WAG Hosting a Q&A; What will parents ask me?!

[Aero]

I'm starting a brand new Xcel team in the Summer on my own. I've really been doing my research, and I've also invited a number of girls to the team. I'm going to be hosting a two hour, once a week pre-team class starting the 6th of February and it will run till the summer when the team will really start. Sometime soon, in between these dates I want to have a question and answer meeting for the parents to attend so they can voice their concerns and ask me whatever they like.

So far, the only things the parents know are that the practices will be held twice a week, starting at two hours each practice; the team is Xcel, so it will be more recreational than a standard Junior Olympic team; the team will initially start out with no more than ten girls. I thought it would be a great idea to reach out to my beloved gymnastics community for help in this matter. I want each of you to pretend you are a parent of one of the children I invited to the team. What questions would ask me during the Q&A? Using the information that is provided above, what concerns would be number one for you and your child?

I'm going to use these questions as possible scenarios I should be ready to answer, and I'll type an outline up based on these questions. Please post your question(s) and perhaps what additional details you may want to know.

Thanks!

 

[GymMomXcel]

My daughter started Xcel this year.. Some questions I remember asking:

Is there mobility between Xcel and the JO track. Can she switch over down the road if she wanted to?

Do they go to about the same number of meets as the JO girls?


They may also want to know that it is still a USAG program. What their tuition will be. You could let them know that as long as they compete in a meet, they get to attend States, no minimum score required.

 

[AmandaLynn]

You could let them know that as long as they compete in a meet, they get to attend States, no minimum score required.

This is not true in all states. Might want to check you state's USAG website before telling the parents this.

 

[gymgal]

What is the goal of the program?
How many meets will there be and what is the travel radius?
Will there be competition Leo, warm up, bag? What is the expense?
Will the girls do what the JO team girls do? - holiday parties, yearly pictures, exhibitions. And will they receive recognition (place in the newsletter, bulletins board, etc)

How will additional levels in future years be handled? (will they all train together or have separate practices?)
What is the make-up of the region's xcel program? - will the girls be competing against others with similar hours / skills or does your region use xcel to supplement JO, with gymnasts having much more experience? (parents might mot ask this, but it is important for you to know it so you set the expectations appropriately.

 

[raenndrops]

1. Monthly tuition and hours
2. USAG Membership requirement (Introductory Athlete vs. Athlete) and cost
3. Competition leotard and warm up costs
4. Meet fees (approximations are fine early on)
5. Number of Meets
6. How far will they travel for a meet
7. How will you decide what divisions the gymnasts will compete in (Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Diamond)
8. Mobility between Xcel Divisions (Will they be able to move up mid-season if they are doing well and are bored?
9. Choreography costs (will there be any)
10. Will each girl have an individual routine and music?
11. Music cost - Do the girls get to pick their own music?
12. Mobility to JO ... how soon would they be able to move to JO and at what Level can they switch? Will you prepare that to score out of L4 and L5 when they are ready? When will you switch their USAG Membership if they are planning to score out?
13. Can they go to a State Meet? If so, what are the requirements?
14. Is there a Regional Meet they can attend? If so, what are the requirements?

I hope this helps

 

[MaryA]

Integration of the Xcel girls with the JO girls. Are they all one big team? Ours are... Xcel goes to same meets, same social events, same end-of-year banquet, etc. as our JO girls. Or are they separate?

 

[coachmolly]

I think, if I remember correctly, this will be the only team at your gym? So if that's the case, parents might not have a ton of questions to ask off the bat if they don't even have an example compare your program to.
I imagine many of the parents will want to know about cost and time commitments- for practices, meets, and extras. Travel expectations (how far you'll expect them to travel for meets) might be a common one. Questions about fundraising to help offset costs might also come up.
Be prepared to cover some of the things other posters mentioned, especially if all of this is very new. All of the "hidden" costs of things like meet fees, choreography, grips, team gear, etc. Be clear about expectations, that team is a commitment and by accepting the invitation, they are expected to attend practices, meets, meetings, etc. and to make arrangements for when that is not possible. You might even want to have a short set of team "ground rules" to hand out- when to be at practice, how to dress, how they are expected to treat coaches and teammates, work ethic, and the "consequences" of not following through. I think clarity and openness is the most important.

 

[htimcj]

I would ask about
Price
how much are meets
how far are meets
where are the meets
how/when do girls move up
how much is the comp leo and warm ups

 

[GymMomXcel]

This is not true in all states. Might want to check you state's USAG website before telling the parents this.

Oops! I wasn't aware.

 

[mommyof1]

I would also want to know if the practice times would be the same during the summer, how far in advance I would be notified of changes to my child's schedule, and precisely what the booster club expects in terms of fees and "volunteering."

 

[JoyAvenueMom]

Great suggestions so far!
I would add:

What is the best time/method for me to communicate with the coach about my child? Will there be regular communication about my child's and/or the team's progress and goals? Does all communication need to go through the owner/head coach?

 

[dynamicduo]

Can you explain why you chose the xcel path over the JO and what the differences are between. There might be some parents out there who prefer one over the other!

 

[kandkfunk]

I would also prepare some of these answers in writing to hand out to families. It's a lot of information to take in at one time, so having something in writing for parents to refer back to when they have questions may save you a lot of extra communication time. All teams we've been a part of have had some type of team handbook containing this type of information.

Also, not sure if this has been mentioned, but it's always good to outline behavioral expectations and the consequences for bad behavior. Usually not needed with gymnastics overachievers, but if you ever do have to send a gymnast home during practice at least the reasons are spelled out for the parents in black and white.

 

[iwannacoach]

You've got a pretty good list of questions, and many that anticipate eventualities your new parents can't fathom. Do your best to have an answer for the mundane questions, as well as a "here's what I'm thinking" answer to questions in areas such as discipline, attendance policy, and participation in meets.

You can very little of this in stone because you don't know what you don't know..... and this being your first team group, there'll be plenty you don't know until you've been there and done that.You'll be unable to answer every question, and have very little to offer when confronted with conceptual questions, like how big will the team be in three years, or how high a level will the gym dedicate itself to supporting, or how many hours will be expected at the next level.

I'd suggest you put a little twist into the Q&A concept by informing ahead of time that the questions and answers should be limited to the immediate concerns that affect the first year, and the balance of the meeting's energy will be spent creating a question list for the next meeting to address the long term issues.

I'll bid you good fortune rather than good luck, because you seem to have the most important qualifications a coach should have. You care, you want to learn and go beyond your surroundings to do so, and ya gotta a lotta energy and enthusiasm. Experience counts, but only when combined with those qualities you already have well in hand.

 

[Uglybetty]

They key for me as a parent is the promise of ongoing communication with coaches on an individual basis e.g. 5 mins feedback about progress/goals every 6 months. Secondly, a brief explanation if something happens e.g. My child doesn't get chosen to compete or take a grade. To be clear, this is not so I can question your decision, it's because I'm the one who has to deal with the emotional fall out at home. This is not strictly a question but I'd also suggest you be careful about what you say to kids in gym e.g. You say "we're all practising this move/routine for the competition" - they hear "I'm doing the next competition" - then when you don't pick a child to compete and give that child and their parent no explanation, they don't understand what it is they did wrong. If what you mean is "we are all practising this routine and then I will choose 5 of you to compete" say so!

 

[gymmomtoo]

Beyond the money questions (monthly tuition, meet fees, how many meets, etc), my top concerns would be things people have mentioned: expectations for attending practice (are there make-ups if they miss? do you work with kids doing other sports etc.) and communication--how to contact you with questions or information.

 

[Sasha]

All great questions so far. I'll doubly support the people who suggest setting class format & conduct expectations for Xcel. Our gym started Xcel last year, and a lot of rec girls tried out and were moved over before expectations were really set. The first few months were really hard with several girls (age 7-11 ish) continuing to behave like they did in the laid back rec classes, and really detracting from the girls who wanted to take things more seriously. Example: goofing and playing around, chatting a lot at bad times, begging the coach for BHS spots/time instead of whatever the coach asked them to do. They weren't 'bad' girls, just the chatty, playful ones that were used to teasing around with the coach and getting lots of attention in the small (6-8 girl) rec class instead of it being more 'boot camp' like now in the larger (15-20), regimented format. You could hear the coach telling them over and over again to be quiet, 'no we're not doing back handsprings', 'please don't play with the foam' etc etc etc, and it wasn't firm enough to make much impact. But I'm sure neither these girls, nor their parents, were really given clear preparation on what was expected of them. And there were no consequences spoken about in advance. That put all the coaches in a really difficult spot. I don't know what happened to those girls, but none of them are still in Xcel (and I don't think the gym) so I imagine some hurt feelings occurred at some point ...

 

[Aero]

These are all fantastic replies and suggestions and I really thank you all so much for taking the time to help me out! It means a lot. Since I'm brand new to coaching competitively, it's very reassuring to have a community outlet such as CB full of lovely people who care.

@raenndrops | Perhaps you could explain for me what exactly the USAG athlete membership thing is? And what you mean by Introductory athlete, etc.
@coachmolly | Yes, you are correct, this will be the only team at my gym. I also really like the idea of creating a handout for the parents about expectations and obligations/responsibilities.
@JoyAvenueMom | I think communication to the parents is very important, so I enjoy your idea of open communication. Maybe I should have a monthly meeting for parents to discuss the kids progress? Or an open email or message board kind of thing? What do you think?
@kandkfunk | I think having a team handbook is an awesome suggestion, but should I wait to make something like that until the team gets bigger and more serious? The team will be relatively small so am I wrong if I say I don't think it's necessary yet? However, I'm definitely going to create some outlines on behavior and consequences.
@iwannacoach | Thank you so much for the kind words. You are exactly right about me not knowing much of the long term, yet-to-come circumstances, and I really agree with changing the meeting to first-year-relevant questions, as those will be the only ones I'll know anyway!
@Uglybetty | I absolutely agree. I'm currently very open with all the parents right now anyway, so I think that's something I can easily continue with. I just hope I don't get any vicious gym moms!
@Sasha | I feel like my situation will be pretty similar to the one you described. All of these girls will be coming up from rec classes with no competitive experience whatsoever. However, on my invitation handouts to the parents I clearly outlined the differences between rec and team, and that it will be more intense and require more work. Also, all the girls are from my classes thus far, so they're not mental cases.

All the questions regarding fees (as in meet fees, leo/warm up fees, etc.), and other competition details (like where the meets will be held, how many, how far) I honestly have no idea about. Hell, I don't even know when competition seasons start! Is it the same time frame for gyms across the country, similar to, say, football season, which always starts and ends at the same times? I'm also probably not even going to let the girls compete for probably about a year. I have to develop them and groom them for a competition mindset, and I also have to learn the ways myself since this is all new territory for me. I'll need time to study the Xcel code of points and learn required skills, deductions, and how to tailor practices to get the girls ready for comps, as well as learning what the Xcel scene is like in my area. I'm thinking I should maybe go to a few meets as a spectator, or even make a trip with the team sometime so they can see what a competition is like.

Either way, I'm SUPER excited. After coaching rec for four years this is like the ultimate promotion. It's bringing me one step closer to my desire to coach high level gymnastics and take a group of students to their full potential. Thanks for all of your help in guiding me along!

 

[iwannacoach]

Either way, I'm SUPER excited. After coaching rec for four years this is like the ultimate promotion. It's bringing me one step closer to my desire to coach high level gymnastics and take a group of students to their full potential. Thanks for all of your help in guiding me along!

Well you better share that with each and every one of the parents and kids, and plan a path that includes a gradual progression to the training time it takes to get kids (who want to) to the level you want to coach, and have a second path that honors the sentiments of those who'd rather not

 

[Ex member]

My dd has moved into a newly formed group, apart from a quick chat inviting dd to move up to the group we were given no information at all except the cost of the sessions and the day and time, this new group was formed with girls from Rec and the girls are aged 7 to 10 and practice once a week for 2 1/2 hours, they spent a lot of time conditioning amd working Beam and Bars as I guess they need to build up their strength and flexibility coming from 1 hour Rec classes with no real conditioning, the group has only got 6 girls at the moment. Coming from a parent whose dd is in a group similar to what you are doing these are the questions I want to ask :

What type of group is it? Advanced Rec? Pre Team?
Is there a trial period? If so then how long for?
What happens to the ones that don't improve?
How much are the sessions?
Who to contact if there is a problem or dd can't make class?
Is there a Competition leotard and Warm ups/Tracksuit?
Is there a dress code for Hair, Nail Varnish and Shorts?
Will the girls require to do any conditioning at home?
Will the girls hours be increased once the new class gets established?
Will you be working towards any goals or levels?
Will you hold regular progress meetings with parents or send reports?
Do you allow drinks in the gym?
Are parents allowed to stay (if you have a viewing area)?
Will you hold festivals or mock meets so parents can see their childs progress?
Will there be any changes or increase to girls hours during school holidays?