Parents Losing 3 coaches this summer!!!

[TexasRose]

DD is in a small gymnastics program, level 3-5 only with about 30 girls total in the program. Currently we have 5 team coaches. DD is level 3. 3 of our coaches are leaving this summer- including the HC and assistant HC. 1 is going away to college and the other 2 are moving because their spouses jobs are relocating them. This leaves us with 2 coaches, 1 of whom has already stated to parents that he does not want to take over as HC. As for the other coach- this season has been her first experience with team gym and she still has a long way to go. The HC only allows her to do the conditioning for the girls, she apparently hasn't had enough experience in spotting to work with the girls on skills yet. So I'm a little concerned about the future here. I've posted about our gym before- last fall I had a few concerns but they've all smoothed out and we've been very happy here this season. It was great to see that our tiny gym- 1 beam, 1 set of bars, not even a regulation size floor- could hold its own with scores at meets up against much bigger gyms.

The HC has said that the gym owner- who is a cheer coach and is very good at that sport- is going to "learn" gymnastics and take over as HC. This kind of makes me shake my head. We've got girls that will be moving up to level 6 this summer and it just seems dangerous to have a HC who is just learning the sport. Is it unrealistic of me to expect a HC to have some experience before taking over a program? When talking to other parents about this they've all pretty much decided to leave the gym. There are 2 other gyms close by- they're both actually closer to me than the one we're at now. The other gyms are both bigger and have gymnasts up to level 10. Both do well at meets. The hours go up quite a bit- our level 4's here do 6 hrs a week, at the other 2 gyms in town their 4's do 12 hrs a week.

I guess my question is this- Should we stick around after the coaches leave and at least give the new coach a chance? We do like the gym and it's very affordable. I hate to abandon it just because of coaches leaving but I'm just worried about someone taking over the program that has never done it before. Move-ups are done in May at our gym so the girls begin working on new stuff then and over the summer. Should I start communicating with the other gyms to see how they run their programs and if they would even place my DD on a team? Or am I jumping the gun too early? Coaches leave this summer so we're definitely finishing the season here. I appreciate any insight or recommendations .

 

[Deleted member D3987]

you're jumping the gun to early....

 

[BlairBob]

Hmm, I'd wait on it and see if they actually go through with training her to be the HC coach or give up on that idea and hire another coach to take over as HC.

If it seems sketchy, I would THEN consider checking out the other gyms. If you could spare the time, you might want to check out those other gyms without DD in tow.

 

[JessLW]

I would wait until the end of the season at least and then re-evaluate.

I think that if I were up in the air about possibly switching gyms to begin with I would probably be pushed over the edge by a huge change in coaching staff. One coach leaving? Ok. But three at once? That sounds like potentially a lot of chaos, especially if the new head coach is learning on the job. I think I would give the gym a chance to figure things out (maybe they will hire a new head coach) but definitely keep my options open.

 

[TexasRose]

you're jumping the gun to early....

Thanks Dunno. I'm a bit of a Type A personality and I plan things way in advance so I'm guilty of this a lot . Should I not worry about it until the coaches are gone?

 

[gym law mom]

Like others have said I would wait until the season is over and more concrete plans have been made. It may come out just fine in which case you wouldn't have to consider leaving. Maybe as it gets closer to the time the coachs are supposed to leave, the parents could just ask the owner for an update?

 

[Deleted member D3987]

Thanks Dunno. I'm a bit of a Type A personality and I plan things way in advance so I'm guilty of this a lot . Should I not worry about it until the coaches are gone?

yes. and see what new coaches might present. give the owner that much if you are currently satisfied.

 

[TexasRose]

yes. and see what new coaches might present. give the owner that much if you are currently satisfied.

Thanks for the advice! We are satisfied and DD has made some very good friends here so I really don't want to deal with the stress and $ of a move. I've made several good friends with other moms there too so it really feels like our little family. Meet weekends are the highlight of our month because we all have such a great time together. I really don't want to leave that. Fingers crossed that this will all work out.

 

[Faith]

If you do move beforehand you can guarantee they'll import some top coach from somewhere! Or poach the coaches from the gym you move to leaving you in the same situation there...

I'd wait and see what happens, and ask to be kept informed if possible.

 

[GymBee97]

if you like the program, the gym, the other kids and parents then why move? Moving will not change your DD having new coaches so does it matter if its the new coaches at your gym or at another. At least at the gym you are at you and your DD already know the owners, and everyone there. You like the gym and the price is right so why move? Give your gym a chance to get new coaches in and see how it goes.

 

[bookworm]

Sit tight...your daughter is Level 3 (preteam?) so I wouldn't worry about who's in the Head Coach position as long as there are coaches there.

 

[Mom2G&D]

DD is in a small gymnastics program.....
the gym owner... is going to "learn" gymnastics and take over as HC. .. I appreciate any insight or recommendations .

With all due respect to the wonderful coaches and owners on this forun... we found ourselves in a similar situation at DD's last gym. Owner swore up and down all would be fine. We moved anyway - and it's a good thing we did. This year, our old gym has NO team at any level... decided it didn't make sense monetarily or resource wise to continue. Which is a shame since the one coach who is still there previously trained elite level girls and is great to work with. She teaches mostly "mommy and me" and young rec kids now....

 

[TexasRose]

Thanks everyone! I appreciate all the advice. One of the reasons we were considering moving was because the last time I talked with a group of parents, the group that we all hang out together, they all said they would be moving their girls at the end of the season. I was also concerned that the program would fall apart. All of the information about coaches leaving and who was taking over was gossip at this point and we still haven't actually been told by the gym that it's going to happen. One of the coaches told one of the parents about it at one of the last meets and that's how all the gossip got started.

So I decided to go ahead and just ask the HC what was up and if it was all true. She was frustrated with all the gossip but said she was happy I decided to approach her so we could get real facts. She said that yes the 3 coaches are leaving but that she is not at all concerned about the future of the program. Yes, one of the owners is going to begin coaching. The owner was actually a gymnast herself and has coached before, none of the parents knew that so I think this will help people stop worrying. It definitely made me feel better. I also found out one of the tumbling coaches is being trained in gymnastics to coach team as well. We love this tumbling coach so I think it will be a great match. Take away from all this- I'm glad I just asked the HC what was going on rather than continuing to gossip and speculate. The gossip was correct this time but that is pretty rare. The HC seemed genuinely appreciative that I approached her.

And yes it is only Level 3. Even if the program doesn't remain as competitive as it is now, as long as she is learning her basics and having fun I'm happy. I just have to remind myself of that sometimes That's why I love the CB!!!