WAG How many coaches go to meets?

[munchkin3]

So I was making a point to our facility director about proper staffing and I wanted to know, on average how many coaches does your gym send to competitions.
We have a medium sized team, anywhere from 8-12 kids per level from USAG 2- 5 and then maybe 15 optional girls.....
Our gym regularly likes to send only one coach......I find it very disturbing and mean to that coach who must pull 12 hour days with no relief.....opinions?

 

[htimcj]

I think it depends on how many girls are in a particular session. I think the rules are that if you have somewhere around 8-10 girls in a session then you need two coaches on the floor. We usually send just one coach for our team of 50. Definitely makes for a very long day!

 

[gymmomtoo]

At least two coaches go. If they have a large group and get split, sometimes they'll send three.

 

[wallinbl]

The coaches that coach in practice go. If level 7 is going, then the 3 coaches that coach level 7 go. If all levels are going, then all team coaches go. When a kid is up on an event, the coach that coaches them on that event in practice will be the one warming them up and coaching them at the meet, unless there are multiple sessions and the coaches are stuck splitting up, which does happen as several coaches coach more than one level.

 

[2gymnastand1soccerplayer]

I can only speak for optional since we're at a new gym this year and compulsory hasn't started their season yet, but we have 3 optional coaches, 16 kids in total and 11 of the 15 compete ( 5are doing a training to get better for next year) on average there is 3 to 4 kids per session and all 3 coaches are on the floor( the only accept ion to this would be if there is 1 kid in that session) hearing stories from other compulsory moms all the coaches go to the meets and there is 5 compulsory coaches.

 

[JBS]

We just upgraded to 2 coaches for all sessions regardless of number of athletes or level. This allows our rookie coaches to coach at meets with our senior staff to gain experience...it's also more fun.

State meets we will take as many as possible. We have two teams that are housed at three facilities...our team combines into one team at meets...but still takes the coaches from both facilities. One session at State this year we ended up with 8 coaches for 4 kids. That was a bit of overkill...but that's just the way everything worked out.

As a club...you must be ready to throw down lots of coaching fees. Our coaches are paid fairly well per session...and they are all paid.

 

[gymcoach4]

We event coach, so there are 4 of us that go. We have a 5th coach that helps on bars, and he comes to some of the meets. We have one weekend where our optionals are at one location and compulsories at another, so we go 2 and 2.

 

[Sasha]

The coaches that coach in practice go. If level 7 is going, then the 3 coaches that coach level 7 go. If all levels are going, then all team coaches go. When a kid is up on an event, the coach that coaches them on that event in practice will be the one warming them up and coaching them at the meet, unless there are multiple sessions and the coaches are stuck splitting up, which does happen as several coaches coach more than one level.

Same at our gym. Whoever coaches the kid on the event goes. Some exceptions if there are overlapping meets. This usually means 3-4 coaches, even for our smaller teams (fewer than 10 girls).

 

[lhmom]

For the compulsory team, the 2 compulsory coaches go. For the optional team, there are usually 3 coaches that are there. For the girls who made it to Nationals last year (very small number), one coach went.

 

[beachgirl]

We have just recently started sending 2 coaches unless there is only 1 girl in the session. Some of the invitationals are at big venues and we have some younger girls and if somebody has to go to the restroom, a coach has to leave and that could possibly leave no coach on the floor.

 

[munchkin3]

Are there any official USAG Guidelines?
I really find it terrible that they make ONE coach attend all meets. The one coach does not coach ALL events but that's besides the point. But I still find it almost a safety issue when a coach starts at 8am and finishes at 8 pm with NO break....
My DD had to warm up for 5 minutes alone during the coaches meeting.....she could handle it, but its just plain wrong.

 

[pt coach]

For our level 5 group we have about 20 kids - they have 2 assigned coaches that are dedicated to the compulsory levels plus the optional coaches also work with them at least one rotation a practice - so for meets they get the 2 dedicated coaches and then usually 2 additional coaches since we are always split in two and it is helpful to have 2 coaches per group. For optionals we mostly event coach and all available coaches will go.

 

[Sari]

The coaches that coach in practice go. If level 7 is going, then the 3 coaches that coach level 7 go. If all levels are going, then all team coaches go. When a kid is up on an event, the coach that coaches them on that event in practice will be the one warming them up and coaching them at the meet, unless there are multiple sessions and the coaches are stuck splitting up, which does happen as several coaches coach more than one level.

This is how we do it, too.

 

[thefellowsmom]

The coaches that coach in practice go. If level 7 is going, then the 3 coaches that coach level 7 go. If all levels are going, then all team coaches go. When a kid is up on an event, the coach that coaches them on that event in practice will be the one warming them up and coaching them at the meet, unless there are multiple sessions and the coaches are stuck splitting up, which does happen as several coaches coach more than one level.

This is how it is at our gym too.

 

[JMACAZ]

Both My DD's gyms usually send 3 Coaches. Group of girls is between 8 and 12. Usually each Coach has a "specialty" and warms them up on that event.

 

[CoachMeg]

We send 2 coaches per session. The floor/beam coach + the bar/vault coach...which are different coaches for compulsories and optionals. Last year when one of our coaches was out for a couple weeks, I had to attend every single compulsory session alone and let me tell you...it was exhausting! Definitely much more enjoyable to have another coach along. But it's also much more expensive for the parents...meet session fee plus hotel (if needed) plus gas mileage and food expenses. It can add up as you send more coaches to a session. But I do think more coaches can make for a much smoother session and just an overall better experience for the girls. Double the energy, double the corrections, but also double the cost.

 

[Becauseisaid]

I believe USAG rules merely state that you have to have 1 coach per event grouping in a session. So if you have a large team that starts on 2 different events in the same session, each group must have their own coach. No rules for how many coaches you must send to a meet for all sessions.

Please correct me if I've misunderstood.

 

[skschlag]

Girls will send 1-2 depending on numbers. They try to not send everyone because that just increases the costs for the families and it is already so expensive.

Boys...one coach, all boys, all events. We have been on 2 different events before, and the boys /judge have to wait for the coach. Meets can be all day, or all weekend.

 

[munchkin3]

Girls will send 1-2 depending on numbers. They try to not send everyone because that just increases the costs for the families and it is already so expensive.

Boys...one coach, all boys, all events. We have been on 2 different events before, and the boys /judge have to wait for the coach. Meets can be all day, or all weekend.

Sounds more like ours.......although we usually send one....always.
Occasionally one of the other coaches will come to help, if it's relatively close and off hours (no pay).
Embarrassing.

 

[skschlag]

we usually have 10-15 compulsary girls competing, so that is why 2. Sometimes a 3rd coach will go to watch. Honestly. we have always been ok with that due to the cost!