Anon Home School Group vs Evening Groups

[Anonymous Post]

For those that have both a home school (HS) group at their gym and an evening group (EG) do you feel that your gym favors the "home school" kids? I have started to feel some frustration over the years because the HS kids seem to get more advantages and consideration on things.

• The Head Coaches only coach the home school kids. Don't get me wrong I love my kids coach and honestly don't think my kid would do well with the Head Coaches full time but why dont they ever help with the other high level training groups? There is a shared practice on the weekends that both HS and EG kids are at but the they dont mix the groups or coaching situations up at all. I feel like the EG kids don't get the advantage of the more experienced Head Coaches and lets be honest sometimes a different coach just sees something or can explain something different and it makes a big difference.
• The HS kids (and possibly parents?) get to give some input into where they want to go for travel meets. The EG are never asked
• The EG kids have a late Friday practice and an Early Sat practice. Its a pretty tough turn around but no one seems to care. There are instances where this is exagerated too (if we do a shorter practice before a meet for example) they still do the short practice at the earlier time. I think that better benefits the HS kids.

There are some other examples but I don't want to get to detailed and leave identifying details. Its frustrating and I know I am not the only parent that feels "second rate" at times. Its not worth leaving over and its not overt or malicious but its annoying and frustrating. I would love to bring it up to the coaches but I feel like it would just sound petty and its the kind of criticism I feel like would make them defensive. At this rate the EG group is bigger than the HS group so its strange to me that they risk alienating these parents and kids.

Anyone else experience this? How did you handle it?

 

[Anonymous Post]

We have day groups and evening groups at my daughter's gym. Her coaches coach both day and evening and I don't think there is too much difference in how they are treated. But we also do have a special "invitation only" level 10 group that is coached by the head coaches/owners. That group is definitely treated differently than the others. The head coaches really do not show much interest in any of the other group's gymnasts (other than occasionally trying to recruit the ones that are scoring high). It used to bother me, but honestly I don't care much anymore. My daughter and I both prefer my daughter's coaches anyway.

The head coaches never coach the other gymnasts.. heck I think it was just last year when they finally learned my daughter's name. I think it's kind of crappy, but it is what it is. I kind of find most of the parents in that group unapproachable too and I think they consider themselves better than most of the evening group.

I do understand the frustration. I've been working on myself to not care as much. I don't go into the gym at all anymore (my daughter doesn't want me to) and I've been asking less questions and just generally stay to myself more. It just seems easier. Luckily my daughter is happy with her coaches and being in the evening (she is adamant about attending public school and not willing to be home schooled or attend a school with shorter hours) so it's not too hard for me to just let her do her thing.

 

[Anonymous Post]

Treating everyone equally is not really a reality in gyms or anywhere.

Do the home school kids do more hours? Often the kids who are in the gym the most just naturally become the closest with the coaches, perhaps their families are around more.

Of course, its not always fair, but it is often the case in life.

If any of the coaches do both the daytimes and the evenings, they may find by the later evening that they are really spent and exhausted from already having coached all day too!

Head coaches are often the most experienced and the most knowledgeable but not always the best at the day to day stuff. The less experienced coaches, who are newer may be hungrier for it and driven to help everyone succeed.

Head coaches are perhaps a little more " over it" and now only want to focus their energy on specific kids and groups.