Parents How do you choose a new gym?

[Aspasia]

We're moving to another state and our house will be about equidistant from four gyms (and several more if we're willing to drive 45-60 minutes instead of 20-25). How do we choose? How do you go about determining which gym is the best fit for your child and your family? Up until now (level 4), we've just been at the gym where we started recreationally.

 

[Aussie_coach]

What does she want in a gym?

Is she highly competitive? Does she want to go for states, nationals, eventually college etc?

Does she want higher hours our lower hours?

What would your finances was allow? Not just training costs but uniforms, competitions, travel.

How many comps do each team do? Travel meets? How many?

What are the training hours like? Will you be able to get her there on time? How late would she finish?

What is the general energy of the gym? Do there seem to be a lot of injuries? Are the kids all engaged and enthusiastic? Do they seem to connect with their coaches and each other?

 

[Aspasia]

Super helpful questions to ask! Thank you!

How do I find out about the injuries? Do I just casually chat with the parents?

 

[Aussie_coach]

Are you able to observe a session? Do parents have place they can watch?

 

[Aspasia]

Are you able to observe a session? Do parents have place they can watch?

I honestly don't know. We haven't even visited the gyms yet (not moving for a few more weeks). One of my daughter's teammates is also moving (to a different place) and she went and trained with the girls for a day or two at each gym. Is that common? Should I request something like that?

 

[Carly]

When my dd switched gyms, they allowed her to train 2 times with them before deciding. I would definitely request that.

 

[RTT2]

Yes, request a tryout at the gyms you are considering.

 

[katrid11]

What does she want in a gym?

Is she highly competitive? Does she want to go for states, nationals, eventually college etc?

Does she want higher hours our lower hours?

What would your finances was allow? Not just training costs but uniforms, competitions, travel.

How many comps do each team do? Travel meets? How many?

What are the training hours like? Will you be able to get her there on time? How late would she finish?

What is the general energy of the gym? Do there seem to be a lot of injuries? Are the kids all engaged and enthusiastic? Do they seem to connect with their coaches and each other?

These are great questions.

We see gyms that travel a lot with expenses well north of $6k for meets/travel and $800 leos and gyms that stay more local for $1500 a year and keep leos/warmups in the $300. It is critical that a family understand the culture meets for each gym. Some gyms see meets as fun and energetic. Other gyms are so serious the girls barely smile.

Other questions:
- what volunteering is required/expected?
- does the gym operate completely with gym staff or does a parent organization run most of the non-coaching type of items.
- what is the gymnast to coach ratios at each level?
- if there are few girls at higher levels (8-10) - are the coaches capable at those levels or do their expertise end at around L7/8? (sometimes there is a lull at a gym just b/c of situations - our gym has 0 L9 and 10s right now but has produced national champions at both levels.)
- what do the scores look like at the gym at each level?
- what is the mentality of the coaches with moving up? Does the gymnast need a 37/38AA to move up or is it purely based on skills?
- do the coaches uptrain at all during meet season?
- has there been a "mass exodus" lately? Why?



FWIW we switched gyms 2 years ago. we were most concerned about coach/gymnast ratio, the quality of coaches, and L4-L8 scores. We did move to a gym that has produced national champions at L9 and 10 but b/c they are not great with college recruiting tend to lose the girls after L8 to go to another gym. We were OK with that b/c our DD was going into L4 and it was more important to have the highly skilled coaches pushing DD to be amazing now than to worry about a L9 year that may never happen.

 

[Aussie_coach]

I think the coach:gymnast ratio is less important than most of the other factors. Amazing coaches can take a bigger group and keep them all progressing really well. There are some upsides to bigger groups, there is an energy and a dynamic that is catching.

I’ve seen not so amazing coaches have tiny groups and get nothing out of them. The quality of the coach plays a much bigger role.

 

[ORgymmom]

This takes extra planning and lurking, but if you happen to be there 20 minutes before practice or just after, observe the athletes and their parents. Parents of younger girls may walk in for pickup so it’s good yours is younger. Are parents acknowledging each other and chatting, or are they staring straight ahead in silence? Are the girls happy to see each other at dropoff and talking to each other while they pack up after? Are they still chatting as they’re walking out?

This doesn’t tell you everything but it’s my favorite test for potential new schools, activities, gyms, etc. I don’t use it to narrow down initial choices but it helps confirm a final choice.

 

[TheXcelMom]

Such great suggestions all around.
One thing I did that hasn't already been mentioned...
Observe the high-level gymnasts.
Do they all look the same? Do they all have the same body type?
They'll all be athletic and muscular, but are athletes with a non-standard shape being supported through optionals?
That can tell you a lot. Good luck on the gym and the move!

 

[ORgymmom]

Such great suggestions all around.
One thing I did that hasn't already been mentioned...
Observe the high-level gymnasts.
Do they all look the same? Do they all have the same body type?
They'll all be athletic and muscular, but are athletes with a non-standard shape being supported through optionals?
That can tell you a lot. Good luck on the gym and the move!

Add to this: do athletes in each training group seem the same age, and/or are they consistently tiny or young at higher levels? Our gym has girls who are up to 4-5 years apart competing the same levels from compulsory levels through Level 10, with wildly different body types and heights. But if your gymnast is not young for her level and tiny and you visit a gym where you only see homogenous training groups, that would be a mismatch.

 

[Deleted member 18037]

. One of my daughter's teammates is also moving (to a different place) and she went and trained with the girls for a day or two at each gym. Is that common? Should I request something like that?

Yes

 

[Aspasia]

Oh my gosh, you guys are SO HELPFUL. I never would have thought of most of these things. Thank you so, so much!

 

[CAgymmom31]

Do you homeschool? If not, finding out the Upper Level Practice schedule at each gym would be helpful. Some gyms only have daytime practice at the uppper levels. The amount of training hours would be important to me. A lot can be accomplished in fewer hours with the right coach!

 

[CuriousCate]

Do you homeschool? If not, finding out the Upper Level Practice schedule at each gym would be helpful. Some gyms only have daytime practice at the uppper levels. The amount of training hours would be important to me. A lot can be accomplished in fewer hours with the right coach!

This is a great question to ask. Before our kids started climbing up through the levels, I had NO IDEA that some gyms only had daytime practice options. Also beware of a large daytime training group with a very small evening same-level counterpart. An upper level small evening group is often not sustainable if the coaches able to train those skills are unwilling to stay until 8pm for only a handful of girls. This is happening right now in our gym.

 

[JBS]

We're moving to another state and our house will be about equidistant from four gyms (and several more if we're willing to drive 45-60 minutes instead of 20-25). How do we choose? How do you go about determining which gym is the best fit for your child and your family? Up until now (level 4), we've just been at the gym where we started recreationally.

I would start by talking to the Head Coach. After that... a tryout if you like what you hear.

Beyond that... there are tons of good questions to ask in this thread.

 

[Lucia]

These are all great suggestions. One other thing that may not have been mentioned is communication/transparency. Over-communication isn't necessary and boundaries are important, but our new gym communicates enough information (about expectations, schedules, injury management etc) that I don't feel in the dark. I feel comfortable reaching out, but honestly don't often have to. Our old gym felt like it was hidden behind a thick veil.