics and Switching Gyms

[Deleted member D3987]

Like others have said the "gym world" is a very small world and many of those coaches from various gyms are all friends. I know last year we had a girl go to another gym to "tryout" and the gym owner of the new gym called the gym owner of the girl's current gym, hence the current gym owner found out anyways. I'm sure this happens on more occassions than we think. If you are thinking about leaving, you better be ready to leave. I'm not saying you need to burn the bridge, because you don't but if you go trial a new gym, assume it will get back to the current coaches and be ready if they choose to respond. I agree that not every gym is right for every gymnast BUT the gymnast who's parents are thinking of leaving have probably already talked to their "gym parent friends" and to a gym owner/coach they can become a cancer that they do NOT want to have a round.

so everyone understands i feel compelled to clarify on point here. the primary reason that club owners speak to each other on this topic is to make certain that all the bills have been paid in full so that someone is not leaving a gym with unpaid bills. this is probably an area that none of you are aware of and can be in the thousands of dollars that have gone unpaid.

 

[bookworm]

I can understand that club owners would want to make sure all the bills were paid but in these gym changes that were referenced (where the girls were poorly treated) I don't believe non-payment was ever the issue...it definitely wasn't for me...we were paid through the end of the month (31 day month) , notified them on the 15th and were told they couldn't be coached, spotted or use the equipment...so in my book, that gym owed ME money for non-delivery of contracted services (16 days of coaching)...

 

[NGL780309]

so everyone understands i feel compelled to clarify on point here. the primary reason that club owners speak to each other on this topic is to make certain that all the bills have been paid in full so that someone is not leaving a gym with unpaid bills. this is probably an area that none of you are aware of and can be in the thousands of dollars that have gone unpaid.

One of the gyms in our area that we considered trying out at has a policy that when you try out they will call your old gym to let them know and see if your are paid up. I liked that they were so upfront about it. I think gym owners should band together and not let anyone compete on their team that owes money to another gym.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

I can understand that club owners would want to make sure all the bills were paid but in these gym changes that were referenced (where the girls were poorly treated) I don't believe non-payment was ever the issue...it definitely wasn't for me...we were paid through the end of the month (31 day month) , notified them on the 15th and were told they couldn't be coached, spotted or use the equipment...so in my book, that gym owed ME money for non-delivery of contracted services (16 days of coaching)...

you might be right but you can't be certain. in your personal case you're right. and any debt owed should NOT find children being mistreated. those issues are between the adults.

 

[gym monkeys mom]

Non payment of fees to gyms when switching gyms is unfortunaltey a huge problem! While most follow the rules a few bad apples do not and that wrecks it foor the rest as in all things.

I understand wanting your money and frankley sometimes gyms are more than happy for the gymnast to leave. The Club maybe as frustrated with the gymnast (or parent as is usually the case) as the prent/gymnast is with the child. I know this to be the case several times.

I have always said gyms are as uniques as the families that go there. Usually it is about finding the fit for your gymnast/family. What works for one gymnast/family may not be ok for another.

Well wishes to all looking for a new club......

 

[maddiemei]

Our new gym told us that they were going to talk to our old gym prior to us going to make sure we were up to date on our account. That's why we brought all kinds of documentation with us because we were afraid of what our old gym would say. That's how bad they were treating us. I know the new gyms want to make sure that their prospective gymnast and parents pay the bills, but I also know that some gyms can be pretty vindictive. Some may be happy to get rid of "problem" families while others may want to do everything they can to make life miserable for the "problem" families.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

i know this ^^^to be true also.

 

[my4buffaloes]

When we switched it was because the old gym didn't really coach the girls on how to do things and we felt it was unsafe. Dd would be told to try a new skill, she would say she didn't know how and they would say do it anyway - giving no indication of how to go about the new skill. If she had trouble with something it was always "do it again" never a constructive correction. I pay a lot of money for gymnastics and want them to actually teach my child how to do it, not let them figure it out on their own. As the skills get harder we got very scared for her safety - topping that was none of the coaches were first aid or CPR trained and many were in high school I can't believe we stayed as long as we did. We waited until the end of the season (school year even) and even lost 1.5 months of fees due to leaving when we did. They owed us 6 weeks of coaching, but we weren't going to argue, we just wanted out.

Moving was the best thing we ever did and there are other gyms in our area, but I am very happy where we are and can't imagine leaving. I am so glad to get through this time of year without the drama of switching. Just looking forward to 2 weeks from now when states will be over and they can start training the next level skills.

 

[sportzmomov3]

I wanted to resurrect this thread for a quick vent. DD had a teammate leave our gym. It's that time of year so not a big deal, switches are almost expected after season is done. However, another teammate decided to start the rumor that my DD was out of gym one day because she was trying out at another gym, which she absolutely was not. Parents, teach your gymmies to be good citizens and not spread rumors and set a good example by not doing so either! No one needs the anxiety or annoyance - really!