Gym size explosion!!!

[lakshmi369]

My daughter joined a small gym that transferred in from another area when they first opened the doors about 4 months ago. There were about 20 girls there for the first practice including the girls that transfered with them that were still willing to do a 40 mile drive. It has been crazy ever since! In the last four months there have been over 200 kids join the gym and our team stands at 40 or so. Sounds great right? Not so fast....Our gym has hired a couple new coaches and has had to move again already because of the tremendous growth. My daughter is no big fan of change and it has caused some issues with her gymnastic skills...
Has anyone else had to deal with this kind of upheaval in gymnastics before? Whats the best way to get that "comfort level" back for a gymnast? Thanks for your help.

 

[BlairBob]

Just realize it will pass over in time if things are as good as it should be barring huge problems.

They will have to adjust to the numbers and making sure they are getting enough work besides setting up side stations because of limited apparatus.

 

[lakshmi369]

Thanks BlairBob

I appreciate. Hard for patience this time of year with the start of the competition season already on us. Going to be an interesting year!

 

[NOG]

Sounds like positive changes, not negative ones. You'll be surprised how little time it will take your dd to readjust to new things. As long as the changes are for the better, things will settle into a pattern and all will be good. Just reassure her that things are on track for her to have a great season. Good luck

 

[Tim_Dad]

Your DD needs to learn that CHANGE is going to occur all throughout her life, and she needs to learn to concentrate, cope, and accept things for what they are. Sometimes change is needed.


Our gym is about 8 years old, and ins't exactly small in size. In fact, it's huge. 4 pits, 2 dozen beams, 8 sets of UB, four vault tracks, 2 floor areas, etc. Not small.

This gym become even more popular over the the last year, and there was talk about physical expansion. Our L4 team reached 50 athletes, and is being split into two seperate teams.

The gym owner (as I understand it) decided against the idea of "building on", and instead to start raising tuition prices and make improvments to the existing gym. Personally I like this approach. It tells me the owner is business savvy.

 

[Mom2Gymgirls]

I don't know how related this is to the original question being asked, but I'm curious though, at what point do most people say a team is too big? What is the average coach to child ratio? Is 13 to 1 normal or too many?

 

[ZJsMom]

13 to 1 seems kind of high, but I guess it depends on the experience of the coach and the age and level of the kids. At our gym the ratio for compulsories is 8-12 to 1.

 

[lakshmi369]

Thanks for all the imput.

The ratio's are still acceptable (in the 8 - 12 range). Cant wait to get through this season though, and come what may, have a year to get settled in for her. Patience seems to be the key right now from what I am hearing.